Anger and Rank in Tonga and Germany: Cognition, Emotion, and Context

Abstract

People in Tonga generally display less anger than inhabitants of "Western" countries. This emerges partly from the fact that in Tongan culture, socially disruptive feelings are evaluated negatively. To examine whether anger is also less frequently elicited in Tonga and, if so, which factors mediate such a difference, our interdisciplinary project combines anthropological fieldwork with a psychological survey using questionnaires. Following appraisal theories of emotion, we assume that similar evaluations of an event will result in similar emotions, whereas the evaluation itself will depend on culturally defined concepts, experiences, and values. After establishing a conceptual foundation for comparison, we systematically analyze the elicitation of anger. Results support most appraisal theoretic predictions but also indicate a stronger influence of social relations on anger in Tonga than in Germany. This influence can be traced back to the values and norms attached to stratification in Tonga.

Emocija besa - univerzalna ili kulturno specifična?

“…On je oblik davanja povratne informacije drugom, koji nas je razbesneo i služi kao efikasna strategija za promenu ponašanja druge osobe (Bender, 2007.). Takođe, ispoljiti bes prema ljudima koje znamo i volimo kod Ameriknaca je sasvim prihvatljivo (Markus i Kitayama, 1991.; prema Oatley et al, 2006.)…”

“…Na primer, Nemci pokazivanje besa ne vide kao sra-S o c i o l o g i j a i p r o s t o r mno i smatraju da može biti neophodno u nekim situacijama da bi se ostvario cilj. On je oblik davanja povratne informacije drugom, koji nas je razbesneo i služi kao efikasna strategija za promenu ponašanja druge osobe (Bender, 2007. Matsumoto i Ekman, 1989.) u veoma citiranoj studiji u kojoj je našao da ove dve grupe imaju isti izraz lica kada gledaju emocionalni film sami, ali Japanci pokazuju više pozitivnih i manje negativnih izraza kada je eksperimentator prisutan.…”

“…U ovim kulturama realna agresija je ograničena na retke okolnosti, a hostilnost se eventualno ispoljava u malim delima, kao što su tračarenje, hladnoća ili povlačenje (prema Mesquita i Frijda, 1992.). I za pleme Tongan, bes je emocija koja remeti društvene odnose i ocenjuje se kao negativna i socijalno neodobrena (Bender, 2007.). Ilongot ljudi sa Filipina imaju veliki strah od toga da emotivni potencijal može da dovede do prekida društvenih odnosa, te odmah otklanjaju jake emocije kako bi se obezbedili prijateljski odnosi.…”

Dimensions of Filipino Negative Social Emotions

“…The debate is largely about whether emotions have a physiological base that will allow cross-language and cross-cultural comparisons or whether emotions are entirely socially constructed. Psychologists, who argue that emotions serve a biological function and are therefore evolutionary inherited, tend to favor the first position (Bender et al 2007). Bender et al (2007) also contend that those who take this position argue that there are universally identifiable emotional expressions and are interested in determining the links that appears between action and physiological changes when a person is confronted with a specific event.…”

“…Psychologists, who argue that emotions serve a biological function and are therefore evolutionary inherited, tend to favor the first position (Bender et al 2007). Bender et al (2007) also contend that those who take this position argue that there are universally identifiable emotional expressions and are interested in determining the links that appears between action and physiological changes when a person is confronted with a specific event. Also, the social constructionist approach fails to explain how actors define situations before emotions are experienced.…”