Transcript
00:00:03 Sini
So this is a podcast for BeGlobal project. After all, we are all human beings. Not that different emotional presence in global encounters. I am Sini Bask. The project manager in Hagaa-Helia for the BeGlobal project and here in the studio with me are my colleagues from Haaga-Helia’s School of professional Teacher Education.
00:00:58 Katja
Katja Danska. Senior lecturer
00:01:03 David
And David Mauffret, also senior lecturer. So, Haaga-Helia School of Professional teacher education has been working in the global BeGlobal Erasmus Plus capacity building project with an international team from Chile, Colombia and France and one theme that keeps coming up when we create gamified learning experiences for global citizens is the role of emotions in learning and building a global community. Traditionally, and especially in the field of education, the so-called intelligent quotient, the IQ has been the dominating measurements of people’s intellectual capabilities, with an almost exclusive focus on cognitive skills. In the 90s, thanks to Howard Gardner, emotions have emerged as a significant object of research. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences included two types of emotions related intelligence. Intrapersonal. Relate to self, self-awareness and interpersonal related with understanding others. Later on in the 90s, Coleman’s model of emotional intelligence built upon Gardner’s work. And according to Coleman describes a concept that involves the ability, capacity, skill, or a self-perceived ability to identify, assess and also manage the emotions of oneself, of others and of groups. In recent years, according to a role again at the workplace, emotional intelligence is considered twice as important as analytical and technical skills.
00:03:00 Katja
Yes, and talking about emotions when they are taken out of context, they are dangerous because we need the context to understand each. And we need to understand the others’ emotions to be able to live together. So let’s dive deeper into the idea of emotions. I read an interesting article in Psychology Today by John Gruda. He is saying, when stripped of the context. When the emotions are stripped of their context, they can become not only misleading, but socially harmful. There is research which shows that people who accurately perceive emotions within context, that they report higher level being and stronger social connections. In contrast, those who misread emotions, especially by protecting their own biases, experience greater loneliness and social disconnection. So why do I think this matters? Because misinterpreting emotions like assuming someone is angry when they are actually sad. Then we can trust and create unnecessary conflict. And this isn’t just a personal issue. It scales up to the social levels. Emotional processing in the brain is deeply influenced by both cultural background and situational context. Communication is the key. Emotions are not just internal experiences, they are source of sign signals, facial expressions, tone of voice and body language all convey emotional states. But without contexts, these signals can be misread. Think of a neutral face interpreted as hostile or tense meeting. That’s the danger of this decontextualized emotion.
00:05:07 David
Good points, Katja. I really agree with you.
00:05:11 Katja
Yes, social cohesion depends on emotional understanding. Studies show that shared emotional experiences, especially intense ones, can foster pro social attitudes and strengthen bonds. Bonds between people. Even strange. But this bonding effect depends on joint attention and mutual engagement, not just shared emotion. We are better at understanding emotions of people similar to us, but when it comes to those who are different politically, culturally, neurologically, we often get it wrong. Unfortunately, worse, we are confident in our wrong assumption. These misjudgments can fuel divide division and reduce empathy across groups, and we have unfortunately seen that in real life.
00:06:07 Sini
Yeah, what you say about empathy definitely resonates with also Steven Pinker’s and and Brown’s thoughts about human universals. So, Steven Pinker in 2002 wrote a book that’s called The Blank Slate, and there he talks about Brown’s list of human universals. The list is huge. We have many, many things that across cultures, every human being share. The other humans, regardless of culture but empathy and compassion, are actually one of those universals. Also, many other emotional states. Hate, as well as, love. What unites us is actually the emotional aspect of human existence, and it’s a really strong way of connecting to other humans. That’s also one thing that differentiates us human beings from the artificial intelligence. That’s one of the key trends in digitalization and pedagogy, at the moment. The fact that we feel and suffer, have hopes and hope and dreams. That’s something that, for now at least, our AI companions or tools don’t have. And this is also the glue that has been between us in in the BeGlobal project as the team members are growing to become global citizens. The way we share different kinds of feelings together. The way different cultures and different persons express emotions might differ significantly, but the feelings underneath the surface are quite the same. We love, we feel attachment to each other. We are sad and feel sorrow, anxiety, different desires, passions, hate fear. We love playing together, although for some it might even cause anxiety and fear and then learning also is a human universal. Everyone, every culture learns and wants to learn and educates their people. Cooperation as well is one of those key human universals. We do narratives, we every culture has their own aesthetics. And feelings. Persons knowing that persons exist and that selves are responsible are also one of those key universals. Feeling shame, pride. Having a conception of time and a worldview we share, even though they might be different between cultures. I think in this human shared space lies also the hope in encounters and authentic interactions, compassion and understanding for creating global citizenship.
00:09:21 David
Yeah, quite right. And at the end of the day, becoming an emotionally intelligent global citizen stems from, like numerous exposures, interactions to operating in diverse environments with. Diverse people from different backgrounds and different walks of life, and it’s the only way to gain and develop one’s emotional intelligence that we talked about earlier in the beginning of the podcast. And you know this basically emotional, intelligent competence. It’s to be developed in practice and after all, indeed, we are all human beings, not that different.
00:10:04 Sini
Yeah, we maybe we are same in being different. But you’re absolutely right, David.
00:10:09 Katja
Yeah, for sure.
00:10:11 David
And yeah, this human and shared space that you referred to earlier can manifest either in distance or face to face encounters. Nevertheless, one could argue that the level of emotional connections is not as strong in distance encounters. For instance, the contact week we organize organized in Helsinki with representatives from partner institutions involved in the big Global citizenship project was, in my view, striking reminder that in order for people to really connect, bond and build trust, it is better to spend enough time together. In a physical environment, and this is even more crucial with the global community, such as big global. But of course, one question that could be. Asked would be the. Yeah, asking to what extent such practices are sustainable. And and on the one hand, the environmental impacts of organizing international face to face encounters is undeniable. But on the other hand, these face to face encounters, especially in the early stage of the project, are a way to, in a way, guarantee greater impact and also more commitment to change during the project itself and in the in the long run. Also, would say beyond the completion of the project and it may also be the only way. To be really transformed and impacted by the physical presence of other people. What do you think, Katja?
00:12:11 Katja
Yeah, that is something to think about for sure. And I I have experienced that as well. Yeah, I think you got something, something here.
00:12:20 David
Yeah. Thanks. So yeah, greater impact in the long term and more commitment for change because it’s all about change at the end of the day and this is the way to gain the insight that a globally aware citizen needs for leaving responsible and committing to, for instance, the UN. Sustainability development goal in action in their own everyday life and local communities.
00:12:47 Sini
Yeah. I think David, that you are really onto something that the emotional dimension is a key to being a global citizen and what the our project is about. And in the academia and in the world of science, or even in education, the default approach is often that of reason and factual knowledge. It, however, to live to really live as a global citizen is very much an issue of the heart. So, the kind of dedication it requires actually is something that’s one’s own emotional dedication to being a responsible person. And this engagement in concrete actions is motivated by emotional things, feelings of belonging to the world, or to the Community that we have to or want to construct sustainably.
00:13:46 David
Right. And yeah, coming back to these, these you know, face to face encounters, which I emphasized earlier, I mean another aspect related to that is the creation of an official spaces, for instance during breaks and also doing you know extraocular activities such as shared visits and meals. And I think these should not be underestimated as they can yield positive emotions and also a a sense of belonging and unforgettable memories, and equally important to a strong and emotional commitment to the goals of the project. Because at the end of the day the goals need to be reached in the best possible way.
00:14:35 Katja
Yeah, I agree. And I understand because the energy, the nonverbal communication is contagious, it comes down to emotional contention. Our brains are wired to be mirror others. If there’s good vibe, then you will share it in your mind when you see someone’s posture, gestures, facial expressions, you mirror neurons fire as if you were doing the same thing. These trigger similar feeling feelings in you. As well, it’s automatic, fast and deeply social. Nonverbal cues carry most of the emotional weighting communications up to 90%. This was already researched by Mehrabian in this early 60s. That’s why one person’s energy can shift the mood of an entire room. So, if you want to spread positivity, start with your body language. It’s more powerful than words.
00:15:38 Sini
Yeah. And if you want to feel good, you just need to smile to yourself and look at the mirror, and then you will actually feel better and both your brain and your body will go to a different state, and I think we’ve somehow witnessed this during our big global project meetings. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. So, the richness, the, the wealth of cultures and the different way of expressing, especially feelings, emotions together has been the feel of our project.
00:15:54 David
Yes, we have, yes.
00:16:07 Sini
Through to so far, and we will still go on with the project. So, a challenge for education and educators in this digital era is, is to provide young people with the right kind of and sufficient experiences of learning in communities also in face to face. Contact and actually kind of be able to live with the strong emotions that we cause each other when we meet face to face. So, the emotional space is different in virtual encounters and learning environments. As David mentioned before that luckily the bodily components. Because feelings are feelings, are actually also bodily states, not only in the brain, but in the entire body. So, the physically shared space that activates our moral sense and all of our senses for feeling the other’s presence is a key component to building up responsible global citizens in a sustainable way. And learning empathy and compassion that we all need is only possible if we have these bodily States and fire up the mirror neurons, or the cells that Katia you mentioned before. So, and actually, I think that in in many dynamic and unexpected ways, other peoples’ emotional expressions might be sometimes disruptive and sometimes rewarding. But I think they are the essence of human existence and also the most one of the most beautiful things there is in the world. And also for the sake of learning, I think the kind of space that we need a safe space for, for being human and growing. Requires for us to educators to take care of the emotional space that we create with, for example, our body language.
00:18:06 David
Yes, very good point. I mean this the importance of creating a safe space for all and that’s. Easier said than done and this shouldn’t be taken lightly. You know from the very beginning of the process like the big global project and and that’s why it’s especially important to you know, to meet face to face in order to create that safe space in my in my opinion. Afterwards, of course, things will continue online as we’ve done, but it’s actually much easier to continue online once we’ve met at least once face to face.
00:18:41 Katja
Agreed and also learning languages. In this project we have also Spanish and English and of course our own Finnish language. But learning language is my is my favorite thing and it’s not about only the language, it’s about the culture and the emotion. In that culture, it’s not. It’s a map. How a culture thinks and feels. The humor, politeness, even how emotions are expressed, are all shaped by cultural forms. So, when you learn a language, you are not just memorizing grammar, you are stepping in the world view feeling that matters to that culture and learning how they connect with each other.
00:19:30 Sini
Yeah, those are Fascinating things when it comes to learning new cultures and languages. So, thank you all, for connecting to this conversation now and let’s see what the future brings.
00:19:46 David
Yeah. Thank you all for the food provoking and inspiring discussion.
00:19:50 Katja
Yes, thank you.