2/8/22; Week 6: "Differences in Emotional Expressivity"

Differences in Emotional Expressivity

When we talk about emotional expressivity we can quote the following: "Emotional expressiveness can be defined as individual ability to communicate emotional states through nonverbal movements and gestures, including through the face" (Friedman et al. 1980a; R. E. Riggio 1986). 

As humans, we all have the same emotions, and studies have showed that in private we all express our emotions in a similar way. But in public, we're very dissimilar in the way we express our emotions. That is the reason why emotional expressivity is one of the things that is more easily misunderstood in cross-cultural differences. 

We are influenced by our traditions and how we were raised. No matter where we are, we are going to find different reactions to the same situation. I liked the scale of "low tolerant expressivity" "middle tolerant expressivity" and "high tolerant expressivity". The most impressive thing for me is that some cultures could be slightly closer to the middle, to the high, to the low. 

In a TESOL class, we must be aware of these differences and be able to handle them correctly. I want to be sure that my students are getting the right messages and how they are interpreting them. A classroom must engage each student to feel confident too.