An Analysis of Psychophysiological Symbolism and its Influence on Theories of Emotion¹

Abstract

J A M E S R. A V E R I L LNow the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like; I warn you, as I warned you before, those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. St. Paul, Epistle to the Galatians 5 : 19-21. Of points where physiology and psychology touch, the place of one lies at 'emotion'.Sir Charles Sherrington, The Integrative Action of the Nervous System.

Surprise As an Interactional Achievement: Reaction Tokens in Conversation

“…By contrast, interactional approaches, such as social constructionism (Averill 1982;Harré 1986), ethnomethodology (Garfinkel 1967), and discursive psychology (Edwards 1997;Potter 1996), conceptualize emotion as fundamentally social or socially constructed rather than biological, and displays of emotion are viewed as intentional communications rather than as involuntary exusions. From an interactional perspective, "[e]motions are not something which just happen to an individual; rather, they are acts which a person performs" (Averill 1974:182).…”

“…Averill (1974) suggests that we understand emotions as visceral because of centuries of "psychophysiological symbolism," associating emotions with primitive, animal-like parts of the nervous system: the "visceral brain" and the guts. This, in turn, has informed the prevailing discourse of emotion: "[w]e are 'gripped,' 'seized,' and 'torn' by emotion; we act 'uncontrollably'" (p. 152).…”

Reconciling Emotions with Western Personhood

“…Anger expressions are largely described as if they are voluntary and in the service of particular goals: one expresses one's anger in order not to become iU, or in oder to show others how you feel, or in mdcr to improve one's relationship with another person (see also Averill, 1982). The first account claims that anger expression is right because it makes one's views or criticism of another person more explicit.…”

Recent Trends in Theoretical Psychology

“…According to Averill (1974), such a view is primarily based on cultural norms, attitudes and values and can be described by three different, though closely connected features: irrationality, involuntarity and instinctivity. Thgether these three characteristics make up what Averill has called psychophysiological symbolism.…”