The Affective Regulation of Social Interaction

The recent publication of David Heise's Expressive Order (2007) provides an occasion for discussing some of the key ideas in Affect Control Theory. The theory proposes that a few dimensions of affective meaning provide a common basis for interrelating personal identities and social actions. It holds that during interpersonal interactions, social behavior is continually regulated to maintain an affective tone compatible with whatever social roles or identities define the situation. We outline the intellectual history of the proposed dimensions and of the idea that each social action invites an action from the other that has a particular location along these dimensions. We also relate these ideas to the Affect-as-Information hypothesis, an approach that often guides research in psychology on the role of affect in regulating judgment and thought.