Emotion Norms in Interpersonal Events

A graphically structured adjective check list was used to assess prescriptive and reactive norms of emotion in 128 social events. Both prescriptive and reactive emotion norms exist for all 128 events. Norms center on a specific emotion in about one-third of the events, and otherwise on a general affective tone. Both prescriptions and reactions occasionally cluster into conflicting norms regarding the expected emotion for an event. Prescriptive norms diverge from reactive norms in almost half of the events, though in only a few events do prescriptions require the opposite of people's emotional reactions. Feeling no emotion occasionally is the norm ; prescribed nonemotionality occurs fairly often for medical relationships, but not in relationships of other institutions based on rational objectivity. Prescriptive norms are the same for a woman and a man, except that a woman is expected to emote more intensely in some interactions. Reactive norms vary by sex, however, in about one-fifth of the events. On the whole, females are disposed to emote with somewhat more displeasure, arousal, and vulnerability than males.