Theories of emotions vary in how much they emphasise the biological as compared to cultural influence on emotions. Some models focus on a set of so-called basic emotions that are shared between all humans and part of our biological heritage. Others argue that emotions in one culture cannot be compared with emotions in another, because they are so fundamentally different. The current project attempts to map similarities and differences of emotions across cultural and linguistic boundaries. We study this by asking people to make judgements about emotional signals, including facial expressions such as smiles and laughs, and vocalizations such as laughter and cries. We also investigate the language that people use to describe feelings in order to provide a semantic analysis of emotion terms in different languages. Additionally we investigate cultural schemas people have for understanding emotions, including what things trigger particular emotions and what consequences specific emotions are thought to have. In our work we try to emphasise positive feelings, such as amusement, relief, and triumph, since these emotions an area often neglected in emotions research.

The Emotions project also takes part in investigating issues of ineffability.

Researchers

• Penelope Brown on Tzeltal
• Mark Dingemanse on Siwu
• Nick Enfield on Lao
• Sebastian Fedden on Mian
• Rik van Gijn on Yurakaré
• Clair Hill on Umpila
• Olivier Le Guen on Yucatec
• Stephen C. Levinson on Yélî Dnye
• Gunter Senft on Kilivila
• Mark Sicoli on Zapotec
• Sylvia Tufvesson on Semai
• Asifa Majid
• Disa Sauter

Contact person

Asifa Majid