Affect and Emotion

1. Affect and Emotion January 18, 2007

2. Identity Theory • The self is a hierarchical ordering of identities, differentiated by: • Salience – the probability of activating a given identity in a situation • Commitment – the number and affective strength of ties to others as a result of having a particular identity

3. Identity Control Theory • Trying to maintain a view of the self • Four central components: • The identity standard or the set of meanings held by the individual which define his or her role identity • Person’s perceptions of meanings within the situation matched to the dimensions of meaning in the identity standard • Mechanism to compare perceived meanings with identity standard meanings • Individual behavior which is a function of the difference between perceptions and standard

4. Definitions • Affect – any evaluative orientation towards an object • Emotion – 4 components: • Appraisal of a situational stimulus • Change sin bodily sensations • Displays of expressive gestures • Cultural meanings applied to the other three components

5. Definitions • Sentiment – socially constructed pattern of sensations, expressive gestures, and cultural meanings organized around a relationship to a social object • Mood – enduring feelings tied to a person across situations

6. Emotion Norms • Feeling Rules – social guidelines that direct how we want to feel in a given situation • Expression Rules – social guidelines which indicate how we should express our feelings in a given situation

7. Emotional Deviance • Emotional Deviance- experiences or displays of affect that differ in quality or degree from what is expected in given situations

8. Factors contributing to emotional deviance: • From the emotional situation: - Time - Memory - Complex situational stimuli • Structural conditions: - Multiple role occupancy - Subcultural marginality - Normative and nonnormative role transitions - Rigid rules governing ongoing roles and ceremonial rituals

9. Emotion Management • Definition – trying to change in degree or quality an emotion or feeling • Types of emotion management: - evocation- trying to bring about a feeling which is initially absent - suppression- trying to reduce an undesired feeling which is initially present

10. Techniques of emotion management: • cognitive- changing ideas or thoughts to try and change our feelings • bodily- changing the physical aspects of emotional experience • expressive- changing the expressive gestures

11. ACT – Evaluations of Social Identities • Evaluation: (-4)--(-3)---(-2)---(-1)---(0)---(1)---(2)---(3)---(4) Very bad Very Good • Potency: (-4)--(-3)---(-2)---(-1)---(0)---(1)---(2)---(3)---(4) Very weak/Powerless Very Strong/Powerful • Activity: (-4)--(-3)---(-2)---(-1)---(0)---(1)---(2)---(3)---(4) Slow/Quiet Fast/Noisy

12. Affect Control Theory • Fundamental sentiments • Deflections • Transient impressions • People try to confirm fundamental meanings and minimize deflections

13. ACT website • http://www.indiana.edu/~socpsy/ACT/index.htm

14. Kemper’s Structural Theory • Power – the ability to coerce another in order to get what one wants • Status – deferring to another (friendly, supportive behaviors)

15. Kemper’s Theory • 3 types of emotions: • Structural – characteristic of a relationship based on status and power dimensions • Situational – result from changes in status and power as a result of interaction • Anticipatory – from the contemplation of future interaction

16. Situational Emotions • Increase in own power or Decrease in other’s power Security • Decrease in own power or Increase in other’s power Fear/anxiety

17. Situational Emotions • Increase in own status or increase in other’s status satisfaction/happiness • Decrease in own status Caused by other anger Caused by self shame Caused by fate depression • Intentional decrease in other’s status satisfaction/fear • Unintentional decrease in other’s status guilt/shame