How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain―How We Create Emotions Through Brain, Body, and Culture

Preeminent psychologist Lisa Barrett lays out how the brain constructs emotions in a way that could revolutionize psychology, health care, the legal system, and our understanding of the human mind.

“Fascinating . . . A thought-provoking journey into emotion science.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A singular book, remarkable for the freshness of its ideas and the boldness and clarity with which they are presented.”—Scientific American

“A brilliant and original book on the science of emotion, by the deepest thinker about this topic since Darwin.”—Daniel Gilbert, best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness

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 groundbreaking brain science 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, this compelling work of popular psychology 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.

This paradigm-shifting book reveals:

• A New Theory of Emotion: Learn why emotions aren’t reactions that are hardwired into your brain, but are instead constructed in the moment through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture.
• Cutting-Edge Neuroscience: Go beyond long-standing beliefs with the psychologist and neuroscientist leading a revolution in emotion science comparable to the discovery of natural selection.
• Real-World Consequences: Understand the profound implications this breakthrough has for everything from health care and medicine to the legal system and our understanding of the human mind.
• The Mind and Brain Connection: Explore a lucid report from the forefront of psychology that changes not only what you know about emotions, but who you think you are.

LISA FELDMAN BARRETT, PhD, is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She received a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award for her groundbreaking research on emotion in the brain, and is an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada. Barrett is the author of How Emotions are Made and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.