PLEASE ONLY USE THIS REFERENCE! NO OUTSIDE SOURCES!
· Hochschild, A. R XXXXXXXXXXManaging Feeling & Emotional Labor and the Redefined Self. The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, Updated with a New Preface (pp. 35-55, XXXXXXXXXXUniversity of California Press. (Feeling Rules, pp. 56-75, is strongly recommended.)
Emotion work is something we actually do constantly, even as we continue to think of our emotions as an uncontrollable flow. We’re really always working to
ing our emotions into line with social prescriptions for feeling—trying to feel more grateful to someone who’s offered help, trying to be more sad when we know we should be, trying to calm our anger because we know stress isn’t good for us—or for our relationships. One of the healthiest uses of emotion work is working up some happiness.
__________________________________________________
This unit’s discussion has 2 parts:
1: Do some emotion work (make yourself happy, then angry, then calm, then proud). Include all three kinds of emotion work: cognitive, expressive, and bodily. Write about what it’s like creating each of the below 4 emotional experiences.
A. Happy: Now that you know that it’s possible to truly make yourself happier, do it right now. Just a little bit happier. Try each one of these happiness activities:
· Think now of 1 thing that has happened today for which you are grateful.
· Look on the
ight side of something that's been bothering you lately. Write it down.
· Smile, big. Soft eyes. Maybe laugh if it feels right.
· And then compliment someone (genuinely). In person is best. Small compliments work just fine.
How do you feel? Did it work? Were you able to make yourself happy?
B. Angry: Can you intentionally make yourself feel angry? How would you do that? Write down your tactics—if you wanted to be angry, you had a reason to be angry. How would you get there? What would you make yourself think? Would it help to do anything with your body? Your facial expression?
C. Calm: What are some tactics you use to calm yourself down? Try them now (especially if you were able to make yourself angry!).
D. Proud: What should you think to make yourself proud? Here’s one—make a little reverse bucket list. You know the concept of the bucket list—everything you feel you MUST do before you die, you put in the bucket of must-have experiences? Well, how many have you had so far? I bet you can come up with 5.
· Can you use your body to make yourself feel proud? I don’t think this one is all cognitive.
· Does it matter how you make your face look, if you want to be proud?
Congratulations. You’ve just done emotion work.
2: Use Hochschild’s The Managed Heart to analytically discuss the emotion work you just did. You can also use analytical orientations learned in lecture. These are useful concepts:
· Did you work feeling up, down, or both?
· Did you use the concepts of emotional rights and duties (as in “I have a right to feel angry!) in doing this emotion work?
· What were the cognitive, expressive, and bodily elements of your emotion work process?
And be sure to include something about the larger meaning of emotion work—does it damage our selves to sell our emotions? When do you most feel the impact of feeling rules? What are the social pressures that lead to the kinds of emotion work you just did?