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What is an Emotion?
There is no universally
accepted definition of
emotion, but rather many
debates concerning
the concept.
Different Perspectives
According to the Social Constructivist View:
Emotions are subjective, socially invented (or constructed) experiences. Emotions vary between cultures, groups, and individuals. As fluid concepts, there are no biologically determined or culturally universal emotions, although emotions may be expressed and shared. Emotions can also be strongly experienced and even "embodied," such that they become "overlearned cognitive habits" capable of triggering physiological changes.
(See: William James, Catherine Lutz, Ortony & Turner)
According to Basic Emotion Theory:
Emotions are empirically observable biological phenomena. They are adaptive, and evolved in response to environmental cues. An emotion involves distinct biological changes (heart rate and hormonal shifts, muscle contractions) in the organism; these changes coordinate cognitive and physiological responses to stimuli. There are a number of "basic emotions," which are common across human cultures.
(See: Paul Ekman, Carroll Izard)
Sample Research Questions
The Basics
How does a particular society conceptualize "emotions"? ◆ Which emotions does the society recognize and focus on (hypercognize)? ◆ Which emotions are hypocognized (ignored or under-conceptualized) by the society? ◆ How does the society categorize emotions? ◆ How are different emotions communicated through words, images, gestures, and behaviors?
Developing an Understanding
What is the social importance of emotions in society? ◆ How are emotional regimes produced? ◆ Who participates in emotional socialization (producing and teaching others emotional norms)? ◆ How are emotions performed? ◆ How are emotional norms enforced, negotiated, and contested? ◆ What happens when an emotional norm is violated? ◆ How does the type of historical source and the intended audience influence which emotions are expressed, and which emotions are suppressed? ◆ What are the display rules for different emotions?
Diving Deeper
How have concepts of emotion changed through time? ◆ How do individuals attach and detach emotions to and from ideas, objects, people, and historical events? ◆ How are emotions mapped onto landscapes? ◆ Why are certain emotions gendered, and how do emotional norms vary according to role? ◆ How are emotions used in power relations and claims-making? ◆ How do cultures exchange ideas about emotional norms? ◆ Which emotions are similar between cultures; are there any culturally specific emotions? ◆ What emotional subcultures exist, and why are certain affects used as a form of distinction? ◆ How do groups understand the emotions of "others"?
"Words shape the emotions of those who lived in the past, marking the limits of the possible and the recognized.
Likewise, our own vocabularies limit how we in the present understand the emotions of other eras. . . . [H]istorians must take care when they study the words of earlier generations, and resist imposing modern meanings and connotations on to cultures of the past."
Susan J. Matt, "Recovering the Invisible:
Methods for the Historical Study of the Emotions"
"[E]motional communities: groups in which people adhere to the same norms of emotional expression, and value—or devalue—the same or related emotions.
More than one emotional community may exist—indeed normally does exist—contemporaneously, and these communities may change over time."
Barbara H. Rosenwein, Emotional Communities in the Early Middle Ages