Assignment 2

1. What does it mean to take a cultural approach to observing and understanding emotion?

Taking a cultural approach to understanding and observing emotion means classifying emotion as a social construct. Moreover, since there are many different cultures in the world, each one could potentially develop emotions differently depending on their inherent cultural differences. 

2. What cultural variations (if any) in emotion exist?

From the readings, it seems that there is not very much variation in understanding of emotion across cultures. Many emotions that were believed to be the result of specific cultural activity (such as romantic love being developed as a result of industrialization in Europe) have actually been found to develop in many other cultures that did not follow these same activities.  Some variation has been discovered in how emotions are expressed in different cultures. However, it is not clear whether these variations were due to faulty experimental design or true cultural differences.

3. Think about last weeks readings.

a) Please highlight differences and similarities between the evolutionary, cognitive, and cultural approaches.

The evolutionary and cognitive approaches to emotion imply that all cultures would have the same emotions and the same understanding of these emotions. Although it has been shown that most cultures exhibit the same emotions and an understanding of them, there is a little variation which might implicate that how a culture develops actually impacts how that culture understands emotion. 

b) What do all of these approaches stand on the following questions:

1. What is an emotion?

                Evolutionary - A set of physiological responses aimed at preserving the longevity of the species

                Cognitive - The biochemical interactions that are associated with specific events

                Cultural - The typical and accepted (by society) bodily reactions to certain situations

2. What are the origins of an emotion?

                Evolutionary - Selective pressures that thin out responses that do not lead to survival

                Cognitive - Brain associations of situations with the  biochemical profile that those situations create

                Cultural - Society

3. Are emotions universal?

                Evolutionary/Cognitive - Yes

                Cultural - not necessarily, but research has shown that it is "mostly universal"

4. What are the functions of emotion?

                Evolutionary - Preservation of future generations

                Cognitive - Preservation of self (physically)

                Cultural - Preservation of self in context of a society (how others view you)