How Emotions Are Made

The Secret Life of the Brain

By: Lisa Feldman Barrett

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

“Fascinating... A thought-provoking journey into emotion science.” - 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 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, How Emotions Are Made 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.

“Mind-blowing.” - Elle

“Chock-full of startling, science-backed findings... An entertaining and engaging read.” - Forbes

©2017 by Lisa Feldman Barrett. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Eye-opening

As a practicing psychiatrist, I found this book incredibly thought-provoking. It wonderfully turned on its head many of my previous "thoughts" about how "feelings" work. I have always been more of an advocate of good questions than good answers, & Feldman does a wonderful job of asking good questions and following through with adequate scientific inquiry to lend credence to her perspectives. This proved to be such an excellent listen, that I have since purchased the hard cover & am equally enjoying that exploration of the book's ideas. Unquestionably five stars!

How Emotions Are Made: A Brief Review

Adore this book. It takes away the magical cloak of the mind, and reveals the brain beneath, and in a way that is easy for the layman to understand. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in concepts such as emotion, or anyone wanting to understand the human mind more.

New perspective on emotions

Dr. Barrett's book is a mix of popular science (though sections do get fairly in depth and dense when trying to explain certain mechanisms and workings of the brain), anecdotes, and self-help. Her specialty, the theory of constructed emotion, is fascinating if difficult to embrace. As she lays out, we have a centuries long idea that emotions are fixed and common, that they have a certain profile or fingerprint, and (in modern times) many have sought to find their "location" in the human brain. However, Dr. Barrett posits that emotions are not nearly so fixed. Instead, she explains using a blend of studies, experiments, and anecdotal evidence, that the human brain constructs emotions and that there is nothing so simple as a place in the brain we can map that, when engaged, points directly to anger or sadness, joy or desire. The evidence, though counter-intuitive to many, seems to bear out her theory. Among the interesting and thought-provoking points covered include the idea that our ability to catalog and explain our feelings has an impact on how we experience them, that our bodies have resources that must be "budgeted" and that when the budget is stretched it impacts how we experience and construct emotion, and that emotion is different for each person and often different across cultures, generations, and the like, making intuiting the emotions of others no easy task. This book changed the way I think about emotion, offered tools for self-examination, and placed the brain's workings as related to emotion in context that likewise shed light on mental health issues. This is a book I will likely read again to try to grasp more of her points. My only criticism is that at times Dr. Barrett leans too heavily on personal stories or being slightly glib. But on the whole, this was a well written presentation of a fascinating theory.

For anyone having troubles with emotions

For years I struggled with feelings of worthlessness, loneliness and not feeling good enough.

I literally had a breakdown and after picking myself up, I realized I needed to seek more information on what my emotions were in hopes I could better manage or control them.

What this book has allow me to do is have a better perspective of what emotions really are. Emotions are apparently just concepts and I have l learned them like everything else. Loneliness, worthlessness isn't an actual emotion it's instead a concept and I learned that self defeating concept through life experience.

This allowed me to see my problems and gives me the opportunity to correct them. I really thank the author for their amazing work and giving me a tool to help myself out of what I felt was such a real problem that I couldn't escape from. Amazing

Mind blown

I originally got this book because I've been someone who has had low emotional intelligence or so I thought. But this book blew my mind. I think the key concepts of seeing emotions as not this separate entity but l just part of my brain has helped me l see connections to all aspects of my life. An impactful listening experience, no complaints. I enjoyed the speaker. I've already recommended even before finishing this too many people and I will recommend it to you. Go get your mind blown

Pioneering work on emotional experience

Well-written and fascinating. Barrett makes a very compelling argument for a new way of understanding emotions and emotional experience. Particularly useful and important for anyone in mental health or neuroscience. Highly recommended.

must listen for person's with affective disorders

enlightening overview of the construction of emotion in humans. a very interesting new (new to me) concept of depression, anxiety and autism. even when the author is admittedly speculating the neuro science is on her side.

Interesting information on the brain...

Interesting information on the brain, language. and how everything works together with our body. In addition to being an interesting and accessible book on neuroscience, it also dabbles a little in self-help in the sense that the science being presented can be implied to improve one's life.

Best book I've picked up recently!

Loved this book. Loads of insights on the subject of emotions and plenty of food for thought. I was searching for info on memories when I found this. Turned out this book was exactly what I was searching for though it is seemingly unrelated at first glance.

Required heading to document my thoughts

Struggled to finish. This book has some good points on how emotions are made but the author, in my opinion, comes across in a condescending manner. It may have been that some examples were supported purely from anecdote, that many of the talking points were strictly academic inquiries, or that I was unable to see real world application and relevance through a good portion of the book.