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Summary of How Emotions Are Made 

4.6 . 2968 reviews

Short summary

Do you ever wonder where emotions come from? When you feel angry, sad, upset, or jealous, what produces those feelings? And how are you able to put a label on the emotion you’re actually experiencing? How Emotions are Made answers those questions simply and understandably while doing away with some of the long-held beliefs about evolution and emotional creation. Are you born with a set of emotions that are triggered within a particular situation? Or are emotions entirely personal, created from past experiences and stored within the brain, ready to experience again in the future. Lisa Felman Barrett, Ph.D., is a highly respected scientist who has conducted countless studies in neuroscience and psychology. In “How Emotions Are Made,” she explores the deep theories behind how the brain works and how emotions are formed. “The human brain is a cultural artifact. We don’t load culture into a virgin brain like software loading into a computer; rather, culture helps wire the brain. Brains then become carriers of culture, helping to create and perpetuate it.” ~ Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D.

Table of content

  • Summary of How Emotions Are Made
  • About the author
  • What is How Emotions Are Made about?
  • Who should read How Emotions Are Made
  • Topics in How Emotions Are Made
first key point

The classical view of emotion, and why it doesn’t fit into today’s world

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For centuries we have believed in the “classical view of emotion” in terms of how all human emotions are created. This view tells us that we are born with a set of emotions that are triggered by specific situations in our lives. When we come into contact with a trigger, our brain’s neurons fire, and specific emotional responses are created. These responses are saved as a “fingerprint,” something that is ingrained within our very being.

Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., never bought into the classical standpoint; she prefers seeking more individualistic answers for every human being. Beginning her studies as a clinical psychologist in the 1980s, she decided to study where emotions came from and found many surprising results along the way. One study really piqued her interest and pushed her to study further; this was a study of patients suffering from either anxiety or depression.
Emotions are powerful and often confusing things, but perhaps we have more control over them than we realize.
Upon asking them questions, she found that neither set of subjects could accurately describe which condition they had — anxiety or depression — by what it felt like. We know that anxiety and depression are two different conditions, but each has different feelings attached. From this, she discovered “emotional granularity,” the ability for some people to recognize emotions better than others.
An emotion is your brain’s creation of what your bodily sensations mean, in relation to what is going on around you in the world. ~ Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D.
People respond to different emotions in different ways, so how can emotions be something we’re born with and have a set of fingerprint responses to? Dr. Barrett set off on a journey to discover that perhaps emotions are far more individual in how they’re triggered than most people believe. The following chapters will reveal more about her discoveries.
second key point

Understanding how emotions are prompted and simulated within the brain from past experiences

Our past experiences give meaning to the way we feel in the present moment. Our brains remember our experiences, how they made us feel, and the way we reacted; all this information is used to formulate a response when a similar situation, or one which the brain considers to be similar, arises in the future.
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third key point

Do you believe that emotions are universally recognizable?

fourth key point

A combination of concepts and categories helps the brain create emotions

fifth key point

Does society and its “rules” affect the way our emotions are created?

sixth key point

Look after your brain and body, and learn to control your emotions

seventh key point

Conclusion

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What is How Emotions Are Made about?

Who should read How Emotions Are Made

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Do you find yourself staring at your computer for long minutes, unaware of time slipping by? Do you enter a room and suddenly cannot remember why you stepped in the first place? Is it a herculean task for you to sit through ten pages of a book without reaching for your phone? If yes, your focus needs some work and fast.

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