Dynamicity in Emotion Concepts

429 Pages·2012·7.37 MB·English

by  Wilson, Paul A.

Dynamicity in Emotion Concepts
ŁÓDŹ
STudiES iN LANGuAGE
Edited by
Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
Editorial Board
Anthony McEnery (Lancaster university, England)
John Newman (university of Alberta, Canada)
Peter Roach (Reading university, England)
Hans Sauer (Ludwig-Maximilians-universität München, Germany)
Gideon Toury (Tel Aviv university, israel)
Vol. 27
PETER LANG
Frankfurt am Main · Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Warszawa · Wien
Paul A. Wilson (ed.)
Dynamicity
in Emotion Concepts
PETER LANG
internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche
Nationalbibliothek
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ISSN 1437-5281
ISBN 978-3-631-63692-3
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Table of Contents

Paul A. Wilson:
A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Emotion Research .......................................... 7

Theoretical Perspectives on Emotion

Paul A. Wilson and Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk:
The Nature of Emotions ...................................................................................... 13

Rainer Reisenzein and Martin Junge:
Language and Emotion from the Perspective of the Computational
Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion ........................................................................ 37

Eva-Maria Engelen:
Meaning and Emotion ......................................................................................... 61

Larry A. Herzberg:
To Blend or to Compose: a Debate about Emotion Structure............................. 73

Heli Tissari:
Integrating Naming, Claiming and Story-Telling: Towards a Broader
Cognitive Linguistic Understanding of Emotion ................................................ 95

Svend Brinkmann and Peter Musaeus:
Emotions and the Moral Order .......................................................................... 123

Liam C. Kavanagh, Paula M. Niedenthal and Piotr Winkielman:
Embodied Simulation as Grounds for Emotion Concepts ................................ 139

Metaphor and Emotion

Zoltán Kövecses:
Emotion Concepts in Cultural Context: the Case of Happiness ....................... 159

Ayako Omori:
Conventional Metaphors for Antonymous Emotion Concepts ......................... 183

Mohammed S. Al-Hadlaq and Zouheir A. Maalej:
Conceptualization of Anger in Saudi and Tunisian Arabic Dialects ................ 205
6 Table of Contents

Cross-linguistic and Cross-cultural Influences on Emotion

Christie Napa Scollon and William Tov:
Cultural Similarities and Differences in the Conceptualization of Emotion .... 235

Anna Ogarkova, Cristina Soriano and Caroline Lehr:
Naming Feeling: Exploring the Equivalence of Emotion Terms in Five
European Languages ......................................................................................... 253

Mustafa Aksan and Yeşim Aksan:
To Emote a Feeling or to Feel an Emotion: a View from Turkish ................... 285

Cristina Casado-Lumbreras:
The Meaning of Emotions: a Cross-cultural Study of the Spanish, English,
Arabic and Japanese Languages ........................................................................ 305

Agnieszka Mikołajczuk:
A Cross-Linguistic Perspective (Polish versus English) on the Conceptuali-
zation of ‘Zadowolenie’ (Satisfaction / Being Glad, Contentment, Pleasure) .. 333

Bilingual and Second Language Learning Perspectives on Emotion

W. Q. Elaine Perunovic and Mihailo Perunovic:
Language and Emotion: the Case of Bicultural Individuals ............................. 359

C. L. Caldwell-Harris, M. Staroselsky, S. Smashnaya and N. Vasilyeva:
Emotional Resonances of Bilinguals’ Two Languages Vary with Age of
Arrival: the Russian-English Bilingual Experience in the U.S. ........................ 373

New Directions

Paul A. Wilson:
Emotion, Approach-Avoidance Motivation, and Breadth of
Conceptual Scope ............................................................................................. 399

Contributors ....................................................................................................... 415

Index of Terms ................................................................................................. 421
6 Table of Contents

Cross-linguistic and Cross-cultural Influences on Emotion A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Emotion Research

Christie Napa Scollon and William Tov: What is emotion? On the one hand this seems to be a very simple question, as
Cultural Similarities and Differences in the Conceptualization of Emotion .... 235 we all know what it means to feel anger, fear or happiness and react in ways that
typically correspond to these and a multitude of other emotions. However,
Anna Ogarkova, Cristina Soriano and Caroline Lehr: despite the great strides that have been made in our scientific understanding of
Naming Feeling: Exploring the Equivalence of Emotion Terms in Five the various facets pertaining to the processes and structures associated with
European Languages ......................................................................................... 253 emotional experience, a full understanding of the nature of emotion remains
elusive. It is clear that such an understanding requires a multi-disciplinary
Mustafa Aksan and Yeşim Aksan: approach covering a wide range of diverse perspectives. The broad, general aim
To Emote a Feeling or to Feel an Emotion: a View from Turkish ................... 285 of this book is to present such perspectives in an attempt to address some of the
fundamental issues that have both theoretical and applied relevance to current
Cristina Casado-Lumbreras: emotion research in the fields of psychology, philosophy and linguistics,
The Meaning of Emotions: a Cross-cultural Study of the Spanish, English, including the conceptual structure of emotion; the relationship between language
Arabic and Japanese Languages ........................................................................ 305 and emotion; cross-linguistic and cross-cultural influences on emotion; the
relationship between emotion and the philogenetic and ontogenetic development
Agnieszka Mikołajczuk: of language; the role of emotions in the moral order of sociocultural systems;
A Cross-Linguistic Perspective (Polish versus English) on the Conceptuali- embodiment and emotion concepts; emotion and conceptual integration or
zation of ‘Zadowolenie’ (Satisfaction / Being Glad, Contentment, Pleasure) .. 333 blending; emotion and metaphor; emotion and bilingualism; and emotion and
second language learning. The volume includes eighteen chapters that have been
Bilingual and Second Language Learning Perspectives on Emotion arranged into the following five thematic sections: “Theoretical Perspectives on
Emotion”, “Metaphor and Emotion”, “Cross-linguistic and Cross-cultural
W. Q. Elaine Perunovic and Mihailo Perunovic: Influences on Emotion”, “Bilingual and Second Language Learning
Language and Emotion: the Case of Bicultural Individuals ............................. 359 Perspectives on Emotion”, and “New Directions”. However, it is important to
bear in mind that for some of the chapters such demarcation is somewhat
C. L. Caldwell-Harris, M. Staroselsky, S. Smashnaya and N. Vasilyeva: misleading as it fails to acknowledge the diverse content that encompasses a
Emotional Resonances of Bilinguals’ Two Languages Vary with Age of number of multi-disciplinary perspectives. In such cases it was the main
Arrival: the Russian-English Bilingual Experience in the U.S. ........................ 373 overriding topic that dictated inclusion in a certain section.
The first chapter in the theoretical section by Wilson and Lewandowska-
New Directions Tomaszczyk offers a broad overview of a number of issues that are central to
some of the most important areas of contemporary emotion research. It
Paul A. Wilson: comprises content that pertains to many of the issues that are addressed by other
Emotion, Approach-Avoidance Motivation, and Breadth of chapters in the volume and in this sense serves as an introductory chapter. In the
Conceptual Scope ............................................................................................. 399 next chapter, Reisenzein and Junge assess the relationship between language and
emotion on the basis of CBDTE, a computational (C) explication of the belief-
Contributors ....................................................................................................... 415 desire theory of emotion (BDTE). Engelen addresses two issues pertaining to
meaning and emotion: how a child learns emotion words and how these are
Index of Terms ................................................................................................. 421 shaped over time into mature emotion concepts; and the personal significance of
emotions. Herzberg assesses whether the affective aspect of an object combines
with the object-identifying aspect (i.e., what the emotion is about or directed
towards) as “blenderists” claim, or if these two components, as
“componentialists” posit, are separable. Tissari applies the theories of mental
8 Paul A. Wilson

spaces and conceptual integration or blending (Fauconnier and Turner, 2002) to
the events, bodily and mental states, and actions of the main character
Moomintroll in the novel Mooominland Midwinter to illustrate the coherence in
people’s linguistic understanding of emotions. Brinkmann and Musaeus argue
for the importance of moral emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, sympathy, and
empathy), which become orientation guides in our local, moral worlds. In the
final chapter of the section, Kavanagh, Niedenthal and Winkielman provide a
comprehensive review of the evidence supporting an embodied simulation
account of emotion concepts.
In the first chapter of the metaphor and emotion section, Kövecses
demonstrates how the concept of happiness is shaped by different historical and
cultural contexts (“happiness as an immediate response”; “happiness as a value”;
happiness in the United States Declaration of Independence; and happiness in
the New Testament). Omori analyses the properties of antonymous emotion
concepts on the basis of metaphors retrieved from the British National Corpus.
The section closes with an analysis by Al-Hadlaq and Maalej of instances of
physiological and cultural embodiment in Saudi Arabic and Tunisian Arabic
expressions of anger.
The cross-linguistic and cross-cultural section opens with a comprehensive
review by Scollon and Tov of research revealing a wide range of cross-cultural
effects on emotion. Ogarkova, Soriano, and Lehr report on a situation-labelling
task that investigated how people of different linguistic and cultural
backgrounds (English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian) label different
emotional experiences pertaining to four emotion categories (anger, shame,
guilt, and pride). Aksan and Aksan investigate the extent to which Turkish
distinguishes between feeling (his) and emotion (duygu). Casado-Lumbreras
assesses the correspondence between the emotional experiences associated with
the Spanish concept emocionado and equivalents in English, Arabic and
Japanese. In the last chapter of the section, Mikołajczuk provides an analysis of
Polish zadowolenie and possible equivalents in English.
The bilingual and language learning section includes two papers. The first
contribution, by Perunovic and Perunovic, provides a comprehensive review of
the flexibility demonstrated by bilingual individuals as they switch their
emotional functioning between their respective languages and cultures. In the
second paper, Caldwell-Harris, Staroselsky, Smashnaya and Vasilyeva
investigate the effect of Age of Arrival (AoAr) on the perceived emotionality of
English (L2) in Russian immigrants in the United States.
In the final chapter I develop a further assessment of the issue that I raise in
Wilson and Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (this volume) regarding the relative
influence of emotion and approach-avoidance motivation on the strengthening
of associations between distant concepts.
8 Paul A. Wilson A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Emotion Research 9

spaces and conceptual integration or blending (Fauconnier and Turner, 2002) to By offering a multidisciplinary perspective we hope that the reader will
the events, bodily and mental states, and actions of the main character gain some measure of the complexity of the issues confronting contemporary
Moomintroll in the novel Mooominland Midwinter to illustrate the coherence in researchers in the field. In fact, the diverse range of disciplines represented in
people’s linguistic understanding of emotions. Brinkmann and Musaeus argue the book reflects the complex nature of emotions. It is precisely such diversity
for the importance of moral emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, sympathy, and that needs to embraced if a full understanding is ever to be achieved. We hope
empathy), which become orientation guides in our local, moral worlds. In the that our book will both provide an in-depth appreciation of how the various
final chapter of the section, Kavanagh, Niedenthal and Winkielman provide a issues that are addressed cohere and interact, and stimulate an interdisciplinary
comprehensive review of the evidence supporting an embodied simulation exchange of thoughts, ideas, and methodologies. However, we do not claim that
account of emotion concepts. our coverage is exhaustive - notable omissions include neurophysiology, and
In the first chapter of the metaphor and emotion section, Kövecses cognition and emotion (including perception, attention, memory, and
demonstrates how the concept of happiness is shaped by different historical and categorisation). Nevertheless, we ultimately hope that the reader will gain a
cultural contexts (“happiness as an immediate response”; “happiness as a value”; greater understanding of emotions and how we conceptualise them.
happiness in the United States Declaration of Independence; and happiness in
the New Testament). Omori analyses the properties of antonymous emotion Paul A. Wilson
concepts on the basis of metaphors retrieved from the British National Corpus. University of Łódź
The section closes with an analysis by Al-Hadlaq and Maalej of instances of
physiological and cultural embodiment in Saudi Arabic and Tunisian Arabic
expressions of anger. References
The cross-linguistic and cross-cultural section opens with a comprehensive
Fauconnier, G. and M. Turner (2002). The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the
review by Scollon and Tov of research revealing a wide range of cross-cultural
Mind's Hidden Complexities. New York: Basic Books.
effects on emotion. Ogarkova, Soriano, and Lehr report on a situation-labelling

task that investigated how people of different linguistic and cultural
backgrounds (English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian) label different
emotional experiences pertaining to four emotion categories (anger, shame,
guilt, and pride). Aksan and Aksan investigate the extent to which Turkish
distinguishes between feeling (his) and emotion (duygu). Casado-Lumbreras
assesses the correspondence between the emotional experiences associated with
the Spanish concept emocionado and equivalents in English, Arabic and
Japanese. In the last chapter of the section, Mikołajczuk provides an analysis of
Polish zadowolenie and possible equivalents in English.
The bilingual and language learning section includes two papers. The first
contribution, by Perunovic and Perunovic, provides a comprehensive review of
the flexibility demonstrated by bilingual individuals as they switch their
emotional functioning between their respective languages and cultures. In the
second paper, Caldwell-Harris, Staroselsky, Smashnaya and Vasilyeva
investigate the effect of Age of Arrival (AoAr) on the perceived emotionality of
English (L2) in Russian immigrants in the United States.
In the final chapter I develop a further assessment of the issue that I raise in
Wilson and Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (this volume) regarding the relative
influence of emotion and approach-avoidance motivation on the strengthening
of associations between distant concepts.