Action, Interaction, and Groups
This chapter concentrates on developments in two areas where major advances have come in the past four decades, and where controversies still brew. The two areas include: the new control theories of social interaction, which have revolutionized the symbolic interactionist tradition, and studies of the impact of group structures on the development of meaning, commitment, and group identity. In recent years, new mathematical models of identity and self have developed that represent the uncertainty of meaning that can permeate some interactions. Experimental research suggests that affect control theory does a good job of predicting the emotions of actors and the recipients of actions, as well as the behavioral outcomes of interaction. While research on social exchange and identity proceeded without much cross-fertilization for many years, several research streams have recently developed to examine how instrumental exchanges affect emotional outcomes, leading to the formation of commitment and group identity formation.
