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Sociology of the Emotions

Sociology of the Emotions. 19 November, 2007. The Emotions: Lecture Outline. Classical sociology and the emotions Sociological approaches to the emotions The Managed Heart (Hochschild 1985) Theoretical background Methodology Findings Conclusions. The Emotions in Sociology.

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Sociology of the Emotions

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  1. Sociology of the Emotions 19 November, 2007

  2. The Emotions: Lecture Outline • Classical sociology and the emotions • Sociological approaches to the emotions • The Managed Heart (Hochschild 1985) • Theoretical background • Methodology • Findings • Conclusions

  3. The Emotions in Sociology • Classical theory • Historical neglect • Dualist philosophical tradition • Focus on large-scale issues • Emotions experienced as unique, individual

  4. The 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

  5. The 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

  6. Emotion Management • An attempt to display/experience ‘appropriate’ emotions • Surface acting • Deep acting • Draws upon Goffman’s notion of impression management

  7. Feeling Rules • 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

  8. Arlie Hochschild:The Managed Heart • 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

  9. Emotional Labour • 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

  10. The 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

  11. Implications • 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

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