We are proud to announce a new publication by BABLab Post-Doctoral Associate, Kunalan Manokara!
Ye*, Z., Manokara*, K., Lamba, N., Sauter, D., & Sun, R. (2026). Beliefs about others’ positive emotional expressions: how they diverge by target social class, and why it matters. Cognition and Emotion, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2026.2626442
In this paper, Kunalan and his team (including his Master’s student, whom he shared first authorship* with!) investigated beliefs about others’ emotional expressions in relation to targets’ social class. They focused on two types of positive emotions: self-oriented (e.g. pride) and other-oriented (e.g. gratitude).
Across samples from four societies (UK, India, UAE, and the US), the authors found a strikingly consistent pattern of findings. While higher-class targets were believed as more likely to express self- oriented positive emotions (e.g., pride), lower-class targets were instead more likely thought to express other-oriented positive emotions (e.g., gratitude).
In follow-up experiments evaluating the social consequences of these emotion stereotypes, the authors demonstrated that people were less willing to associate with and work in teams with targets whose emotional expressions misaligned with their expectations (e.g., lower class people who show their pride, or higher class people who communicate their gratitude).
Taken together, these findings highlight the consistency of class-based emotion stereotypes and the behavioral intentions that stem from such beliefs.
This work was featured in the APS Presidential Roundtable 2025, where Kunalan was invited to share his findings. Congratulations!
