The Nature of Emotion Fundamental Questions

by Ekman, Paul; Davidson, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9780195089431
• ISBN10: 019508943X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-12-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

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 3 to 7 of the following leading researchers: 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.

Author Biography

Dr. Paul Ekman, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. is Williams James Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Table of Contents

Contributors	xiii
Introduction	3	(2)
Are There Basic Emotions?	5	(44)
In the Eyes of the Beholder	7	(8)
James R. Averill
All Emotions Are Basic	15	(5)
Paul Ekman
The Basics of Basic Emotion	20	(5)
Jaak Panksepp
Toward a Concept of ``Modal Emotions''	25	(7)
Klaus R. Scherer
``You're Not Sick, You're Just in Love'': Emotion as an Interpretive System	32	(13)
Richard A. Shweder
Afterword	45	(4)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
How Are Emotions Distinguished from Moods, Temperament, and Other Related Affective Constructs?	49	(48)
On Emotion, Mood, and Related Affective Constructs	51	(5)
Richard J. Davidson
Moods, Emotions, and Traits	56	(3)
Paul Ekman
Varieties of Affect: Emotions and Episodes, Moods, and Sentiments	59	(9)
Nico H. Frijda
Parsing the Emotional Domain from a Developmental Perspective	68	(6)
H.H. Goldsmith
Distinctions Among Emotions, Moods, and Temperamental Qualities	74	(5)
Jerome Kagan
The Stable and the Unstable in Emotion	79	(7)
Richard Lazarus
Basic Emotions Ramify Widely in the Brain, Yielding Many Concepts That Cannot Be Distinguished Unambiguously...Yet	86	(3)
Jaak Panksepp
Emotions, Moods, Traits, and Temperaments: Conceptual Distinctions and Empirical Findings	89	(5)
David Watson
Lee Anna Clark
Afterword	94	(3)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
What Is the Function of Emotions?	97	(47)
Emotions Are Many Splendored Things	99	(4)
James R. Averill
Why Emotions Are Felt	103	(9)
Gerald L. Clore
Emotions Are Functional, Most of the Time	112	(11)
Nico H. Frijda
Human Emotions: A Functional View	123	(4)
Robert W. Levenson
Emotion Serves to Decouple Stimulus and Response	127	(4)
Klaus R. Scherer
Distinguishing Functional from Dysfunctional Affective Responses	131	(6)
Lee Anna Clark
David Watson
Afterword	137	(7)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
How is Evidence of Universals in Antecendents of Emotion Explained?	144	(35)
It's a Small World, But a Large Stage	143	(3)
James R. Averill
Antecedent Events and Emotion Metaphors	146	(4)
Paul Ekman
Some Reasons to Expect Universal Antecedents of Emotion	150	(5)
Phoebe C. Ellsworth
Universal Antecedents Exist, and Are Interesting	155	(8)
Nico H. Frijda
Universal Antecedents of the Emotions	163	(9)
Richard Lazarus
Evidence for Both Universality and Cultural Specificity of Emotion Elicitation	172	(4)
Klaus R. Scherer
Afterword	176	(3)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
What Are the Minimal Cognitive Prerequisites for Emotion?	179	(56)
Why Emotions Require Cognition	181	(11)
Gerald L. Clore
Levels of Thought and Levels of Emotion	192	(5)
Phoebe C. Ellsworth
Emotions Require Cognitions, Even If Simple Ones	197	(6)
Nico H. Frijda
Cognition Is One of Four Types of Emotion Activating Systems	203	(5)
Carroll E. Izard
Appraisal: The Long and the Short of It	208	(8)
Richard Lazarus
Cognitive-Emotional Interactions in the Brain	216	(8)
Joseph E. LeDoux
A Proper Distinction Between Affective and Cognitive Process Is Essential for Neuroscientific Progress	224	(3)
Jaak Panksepp
An Emotion's Occurrence Depends on the Relevance of an Event to the Organism's Goal/Need Hierarchy	227	(5)
Klaus R. Scherer
Afterword	232	(3)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
Is There Emotion-Specific Physiology?	235	(28)
Complexities in the Search for Emotion-Specific Physiology	237	(6)
Richard J. Davidson
Three Fundamental Emotion Systems	243	(5)
Jeffrey A. Gray
Emotion-Specific Physiological Activity: Don't Forget About CNS Physiology	248	(4)
Joseph E. LeDoux
The Search for Autonomic Specificity	252	(6)
Robert W. Levenson
The Clearest Physiological Distinctions Between Emotions Will Be Found Among the Circuits of the Brain	258	(3)
Jaak Panksepp
Afterword	261	(2)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
Can We Control Our Emotions?	263	(20)
Emotions Unbecoming and Becoming	265	(5)
James R. Averill
The Degree of Emotional Control Depends on the Kind of Personal System Involved	270	(3)
Joseph E. LeDoux
Emotional Control: Variations and Consequences	273	(7)
Robert W. Levenson
Afterword	280	(3)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
Can Emotions Be Nonconscious?	283	(18)
Why Emotions Are Never Unconscious	285	(6)
Gerald L. Clore
Emotional Processing, but Not Emotions, Can Occur Unconsciously	291	(2)
Joseph E. LeDoux
Evidence for Nonconscious Emotions	293	(5)
Robert B. Zajonc
Afterword	298	(3)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
What Is the Relation Between Emotion and Memory?	301	(18)
Some Relations Between Emotions and Memory	303	(3)
Gordon H. Bower
The Past and the Present in Emotion	306	(5)
Richard Lazarus
Memory Versus Emotional Memory in the Brain	311	(2)
Joseph E. LeDoux
Subjectivity May Have Evolved in the Brain as a Simple Value-Coding Process That Promotes the Learning of New Behaviors	313	(3)
Jaak Panksepp
Afterword	316	(3)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
How Do Individuals Differ in Emotion-Related Activity?	319	(26)
Honoring Biology in the Study of Affective Style	321	(8)
Richard J. Davidson
Personality Dimensions and Emotion Systems	329	(3)
Jeffrey A. Gray
Individual Differences in Emotion	332	(5)
Richard Lazarus
Broad Dimensions of Temperament and Personality	337	(5)
Mary K. Rothbart
Afterword	342	(3)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
What Develops in Emotional Development?	345	(32)
Two Aspects of Emotional Development: Expression and Elicitation	347	(5)
Linda A. Camras
Experience and Understanding of Emotions, Relationships, and Membership in a Particular Culture	352	(4)
Judy Dunn
Intersystem Connections	356	(6)
Carroll E. Izard
Meaning and Emotional Development	362	(5)
Richard Lazarus
Emotional Development Yields Lots of ``Stuff'' ... Especially Mind ``Stuff'' That Emerges from Brain ``Stuff''	367	(2)
Jaak Panksepp
Emotional Development: Changes in Reactivity and Self-Regulation	369	(4)
Mary K. Rothbart
Afterword	373	(4)
Richard J. Davidson
Paul Ekman
What Influences the Subjective Experience of Emotion?	377	(32)
I Feel, Therefore I Am--I Think	379	(7)
James R. Averill
Why Emotions Vary in Intensity	386	(8)
Gerald L. Clore
Emotional Experience Is an Output of, Not a Cause of, Emotional Processing	394	(2)
Joseph E. LeDoux
Evolution Constructed the Potential for Subjective Experience Within the Neurodynamics of the Mammalian Brain	396	(4)
Jaak Panksepp
The Vicissitudes of Mood: A Schematic Model	400	(6)
David Watson
Lee Anna Clark
Afterword	406	(3)
Paul Ekman
Richard J. Davidson
Epilogue--Affective Science: A Research Agenda	409	(22)
References	431	(44)
Index	475