The purpose of this research is to explore how people make sense of the word feel in their communication across different social relationships and contexts. Assuming the use of the word feel is linked to the act of emotional expression, a secondary purpose is to examine how the perceived management of the word feel may be linked to well-being. Fifteen individual participants shared their perceptions about how they use the word feel over eight types of interpersonal relationships. Discourse analysis revealed that the function of the word feel was to self-disclose emotions or to inquire about them in others. The word feel emerged as a tool that can be wielded to achieve catharsis, intimacy, or social support while framing several subject positions within a discourse of emotional disclosure. When the word feel was reciprocated with others, participant perceptions showed how social status influenced how it was managed in relationships. In particular, the vulnerable disclosing parties were required to take risks in order to achieve the benefits of disclosure. Ruptures in the discourse occurred when participants who did not have opportunities to self-disclose experienced an unwanted emotional tension, an interest in receiving social support, or a drive to find closeness. These instances led to a use of the word feel outside of its emergent social rules. Finally, the beliefs of participants showed it was not just status that played a role in its management but gender as well. The findings show that although the deployment of feel requires judicious management of the risks inherent in emotional self-disclosure, the use of this can indicate the exchange of social resources known to have positive effects on well-being.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/30422 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Doell, Kelly G. |
| Contributors | Dallaire, Christine |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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