The Psychological Construction of Emotion

This volume presents cutting-edge theory and research on emotions as constructed events rather than fixed, essential entities. It provides a thorough introduction to the assumptions, hypotheses, and scientific methods that embody psychological constructionist approaches. Leading scholars examine the neurobiological, cognitive/perceptual, and social processes that give rise to the experiences Western cultures call sadness, anger, fear, and so on. The book explores such compelling questions as how the brain creates emotional experiences, whether the "ingredients" of emotions also give rise to other mental states, and how to define what is or is not an emotion. Introductory and concluding chapters by the editors identify key themes and controversies and compare psychological construction to other theories of emotion.

About the Author

Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, is University Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Director of the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory at Northeastern University, with research appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and is a faculty member at the MGH Center for Law, Brain and Behavior. Dr. Barrett’s research focuses on the nature of emotion from both psychological and neuroscience perspectives, and incorporates insights from anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, and the history of psychology. She is the recipient of the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and the Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health, among numerous other awards, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the APS. She was a founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Emotion Review and cofounder of the Society for Affective Science. Dr. Barrett has published more than 170 papers and book chapters. James A. Russell, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Emotion Development Lab at Boston College. His research centers on human emotion, with interests in how large-scale environments influence emotion, the nature of emotion, how emotions can be described and assessed, a circumplex model of core affect, cultural similarities and differences in emotion concepts, and the perception of emotion from facial expressions. Dr. Russell is an Editor-In-Chief of Emotion Review and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. He has published more than 100 articles in scientific journals.