Are Positive Emotions Just as “Positive” Across Cultures Essay Sample free essay sample

This research was conducted with the premise that the positive emotions may be more protective factor in the mental wellness of European Americans than they are in Asians. The research workers investigated the correlativity between positive emotions and depression symptom frequence and between negative emotions and depression symptom frequence. They besides compared United States ( US ) -born Asiatic American participants with European Americans and nonnative immigrant Asians to happen about the function of socialization and to show cultural differences in the function of positive emotions in depression. In respects to the methods of the survey. the research workers selected 633 college pupils from a public university in the US. of which 330 were European Americans who were at least 3rd coevals. 156 immigrant Asians who. on norm. came to US at the age of 11 old ages old. and 147 Asiatic Americans who were born in the US to immigrant parents. All of the participants completed an hour- long computing machine study which measured perceived emphasis. emotions. frequence of depression symptoms. and demographics. For independent variables. they used the Perceived Stress Scale and the Positive and Negative Emotions Schedule-X ( PANAS-X ) . For dependent variables. they used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( CES-D ) which measured subclinical depression symptoms. The consequences showed that immigrant Asians and Asiatic Americans reported more frequent depression symptoms than European Americans. While the strength of negative emotion and depression were positively correlated for all groups. the strength of positive emotion and depression symptoms were negatively correlated among European Americans and Asiatic Americans. but non among immigrant Asians. Besides. dialectical relationship between positive and negative emotions was found among immigrant Asians but non Asiatic Americans. Sing the function of civilization. it was found that the interaction between positive emotions and civilization was important. whereas the interaction between negative emotions and civilization was non important. Additionally. no grounds was found that low-arousal positive emotions would foretell depression among Asiatic participants but non among European Americans. The determination supported the initial hypothesis which is that the civilization may chair the function of positive emotions in mental wellness. specifically. that the positive emotions play a protective function for European Americans but non every bit much as for Asians. As an account for this consequence. the research workers wrote that it was â€Å"because of cultural differences in the significance assigned to positive. but non negative. emotions [ and ] while maximising positive emotions possibly a cultural end in Western contexts. emotion moderateness through equilibrating positive emotions with negative 1s may be a cultural end in Asiatic contexts. † ( Leu. Wang. A ; Koo. 2011 ) This research can be utile in that it suggests several waies for future research and it provides clinically important information for mental wellness professionals to see in their appraisal and intercession. With respects to the way for future research. the current survey selected immigrant Asiatic participants who came to US at an mean age of 11 old ages to stand for Asians in Asia. However. it would be hard to generalise that the function of civilization on the positive emotions in the immigrant Asiatic participants’ mental wellness is the same for the Asians in Asia. It is because the environment they are in is really different from that of Asians in Asia. particularly sing the in-migration of the participants occurred at the norm of 11 old ages of age where a certain degree of socialization must hold occurred already by the clip they became grownups. Therefore. the scrutiny of either Asians in Asia or recent Asiatic immigrants who non merely came to US as an grownup but be sides have been in the US for less than a certain figure of old ages and therefore are the least acculturated can break demo the cultural difference in positive emotions between European Americans and Asians in Asia. Next. the research found more frequent study of depression symptoms in Asians and Asiatic Americans than in European Americans. However. the survey did non explicate or look into why there was such a consequence. and whether the influence of civilization in chairing the function of positive emotions indicated that Asians were more vulnerable to depression than European Americans. Although the survey found that low-arousal positive emotion did non predict depression. it did non intend that low-arousal positive emotion was a protective factor for depression as high-arousal positive emotion was for European Americans and Asiatic Americans. As reported by the survey. since there is a cultural demand for balance between positive emotions and negative emotions. look intoing whether the balance between positive and negative emotions would play a protective function to diminish the depression of immigrant Asians would be desirable. Finally. this survey besides has clinical significance for m ental wellness professionals. For case. in measuring depression of immigrant Asians. healers should be careful non to utilize the absence of positive self-pride as a forecaster of depression. Alternatively. they should utilize negative emotions to foretell depression for Asiatic immigrants. while they could utilize both positive and negative emotions for European Americans. In footings of intercession. the findings on dialectical emotions in immigrant Asiatics indicate that healers may assist Asiatic clients to equilibrate negative and positive emotions and concentrate on helping them to prosecute in activities that could arouse low-arousal positive emotions instead than high-arousal positive emotions. Similarly. since the research besides found that Asiatic American kids preferred low-arousal positive emotions. mental wellness professionals should see such penchant in the clinical work with them. Is Expressive Suppression Always Associated with Poorer Psychological Functioning? A Cross-cultural Comparison betwee n European Americans and Hong Kong Chinese The intent of this survey is to look into the influence of civilization in the relationship between suppression and psychological operation by comparing European Americans and East Asians. One of the hypotheses was that there would be negative associations between suppression and psychological operation for European Americans but non for East Asians. Another hypothesis included that there would be no differences between two groups sing the usage of revaluation. The survey sampled 71 European American ( EA ) college pupils at a public university in the northeasterly United States ( US ) who participated in the survey for class recognition and 100 Hong Kong Chinese ( HKC ) college pupils from two universities in Hong Kong who voluntarily participated. 59 % of EA participants and 52 % of HKC participants were female. and the mean age of the EA participants was 19. 22 old ages old and that of HKC was 20. 61 old ages old. For European American participants. those whose parents’ ethnicity was Judaic or Italian were excluded. because their emotional look form was different from other European American ethnicities. Participants completed 30-45 minute online study. For independent variables. the research used expressive suppression and cognitive revaluation subscales of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire ( ERQ ) to mensurate suppression and revaluation. For dependent variables. they used Satisfaction with Life Scale ( SWLS ) to mensurate ps ychological well-being and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( CES-D ) to mensurate psychological hurt. The consequences included that HKC participants used suppression more often than EAs. and. unlike EAs. for HKC. there was neither important correlativity between suppression and down temper nor negative correlativity between suppression and life satisfaction. Furthermore. there were no differences between groups in the usage of revaluation as predicted. These findings were supportive of the initial hypothesis that â€Å"in civilizations in which usage of suppression is more normative ( e. g. . HKC ) . the inclination to stamp down emotions is non associated with inauspicious psychological operation. as it is among civilizations. in which expressiveness is the norm ( e. g. . EA ) . † ( Soto. Perez. Kim. Lee A ; Minnick. 2011 ) For future research. the research workers suggested the survey of Chinese persons who are least or non influenced by Western civilization to analyze whether the form of relationships between suppression and psychological operation differs from that of HK C who are more Westernized. Another way for future research included mensurating values and attitudes toward emotional look to govern them out as go-betweens for the relationship between suppression and psychological operation. In footings of the application of this survey. the findings of this survey can be good to mental wellness professionals who work with recent Asiatic immigrants. For case. during appraisal. if a healer is cognizant of this cultural context. he or she would non be speedy to pathologize the client’s expressive suppression and instantly associates it with depression. On the contrary. the healer would esteem the function of the civilization. admit the cultural difference and patiently help the patients with get bying accomplishments that are culturally appropriate and sensitive to their cultural norms. This could farther lend to the better curative relationship between client and healer. Other part this research can do is the way for future research. For case. the motive for the engagement in the survey of the two groups is different. EAs participated in the survey for class recognition while HKC did voluntarily. The voluntary engagement of HKC in the survey may hold mediated the relationship between suppression and psychological operation as the participants’ degree of suppression may non hold been every bit high as when the participants were required to finish the survey to obtain class recognition. in which instance. some of the participants must hold suppressed their feelings of non desiring to finish the survey. Consequently. the scrut iny of the HKC who are required to finish the survey without the option of volunteering may demo different form of relationship between suppression and psychological operation. Although it was found that there was no positive relationship between suppression and psychological operation among HKC participants. the research workers reported that the HKC showed significantly lower degrees of life satisfaction and higher degrees of down temper than EAs. The research workers stated that the expressive suppression was consistent with traditional Asiatic values and cultural norms. However. despite these values and norms. the probe of the correlativity between suppression and psychological operation by comparing two groups of HKC in which one group is encouraged to utilize look alternatively of suppression. while the control group is encouraged to go on to utilize suppression may show different correlativity between the two variables and therefore supply a important clinical deduction for mental wellness professionals. Last. choosing participants with clinical damage in their psychological operation ( e. g. . clinical depression ) in stead of the participants with normal psychological operation may farther foreground the difference between EAs and HKC in footings of the relationship between suppression and psychological operation. For illustration. harmonizing to the research. HKC participants reported significantly lower degrees of life satisfaction and higher degrees of down temper than EAs. and the probe of the participants who have clinical depression may demo a important correlativity between the two variables in the HKC participants. Mentions Leu. J. . Wang. J. . A ; Koo. K. ( 2011 ) . Are positive emotions merely as â€Å"positive† across civilizations? Emotion. 11 ( 4 ) . 994-999Soto. J. A. . Perez. C. R. . Kim. Y. H. . Lee. E. A. . A ; Minnick. M. ( 2011 ) . Is expressive suppression ever associated with poorer psychological operation? : A cross-cultural comparing between European Americans and Hong Kong Chinese. Emotion. 11 ( 6 ) . 1450-1455