555924

research-article2014
EMR0010.1177/1754073914555924Emotion ReviewLively Comment on Methodological Innovations in Sociology of Emotion

Comment

Emotion Review
Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 2015) 181­–182
© The Author(s) 2014
ISSN 1754-0739

Comment on “Methodological Innovations DOI: 10.1177/1754073914555924

er.sagepub.com

From the Sociology of Emotions –

Methodological Advances”

Kathryn J. Lively
Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College, USA

Abstract spectrum of emotional dimensions, to include a closer consid-

eration of physiology.
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
Meaning
by Thoits (1989): meaning, expression, label, and physiology. As a Harkening back to Kleinman and Copp’s (1993) classic argu-
group, these studies reify existing dichotomies in the literature—that is, ments and Cahill’s (1999) empirical work, Prosser (2015)
emotional experience versus emotional expression—and seek to reconcile reminds us that emotions are embedded in the subjectivities
them. Additionally, they all champion the use of mixed methods— of those who experience them, and in the researchers who
either simultaneously or sequentially—adopting some combination of
record and respond to them, encouraging scholars to take into
direct or indirect observation, subjective understanding/experience, and
account the ways in which they themselves co-create the
physiological change. Using examples drawn for their own research, the
reporting and understanding of emotional experiences.
authors provide new ways to capture emotion that will carry emotion
Similarly, Godbold (2015) incorporates insights from eth-
scholars into the next four decades of research.
nomethodology and encourages scholars to study emotions as
ongoing products of social interactions, not as predetermined
Keywords
outcomes. She argues for detailed insider understanding, to
emotion, measurement, methods, research
facilitate the capture of shared meanings—particularly those
not labeled as emotion per se.
Since its inception some four decades ago, the sociology of emo-
tion has been relatively long on theory and short on method, with
Expression
the majority of scholarship relying on case studies, self-reports,
and data gleaned from college students in experimental settings Ever since Hochschild’s (1983) initial discussion of emotion
(Stets & Turner, 2014). The six articles considered here, while management and feeling rules, sociologists have been as con-
drawing on many of these same methods, offer overlapping—yet cerned with emotional expression as they have been with the
sometimes contradictory—methodological advances for study- actual experience. Part of this interest comes from the potential
ing emotions. Notably, each of them advances our ability to disconnect between felt and displayed emotion. Another part
study emotion in social contexts. These articles elaborate our comes from the understanding that expressions have the ability
ability to capture what Thoits (1989) describes as the four factors to shape physiology, and therefore play an important role in
of emotion: meaning, expression, label, and physiology. emotional experience and its management. The articles, here,
In this collection, those four big ideas emerge in ways that address the divide between experience and expression with
encourage emotions scholars to (a) attend to the subjective some combination methods. In their analysis of magistrates, for
dimensions of emotions, as well as the relationships and com- example, Roach Anleu, Bergman Blix, and Mack (2015) couple
munities in which they arise, (b) distinguish between experi- courtroom observations and shadowing with in-depth inter-
enced and expressed emotions beyond reliance on self-reports, views. These multiple approaches allowed comparison of emo-
(c) rethink preexisting emotion labels, and (d) broaden the tional expressions in the courtroom with self-reports. It also

Corresponding author: Kathryn J. Lively, Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College, Hinman Box 6104, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA.
Email: Kathryn.J.Lively@Dartmouth.edu

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182  Emotion Review Vol. 7 No. 2 
allowed them to contextualize their interview questions result-
ing in more meaningful self-reports. Similarly, Bellocchi (2015)
outlines a multimethod approach in classroom settings. In addi-
tion 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 pre-
determined 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 (2015) 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 interac-
tions. Although the adoption of such technology may at first
appear a-sociological, such an approach may assess experienced
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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 collec-
tion, these articles have the potential to provide sociologists
studying emotions with sufficient methodological advances to
carry them into the next four decades.
References
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Clay-Warner, J., & Robinson, D. (2015). Infrared thermography as a measure
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