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Part of
Emotion in Discourse
Edited by J. Lachlan Mackenzie and Laura Alba-Juez
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 302] 2019
► pp. 279–300

Chapter 11
The effects of linguistic proficiency, Trait Emotional Intelligence and in-group advantage on emotion recognition by British and American English L1 users

| Birkbeck, Birkbeck and UCL, University of London (UK)
| Birkbeck, Birkbeck and UCL, University of London (UK)
| Birkbeck, Birkbeck and UCL, University of London (UK)

This chapter focuses on individual differences in emotion recognition ability (ERA) of 150 British and 151 American first language (L1) users of English (151 females, 150 males). Individual differences in ERA have been linked to linguistic, cultural and psychological profiles of individuals. The analysis of ERA scores based on correct identification of emotions portrayed six video clips by a British L1 English-speaking actress showed that participants who scored higher on linguistic proficiency and Trait Emotional Intelligence (Trait EI) were better at recognizing emotions. Cultural background had no apparent effect. Participants with lower levels of linguistic proficiency relied more heavily on their Trait EI to recognize the emotions.

Keywords: emotion recognition, English, Trait Emotional Intelligence, linguistic proficiency, culture
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Universal or culture-specific emotions?
    • 2.1Visual channel
    • 2.2Vocal channel
    • 2.3Verbal channel
    • 2.4Trait Emotional Intelligence
  • 3.Research hypotheses
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Participants
    • 4.2Materials
    • 4.3Procedure
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Effects of country of origin, linguistic proficiency and Trait EI on ERA scores
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • 8.Compliance with Ethical Standards
  • References
Published online: 27 March 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.302.11dew
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