Psychology

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-04 13:56:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lisa Feldman Barrett
  • ISBN：1509837523
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Summary

A new theory of how the brain constructs emotions that could revolutionize psychology， health care， law enforcement， and our understanding of the human mind。

Emotions feel automatic， like uncontrollable reactions to things we think and experience。 Scientists have long supported this assumption by claiming that emotions are hardwired in the body or the brain。 Today， however， 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—ans this paradigm shift has far-reaching implications for us all。

Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett， whose theory of emotion is driving a deeper understanding of the mind and brain， and shedding new light on what it means to be human。 Her research overturns the widely held belief that emotions are housed in different parts of the brain and are universally expressed and recognized。 Instead， she has shown that emotion is constructed in the moment， by core systems that interact across the whole brain， aided by a lifetime of learning。 This new theory means that you play a much greater role in your emotional life than you ever thought。 Its repercussions are already shaking the foundations not only of psychology but also of medicine， the legal system， child-rearing， meditation， and even airport security。

Why do emotions feel automatic？ Does rational thought really control emotion？ How does emotion affect disease？ How can you make your children more emotionally intelligent？ How Emotions Are Made answers these questions and many more， revealing the latest research and intriguing practical applications of the new science of emotion， mind， and brain。

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Reviews

Amy Stone ，

3。5。。。The concepts are super interesting， but the book itself didn’t hold my interest consistently。 Personally， I found a couple podcasts with the author worked better than the book for me to get into the ideas。

Chris Gleck ，

I previously read 7 1/2 Things About the Brain， which led me to request this book from the library。 I found this book more interesting and helpful - probably because it explained her theories in more detail。 She also provides recommendations for using this information in our personal lives and on a societal level - probably in the field of criminal justice and how trials are conducted based on faulty assumptions about human emotions。 I am now using her concept of "body budget" to better understa I previously read 7 1/2 Things About the Brain， which led me to request this book from the library。 I found this book more interesting and helpful - probably because it explained her theories in more detail。 She also provides recommendations for using this information in our personal lives and on a societal level - probably in the field of criminal justice and how trials are conducted based on faulty assumptions about human emotions。 I am now using her concept of "body budget" to better understand how I conduct my life and my emotions。 。。。more

Nitish ，

In the interest of your time ， you need not read past the 5th chapter。 As you move from chapter to chapter there is less and less science ， and more opinions and ideologies 。

Helder Barroso ，

This one is on my top 5 best ever books。 Lisa explains really well how our brains work。 She starts the book off at looking at the usual blueprint of emotions and how it is so flawed。 I love the fact the brain pretty much predicts everything we do and say on past experiences。 I also really liked the body budget concept Lisa talks about in the book。 For sure an amazing read。 THANK YOU LISA

Sam ，

Interestingly enough， after several courses in neuroscience that promote the opposite， I strongly agree with the theory of constructed emotions put forward in this book。 However， it was extremely dragged out。 The descriptions of neural processes were really difficult and abstract to understand despite its intent to appeal to a non-scientific audience。 The research and science in this book is great， but it was really hard to read cover to cover。

Megan Holstein ，

I have twice tried to read this very thick book and twice gotten about halfway through before getting distracted by something else。 It's groundbreaking science about how emotions work， and everyone should read at least a summary at one point， but it's just not the right book for me right now。 I have twice tried to read this very thick book and twice gotten about halfway through before getting distracted by something else。 It's groundbreaking science about how emotions work， and everyone should read at least a summary at one point， but it's just not the right book for me right now。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

Check out this talk that summarizes her research on YouTube from October 2020 https://youtu。be/KliAI9umFyY and this one from March 2021 https://youtu。be/LtoBv0E8IDI。Also， she links to her talks and articles here: https://lisafeldmanbarrett。com/There have been a bunch of books lately that explore how our brains function to maintain fitness （think evolutionary fitness--survival）。 They suggest that we don't experience reality， but shortcuts designed to spare our energy and keep us alive。 We don't s Check out this talk that summarizes her research on YouTube from October 2020 https://youtu。be/KliAI9umFyY and this one from March 2021 https://youtu。be/LtoBv0E8IDI。Also， she links to her talks and articles here: https://lisafeldmanbarrett。com/There have been a bunch of books lately that explore how our brains function to maintain fitness （think evolutionary fitness--survival）。 They suggest that we don't experience reality， but shortcuts designed to spare our energy and keep us alive。 We don't see people's emotions on their faces and bodies as we have been told because there are no universal ways that people express emotions on their face and body。 Brain scans show that there aren't even regions of the brain where emotions exist。 Furthermore， while we feel like our emotions are real and come out of nowhere， like a sneaker wave at the beach， in fact， our brains do this to us to keep us alive。 What our brains do feels out of control and mysterious。 Maybe that is just our experience of the shortcut。 。。。more

James Hartley ，

Yuck。Patronising， condescending me-me-me nonsense。

Alex Hulst ，

Zet het gangbare idee over emoties behoorlijk op zijn kop。

Cecilia ，

Thoughtful， accessible explanation of the new science of our mind and emotions。 Definitely has helped me better understand anxiety， why different people handle situations differently， some basis of cultural differences， and cemented my belief that human nature is shaped by us and by culture - and that we can therefor change it and do not need to held down by a fear of some inherent “animal side” or “dark side” of humanity - that is a myth built in culture！Some good tools for better mastering my Thoughtful， accessible explanation of the new science of our mind and emotions。 Definitely has helped me better understand anxiety， why different people handle situations differently， some basis of cultural differences， and cemented my belief that human nature is shaped by us and by culture - and that we can therefor change it and do not need to held down by a fear of some inherent “animal side” or “dark side” of humanity - that is a myth built in culture！Some good tools for better mastering my own emotions as well！ 。。。more

Jonathan ，

Nothing felt too paradigm shifting in reading this book。 But I didn’t really read it， I just listened to it on Blinkist。Emotions being culturally and socially constructed comports well with my often solipsistic perspective。

Miklos ，

4。5"We are after all， a bunch of brains trying to figure out how brains work。"This is a deeply unintuitive and compelling book， written largely with the assumption that the audience holds largely western culture oriented stereotypes about how the brain should work and the role of emotions。 The theory of constructed emotion holds that contrary to popular belief， there is no part of the brain for anger， no specific "blueprint" for sadness， and no bright line between reason and emotion。 Constructed 4。5"We are after all， a bunch of brains trying to figure out how brains work。"This is a deeply unintuitive and compelling book， written largely with the assumption that the audience holds largely western culture oriented stereotypes about how the brain should work and the role of emotions。 The theory of constructed emotion holds that contrary to popular belief， there is no part of the brain for anger， no specific "blueprint" for sadness， and no bright line between reason and emotion。 Constructed emotion holds that we are actively building the plane as we fly it， relying on various physiological processes and feedback loops from both inside our skin and outside our skin。 What we think of as classical anger is rather not a homogeneous entity but an array of responses that can be intersubjective and socially agreed upon。 It's a wild idea and once you sit with it， you might find it enlightening。 。。。more

Sally Underwood ，

I love the theory but the book was rather long and drawn out。 My real bugbear was the descriptions of experiments on primates。 I find it bizarre that you take creatures out of their natural habitat， put them in cages and then draw conclusions about what's going on in their brains and then extrapolate that to humans。 The descriptions of behavioural experiments on children are also quite dreary and raise the same questions。 To be fair， she does acknowledge this in the case of primate experiments， I love the theory but the book was rather long and drawn out。 My real bugbear was the descriptions of experiments on primates。 I find it bizarre that you take creatures out of their natural habitat， put them in cages and then draw conclusions about what's going on in their brains and then extrapolate that to humans。 The descriptions of behavioural experiments on children are also quite dreary and raise the same questions。 To be fair， she does acknowledge this in the case of primate experiments， but she is a scientist and I assume unwilling to let go of this approach。But don't let that put you off。 The main premises of the book are fascinating and worth diving into。 。。。more

Michael ，

One of my greatest pet peeves is non-fiction books that should have been articles。 She could easily say all of this in a 20 or 30 page article in the Atlantic or the New Yorker， and it would be quite good。 As a book， it is ponderous and tedious beyond belief。 Watch one of her Ted talks and save yourself $17 and countless hours of frustration。As for her theories， they are interesting but she puts way too much reliance on people‘s interpretations of static photographs。 When was the last time you h One of my greatest pet peeves is non-fiction books that should have been articles。 She could easily say all of this in a 20 or 30 page article in the Atlantic or the New Yorker， and it would be quite good。 As a book， it is ponderous and tedious beyond belief。 Watch one of her Ted talks and save yourself $17 and countless hours of frustration。As for her theories， they are interesting but she puts way too much reliance on people‘s interpretations of static photographs。 When was the last time you had to make an important decision in your life based on reading the emotion in someone’s photograph？ Maybe the author does a lot of online dating， but otherwise I fail to see the point。 In real life we take in the whole person and their behaviors， tone of voice， etc。 in reading emotions， and we do that universally quite well。 。。。more

Simon Hulme ，

I enjoyed the first bit quite a bit， it got slow for me though and I didn't end up finishing。 I enjoyed the first bit quite a bit， it got slow for me though and I didn't end up finishing。 。。。more

Meghana Potta ，

Finally， a pop-science book that challenges your worldview from the ground up。 Lisa Feldman Barrett sheds light on her revolutionary view of the 'Theory of Constructed Emotion'。 She slowly but surely drives your concept of a stimulus-response brain to that of a prediction-correction model。 She covers Predictive Coding， Interoceptive Networks， Affect， Body Budgeting， Categorization， Essentialism and more。We don’t experience emotions， we construct them。 Human beings are not at the mercy of mythica Finally， a pop-science book that challenges your worldview from the ground up。 Lisa Feldman Barrett sheds light on her revolutionary view of the 'Theory of Constructed Emotion'。 She slowly but surely drives your concept of a stimulus-response brain to that of a prediction-correction model。 She covers Predictive Coding， Interoceptive Networks， Affect， Body Budgeting， Categorization， Essentialism and more。We don’t experience emotions， we construct them。 Human beings are not at the mercy of mythical emotion circuits buried deep in our ‘lizard’ brain。 We are the architects of our own experience。 I feel like I took away something tangible and actionable from this book。 A new approach on how to “master” your emotions。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

Ibrihem Alcot ，

Secret life we don't know anything about 。。 I known this book by chance when i wanna to know 。。 how my mind actually working ？ what make me happy and in other times what's make me sad ？ 。。 I really like this book 。。 from near time I have seen movie " inside out " to Disney talk about our emotions and how it created and effect on our self 。。 this book and this movie a made me understand my emotions and others emotions and how it go 。。 Secret life we don't know anything about 。。 I known this book by chance when i wanna to know 。。 how my mind actually working ？ what make me happy and in other times what's make me sad ？ 。。 I really like this book 。。 from near time I have seen movie " inside out " to Disney talk about our emotions and how it created and effect on our self 。。 this book and this movie a made me understand my emotions and others emotions and how it go 。。 。。。more

Juris ，

Ļoti interesants temats un apgalvojumi。 Bet rakstības stils （vismaz man） nepalīdzēja uztvert informāciju un regulāri nācās pārlasīt， ko tikko biju izlasījis。 Nodaļas šķita pārāk izstieptas un ar katru nākamo， interese lasīt tālāk samazinājās。

Reid Mccormick ，

“Your experiences are not a window into reality。”One of the first things people learn about me is that I am colorblind。 Once someone knows this， without fail， they point to their shirt or nearest object and demand to know what color I see。 It’s funny and a little annoying。 I’m not going to go into specifics here， but I can see color， I simply have difficulty distinguishing a few colors。 But it’s when you get philosophical about color that people’s minds start to melt。 Color only exists in your m “Your experiences are not a window into reality。”One of the first things people learn about me is that I am colorblind。 Once someone knows this， without fail， they point to their shirt or nearest object and demand to know what color I see。 It’s funny and a little annoying。 I’m not going to go into specifics here， but I can see color， I simply have difficulty distinguishing a few colors。 But it’s when you get philosophical about color that people’s minds start to melt。 Color only exists in your mind。 It must be observed to be a color。 That’s why when you turn off the lights， you don’t see color。 Now， I know someone can counter with a more scientific response， but essentially， that’s the nature of color。 It needs to be observed to exist。 In fact， that’s everything。 Everything transpires in our minds， not in reality。 When I see something， the light strikes my eyes， which through a combination of electrical and chemical reactions， makes an image in my mind。 That is the only reality that exists。 I know， this sounds a bit farfetched and new-agey but it’s logical。 In How Emotions Are Made， I learned how our emotions are not simple， innate reactions to the world around us。 They are actually constructed individually， socially， and culturally。 Furthermore， how emotions。 In fact， emotions are our reality。 This is a book backed by some comprehensive scientific research and a great read。 It definitely felt long and a little inaccessible for me。 I didn’t start getting into the book until halfway。 。。。more

Anjuli Niyogi ，

This book was the perfect introduction to thinking about neuroscience and the idea behind concepts， constructing emotions， affect， and so many more complex cognitive topics。 Barrett's language was not fraught with difficult-to-understand academic language like some books written by research academics and college professors but pieced together with its audience always in mind。 I especially enjoyed her last few chapters that took the concepts discussed and applied them to the law as well as animal This book was the perfect introduction to thinking about neuroscience and the idea behind concepts， constructing emotions， affect， and so many more complex cognitive topics。 Barrett's language was not fraught with difficult-to-understand academic language like some books written by research academics and college professors but pieced together with its audience always in mind。 I especially enjoyed her last few chapters that took the concepts discussed and applied them to the law as well as animals and their emotional concepts。 I'm going to be taking many courses on these topics in college and I'm glad to say this book has reaffirmed my choice and interest in my chosen major。 。。。more

Oleh Sannikov ，

480 сторінок， це з одного боку， надлишковий об'єм， раз по раз повторюються тези， на зразок "класичного тлумачення емоцій" і "есенціалізму"， з іншого， авторка стверджує， що саме так і працює мозок， зберігаючи інформацію в паралельних і не пов'язаних між собою нейронних ланцюжках。 Але найцікавішими， для мене， розділами виявились погляди на емоції у законі， і дослідження їх проявів у тварин。 Це справді перевертає уявлення про світ。 480 сторінок， це з одного боку， надлишковий об'єм， раз по раз повторюються тези， на зразок "класичного тлумачення емоцій" і "есенціалізму"， з іншого， авторка стверджує， що саме так і працює мозок， зберігаючи інформацію в паралельних і не пов'язаних між собою нейронних ланцюжках。 Але найцікавішими， для мене， розділами виявились погляди на емоції у законі， і дослідження їх проявів у тварин。 Це справді перевертає уявлення про світ。 。。。more

Mary Overton ，

This is the sort of popular science writing beloved by New Age and Human Potential movements， because it’s easily hijacked into supporting the “you construct your own reality” and “you （alone） construct your own success” mantras。 Barrett frames her research and her constructivist theory as being anti-essentialist， a philosophical position I support。 But。 The danger happens when that existential， experiential relationship with the world becomes unhinged from the physical matrix in which we all li This is the sort of popular science writing beloved by New Age and Human Potential movements， because it’s easily hijacked into supporting the “you construct your own reality” and “you （alone） construct your own success” mantras。 Barrett frames her research and her constructivist theory as being anti-essentialist， a philosophical position I support。 But。 The danger happens when that existential， experiential relationship with the world becomes unhinged from the physical matrix in which we all live and the social reality we all share。 Where is the boundary for empirical reality？ How do I recognize when I’ve wandered outside it and am constructing a world view that is delusional？ If that happens， how do I self-correct？ 。。。more

Bombon ，

Such a fascinating book！ I need to buy a physical copy。

Leah ，

17年时看了一点，那个时候还读不太懂，现在边听边看读完了。整本书传达的重要观念就是emotions are constructed， how you perceived and predicted the world，强调了情绪组成的重要三点affective realism， concepts and social reality整体来说太长了有不少重复部分

Murphy CK ，

I thought this book was really great at explaining radically different ideas about how the brain works in understandable terms。 Even with that i have to admit i got lost a few times。 I think that she does a good job of explaining the difference bw affect and emotion， but especially when it comes to animals i feel like。。。she doesn’t give former researchers enough credit - after all she is the person creating the distinction bw affect and emotion。 Darwin had no such concept to delineate。 Fascinati I thought this book was really great at explaining radically different ideas about how the brain works in understandable terms。 Even with that i have to admit i got lost a few times。 I think that she does a good job of explaining the difference bw affect and emotion， but especially when it comes to animals i feel like。。。she doesn’t give former researchers enough credit - after all she is the person creating the distinction bw affect and emotion。 Darwin had no such concept to delineate。 Fascinating and unfamiliar 。。。more

Cassandra Carico ，

I loved this book and the theories proposed by the author。 This book presents an alternative idea that disputes the Essentialist view of emotions and how they are processed and presented。 I enjoy the viewpoint and definitely recommend this book。

Patrick Fay ，

The science is excellent。 I found the explanation of the new theories on the more complex brain activity behind all we label as emotion compelling and the conception of the social constructs and cultural variability behind these emotions fascinating。 But， when the author strays out of her area of expertise， it comes off as slightly amateurish and naive。

Emil Fichtner ，

Good Overall description how emotion are made。 with good backgrounds and examples

Marlie ，

Ich kann jetzt schon sagen， dass das eins der Bücher dieses Jahr gewesen sein wird， was mich am meisten beeinflusst haben wird。Der letzte Stern fehlt nur， weil ich einige Passagen nicht mötig fand， um den Inhalt zu verstehen。 Da der Druck sehr klein ist， wurde es dann sehr anstrengend。

Silke ，

I picked up this book after listening to a few podcasts where Barrett was interviewed。 Her book is great， but I highly recommend listening to her speak （The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish， Lex Fridman Podcast）。 She has a great way about her。 The subject matter has changed the way I think about our brains and the stories we tell ourselves。 It has given me a bit more space between feeling and action。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0