From: BBC
A new way to look at emotions – and how to master yours
One day at graduate school, one of Lisa Feldman Barrett’s colleagues asked her out on a date. She didn’t really fancy him, but she had been in the lab all day and felt like a change of scenery, so she agreed to go to the local coffee shop. As they chatted, however, she started to become flushed in the face, her stomach was churning, and her head seemed to whirl. Maybe she was wrong, she thought: perhaps she really did like him. By the time they left, she’d already agreed to go on a second date.
…
How could someone mistake the rush of an infection for the fever of love? A psychologist at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, Barrett has spent her career examining the ways we construct emotions, culminating in a recent book – How Emotions Are Made – and her experience on that date is just one of many examples that illustrate the ways our feelings can confound us.
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): BBC
More of our Members in the Media >
Comments
I found it singular how Schachter’s two-factors theory of emotions (e.g. Schachter & Singer, 1962) could be completely overlooked in this article. How can the journalist explain the phenomena described in this BBC piece (sic) in terms of “Barrett’s theory?”
There is no new (sic) “Barrett’s theory”– what we’re talking about here is a well-established-phenomenon already known as social labeling of emotional arousal. Really nothing new. How can a BBC journalist sell it as “a new theory”? Thank you.
APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.
Please login with your APS account to comment.