The Nature of Emotion: Fundamental Questions

by Paul Ekman (Editor), Richard J. Davidson

The editors of this unique volume have selected 24 leading emotion theorists and asked them to address 12 fundamental questions about the subject of emotion. For example; Are there basic emotions? How do you distinguish emotions from moods, temperament, and emotional traits? Can we control our emotions? Can emotions be non-conscious? What is the relation between emotion and memory? What develops in emotional development? Each chapter addresses a different one of these fundamental questions about emotion, with often divergent answers from several of leading researchers represented here: James Averill, Gordon Bower, Linda Camras, Lee Clark, Gerald Clore, Richard Davidson, Judy Dunn, Paul Ekman, Phoebe Ellsworth, Nico Frijda, Hill Goldsmith, Jeffrey Gray, Carroll Izard, Jerome Kaga, Richard Lazarus, Joseph Le Doux, Robert Levenson, Jaak Panksepp, Mary Rothbart, Klaus Shere, Richard Shweder, David Watson, and Robert Zajonc. At the end of each chapter, the editors--Ekman and Davidson--highlight the areas of agreement and disagreement about each of the 12 questions about emotion. In the final chapter, Affective Science: A Research Agenda, the editors describe the research they believe would help answer each of the questions. Not a textbook offering a single viewpoint, The Nature of Emotion, uniquely reveals the central issues in emotion research and theory in the words of many of the leading scientists working in the field today. It is ideal for students, researchers, and clinicians interested in emotion.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Emotion

512 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 1994

About the author

American psychologist that pioneered the study of emotions' relationship to facial expressions.

Reviews

[D.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

You've really got to be an expert, or truly love the idea and conceptual framework of basic emotion. The authors are uneven: some skillfully evocative within the confines of jargon, others...not so much. It's dense, professional academia, but for all of that...very very very interesting.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in serious psychologese in very short papers/chapters. I did not read it cover to cover, but i glanced through most of it.

[Deema O. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s exceptionally written & the ideas are well constructed. However, you get kinda lost & bored as you read it.