Symbolic Interactionism as Affect Control

Book excerpt: A treatment of affect control theory, which holds that people try to manage their experiences so that their immediate feelings about people, actions, and settings affirm long-term sentiments. Includes the first propositional formulations of the theory, traces its roots to other social psychological issues, and interprets the complex quantitative model and empirical materials without resorting to mathematical or statistical discourse. Of interest to readers in any of the social sciences. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR