Comment: Moving (Further) Beyond Private Experience: On the Radicalization of the Social Approach to Emotions and the Emancipation of Verbal Emotional Expressions

Gerben A Van Kleef

doi:10.1177/1754073921991231

Abstract

Emotions have traditionally been viewed as intrapersonal phenomena. Over the past decades, theory and research have shifted toward a more social perspective that emphasizes the role of emotional expressions in coordinating social interaction. I provide a brief history of this ongoing paradigm shift, which reveals two critical developments. The first concerns a continuing shift in emphasis on the social-communicative rather than individual-level functions and effects of emotions—the radicalization of the social approach to emotion. The second concerns a growing awareness that emotions can be expressed through multiple modalities, including words—the emancipation of verbal emotional expressions. I discuss theoretical challenges and opportunities presented by these developments and consider their implications for understanding emotions as a source of social influence.

Highlights

Emotions have traditionally been viewed as intrapersonal phenomena
Emotions as social information (EASI) theory was introduced to illuminate the mechanisms and contingencies that govern the social effects of emotions
emotions as social information (EASI) theory predicts that the relative prominence of inferential processes in predicting behavioral responses to other people’s emotional expressions increases to the extent that the focal person is more motivated and able to engage in thorough information processing and/or perceives the emotional expressions as appropriate; the relative predictive strength of affective reactions increases to the extent that the focal person is less motivated or able to engage in thorough information processing and/or perceives the emotional expression as inappropriate

Summary

Introduction

Emotions have traditionally been viewed as intrapersonal phenomena. Over the past decades, theory and research have shifted toward a more social perspective that emphasizes the role of emotional expressions in coordinating social interaction. I reflect on what one might call the radicalization of the social approach to emotions and the emancipation of verbal emotional expressions, and I consider theoretical and practical implications of these developments.

Results

Conclusion