How Emotions Are Made
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D.
16 min
7 Key Points
4.6 RateWhat's inside?
Discover the fascinating science behind your feelings, as this book unravels the complex workings of the brain and how it creates our emotions.
You'll learn
1. How our brains make us feel emotions.2. The link between what we feel, think, and do.3. How society and culture shape our feelings.4. The role of words and body feelings in our emotions.5. Using science to handle emotions and mental health.6. Tips to control your feelings and boost emotional smarts.Key points
01Old-school emotion theory says we all feel the same way. But that's not true today - our feelings are shaped by our culture, experiences, and individuality
Lisa Feldman Barrett, a top-notch psychologist, has always had her doubts about the old-school way of looking at emotions. This conventional viewpoint says that emotions are the same for everyone, built into our brains, and can be neatly sorted into a few basic categories like joy, sorrow, anger, and fear. But Barrett's deep dive into the world of psychology has made her question this popular belief. Back in the 1980s, Barrett started her journey as a clinical psychologist. She was captivated by the birth and nature of emotions and decided to dig deeper into this intricate part of human psychology. Her research led her to a captivating study involving folks diagnosed with either anxiety or depression. When Barrett chatted with these patients, she noticed something unexpected. Even though they were dealing with different mental health issues, the patients had a hard time putting their emotional state into words. They found it tough to tell the difference between anxiety and depression based on how they felt. This was a surprise because anxiety and depression, while related, are marked by different emotional experiences. This observation introduced Barrett to the idea of "emotional granularity". This fancy term simply means how well individuals can identify and tell their emotions apart. Some people have a high level of emotional granularity, meaning they can spot and name their feelings accurately. Others, however, have a lower level of emotional granularity, making it hard for them to tell similar emotions apart. This finding shook up the old-school view of emotions. If emotions were indeed the same for everyone and built into our brains, as the conventional viewpoint suggests, then why do people react differently to the same emotions? Why do some people have a hard time naming their feelings, while others can do so easily? Fueled by these questions, Barrett decided to explore the idea that emotions might not be as cut-and-dried as the old-school view suggests. Instead, she suggested that emotions might be very personal, varying a lot from person to person in terms of what triggers them and how they are experienced. In the following parts of her book, Barrett dives deeper into her groundbreaking research and discoveries. She challenges the old-school view of emotions and presents a new, more detailed understanding of our emotional lives. This viewpoint not only shines a light on the complexity of emotions but also has big implications for how we understand and treat mental health issues.
02Emotions aren't just reactions, they're also simulations our brain creates based on past experiences
Let's dive into the fascinating world of our brain and emotions. Picture this: someone hands you a slice of pineapple. Your brain doesn't just see a piece of fruit. Instead, it pulls up a whole library of pineapple-related memories. The sweet and sour taste, the rough texture of the skin, the tropical scent, and even that time you enjoyed a pineapple upside-down cake at a friend's birthday bash. Each of these memories is tucked away in different neurons, each specializing in different sensory experiences - taste, touch, smell, and even emotional memories. These neurons work in harmony, like a well-practiced orchestra, to paint a mental picture of the pineapple. This is what Lisa Feldman Barrett calls simulation from a concept. The concept is your understanding of what a pineapple is, based on your past experiences. The simulation is your brain's way of stitching together all these memories to make sense of your current experience. Now, let's apply this to emotions. Barrett suggests that our brain uses the same concept and simulation process to create emotions. Imagine you're at the dinner table and suddenly, you feel a twinge in your stomach. Your brain immediately starts to look for a reason behind this discomfort. It could be that you've eaten too much, or maybe you're feeling nervous because someone you have mixed feelings for just walked into the room. Your brain rummages through your past experiences to find a likely explanation. It remembers the time you overindulged at a buffet and felt a similar discomfort, and it also recalls the butterflies in your stomach the last time you saw that person. Based on these memories, your brain constructs an emotion that best fits the situation. This could be regret for overeating or anxiety due to the unexpected presence of that person. Barrett calls this "constructed emotion." In a nutshell, Barrett's theory suggests that our emotions aren't just knee-jerk reactions but are built by our brain based on our past experiences. This idea challenges the old-school belief that humans have six basic emotions - happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise. Instead, it suggests that our emotional responses are far more complex and personalized, shaped by our unique experiences and memories.
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03Basic emotions like joy or fear might be universal, but many others aren't. Our culture, society, and personal experiences shape how we express and recognize emotions
04Our brain uses concepts and categories to understand the world and create emotions. For example, if we understand 'danger', our brain can trigger fear
05Society's 'rules' can shape our emotions. Cultural norms, social expectations, and values can influence how we express and experience emotions
06Looking after our brain and body can help us control our emotions. This includes sleep, diet, exercise, stress management, and understanding our emotions
07Conclusion
About Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She's an expert in the psychology of emotion and neuroscience, and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the APA's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award.
