Emotional Energy as the Common Denominator of Rational Action

Abstract

A solution is proposed to several long-standing problems in the theory of rational social action: emotional or altruistic behavior that escapes cost/benefit calculations; the lack of a common metric among different spheres of action; and naturalistic evidence that choice in real-life situations involves little calculation. Emotional, symbolic, and value-oriented behavior is determined by a social mechanism, the dynamics of interaction rituals (IRs). Because IRs vary in the amount of solidarity they provide, and in their costs of participating, there is a market for ritual participation that shapes the distribution of individual behavior. IRs generate a variable level of emotional energy (EE) in each individual over time, and EE operates as the common denominator in terms of which choices are made among alternative courses of action. Individuals apportion their investments in work and in ritual participation to maximize their overall flow of EE. The economy of participating in interaction rituals shapes individual motivation for participating in the economy of material goods and services. Microsituational cognition is determined by the EE and the cognitive symbols generated by IRs, bringing about the tendency to narrow the range of alternatives that are consciously focused upon in choice situations. Nevertheless, the aggregation of microsituations is subject to interactional markets, which gives individuals a rational trajectory in the medium-run drift of behavior.