Running head: Emotion representation and perception across cultures 1

Emotion Representation and Perception Across Cultures

Jesenia Cordero

University of Old Dominion

Author Note

Jesenia Cordero, College of Science, Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jesenia Cordero, College of

Sciences, Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA 23529

jcord009@odu.edu
Emotion representation and perception across cultures 2

The article Emotion Representation and Perception Across Cultures, by Jeanette

Altarriba, Dana M. Basnight, and Tina M Canary, researched on the interpretations of emotions

in other cultures. Moreover, the study was made to identify the different facial expression and

display of other human beings across the world. Cross-culturally, the words of emotions can be

characterized within language-specific, meaning words that label emotions are difficult to

translate into a single word or group of words in another language (Altarriba, Basnight, &

Canary, 2003). Furthermore, the study search to discover whether or not the representation of

emotions would be qualified as universal (Altarriba, Basnight, & Canary, 2003). Therefore,

critical analysis of the extant literature related to verbal word and nonverbal domains were

performed.

One of the main points of the article was the representation of emotion concepts

in memory. The section gave a list of different types of emotions for example: distress, pleasure,

arousal, and other emotions. They are used in Circumflex Model of Affect by Russell to

compared the emotion words to other languages. It also compared with Italians.

United States had the concept of depression examined with other cultures. The

data was collected form everyday language of emotions. Furthermore, Italians were asked to

name as many emotion word they could in five minutes. That the United States and Italy both

mention positive emotions such as joy or happiness. They also mention negative emotions of

sadness and anger. Finally, both mention love. These type of emotions became to appear both

cultures. All in all, those emotions seem to be universal.

Emotion representation and perception across cultures 3

However, the emotion of hate that the United States commonly uses were less

common in Italy or even other cultures. As mention from Russell (1991) proposed that different

languages recognized other emotions differently due to the words in other languages that does

not exist within the English vocabulary. The study for these similarities and differences in

emotions mainly focus on single words.

The article was informative with how different cultures expresses emotions with

facial expression and with words. It mentions that the emotion label from a list with a limit

amount of word expressions had precise equivalence of emotion concepts. This resulted that

participant had been forced to choose an emotion that follow the list to matched the task they

were given, but were unable to make a personal judgment based on their cultural sensitivity.

This response biasness often arises because cross-cultural studies of this nature involve crating

a list of emotion words in English that are then translated into the translated emotion word

culture of being studied (Altarriba, Basnight, & Canary, 2003). The United State has great

influence of other cultures with their form of words. Since English is learned every well;

however, the United states does not reinforce citizens to learn other different languages as does

the Italians or Germans. For that we lack on the task to give more cultural expressions/ words

towards the participant from other cultures.

Emotion representation and perception across cultures 4

References

Altarriba, J., Basnight, D. M., & Canary, T. M. (2003). Emotion Representation and Perception

Across Cultures. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4(1). doi:10.9707/2307-

0919.1033