Bodily map of emotions in Iranian people

Abstract

Aims Experienced bodily sensation with basic emotions seems to be a universal phenomenon, but cross-cultural differences are expected. This study was designed to determine the topographic map of changes across six basic emotions and anxiety in a sample of Iranian people and to compare their perception of emotion-related bodily changes by sex. Materials & Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 220 Iranians aged 16-55 years. The Persian pencil and paper version of the emBODY application was used and validated during the study. The results were analyzed by SPSS 20 software using generalized linear models to determine the relationship between gender and emotion sensation in 5 main body areas and three main facial parts. Findings Anxiety was the most common reported basic emotion, and anger, fear, sadness, joy, surprise, and disgust, respectively, were identified basic emotions in both sexes. GLMs were significant (p<0.05) for bodily sensation changes in the head and neck, upper body, upper and lower limbs, and all three main facial parts. Results also showed a significant gender difference in lower limbs (p<0.05). Conclusion The results suggested the consistency of distinct emotion-triggered bodily sensation maps of Iranians with universal patterns. © 2021, the Authors.