In studying emotion, sociologists, in contrast to biologists & psychologists, must examine not only aspects shared between human beings & other animals but also aspects uniquely human. To do so they must overcome the tendency either to reduce human characteristics to those of other species or to interpret human uniquenesses distinctively. Both result from a focus on static conditions rather than on processes. A theoretical model is proposed for human emotion based on the uniquely great extent of the human capacity to learn & indeed the necessity for learning as a basis for human survival, which requires a redefinition of the concept of nature. As a result, no human adult experiences entirely unlearned or genetically fixed emotions. An example of this approach can be seen in analysis of the implications of the unique mobility & expressiveness of human faces, which only human beings can interpret properly. It is no longer possible to study emotions in isolation, without reference to the total experience of the human beings who feel them. W. H. Stoddard 

source: Sociological Abstracts