Cultural differences in emotions: a context for interpreting emotional experiences.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cross-cultural Psychology
• Cultural Psychiatry

Background:

• Emotional disturbances are assessed differently across cultures.
• Existing research highlights cultural variations in emotional experiences, including antecedents, subjective feelings, appraisals, and behaviors.
• Cultural differences in emotions are functional, reinforcing distinct cultural models of self and relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for a culturally sensitive approach in assessing emotional disturbances.
• To highlight the importance of considering cultural differences in modal and normative emotions.
• To propose that emotional phenomena dysfunctional to cultural models should be assessed.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing research literature on cultural differences in emotions.
• Analysis of functional relationships between prevalent emotional phenomena and cultural models.
• Conceptual framework for culture-sensitive assessment of emotional disturbances.

Main Results:

• Cultural variations exist in emotional antecedents, subjective feelings, appraisal, and behavior.
• Prevalent emotions within a culture reinforce its specific models of self and relationships.
• Emotional disturbances can be understood as phenomena that are dysfunctional to these cultural models.

Conclusions:

• Cross-cultural assessment of emotional disturbances necessitates understanding cultural nuances in emotions.
• A culture-sensitive approach requires evaluating emotional phenomena in the context of cultural models of self and relationships.
• This approach can lead to more accurate and relevant assessments of emotional disturbances in diverse populations.