Evaluate Arlie Hoshschild's Social Therory of Human Emotions
Evaluate Arlie Hochschild's social theory of human emotions.The study of emotion is relatively new to the sociological arena. Writers have, in the past touched on the subject in relation to their particular theories. Marx for example uses the concept of alienation as a key part to his meta-theory of society. However, it was not until recently, that a „sociology of emotion' had been studied as an isolated concept. The American writer and social theorist, Arlie Hochschild is seen as one of the key writers to address the social aspects of emotion in a more direct way than previous writers. Hochschild's work raises a number of important points that go towards a social study of emotions. „Emotion management', „feeling rules' and „emotional labour' are just some of the concepts Hochschild has brought to the debate. This paper will attempt to provide a critique of Hochschild's social theory of human emotions. Firstly, the paper will highlight the key concepts and ideas that Hochschild raises in her theory. The second part of the paper will draw on a number of key writers on the subject, in an attempt to bring to light the main problems in her work. These criticisms will be centred on the idea that Hochschild's work is, over-sim
It will also attempt to show that „emotion management' is nothing new to human society that has always, to some degree, relied on the management of emotion. The backpacker relies on his/her "will to evoke" and can also use "will to suppress, and will to somehow allow a feeling" into the situation. Thus, the feeling of confidence is urged to the emotional surface, using memory as a prop to achieve this. Again Hochschild illustrates her theories on „feeling rules' using her study on flight attendants. 1983: 7) In the case of the flight attendants, the emotional labour is used as a „tool of the trade' to promote an atmosphere of safety and well being. The required emotional detachment the workers feel from themselves is especially important in contemporary society. In the case of the flight attendants, the rules exist as part of the work place, and are there to support the running of it. (Burkitt 1991, 1993 cited in Newton. Emotional labour is dependent on what Hochschild terms „emotion management'. The feeling then becomes real and the backpacker actually feels and experiences the emotion. Her work on „feeling rules', „emotional labour' and „emotional detachment' relate well to other contemporary theories, particularly those that suggest we have become detached from our true selves. Of course, feeling rules are not just governed at work, they are both implicit and explicit in all aspects of social and private life.
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