Cultural Understanding Of Emotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cultural Understanding Of Emotion - Essay Example Campos and Barrett (1984:233) have described emotion as â€Å"regulators and determinants of both intra-personal and interpersonal behaviors.† The construction of emotion in the West is based upon the principle of the autonomy of the individual, therefore individual differences are praised and supported in the societies of America and Western Europe. However, as opposed to this, Asian societies place a greater value upon interconnectedness, therefore values such as self sacrifice for the benefit of others and the maintenance of social harmony are seen to be important in a collective society. As opposed to individual goals, it is collective goals that are deemed more important in Asian societies. This also impacts upon the emotional expressions in these respective societies. While western societies favor a more open display of emotions, in Asian countries, the display of emotions such as anger and love are more covert. While the focus on self may make individuals in Western nat ions less sensitive to the needs of others, in Asian societies, the display of individual emotions that could cause pain or hurt to others may be frowned upon. Cultural Theories: Lively and Powall (2006) have carried out an examination of the strategies that individuals use to express emotion. They have focused in particular upon anger and how it is used as a means to express emotion.