TURNER■ STETS to the highly cognitive conceptualizations of self and identity in most symbol interactionist theories At the most general level, symbolic interactionist theories(with the exe affect control theory) are guided by the following generalizations 1. The more salient an identity is in a situation, the more likely individuals are to emit gestures and behaviors that conform to standards established by this 2. The more an identity is verified by the responses of others, the more likely a person is to experience positive emotions such as pride, happiness, and atisfaction; the more often this identity is verified, the higher it is placed in the prominence or salience hierarchy. 3. The less an identity is verified by the responses of others, the more likely a person is to experience negative emotions such as embarrassment, shame, and guilt; the more intense these negative emotions are, the more this person will attempt to bring into congruence behavior marking an identity, perceptions of others'responses, and cultural standards of evaluat 4. The more an individual experiences negative emotional arousal from the failure to verify an identity, the greater the likelihood that this person will adopt defensive strategies; the more intense the negative emotions a person experiences, the more likely the person is to employ repression and external attributions as defensive strategies 5. The more that individuals have employed repression as a defensive strategy in the past, the more likely that the negative emotions aroused and repressed will (a) increase in intensity, (b) transmute into new kinds of negative emotions like (c)erupt in sudden spikes of negative emotions that disrupt 6. The more that individuals have been able to verify self and identities in situation, the more likely that identities, behavioral outputs, perceptual inputs, normative expectations, and sentiments about self, other, roles, and the situation will converge and reveal congruity Interaction Ritual Theories This group of theories draws from Durkheim's(1965[1912)secondary analysis of early descriptions of Australian aboriginals who periodically gathered in and around Alice Springs. Such gatherings led to animated and effervescent interaction, a common focus of attention, rhythmic movement of bodies, heightened emotions and an emerging sense of an external power or mana guiding thoughts and actions As a result, aborigines developed totems to symbolize this power of the gods; and when rituals were directed at the totems, emotional arousal ensued. Religion was thus the worship of the collective organization among individuals. Goffman (1959, 1967)was the first sociologist to recognize that the elements of Durkheim's31 May 2006 17:32 AR ANRV280-SO32-02.tex XMLPublishSM(2004/02/24) P1: JRX 32 TURNER STETS to the highly cognitive conceptualizations of self and identity in most symbolic interactionist theories. At the most general level, symbolic interactionist theories (with the exception of affect control theory) are guided by the following generalizations: 1. The more salient an identity is in a situation, the more likely individuals are to emit gestures and behaviors that conform to standards established by this identity. 2. The more an identity is verified by the responses of others, the more likely a person is to experience positive emotions such as pride, happiness, and satisfaction; the more often this identity is verified, the higher it is placed in the prominence or salience hierarchy. 3. The less an identity is verified by the responses of others, the more likely a person is to experience negative emotions such as embarrassment, shame, and guilt; the more intense these negative emotions are, the more this person will attempt to bring into congruence behavior marking an identity, perceptions of others’ responses, and cultural standards of evaluation. 4. The more an individual experiences negative emotional arousal from the failure to verify an identity, the greater the likelihood that this person will adopt defensive strategies; the more intense the negative emotions a person experiences, the more likely the person is to employ repression and external attributions as defensive strategies. 5. The more that individuals have employed repression as a defensive strategy in the past, the more likely that the negative emotions aroused and repressed will (a) increase in intensity, (b) transmute into new kinds of negative emotions like anger, and (c) erupt in sudden spikes of negative emotions that disrupt and breach interactions. 6. The more that individuals have been able to verify self and identities in a situation, the more likely that identities, behavioral outputs, perceptual inputs, normative expectations, and sentiments about self, other, roles, and the situation will converge and reveal congruity. Interaction Ritual Theories This group of theories draws from Durkheim’s (1965 [1912]) secondary analysis of early descriptions of Australian aboriginals who periodically gathered in and around Alice Springs. Such gatherings led to animated and effervescent interaction, a common focus of attention, rhythmic movement of bodies, heightened emotions, and an emerging sense of an external power or mana guiding thoughts and actions. As a result, aborigines developed totems to symbolize this power of the gods; and when rituals were directed at the totems, emotional arousal ensued. Religion was thus the worship of the collective organization among individuals. Goffman (1959, 1967) was the first sociologist to recognize that the elements of Durkheim’s Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2006.32:25-52. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org by HARVARD UNIVERSITY on 11/14/07. For personal use only.