emotions
Definition
Emotions refers to dynamic patterns of facial expressions displayed by political leaders during public speeches, characterized by continuous fluctuation, covariation, and temporal sequencing of distinct affective states. Rather than stable traits that switch on and off, emotions continually change, unfold, and influence each other over time, with patterns shaped by the sentiment content of speech segments. Network psychometric analysis reveals a two-dimensional structure in which positive and negative emotions demonstrate distinct patterns of co-occurrence and rate of change, with anger showing greater autonomy from other emotions compared to emotions like happiness. The strategic deployment of these emotional expressions varies significantly based on the level of populist rhetoric employed by speakers, with more populist leaders exhibiting less connected and more autonomous anger expression while showing greater contingency of happiness on other positive emotions.
Sources: Tomašević & Major (2024)
Related Terms
Applications
Emotions and Populism
Populist leaders strategically employ emotions in their public performances with distinct patterns of expression that differ from non-populist leaders. More populist leaders exhibit less connected and more autonomous expression of anger, while happiness becomes more contingent on the expression of other positive emotions, reflecting a strategic use of emotional expression in populist political communication.
Sources: Tomašević & Major (2024)
Emotions and Political Communication
Emotional expressions in political speeches function as non-verbal signals that convey information about segments of speech characterized by positive or negative sentiment. Network psychometric analysis of facial expression recognition data provides insights into how politicians use emotional expressions in relation to speech context and content.
Sources: Tomašević & Major (2024)
