Social and Cultural Construction of Emotions

This course will introduce theory and research on emotions, with a focus on the social and cultural underpinnings of mental processes that guide emotion appraisal, regulation and expression. We will draw on research in social, and cognitive psychology, as well as social and affective neuroscience and philosophy. Students in this class will be directly exposed to major theoretical debates and empirical developments in the emotion research. Discussion will range across multiple levels of analysis, from neuro-cognitive and physiological to the social and the cultural. Students will learn about the general aspects of emotions as well as the role of specific emotions such as anger, guilt, shame, humiliation, disgust and schadenfreude in social relations.