Emotions and cognition · Emotions · Neurosciences
How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
2017448 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas★ 3.5 (2)
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What is How Emotions Are Made about?
The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. A lucid report from the cutting edge of emotion science, How Emotions Are Made reveals the profound real-world consequences of this breakthrough for everything from neuroscience and medicine to the legal system and even national security, laying bare the immense implications of our latest and most intimate scientific revolution.
A glimpse inside
Emotions Are Not Universal or Hardwired
Barrett dismantles the long-standing belief that emotions like anger, fear, or happiness are universal, biologically fixed responses found in every human brain. Instead, she shows that what we call 'anger' or 'sadness' varies widely across cultures and individuals. There is no single 'anger circuit' in the brain; rather, emotions are constructed from more basic ingredients, making them far more flexible and context-dependent than previously thought.
The Theory of Constructed Emotion
Barrett introduces the 'theory of constructed emotion,' which posits that emotions are not pre-programmed reactions but are actively built by the brain. This construction process draws on past experiences, bodily sensations, and cultural concepts to interpret and categorize what we're feeling in any given moment. In essence, your brain predicts and assembles emotions on the fly, rather than simply reacting to external events.
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Open Library
★ 3.5 / 5
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Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1Emotions Are Not Universal or Hardwired
- 2The Theory of Constructed Emotion
- 3The Role of Prediction in the Brain
- 4Culture Shapes Emotional Experience
- 5Implications for Health, Law, and Society
Popular quotes from How Emotions Are Made
“Emotions are not built-in, but made.”
“Your brain is constantly guessing what’s going on in the world and in your body, and what you should do next.”
Frequently asked
The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance o