Emotions & Politics

Question 1

Areas of focus in Sociology of Emotions

Answer 1

• (1) Managing Emotions: We learn when and where emotions are appropriate and restrain emotions in inappropriate social contexts (inequality & culture)
• (2) Social Construction of Emotions: Cultures recognize different complex emotions while some are hardwired, which affects the emotions we feel
• (3) Impact of Social Relations on Emotions: changes in power and status provoke particular emotions
• (4) Impact of Emotions on Social Relations: Recognition that emotions affect social relations

Question 2

Kemper & Impact of Social Relations on Emotions

Answer 2

• Theodore Kemper: Finds that changes in power and status provoke particular emotions
• Increased power provokes feelings of safety, security, confidence
• Decreased power promotes fear, anxiety
• Increased status promotes satisfaction, happiness
• Decreased status promotes disappointment, anger, depression

Question 3

Emotions and Political Issues

Answer 3

• Diverse political issues
  1. Emotions as motivator of social movements
  2. Emotions and identity politics
  3. Emotions and voter preference
  4. Emotions and extremism and populism

Question 4

Haidt’s “The Righteous Mind”

Answer 4

• Moral foundations affect our political orientation and thereby voting behaviour
• Says our morals guide our politics, determine which candidates/parties we support
• Emotionality: Each foundation enforced by particular emotions
• Suggests each is “softwired” in our brains
• These emotions direct our political behaviour

Question 5

Haidt’s Moral Foundations

Answer 5

• (1) Care/Harm Foundation: Suggests we are innately attuned to suffering and helplessness
• (2) Fairness/Cheating Foundation
  Reciprocity: We are softwired to keep track of what people have given to us and what we’ve given them
• (3) Loyalty/Betrayal Foundation
  Says innate and related to need for group cohesion for human survival
• (4) Authority/Subversion Foundation
  Says humans are social animals softwired to compare their rank to others and establish authority hierarchy
• (5) Sanctity/Degradation Foundation
  Disrespecting something that is “sacred” causes extreme negative emotions combining disgust & anger
• (6) Liberty/Oppression
  Millions of years of living in small groups promoted greater egalitarianism
  Focuses on whether rulers are just or impede liberty

Question 6

Haidt’s Survey

Answer 6

• Haidt explores the extent to which liberals and conservatives in the US respond to and emphasize these moral foundations
• Survey asking people 2 things:
  – (1) questions that allow him to situate them on the liberal-conservative continuum
  – (2) questions about how much people support the different moral foundations

Question 7

Haidt’s Findings

Answer 7

• The Conservative Advantage: Republicans can use a greater repertoire of emotional tools and issues to mobilize voters since conservatives place a greater emphasis on 4/6 moral foundations
• Social Media hinders democracy by eliminating trust, increasing intolerance, and promoting conflict in three ways:
  1. Emotional Outrage
  2. Shaming into Extremism
  3. Foreign Interference

Question 8

Demertzis’ “The Emotions of Populism”

Answer 8

• Argues that populism is broad and poorly defined, which is bad since it’s real and important
• Defines populism as a schema that orients people in the political field based on an “us vs. them” struggle between power blocs, one of which being the “people” who are unfairly treated
• Populism is most powerful when the emotions it elicits are powerful (nostalgia, anger, resentment)
• There are degrees of populism since all politicians use the schema from time to time but some actively exploit to gain support

Question 9

Demertzis’ Emotions of Populism

Answer 9

1. Nostalgia: Sadness over loss that focuses on good experiences in the past
   Populist schema commonly focuses attention on a glorious past when the “people” were in power
   Example: MAGA
2. Anger: Says individual-oriented feeling over not getting your due, people not treating you well
   Angry people more prone to populism but populist schema focuses on strengthening resentment
3. Resentment: Moral rage and indignation, focused on something bigger than oneself, affecting ‘real’ community
   People resent the political system because it doesn’t benefit the “people,” believe it hurts them
   Example: White nationalists resent affirmative action type programs as unfair

Question 10

Hochschild’s Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

Answer 10

• Ethnographic research to understand why white Americans in Louisiana are generally anti-government and such strong supporters of the Tea Party movement
• This was because emotions revealed by the ‘deep story’, not rational analysis
• Deep story: Underlying emotions, in this case anger, fear, resentment since American Dream wasn’t coming true and ‘line cutters’ taking what they don’ deserve
• Racial and gender undertone: white men are working hard and falling behind
• Trump used the emotionality of this deep story instead of policy prescription to gain popular support