Emotion across cultures

Abstract

The word ‘emotion ‘ has been used both for public expressions and for private feelings. The expressive force involves both intentionality (reference to something) and normativity conforming to conventions). We must assume that there is non‐reflective cognition. The other culture for us may even be our own at an earlier historical moment. To study the emotions of others we need both an analysis of emotion oriented language practices and a related classification of emotive displays. These show differing norms. But we must also study episodes of such displays and the stories people tell about them. Different cultures give diffèrent background priorities that appear in the ways emotions are displayed and construed.