Emotion in context: Constructions of anger and shame in four cultures

Theories of emotion have typically focused on nonsocial and short-lived situations such as physical threats. Yet most of our emotions occur in the context of ongoing interactions with others. The proposed research takes a social approach to emotion, by studying emotions as dynamic processes between people. Our central aim is to show that cultural differences in emotional interactions are not random, but can be understood from the way they help people achieve the relationship ideals of their culture. For example, interactions marked by angry exchanges may be helpful for achieving the U.S. ideal of autonomy but harmful for the Japanese ideal of relatedness. Consequently, our first hypothesis is that, in each culture, emotional interactions frequently give rise to and amplify those emotions that may be helpful for achieving the cultural relationship ideals, while avoiding and dampening those emotions that are harmful. Our second hypothesis is that differences in emotional interactions are culturally functional because they allow partners to realize the respective relationship ideals, and thus improve both individual wellbeing and the quality of relationships. We will address these hypotheses in three studies with romantic couples from the U.S., Japan, and Belgium. The studies will focus on conflict situations and will map emotional interactions (1) by asking partners about how they think conflict typically unfolds and (2) by observing couples' discussions of conflict in the lab.