Previous studies reported cultural differences in neural activation for a variety
of cognitive functions including picture encoding, voting behavior, empathy, and
self-representation. Broad consensus exists that culture also asserts a significant
impact on the neural correlates of face processing, particularly regarding activation
of the amygdala, mostly reporting stronger or sustained activation to out-group
faces…
Mounting evidence indicates that humans have significant difficulties in
understanding emotional expressions from individuals of different ethnic
backgrounds, leading to reduced recognition accuracy and stronger amygdala
activation. However, the impact of gender on the behavioral and neural reactions
during the initial phase of cultural assimilation has not been addressed. Therefore,
we investigated 24 Asians students (12 females) and 24 age-matched European
students (12 females) during an explicit emotion recognition task, using Caucasian
facial expressions only, on a high-field MRI scanner.
Analysis of functional data revealed bilateral amygdala activation to emotional
expressions in Asian and European subjects. However, in the Asian sample, a
stronger response of the amygdala emerged and was paralleled by reduced
recognition accuracy, particularly for angry male faces. Moreover, no significant
gender difference emerged. We also observed a significant inverse correlation
between duration of stay and amygdala activation.
In concordance with previous results from our lab on male immigrants and our
hypothesis, bilateral amygdala activation in both samples was observed, confirming
the role of the amygdala as a ‘relevance detector’. The amygdala seems to be
fundamental in emotion processing as a part of the underlying neural network
although gender, socialization and cultural background seem to exert a certain
impact on its activation.
Taken together, this study demonstrates the first attempt to analyze the impact of
gender and culture on amygdala activation during emotion recognition. While we
observed no gender difference, culture and gender of poser asserted significant
effects on the behavioral and neural correlates of this emotional capacity, thereby
extending our knowledge on the bases of emotion recognition differences between
participants with divergent cultural backgrounds.
Culture but not gender modulates amygdala activation during explicit emotion
recognition. Adapted from Birgit Derntl et al. (2012).
Which of the following statements are most likely to be true regarding the role
of emotions in self-presentation?
A) Emotions are less likely to be expressed in the backstage setting of the
dramaturgical approach to self-presentation
B) Impression management is mostly about managing others’ emotional
reactions to deviant behavior
C) Collectivist cultures prioritize the expression of individual emotions over the
success of the group
D) The difficulties of self-presentation when experiencing role strain is often
accompanied by significant emotional turmoil
Correct answer is D
Self-presentation refers to the way in which people present themselves to others
and to the world, and sometimes go to extreme lengths to control the way that
others perceive, judge, and interpret their behaviors and identities.
Role strain refers to the phenomenon in which an individual simultaneously holds
multiple roles (e.g., father, husband, employee, boss, brother, etc.) that have
conflicting expectations, are difficult to execute at the same time, or even may
oppose one another. For example, someone trying to be a good employee may
feel the need to work very late into the night, even though he is also trying to be a
good father and wants to prioritize spending time with his children after work. Due
to the strain between roles, and the dissonance posed by trying to fulfill multiple
roles simultaneously, many individuals experience emotional turmoil when trying to
determine how to best present themselves as effective in all the various roles they
play. For this reason, Answer D is correct.
.svg)
