5/28/19, W06 'Differences in Emotional Expressivity'

Brother Ivers explained well the principle of emotional expressiveness, the differences in emotional expressivity between cultures, and how those differences can be easily misunderstood (https://video.byui.edu/media/05+Differences+in+Emotional+Expressivity/0_753le546).
The studies on the tolerance range for showing emotion in public was so interesting. My ancestry is Norwegian and English which explains a lot about the lack of emotional expressivity I witnessed in our family and extended family growing up. The English side of our family always seemed proper. They had immigrated from the Guernsey and Jersey British Isles; part of the Channel Islands, over to Canada and then south to Washington, USA. I can understand how this culture could be misinterpreted as boring or somewhat dull. And although my Norwegian grandmother whose family had immigrated to Minnesota and then to Washington State was very loving to us, I realize now why she didn’t show emotion in public. And then adding to our family’s already low tolerance of expressivity, my mom converted to the Church of Jesus Christ when I was very young. I agree that the tolerances for expressivity can be passed down from generation to generation especially if family stays in the same area.

As we celebrated Memorial Day in the USA today and our family attended a parade in our small town, I witnessed other cultures within the larger American culture. It’s tradition to have the decorated Veterans ride their motorcycles down the street and have the JROTC program in uniform from the local high school march in the parade every year. This year I noticed that these two cultures have a no tolerance expressivity. They displayed no emotion and appeared very serious as they marched and rode by. Can we misinterpret the Veterans as a dangerous group on their loud motorcycles traveling in groups, and appearing threatening in their bike attire, beards and long hair? I believe so. But, when we understand even part of what they’ve been through in the defense of the country they love, why would we interpret them as anything but strong, loyal, committed and disciplined?    

As I listened to Brother Ivers speak about our LDS culture and the accepted way of speaking in Sacrament Meeting, I thought to myself, as the Church continues to become worldwide, what kind of differences in emotional expressivity will we see, and will we accept these different cultural paradigms? I know that the sweet sister in our ward from Fiji greets every sister with a hug, gifts special necklaces to stake and ward leaders for conference and greets the audience with an ‘aloha’ to begin a talk or testimony. Could we misinterpret her public showing of emotion? I suppose so. But why not choose to embrace our differences as we enjoy the many cultures of the world and what they add to our lives? I love the study of cultures because it helps me understand why people say and do what they do. I hope that I can take this learning about emotional expressiveness into my teaching to eliminate misunderstandings of my ELLs.