Emotion Work

518 Words2 Pages

An individual’s interactions with others is affected by his or her emotions. The relationship between emotions and interactions in a particular situation has been studied by Arlie Hochschild, and through her work, she is developed two interrelated concepts: feeling rules and emotion work. Feeling rules are the expectations or guidelines for displaying emotion related to a specific situation. Part of feeling rules is a working knowledge of the types of emotions that are appropriate, who is allowed to express those emotions, and what displays of emotion are acceptable. In addition, feeling rules are not universal, instead they are influenced by culture, and the expectations of groups and organizations. Overall, feeling rules inform an individual …show more content…

Emotion work is the process by which individuals control or manage their feelings by summoning or repressing certain emotions. There are two main forms of emotion work, which are surface acting and deep acting. When individuals are engaging in surface acting they attempt to “act the part” that is expected or required in a particular situation, even if the display is contrary to their underlying mood. On the other hand, in deep acting an individual actively engages in efforts to suppress or invoke certain emotions. During this process, an individual self-consciously works to call forth or summon feelings with in him or herself that match the expressions the individual is trying to convey to others. Unlike with surface acting in deep acting an individual not only follows feeling rules outwardly, but conforms to the expectations inwardly as well. Emotion work is an important part of social interactions, not only for special occasions such as weddings and funerals but everyday situations as well. Overall feeling rules and emotion work are necessary to fulfill the demands of situation and maintain social order in that they allow individuals to engage in smooth

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