Latvian society is entering a phase of “emotional exhaustion,” marked by a significant decline in emotional intensity and diversity, particularly positive feelings. A recent study on Latvia’s emotional climate, conducted by Tele2 in collaboration with the international consulting firm System1 Group, reveals a worrying trend: surprise has plummeted by 66%, and joy has decreased by 29%. These findings were reported by la.lv.
Paul Ekman’s Seven Universal Emotions
Tele2 and System1 Group have been measuring Latvia’s emotional climate quarterly since 2020, using the FaceTrace research method. The survey is conducted quarterly among 1,200 respondents aged 15 to 69.
NEWSROOM IN notes that this method is based on American psychologist Paul Ekman’s discovery of seven universal human emotions: contempt, disgust, anger, fear, sadness, joy, and surprise. The method precisely measures society’s emotional state, capturing not only the presence but also the intensity of these experiences. These emotions are considered innate and culturally independent, expressed and recognized universally across different countries and cultural environments through characteristic and universal facial expressions.
Emotional Exhaustion and Latvian Society’s Stress Adaptation
The consistent decline in the emotional index suggests that a strategy of emotional exhaustion (or “disconnection”) has become the dominant coping mechanism for stress within Latvian society.
Significantly, FaceTrace data does not indicate a substantial rise in negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or contempt. Instead of an increase in negativity, the study observes a growing number of people who describe their emotional state with a single word: “neutral.” This shift from emotional diversity to neutrality is a key indicator of the depletion of society’s emotional resources.
Over the past five years, the proportion of individuals describing their state as indifferent or less emotional has increased by approximately 25%. Overall, emotions have become blunter and less pronounced. This trend is further corroborated by the fall in the Public Sentiment Index (measured on a scale of 0 to 3), which has dropped from 0.62 five years ago to 0.47 this year. A lower score indicates reduced intensity and a narrower spectrum of experienced emotions.
