TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotion Norms, Display Rules, and Regulation in the Akan Society of Ghana
T2 - An Exploration Using Proverbs
AU - Dzokoto, Vivian A.
AU - Osei-Tutu, Annabella
AU - Kyei, Jane J.
AU - Twum-Asante, Maxwell
AU - Attah, Dzifa A.
AU - Ahorsu, Daniel K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2018 Dzokoto, Osei-Tutu, Kyei, Twum-Asante, Attah and Ahorsu.
PY - 2018/10/31
Y1 - 2018/10/31
N2 - Proverbs are widely used by the Akan of West Africa. The current study thematically analyzed an Akan proverb compendium for proverbs containing emotion references. Of the identified proverbs, a focus on negative emotions was most typical. Emotion-focused proverbs highlighted four emotion regulation strategies: change in cognition, response modulation, situation modification, and situation selection. A subset of proverbs addressed emotion display rules restricting the expression of emotions such as pride, and emotional contagion associated with emotions such as shame. Additional themes including: social context influences on the expression and experience of emotion; expectations of emotion limits; as well as the nature of emotions were present in the proverb collection. In general, Akan emotion-related proverbs stress individual-level responsibility for affect regulation in interpersonal interactions and societal contexts.
AB - Proverbs are widely used by the Akan of West Africa. The current study thematically analyzed an Akan proverb compendium for proverbs containing emotion references. Of the identified proverbs, a focus on negative emotions was most typical. Emotion-focused proverbs highlighted four emotion regulation strategies: change in cognition, response modulation, situation modification, and situation selection. A subset of proverbs addressed emotion display rules restricting the expression of emotions such as pride, and emotional contagion associated with emotions such as shame. Additional themes including: social context influences on the expression and experience of emotion; expectations of emotion limits; as well as the nature of emotions were present in the proverb collection. In general, Akan emotion-related proverbs stress individual-level responsibility for affect regulation in interpersonal interactions and societal contexts.
KW - Africa
KW - culture
KW - emotion
KW - emotion display rules
KW - emotion regulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064531066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01916
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01916
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064531066
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
M1 - 1916
ER -