1. Lesson 5 Sociology and contemporary societies Prof. Consuelo Corradi
Emotions by E. Bericat
Lesson 5 Sociology and contemporary societies
Prof. Consuelo Corradi

2. Sociology of emotions A fundamental role in all social phenomena
The emotional nature of social phenomena
The social nature of human emotions
Denzin: “a lived, believed-in, situated, temporally embodied experience that radiates through a person’s stream of consciousness, is felt and runs through the body and… plunges the person and his/her associates into a trasformed reality”
Brody: “motivational systems with physiological, behavioural, experiential and cognitive components”

3. Types (1)
Primary, universal, physiological, evolutionary relevance, biologically innate
Fear
Anger
Depression
Satisfaction
Secondary, a combinations of primary e., socially and culturally conditioned
Guilt
Shame
Love
Resentment
Disappointment
Nostalgia

4. Types (2) Bodily urges: sexual desire, hunger, defecation
Reflex emotions: short-term reaction to environment, anger, fear, joy
Moods: lasting affective states, lacking a specific object
Reflexive emotions: involving feelings of approval and disapproval

5. “Emotions constitute the bodily manifestation of the importance that an event in the natural or social world has for a subject”. “The self, the feeling subject, constitutes the central reference upon which the emotions turn”. “the nature of emotions is relational… the subject of emotions is not… hermetically isolated from the environment” “understanding an emotion means understanding the situation and social relation it produces” “an actor whose consciousness is limited to ideas or cognitions… is inconceivable”

6. Social nature of emotions
Not a substance, but patterns of relationships linking self and environment
Outcome of interaction on dimensions of power and status (Kemper)
Fear: + or – power
Anger: denying status/prestige
Depression: loss of status, self is responsible
Satisfaction: power is not fearful and status is as expected

7. Emotional nature of social reality
Social reality is always
Inter-communicative
Culture, communication and consciousness
cognition, value and emotions
Inter-active
Structure, energy and action
Natural energy, individual power and will
Energetic and motivational
Examples: partner conflict, the stock market, tv comedy series, tv news, kamikaze violence, etc.

8. Videos Bodies and rythm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kZR9RG8DTA
September 11, 2001