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Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing
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Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 10670

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alexandra S. Dylman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: bilingualism; decision making; bilingual emotion processing; speech production; reading and orthography; language and culture
Dr. Mariko Kikutani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Liberal Arts and Science, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
Interests: face recognition; emotion processing; cross-cultural psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions for a Special Issue in Languages on “Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing”.

Studies have found intricate interactions between how language, culture, and emotion affect one another in various areas of research, ranging from cultural factors affecting how we infer and recognize emotions (e.g., Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002; Gendron et al., 2018) to findings of reduced emotional reactivity in a native language compared with a foreign language (e.g., Caldwell-Harris, 2014). For example, studies on the so-called foreign language effect (typically observed as differences between a first-language and second- or foreign-language context) have highlighted the effect of language on various emotionally relevant situations involving judgment and decision making (e.g., Keysar et al., 2012) and moral dilemmas (e.g., Costa et al., 2014). However, more recent studies have indicated that additional, social, and cultural factors are also at play and may affect findings. Furthermore, these studies have typically investigated a specific (and narrow) population, and little is therefore known on these effects in various other populations, such as heritage speakers, remote cultures, L3 speakers, immersed speakers, and so forth. Thus, much remains unknown on how precisely these factors affect one another. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to bring together research investigating the interactions between language, culture, and emotion.

We encourage contributions from various research traditions and methodologies including psychology, linguistics, sociology, biology, anthropology, education, and so on.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) or to the Languages editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

The tentative completion schedule is as follows:

  • Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2021
  • Notification of abstract acceptance: 30 June 2021
  • Full manuscript deadline: 31 October 2021

References

Caldwell-Harris, C. (2014). Emotionality differences between a native and foreign language: Theoretical implications. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01055

Costa, A., Foucart, A., Hayakawa, S., Aparici, M., Apesteguia, J., Heafner, J., Keysar, B., & Sigman, M. (2014). “Your Morals Depend on Language.” PloS One, 9: e94842. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094842.

Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002). On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 203-235.  http://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.128.2.203

Gendron, M., Crivelli, C., & Barrett, L. F. (2018). Universality reconsidered: Diversity in making meaning of facial expressions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27, 211-219.  http://doi.org/10.117/0963721417746794

Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L., & An, S. G. (2012). The foreign- language effect: Thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases. Psychological Science, 23, 661-668.     http://doi.org/10. 1177/0956797611432178

Dr. Alexandra S. Dylman
Dr. Mariko Kikutani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • emotion
  • cross-culture
  • bilingualism
  • multilingualism
  • foreign language effect
  • decision making
  • heritage speakers

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2433 KiB  
Article
What Heritage Bilinguals Tell Us about the Language of Emotion
by Nicole A. Vargas Fuentes, Judith F. Kroll and Julio Torres
Languages 2022, 7(2), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020144 - 6 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2878
Abstract
Variation in the language experience of bilinguals has consequences for cognitive and affective processes. In the current study, we examined how bilingual experience influences the relationship between language and emotion in English among a group of Spanish–English heritage bilinguals on an emotion–memory task. [...] Read more.
Variation in the language experience of bilinguals has consequences for cognitive and affective processes. In the current study, we examined how bilingual experience influences the relationship between language and emotion in English among a group of Spanish–English heritage bilinguals on an emotion–memory task. Participants rated the emotionality of English taboo, negative and neutral words and then completed an unexpected recognition test. To account for language experience, data were gathered on the participants’ language dominance and proficiency. Results showed emotion–memory effects in the Spanish–English heritage bilinguals’ English (the societal language): taboo words were recognized significantly better than neutral words, while the emotionality of negative words carried over and significantly affected the recognition of preceding neutral words. Furthermore, such effects were modulated by language dominance scores with more pronounced emotion–memory effects in more English-dominant bilinguals. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence showing that emotions are not necessarily restricted to the first acquired home language. Critically, for heritage speakers, there is often a shift in language dominance from the home language to the societal language. The present study demonstrates that the effects of emotion on memory are seen in the acquired societal language. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing)
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14 pages, 1238 KiB  
Article
Affective Distancing Associated with Second Language Use Influences Response to Health Information
by Renato F. L. Azevedo, Bidisha Roy, Kiel Christianson, Yanhong Zhong and Daniel G. Morrow
Languages 2022, 7(2), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020120 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2355
Abstract
Health care delivery depends on effective provider–patient communication. An important issue is whether and how this communication differs for second language (SL) patients. While understanding health information can be impaired by limited English proficiency, we examined a potential benefit of SL use. SL [...] Read more.
Health care delivery depends on effective provider–patient communication. An important issue is whether and how this communication differs for second language (SL) patients. While understanding health information can be impaired by limited English proficiency, we examined a potential benefit of SL use. SL users may be “affectively distanced”, with weaker emotional reactions to content presented in a foreign versus native language (NL). This distancing may have important implications for understanding, and for making decisions and judgements about health information to the extent these processes involve affective responses. For example, patients may respond to diagnostic test results indicating risk of illness with less intense negative affect if the information is presented in their SL. Language differences in affective response may in turn attenuate risk perception for SL versus NL users, with perceived risk being lower while the objective risk associated with test results increases, as predicted by the ‘risk as feelings’ view of risk perception, where perceived risk is based on affective response to the information. On the other hand, risk perception may be more calibrated with objective risk for SL users to the extent that affective distancing encourages SL users to rely on deliberative rather than affective-based, intuitive processes related to risk perception. SL use may also influence attitudes toward and intentions to perform behaviors that address risk because these processes are driven in part by risk perception and memory for the risk information. These processes may also depend on numeracy, defined as the ability to make sense of and rationalize numbers, because it influences risk perception. We tested these predictions in the context of a simulated Electronic Health Record (EHR) patient portal, in which participants were presented diagnostic test results in English from fictional patients. Native English speakers (n = 25), and native Mandarin speakers with higher numeracy (n = 25) and lower numeracy (n = 28) participated in the study. Consistent with the ‘affective distancing’ effect, SL participants with either higher or lower numeracy demonstrated a flatter slope for positive and negative affective responses to the test results compared to NL participants. Moreover, SL participants reported greater perceived risk than NL participants did as objective risk rose. A similar pattern occurred for attitudes toward and intentions to perform behaviors that addressed this risk, especially for treatment health behaviors. On the other hand, language did not influence memory for risk-related information. Our findings extend the affective distancing effect associated with SL use to the health domain and show that this effect influences risk perception and behavioral intentions beyond memory recall and numeracy skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing)
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14 pages, 908 KiB  
Article
Perception of Hidden Confidence in Neutral Expressions: Interactions of Facial Attractiveness, Self-Esteem, and Names to Be Addressed by
by Ritsuko Azami, Mariko Kikutani and Hideya Kitamura
Languages 2022, 7(2), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020088 - 6 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4040
Abstract
Even when a person is portraying a neutral expression, their internal feelings can be reflected subtly on their face, and observers can perceive them. A previous study took facial photographs of female models while wearing attractive and unattractive clothing. Although the models displayed [...] Read more.
Even when a person is portraying a neutral expression, their internal feelings can be reflected subtly on their face, and observers can perceive them. A previous study took facial photographs of female models while wearing attractive and unattractive clothing. Although the models displayed neutral expressions for both cases, their faces while wearing attractive clothing were perceived as more attractive because, it was argued, the attractive clothing raised their confidence, which was observable on the neutral faces. The present study aimed to replicate this. Envisaging being addressed by a specific name (given name, nickname, and formal title) are used to alter the models’ internal states instead of clothing. Twenty-one Japanese models took three photographs of their faces while imagining (1) being addressed by names they like, (2) being addressed by names they dislike, and (3) being addressed by their surnames with titles. A number of Japanese observers viewed three images of the same model at once and ordered them according to their attractiveness (Study 1) and confidence (Study 2). The images in condition (1) were perceived as more attractive/confident than other images. This suggests that being addressed by the name we like can raise our confidence momentarily, and it reflects subtly in neutral expressions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Language and Culture on Emotion Processing)
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