A multidisciplinary approach to research in small-scale societies: Studying emotions and facial expressions in the field

25Citations
Citations of this article
45Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Although cognitive science was multidisciplinary from the start, an under-emphasis on anthropology has left the field with limited research in small scale, indigenous societies. Neglecting the anthropological perspective is risky, given that once-canonical cognitive science findings have often been shown to be artifacts of enculturation rather than cognitive universals. This imbalance has become more problematic as the increased use of Western theory-driven approaches, many of which assume human uniformity ("universality"), confronts the absence of a robust descriptive base that might provide clarifying or even contrary evidence. We highlight the need for remedies to such shortcomings by suggesting a two-fold methodological shift. First, studies conducted in indigenous societies can benefit by relying on multidisciplinary research groups to diminish ethnocentrism and enhance the quality of the data. Second, studies devised for Western societies can readily be adapted to the changing settings encountered in the field. Here, we provide examples, drawn from the areas of emotion and facial expressions, to illustrate potential solutions to recurrent problems in enhancing the quality of data collection, hypothesis testing, and the interpretation of results.

References Powered by Scopus

The weirdest people in the world?

8447Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Constants across cultures in the face and emotion

3823Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Network analysis in the social sciences

2999Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Emotional Expressions Reconsidered: Challenges to Inferring Emotion From Human Facial Movements

1018Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Facial Displays Are Tools for Social Influence

213Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Universality Reconsidered: Diversity in Making Meaning of Facial Expressions

123Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Crivelli, C., Jarillo, S., & Fridlund, A. J. (2016). A multidisciplinary approach to research in small-scale societies: Studying emotions and facial expressions in the field. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(JUL). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01073

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 15

50%

Researcher 7

23%

Professor / Associate Prof. 4

13%

Lecturer / Post doc 4

13%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Psychology 12

48%

Social Sciences 6

24%

Arts and Humanities 4

16%

Neuroscience 3

12%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Mentions
News Mentions: 2
Social Media
Shares, Likes & Comments: 4

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free