Hochschild's Theory of Emotion Management

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1 Hochschild elaborated her theory of emotion management in the 1970s. Based on your own experiences, assess the extent to which the feeling rules she identified might have changed over the last four decades.
Hochschild (1979) believes that emotions govern a person’s actions. The feeling rules she identified, however, have shifted. Feeling rules are society’s norms that impact
a people’ effort to feel emotions in specific scenarios. Everyone can learn different feeling rules; however, the rules will vary depending on the society they belong to. The rules can vary according to gender, race, or social class. Hence, the feeling rules vary depending on a person’s social order.
Hochschild (1979) defines feeling rules as “rules about what feeling is or is not appropriate in a given social setting,” which we identify by looking at how we assess our feelings, how others assess our emotions and the sanctions imposed by both. The rules of feeling govern how deeply and for how long we should feel. According to the feeling rule, we can be tainted or on in our timing, duration, or intensity of feeling. For example, the bride feels tired on her wedding day even though she is expected to be happy. While both advantage seeking and pain avoidance are at work in this case, they do so within the framework of feeling rules.
Hochschild (1979) recognizes that if we do not apply feeling rules to ourselves, others will notice and may remind us. They may express concern for us, requesting that we indicate which of our expressions appears inappropriate. If we appear tainted in our emotions, they may express disbelief and bewilderment. Alternatively, if we do not appear to be feeling sufficient, they may allow us to feel more. He claims, however, that we can become aware of feeling rules when we or others have improper feelings.
The emotional rules she mentioned have already been altered. The changes are being implemented because many people have learned to defy society’s norms. People found the norms to be too strict, and at times, they were no longer correct or healthy. These people have successfully defied the norms and set their standards, and they experienced the real essence of freedom (Boler & Davies, 2018).
For example, a person may receive accomplishments and awards but is dissatisfied with them. This is utterly contrary to the rules of feeling. The feeling rules dictate that when achieving something, a person must be proud and grateful for it. However, in this case, the person who received the awards is dissatisfied because he wants to achieve more than he currently has. Another example is a woman who is 27 years old; at this age, the norms dictate that a woman must marry, have children, and have a stable career. However, this woman enjoyed her single status and did not wish to have a family. Also, at the age of 27, she is still figuring out her life and feels lost, which is fine and expected. A man who works in a beauty salon is another example. The norms state that a man should be challenging, so his job must demonstrate that he is tough. Working in a salon demonstrates that this man is overly sensitive. Nonet...