Objects, Meanings, and Role Identities

The Practices that Establish Association in the Case of Home‐Based Employment 1

Bibliographic Data

ID12134643
AuthorsKaren Danna Lynch (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume24
Issue1
Pages76-103
Publication date2009-01-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Forum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0884-8971 • E-ISSN: 1573-7861
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1573-7861.2008.01087.x
OpenAlexW2162423312
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited44

Contemporary social theory suggests that the meaning of any object differs by how we, as social actors, respond and relate to it. The challenge for sociology lies in exploring the different strategies and practices recursively and productively embedded in these relationships. In this article, I present data from in‐depth interviews with 20 home‐based employees to illustrate how these individuals interact with familiar objects in their surroundings to form anchor points for diverse lines of conduct. Although I draw from a number of sociological theories in my analyses, I further utilize cognitive theory to outline three micro‐psychological practices (i.e., routinization, goal targeting, and emotional alignment) that respondents apply in their attempt to establish the desired association between objects and identities. In this way, the article both extends previous lines of inquiry into the relationship between objects and actors, and makes a new contribution to the growing literature on culture and cognition

Association (psychology · Cognition · Cognitive map · Epistemology · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Object (grammar · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology

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