| This dissertation examines the ways in which power affects emotion management processes. Sociologists of emotion have begun to explore this relationship by illustrating that those in powerful positions tend to suppress their emotions, while those with little to no power tend to express their emotions. Despite these insights, emotion management studies have tended to focus only on the effects of gender and occupational status. In addition, the emotion management literature has tended to focus on emotion management in general terms rather than in terms of the management of a specific emotion. Speaking about emotion management in general terms, as previous researchers have done, has led to a lack of clarity regarding the unique implications of specific emotions.; In this dissertation, a sociological understanding of emotion management processes is expanded by exploring the ways in which a variety of structural bases of power, such as occupational prestige, income, education, race, and gender combine to influence emotion management. Order-giving and order-taking and the relative status of individuals interacting are also used to investigate how proximal instances of power may affect emotion management. In addition, I specify emotion management as anger management. Specifically, I argue that anger is the emotion of power, where those in powerful positions are "allowed" to express their anger, while those with little to no power are not "allowed" to express their anger but must suppress it.; Data from the 1996 General Social Survey are used to examine the relationship between power and emotion management and power and anger management. Findings indicate that women express emotions more than men and highly educated people express emotions more than less educated people. Unfortunately, no structural variables of power were found to significantly affect anger experience or anger expression. However, being both an order-taker and an order-giver significantly affects specific acts of anger expression, with these people suppressing anger more frequently than those who only take orders. Overall, the findings of this project do not support my contention that anger is the emotion of power. |
