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Sociology Sociology of the Emotionsof the Emotions

19 November, 2007

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The Emotions: Lecture OutlineThe Emotions: Lecture Outline

Classical sociology and the emotionsSociological approaches to the

emotionsThe Managed Heart (Hochschild 1985)

– Theoretical background– Methodology– Findings – Conclusions

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The Emotions in SociologyThe Emotions in Sociology

Classical theory Historical neglect

– Dualist philosophical tradition

– Focus on large-scale issues

– Emotions experienced as unique, individual

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The Emotions in SociologyThe Emotions in Sociology

Relevance for sociology– Simultaneously individual and social

Link individual experiences to social structure

– Relational and interactive– Underlie large-scale processes

Expressed through group solidarity and conflict

The emotions follow sociologically-relevant patterns

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The Emotions in SociologyThe Emotions in Sociology

Two sociological approaches to the emotions– Historical/structural (Elias)– Interactionist (Goffman)

Both intended to challenge biological ‘reductionism’– While acknowledging that the emotions

are embodied

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Emotion ManagementEmotion Management

An attempt to display/experience ‘appropriate’ emotions

– Surface acting

– Deep acting

Draws upon Goffman’s notion of impression management

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Govern our emotional displays– Shape expression and experience– Relevant to social roles

Also to issues of power and deference

Learned through social interactions– Called to account– Reactions to supposed emotions

Open (somewhat) to negotiation– Particularly in informal interactions

Errors require intervention

Feeling RulesFeeling Rules

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Examines ‘how society uses feelings’ Influenced by:

– Symbolic interactionism– Marxism

Asks ‘How do companies structure emotional exchange?’

Methodology:– Observations and interviews with flight

attendants, instructors and executives at Delta

Arlie Hochschild:Arlie Hochschild: The Managed HeartThe Managed Heart

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Emotion management on the job

– Face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact

– Intended to create emotions in the customer

– Training involves control of the worker’s feeling states

Surface acting Deep acting

Emotional LabourEmotional Labour

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The Costs of Emotional LabourThe Costs of Emotional Labour

Modifying feelings/displays on the job

How to identify with role and hold onto a separate ‘self’: requires depersonalisation

– Option 1: Surface acting Viewed as ‘phony’

– Option 2: Deep acting Estrangement from the emotions Undermines authenticity

Alienates the worker from her emotions

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Resistance– As demands increase

Cultural emphasis on ‘genuine’ emotions– Rise in emotional therapies

Move toward re-sensualization (Maffesoli 1996)– Shift to the ‘natural’ and ‘collective’

Paradox for emotion management

ImplicationsImplications