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Modeling emotional dynamics : currency versus field.

Journal Article · · Rationality and Soc.

Randall Collins has introduced a simplified model of emotional dynamics in which emotional energy, heightened and focused by interaction rituals, serves as a common denominator for social exchange: a generic form of currency, except that it is active in a far broader range of social transactions. While the scope of this theory is attractive, the specifics of the model remain unconvincing. After a critical assessment of the currency theory of emotion, a field model of emotion is introduced that adds expressiveness by locating emotional valence within its cognitive context, thereby creating an integrated orientation field. The result is a model which claims less in the way of motivational specificity, but is more satisfactory in modeling the dynamic interaction between cognitive and emotional orientations at both individual and social levels.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Sponsoring Organization:
SC
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
937010
Report Number(s):
ANL/DIS/JA-60989
Journal Information:
Rationality and Soc., Journal Name: Rationality and Soc. Journal Issue: 3 ; Aug. 2008 Vol. 20
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH