The Social Psychology of Occupational Status Groups: Relationality in the Structure of Deference

Affect Control Theory (ACT) can predict the average deference that occupational identities receive from others. These “deference scores” can capture occupational status better than previous operationalizations of prestige. Combining this new measurement of occupational status with social network methods, this article explores the underlying relational patterns hidden within Freeland and Hoey’s (2018) scores of average deference. I construct a complete network of deference relations across 303 occupational identities using Bayesian ACT simulations. A blockmodel analysis of this network resulted in four positions within the occupational deference structure: everyday specialists, service-to-society occupations, the disagreeably powerful, and the actively revered. These are occupational classes that defer to the same occupational identities and receive deference from the same occupations. Exploring the reduced blockmodel provides a more complete depiction of the occupational status structure as measured by ACT.

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The Structure of Deference: Modeling Occupational Status Using Affect Control Theory

American Sociological Review ◽

10.1177/0003122418761857 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 83 (2) ◽

pp. 243-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Robert E. Freeland ◽

Jesse Hoey

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Occupational Status ◽

Meaningful Work ◽

Occupational Prestige ◽

High Status ◽

Affect Control Theory ◽

Affect Control ◽

Cultural Expectations ◽

Definition Of ◽

Poll Data

Current theories of occupational status conceptualize it as either a function of cultural esteem or the symbolic aspect of the class structure. Based on Weber’s definition of status as rooted in either cultural or class conditions, we argue that a consistent operationalization of occupational status must account for both of these dimensions. Using quantitative measures of cultural sentiments for occupational identities, we use affect control theory to model the network deference relations across occupations. We calculate a measure of the extent to which one occupational actor deferring to another is incongruent with cultural expectations for all possible combinations of 304 occupational titles. Because high-status actors are less likely to defer to low-status actors, the degree to which these events violate cultural expectations provides an indicator of the relative status position of different occupations. We assess the construct validity of our new deference score measure using Harris Poll data. Deference scores are more predictive of status rankings from poll data than are occupational prestige scores. We establish criterion validity using five theoretically relevant workplace outcomes: subjective work attachment, job satisfaction, general happiness, the importance of meaningful work, and perceived respect at work.

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Villains, Victims, and Heroes in Character Theory and Affect Control Theory

Social Psychology Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0190272518781050 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 81 (3) ◽

pp. 228-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kelly Bergstrand ◽

James M. Jasper

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Control Theory ◽

Group Dynamics ◽

Cross Talk ◽

Character Theory ◽

Affect Control Theory ◽

Affect Control ◽

Cultural Roots ◽

Cultural Research ◽

Character Types

We examine three basic tropes—villain, victim, and hero—that emerge in images, claims, and narratives. We compare recent research on characters with the predictions of an established tradition, affect control theory (ACT). Combined, the theories describe core traits of the villain-victim-hero triad and predict audiences’ reactions. Character theory (CT) can help us understand the cultural roots of evaluation, potency, and activity profiles and the robustness of profile ratings. It also provides nuanced information regarding multiplicity in, and subtypes of, characters and how characters work together to define roles. Character types can be strategically deployed in political realms, potentially guiding strategies, goals, and group dynamics. ACT predictions hold up well, but CT suggests several paths for extension and elaboration. In many cases, cultural research and social psychology work on parallel tracks, with little cross-talk. They have much to learn from each other.

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THE LIKELIHOOD OF VICTIM RESTITUTION IN MOCK CASES: ARE THE ‘RULES OF THE GAME’ DIFFERENT FROM PRISON AND PROBATION?

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2000.28.5.481 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 481-498 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

OLGA TSOUDIS

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

Control Theory ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Affect Control Theory ◽

Affect Control ◽

Justice Studies ◽

Rules Of The Game

Criminal justice studies have examined the significance of factors on punishment likelihoods for offenders. However, these studies typically emphasize imprisonment and probation. With the growing concern for victim's rights, the criminal justice system has included the option of victim restitution. Researchers, however, have not examined the significance of factors for the likelihood of victim restitution. The present study explores differences in punishment likelihoods through social psychology — more specifically, affect control theory. Participants, after reading a presentence report, answer questions regarding the offender, the victim and the crime. Results demonstrate a difference in factors depending on the type of punishment, thus raising issues concerning the distinction between victim restitution and other punishments. The significance of social psychology and affect control theory is emphasized.

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Using A Semiotic Metatheory for Theory Understanding, Appraisal, and Use: An Illustrative Social Work Translation of the Affect Control Theory of Emotions

Advances in Social Work ◽

10.18060/128 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

James A Forte

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Control Theory ◽

Social Environment ◽

Human Behavior ◽

Scientific Theory ◽

Affect Control Theory ◽

Affect Control ◽

Sign Systems ◽

Social Settings ◽

The Social

Charles Sanders Peirce’s creed, “Do Not Block Inquiry,” and his triadic model of the signs serve as the base for a semiotic metatheory of science and scientific theory. Semioticians characterize science as a universe of diverse sign systems, and scientists as members of different language communities.This paper introduces this approach. Affect control theorists ponder and investigate how actors, identities, actions, objects, emotions, and social settings are interrelated during interaction. Semiotic tools and principles guide the translation of the Affect Control Theory(ACT) of emotion. ACT is summarized and appraised for its value in increasing our understanding of human behavior in the social environment, its suitability to social work, and its applicability. ACT technical words are translated into simpler language, ACT displays into words, and ACT’s interactionist language is translated into the language of ecosystems theory. Suggestions for strengthening ACT and for promoting semiotic translation are included.

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Theoretical and Empirical Modeling of Identity and Sentiments in Collaborative Groups

10.31235/osf.io/4hukx ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jesse Hoey ◽

Mei Nagappan ◽

Kimberly Rogers ◽

Tobias Schröder ◽

Diego Dametto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Science ◽

Control Theory ◽

Symbolic Interaction ◽

Computational Simulation ◽

Empirical Modeling ◽

Computational Techniques ◽

Affect Control Theory ◽

Collaborative Groups ◽

Affect Control ◽

The Social

Theoretical and Empirical Modeling of Identity and Sentiments in Collaborative Groups (THEMIS.COG) was an interdisciplinary research collaboration of computer scientists and social scientists from the University of Waterloo (Canada), Potsdam University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and Dartmouth College (USA). This white paper summarizes the results of our research at the end of the grant term. Funded by the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s Digging Into Data initiative, the project aimed at theoretical and empirical modeling of identity and sentiments in collaborative groups. Understanding the social forces behind self-organized collaboration is important because technological and social innovations are increasingly generated through informal, distributed processes of collaboration, rather than in formal organizational hierarchies or through market forces. Our work used a data-driven approach to explore the social psychological mechanisms that motivate such collaborations and determine their success or failure. We focused on the example of GitHub, the world’s current largest digital platform for open, collaborative software development. In contrast to most, purely inductive contemporary approaches leveraging computational techniques for social science, THEMIS.COG followed a deductive, theory-driven approach. We capitalized on affect control theory, a mathematically formalized theory of symbolic interaction originated by sociologist David R. Heise and further advanced in previous work by some of the THEMIS.COG collaborators, among others. Affect control theory states that people control their social behaviours by intuitively attempting to verify culturally shared feelings about identities, social roles, and behaviour settings. From this principle, implemented in computational simulation models, precise predictions about group dynamics can be derived. It was the goal of THEMIS.COG to adapt and apply this approach to study the GitHub collaboration ecosystem through a symbolic interactionist lens. The project contributed substantially to the novel endeavor of theory development in social science based on large amounts of naturally occurring digital data.

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