Context Reconsidered: Complex Signal Ensembles, Relational Meaning, and Population Thinking in Psychological Science

This article considers the status and study of context in psychological science through the lens of research on emotional expressions. The article begins by updating three well-trod methodological debates on the role of context in emotional expressions to reconsider several fundamental assumptions lurking within the field's dominant methodological tradition: namely, that certain expressive movements have biologically prepared, inherent emotional meanings that issue from singular, universal processes which are independent of but interact with contextual influences. The second part of this article considers the scientific opportunities that await if we set aside this traditional understanding of context as a moderator of signals with inherent psychological meaning and instead consider the possibility that psychological events emerge in ecosystems of signal ensembles, such that the psychological meaning of any individual signal is entirely relational. Such a fundamental shift has radical implications not only for the science of emotion but for psychological science more generally. It offers opportunities to improve the validity and trustworthiness of psychological science beyond what can be achieved with improvements to methodological rigor alone.

Automated summary

This article examines the role of context in psychological science by studying emotional expressions. It challenges the traditional understanding of context as a moderator of signals with inherent psychological meanings and proposes a fundamental shift towards viewing psychological events as emerging in ecosystems of signal ensembles. This shift has radical implications for emotional science and psychological science as a whole, offering opportunities to enhance validity and trustworthiness beyond methodological rigor alone.