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THE REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION
1 (2001): 209-211
© 2001 National Communication Association

Understanding the Communication of Emotion

Becky L. Omdahl 

Sally Planalp. Communicating Emotion: Social, Moral, and Cultural Processes. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 312 pages. Bibliography and index. $59.95 (cloth);  $22.95 (paper).

In an outstanding review of the research and thought on emotion, Sally Planalp invites readers to ponder the role of emotion in scholarship and everyday life. Weaving together insights and research from a wide array of disciplines, she organizes the book around questions that intrigue both academics and lay persons.

In answering the question: “How Important Is Emotion in Everyday Interaction?” chapter 1 describes emotion as a process with numerous components (eliciting events, appraisal, physiological changes, action tendencies and expression, regulation, and subjective experience). This process influences and is influenced by communication, and depending on your perspective, emotion is valued or rebuked. 

In the second chapter, “How and Why is Emotion Communicated,” Planalp does an exceptional job of effectively summarizing (without rehashing) the widely known literature on cues of emotion (facial, vocal, gestures). She focuses her attention on such issues as changes in expressions over time; differences in the expressiveness of people; and the varying ways in which people recognize and respond to the emotions of others (accurately decoding, understanding, and experiencing contagion, empathy, or sympathy).

One of the reasons emotional expressiveness is deemed informative is that people typically assume that emotions are spontaneous and tell the real story.  In chapter 3, Planalp entertains the debate over whether emotions are spontaneous or strategic. In a fascinating review of research addressing human ability to prevent emotional reactions, manage expression, and strategically adapt emotional messages, a complex picture emerges of when, how, and where emotion can be successfully managed. 

Chapter 4 addresses the role of emotional communication in health and coping.  Going beyond correlational data, Planalp does an excellent job of explaining the forms of emotional communication that promote well-being, and the processes that underlie beneficial disclosures. This chapter also explores differences between self-disclosing to intimates and mental health professionals.

Although emotions feel like very personal and unique experiences, emotions are also socialized and expressed through roles, routines, and rituals. In chapter 5, Planalp reviews how we socialize emotion, how we enact social structure through emotional communication, and how we communicate emotion to manage social situation (apologizing, expressing gratitude). Positivist and constructivist research are woven together to provide an in depth exploration of how and why emotion is social as well as personal.

Continuing with the theme of the social role of emotion, chapter 6 addresses, “How Do Emotional Messages Communicate Moral Meaning?”  Planalp makes the argument that emotional reactions send strong messages about what is right and wrong. Anger reflects feelings of injustice while shame communicates social failure. In addition, real life examples reveal that people are often evaluated on character through their emotional reactions to situations (Clinton was criticized for laughing in response to a comment made to him at Ron Brown’s funeral). Planalp points out the controversy over whether emotions should play a role in argument and debate over personal and public issues.

Chapter 7 tackles one of the longest and thorniest debates in the emotion literature: “How Is Emotional Communication Grounded in Common Human Experience and Diverse Cultures?” In this chapter, Planalp goes far beyond the simple paradigmatic controversy of even a decade ago. Exploring terminology, experience, expression, philosophies, roles, and morals, she includes research from numerous disciplines and successfully shakes up the debate.

Finally, in the epilogue, Planalp argues that wherever the future takes us, the perception of emotion is likely to change. She explores potential changes and contemporary perceptions that may guide the changes. For example, the monster herd of baby-boomers moving toward the end of life has the potential to change social attitudes about grieving. (Bill Moyers’ recent PBS Special “On Our Own Terms” seems to suggest this prophecy will come true.) At times, this chapter left links to research in the dust, but in doing so, Planalp gave herself the freedom to extend some very interesting possibilities.

 The single greatest attribute of this book is that it offers readers a chance to stand on the precipice of current knowledge and look off the cliff. While it recaps familiar research themes and findings, it does not simply reiterate them. Given the range of topics addressed in this book, this is no small feat. Planalp’s ability to integrate scholarship from a variety of disciplines and to remain focused on new themes and issues promises to evoke new thoughts, theories, and questions from virtually every reader (even those well acquainted with scholarship on emotion).

There were several places in the book where I wanted more detail and more discussion. There were other topics on which valuable research on communication and emotion by certain scholars was notably absent. However, I commend Planalp for making the hard choices. She chose to move readers through an amazing array of debates and issues (arising from carefully presented research) and invite readers to ponder what research contributes to our understanding of and ability to deal with real life situations.  The opposite, a detailed review of multiple studies on each idea, would have stripped this volume of both its heuristic value and its intended audience.

Communicating Emotion is written in a format that will have genuine appeal to advanced undergraduates and to graduate students. It would be a valuable supplemental text in interpersonal, family, and social cognition courses.  It would also be an incredible text for a course on Communication and Emotion. However, for that use I would supplement this book with classic articles and chapters.

This book is a tour-de-force of the hottest and most interesting issues in communicating emotion. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with either a professional interest or a beating heart.