Updating classic sociological theory and utilizing the results of recent research in evolutionary and neurphysiological theory, this ambitious work aims to present no less than a unified, general theory of what happens when people interact.

Jonathan H. Turner is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Riverside. Among his many books are On the Origins of Human Emotions: A Sociological Inquiry into the Evolution of Human Affect (Stanford, 2000) and A Theory of Social Interaction (Stanford, 1988)