Abstract
Historically, the sociology of emotion has been relatively long on theory and short on methods. This collection of articles seeks to remedy this by introducing new ways to capture the four factors of emotion, as articulated by Thoits (1989): meaning, expression, label, and physiology. As a group, these studies reify existing dichotomies in the literature—that is, emotional experience versus emotional expression—and seek to reconcile them. Additionally, they all champion the use of mixed methods—either simultaneously or sequentially—adopting some combination of direct or indirect observation, subjective understanding/experience, and physiological change. Using examples drawn for their own research, the authors provide new ways to capture emotion that will carry emotion scholars into the next four decades of research.
Since its inception some four decades ago, the sociology of emotion has been relatively long on theory and short on method, with the majority of scholarship relying on case studies, self-reports, and data gleaned from college students in experimental settings (Stets & Turner, 2014). The six articles considered here, while drawing on many of these same methods, offer overlapping—yet sometimes contradictory—methodological advances for studying emotions. Notably, each of them advances our ability to study emotion in social contexts. These articles elaborate our ability to capture what Thoits (1989) describes as the four factors of emotion: meaning, expression, label, and physiology.
In this collection, those four big ideas emerge in ways that encourage emotions scholars to (a) attend to the subjective dimensions of emotions, as well as the relationships and communities in which they arise, (b) distinguish between experienced and expressed emotions beyond reliance on self-reports, (c) rethink preexisting emotion labels, and (d) broaden the spectrum of emotional dimensions, to include a closer consideration of physiology.
Meaning
Harkening back to Kleinman and Copp’s (1993) classic arguments and Cahill’s (1999) empirical work, Prosser (2015) reminds us that emotions are embedded in the subjectivities of those who experience them, and in the researchers who record and respond to them, encouraging scholars to take into account the ways in which they themselves co-create the reporting and understanding of emotional experiences. Similarly, Godbold (2014) incorporates insights from ethnomethodology and encourages scholars to study emotions as ongoing products of social interactions, not as predetermined outcomes. She argues for detailed insider understanding, to facilitate the capture of shared meanings—particularly those not labeled as emotion per se.
Expression
Ever since Hochschild’s (1983) initial discussion of emotion management and feeling rules, sociologists have been as concerned with emotional expression as they have been with the actual experience. Part of this interest comes from the potential disconnect between felt and displayed emotion. Another part comes from the understanding that expressions have the ability to shape physiology, and therefore play an important role in emotional experience and its management. The articles, here, address the divide between experience and expression with some combination methods. In their analysis of magistrates, for example, Roach Anleu, Bergman Blix, and Mack (2015) couple courtroom observations and shadowing with in-depth interviews. These multiple approaches allowed comparison of emotional expressions in the courtroom with self-reports. It also allowed them to contextualize their interview questions resulting in more meaningful self-reports. Similarly, Bellocchi (2015) outlines a multimethod approach in classroom settings. In addition to observation and self-report, Bellocchi analyzes facial expression as well as verbal and nonverbal conduct, including tonality, rapidity, and cadence of speech.
Label
It is a common understanding among emotion scholars that the labels we apply have the ability to structure our emotions, our selves, our perceptions of others, and our reality. Echoing Godbold, Patulny (2015) reminds scholars of the dangers of relying on predetermined lists of emotion words for survey design. Drawing on insights from his own work detailing the gender gap in wellbeing among U.S. women and men, Patulny invites emotion scholars to include feeling states that might not meet standard definitions of emotion—such as interest or tiredness—but, in fact, may lead to reductions in overall wellbeing and happiness. He recommends a two-stage data collection method using real-time, open-ended emotion diaries to collect a deeper understanding of respondents’ own emotional realities, before issuing standard surveys to capture emotion heavily influenced by a priori theory.
Physiology
Often overlooked by sociologists, physiology is nonetheless a critical component of emotion (Thoits, 1989). In their review of recent advances in technology and the potential to detect a certain class of emotions in humans, Clay-Warner and Robinson (2014) posit that infrared thermography may be the most suitable physiological approach for sociologists studying emotion. Compared to other emotion-measuring technologies, infrared thermography—a remote technique for measuring heat radiation—is noninvasive and can be used relatively unobtrusively within the context of ongoing social interactions. Although the adoption of such technology may at first appear a-sociological, such an approach may assess experienced emotion, bypassing self-presentation, social desirability, or social norms. Clay-Warner and Robinson acknowledge both the sensory limitations and the methodological challenges of the current technology. However, their preliminary findings regarding identity disconfirmation—when coupled with data from self-report—appear quite promising.
One important metapoint is that nearly all of these articles illustrate multimethodological approaches—sequentially, if not simultaneously. Given the complexity and innovation of the ideas presented here, it is fair to say that it would be easy to spend the allotted space on any one of these articles. As a collection, these articles have the potential to provide sociologists studying emotions with sufficient methodological advances to carry them into the next four decades.