A recent article in the NY Times describes a study of athlete’s gestures of pride and shame. You know what I mean - the upraised arms of triumph, the drooping shoulders of shame. However, the amazing thing is that these athletes were blind from birth, and so, it is not likely that they are merely reflecting cultural norms.

There is great debate amongst emotions researchers regarding the very nature of emotions and the importance of context in assigning labels to emotions. It’s good research, very compelling stuff. But this study is absolutely fascinating and suggests that emotions do have some sort of cross-cultural application and also do communicate important information, and have meaning.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/health/02prid.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=matsumoto&st=cse&oref=slogin  (If this does not work for you, search the NY Times website for the Sep 2 08 Science Times article titled ‘Proud Is Proud, Sighted or Not, Researchers Find’.)