How Emotions Are Made The Secret Life Of The Brain

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain is a book by psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett. It presents a science-led account of emotion and challenges long-standing assumptions about where emotions come from.

Key details

• Title: How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
• Author: Lisa Feldman Barrett
• Explores scientific ideas about how emotions are formed
• Questions the view that emotions are hardwired and universally pre-programmed

Synopsis

The book examines a widely held belief that emotions originate in a specific part of the brain and are automatically triggered by events around us, shaping facial expressions and behaviour. It argues that this view, traced back to Plato, is mistaken and that common-sense ideas about emotion are out of date.

Drawing on recent scientific evidence, Barrett proposes that emotions are not universal, pre-set responses in brain and body, but psychological experiences constructed by each person, influenced by personal history, physiology and environment. The text also outlines implications for decision-making in areas such as sentencing, policing and medical diagnosis, where assumptions about emotion can affect outcomes.