The Sociology of Emotions

This book reviews the theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of emotions.

This book reviews the theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of emotions, with appendices on relevant psychological theories as they intersect with sociological theories. The theories are grouped into several basic approaches: cultural, dramaturgical, interaction ritual, symbolic interactionist, exchange, structural, and biological.All social relations involve emotional responses, from the simplest face-to-face encounter through the mobilization of social movements to the commitments that individuals develop for culture and society. The social world is thus dependent upon the arousal of emotions, and equally significant conflict and change in societies is ultimately driven by emotional arousal. Thus, it is important to understand how human emotions influence, and are influenced by, the social world. This understanding takes us into the sociology of emotions that has emerged as a distinct area of inquiry over the last thirty years.