Emotions in Qualitative Research

Qualitative Studies of Emotions

Qualitative researchers have contributed greatly to our understanding of emotions. The concept of “emotion management,” which captures how people try to change, suppress, or evince feelings or expressions in themselves or others, applies to a wide variety of populations and research settings, no matter the size of the group or its levels of interaction. Perhaps most well known is Arlie Russell Hochschild's study of flight attendants and their required—but unpaid—emotional labor. Hochschild's findings inspired a proliferation of studies that track what happens to workers who attempt to manage their emotions under challenging working conditions (often in professional and service occupations).

Through a variety of techniques, qualitative researchers have provided valuable information on emotions such as fear, anger, shame, sadness, grief, love, desire, sympathy, excitement, suspicion, aggression, frustration, and boredom. Qualitative researchers have contributed greatly to our understanding of how emotions are socially constructed by examining how emotional experiences and the meanings attached to them may vary widely across different cultures and subcultures. They have clarified how the expression, or display, of emotions carries different meanings based on individuals' social statuses and the definitions of the situations in which they interact. For example, qualitative researchers have observed that when someone with high social status (e.g., privileged by sex, class, or race) expresses anger, others may respond as if that anger has a greater intensity and impact than when someone with lower status expresses anger. Someone with high social status may also enjoy immunity from the emotional demands of subordinates. Consequently, emotional privileges accompany the invisible privileges and unearned social rewards that benefit members of high-status groups.

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