This book, first published in 1997, offers an approach to researching human behavior relating details of interaction to social structure.

L'ouvrage propose une approche nouvelle de la compréhension du comportement humain, qui rapproche les plus petites unités de l'interaction sociale des plus grands ensembles de la structure sociale. L'auteur combine les apports des sciences humaines et...

A clear and concise overview of state-of-the-art reasearch into emotion focusing on cognitive appraisal, bodily changes, action tendencies and expressive displays.

Moving beyond the traditional boundaries of sociological investigation, Thomas J. Scheff brings together the study of communication and the social psychology of emotions to explore the microworld of thoughts, feelings, and moods. Drawing on strikingly diverse and rich sources—the findings of artificial intelligence and cognitive science, and examples from literary dialogues and psychiatric interviews—Scheff provides an inventive account of the nature of social life and a theory of motivation that brilliantly accounts for the immense complexity involved in understanding even the most routine conversation. "A major contribution to some central debates in social theory at the present time. . . . What Thomas Scheff seeks to develop is essentially a quite novel account of the nature of social life, its relation to language and human reflexivity, in which he insists upon the importance of a theory of emotion. . . . A work of true originality and jolting impact. . . . Microsociology is of exceptional interest, which bears witness to the very creativity which it puts at the center of human social contact." —Anthony Giddens, from the Foreword "Scheff provides a rich theory that can easily generate further exploration. And he drives home the message that sociological work on interaction, social bonds, and society cannot ignore human emotionality."—Candace Clark, American Journal of Sociology "This outstanding and ground-breaking little volume contains a wealth of original ideas that bring together many insights concerning the relationship of emotion to motivation in a wide variety of social settings. It is strongly recommended to all serious students of emotion, of society, and of human nature."—Melvin R. Lansky, American Journal of Psychiatry

This unique collection provides a psychosocial approach to emotion, exploring the emotional undercurrents of everyday phenomena as diverse as war reporting, advertising, education, criminality, public policy and motherhood, and including contributors from sociology, psychology, cultural and media studies, and psychoanalytical studies.

Are emotions becoming more conspicuous in contemporary life? Are the social sciences undergoing an an 'affective turn'? This Reader gathers influential and contemporary work in the study of emotion and affective life from across the range of the social sciences. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical research, the collection offers a sense of the diversity of perspectives that have emerged over the last thirty years from a variety of intellectual traditions. Its wide span and trans-disciplinary character is designed to capture the increasing significance of the study of affect and emotion for the social sciences, and to give a sense of how this is played out in the context of specific areas of interest. The volume is divided into four main parts: universals and particulars of affect embodying affect political economies of affect affect, power and justice. Each main part comprises three sections dedicated to substantive themes, including emotions, history and civilization; emotions and culture; emotions selfhood and identity; emotions and the media; emotions and politics; emotions, space and place, with a final section dedicated to themes of compassion, hate and terror. Each of the twelve sections begins with an editorial introduction that contextualizes the readings and highlights points of comparison across the volume. Cross-national in content, the collection provides an introduction to the key debates, concepts and modes of approach that have been developed by social scientist for the study of emotion and affective life.