Stina Bergman Blix

The emotional labour of gaining and maintaining access to the field

The role of emotions in qualitative research receives increasing attention. We argue for an active rather than a reactive approach towards emotions to improve the quality of research; emotions are a vital source of information and researchers use emotions strategically. Analysing the emotion work of researchers in the process of gaining, securing and maintaining access to the Swedish judiciary, we propose that the emotion work involved is a type of emotional labour, required by the researcher in order to successfully collect data. The particular case of researching elites is highlighted. Emotional labour is analysed along three dimensions: 1. Strategic emotion work – building trust outwards and self-confidence inwards; 2. Emotional reflexivity – attentiveness to emotional signals monitoring one’s position and actions in the field; and 3. Emotion work to cope with emotive dissonance – inward-directed emotion work to deal with the potentially alienating effects of strategic emotion work.

Researching Emotion in Courts and the Judiciary: A Tale of Two Projects

The dominant image of judicial authority is emotional detachment; however, judicial work involves emotion. This presents a challenge for researchers to investigate emotions where they are disavowed. Two projects, one in Australia and another in Sweden, use multiple sociological research methods to study judicial experience, expression, and management of emotion. In both projects, observational research examines judicial officers’ display of emotion in court, while interviews investigate judicial emotional experiences. Surveys in Australia identify emotions judicial officers generally find important in their work; in Sweden, shadowing allows researchers to investigate individual judicial emotion experiences and expression. Evaluating the different methods used demonstrates the limitations and effectiveness of particular research designs, the value of multiple methods and the challenges for researching emotion.

A Sociological Perspective on Emotions in the Judiciary

Introducing a sociological perspective on judicial emotions, we argue that previous studies underemphasize structural and interactional dimensions. Through key concepts in the sociology of emotions we relate professional court actors’ emotion management to the emotional regime of the judiciary. Examples from the Swedish judiciary illustrate three main arguments: (a) The idea of rational justice as nonemotional must be investigated as a joint accomplishment including collective emotion management; (b) Judicial objectivity requires situated emotion management and empathy, orientated by emotions of pride/shame; (c) The structural dimensions of power/status mitigate feeling and display rules. The situated power of the judge is upheld by ritual deference from other court professionals. Concluding, we suggest topics to develop structural and interactional perspectives on judicial emotion.

Empathy and objectivity in the legal procedure: the case of Swedish prosecutors

Abstract The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy. An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and 2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36 prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for trial, empathy is used to anticipate the situation in court. During the trial, the empathic process includes management of the emotions of others in order to stage credible testimonies, convince the judge and calm victims. The empathic process is oriented and restricted by the emotive–cognitive judicial frame through which prosecutors are rewarded by emotions of comfort and pride in demonstrating expertise of legal coding. We conclude that empathy is integral to prosecutors’ professional performance, including the requirement to be objective. The study points to the problems with silencing emotions and maintaining a positivist notion of objectivity in the legal system.

Observing judicial work and emotions: using two researchers

Observation is an important component of research to examine complex social settings and is well-established for studying courtroom dynamics and judicial behaviour. However, the many activities occurring at once and the multiple participants, lay and professional, make it impossible for a sole researcher to observe and understand everything occurring in the courtroom. This article reports on the use of two researchers to undertake court observations, in two different studies, each nested in a different research design. The social nature of data collection and the value of dialogue between the two researchers in interpreting observed events, especially when studying emotion, are readily apparent in both studies.

Facilitating emotion management: organisational and individual strategies in the theatre

Detailed analysis of two theatre productions shows that the concept of bounded emotionality can be used to tease out aspects of emotion management that would not otherwise have been detectable. Non-instrumental ways to manage emotions – to facilitate emotion work – are used in situations where the goal is to produce quality performances, not to promote well-being as such. The rehearsal period consists of phases that require different emotion management strategies. In an initial phase, a secure working climate is established to deal with feelings of insecurity and shame. A creative phase allows for role-related emotions, and a crisis phase calls for a balance between frontstage and backstage regions. In a final phase, the ensemble closes its ranks and prepares to meet the audience. The director is expected to ‘manipulate with finesse’, transforming his/her leadership role during the rehearsal process from that of boss to coach. Private, role-related and situation-related emotions are differentiated, showin...

Martine Herzog-Evans, French Renentry Courts and Rehabilitation : Mister Jourdain of Desistance

Martine Herzog-Evans, French Renentry Courts and Rehabilitation: Mister Jourdain of Desistance