Cited by 138Emotions and Moral BehaviorCultural Differences and ValuesAesthetic Perception and Analysis

The sudden devotion emotion: Kama muta and the cultural practices whose function is to evoke it

Open access
Fiske, Alan Page, Seibt, Beate, Schubert, Thomas·2019·Emotion Review

Abstract

When communal sharing relationships (CSRs) suddenly intensify, people experience an emotion that English speakers may label, depending on context, “moved,” “touched,” “heart-warming,” “nostalgia,” “patriotism,” or “rapture” (although sometimes people use each of these terms for other emotions). We call the emotion kama muta (Sanskrit, “moved by love”). Kama muta evokes adaptive motives to devote and commit to the CSRs that are fundamental to social life. It occurs in diverse contexts and appears to be pervasive across cultures and throughout history, while people experience it with reference to its cultural and contextual meanings. Cultures have evolved diverse practices, institutions, roles, narratives, arts, and artifacts whose core function is to evoke kama muta. Kama muta mediates much of human sociality.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1754073917723167

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Authors
Fiske, A. P., Seibt, B., & Schubert, T.
Affiliations
Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (PT)
Corresponding author
Fiske, Alan Page
Venue
Emotion Review
Published
2017-11-13
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
74-86
ISSN
  • 1754-0739 (ISSN-L)
  • 1754-0747
OpenAlex
W2770415942
Cited by
138
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2
FWCI
14.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Emotion Review (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Repositório do ISCTE-IUL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Aesthetic Perception and Analysis
Keywords
kama muta, cultural practices, cross-cultural universality, social bonding, human sociality, cultural evolution

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