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The Strategic Role of the Emotions

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  • ROBERT H. FRANK

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

Rational choice theorists have often criticized the modern sociologist's tendency to view people as mere pawns of social forces. For their part, many sociologists regard rational choice theories as profoundly undersocialized accounts of human behavior. In this article, an attempt is made to move these two groups a step closer together by means of a theory of the strategic role of the emotions. In methodological terms, it is an individualistic theory, yet its conclusions help explain why sociologists are often correct to insist that the interests of individuals are often subordinated to the interests of groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert H. Frank, 1993. "The Strategic Role of the Emotions," Rationality and Society, , vol. 5(2), pages 160-184, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:5:y:1993:i:2:p:160-184
    DOI: 10.1177/1043463193005002003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kazuo Yamaguchi, 2006. "Rationality of Tolerance," Rationality and Society, , vol. 18(3), pages 275-303, August.
    2. Thierry Poulain-Rehm & Xavier Lepers, 2012. "Does Employee Ownership Benefit Value Creation? The Case of France (2001–2005)," Post-Print hal-01382074, HAL.
    3. Kazuo Yamaguchi, 1998. "Rational-Choice Theories Of Anticipatory Socialization And Anticipatory Non-Socialization," Rationality and Society, , vol. 10(2), pages 163-199, May.
    4. Niclas Berggren & Henrik Jordahl, 2006. "Free to Trust: Economic Freedom and Social Capital," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 141-169, May.
    5. Thomas Wagner, 1998. "Reciprocity And Efficiency," Rationality and Society, , vol. 10(3), pages 347-375, August.
    6. Kevin L. Brown, 1996. "Was Adam Smith An Economist?," Rationality and Society, , vol. 8(3), pages 343-347, August.
    7. Labaki Rania, 2013. "Beyond the Awaking of a “Sleeping Beauty”: Toward Business Models Inclusive of the Emotional Dimension in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 265-276, July.
    8. Hipp, Lena & Anderson, Christopher J., 2015. "Laziness or liberation? Labor market policies and workers' attitudes toward employment flexibility," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101872, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Schmid, A. Allan & Robison, Lindon J., 1995. "Applications Of Social Capital Theory," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 27(1), pages 1-8, July.
    10. Mark Mortensen & Tsedal B. Neeley, 2012. "Reflected Knowledge and Trust in Global Collaboration," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(12), pages 2207-2224, December.
    11. Vafai, Kouroche, 2002. "Preventing abuse of authority in hierarchies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 1143-1166, October.
    12. Shepherd, Dean A., 2009. "Grief recovery from the loss of a family business: A multi- and meso-level theory," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 81-97, January.
    13. Cameron, Samuel, 1997. "The economics of preference change: The case of arts therapy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 453-463, June.
    14. Thierry Poulain-Rehm & Xavier Lepers, 2013. "Does Employee Ownership Benefit Value Creation? The Case of France (2001–2005)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 325-340, January.
    15. Wilson, Jeanne M. & Straus, Susan G. & McEvily, Bill, 2006. "All in due time: The development of trust in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 16-33, January.
    16. Peterson, H. Christopher & Robison, Lindon J. & Siles, Marcelo E., 1999. "The Social Capital Foundations Of Trust In Global Agri-Food System Transactions," Staff Paper Series 11490, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    17. Christian Scheve & Daniel Moldt & Julia Fix & Rolf Luede, 2006. "My agents love to conform: Norms and emotion in the micro-macro link," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 81-100, October.

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