The question 'how far can emotions be changed?' lies at the heart of innumerable psychological interventions. Although often viewed as static, changes in the intensity, quality, and complexity of emotion can occur from moment to moment, and also over longer periods of time, often as a result of developmental, social or cultural factors.

Changing Emotions highlights several recent developments in this intriguing domain, and provides a comprehensive guide for understanding how and why emotions change. The chapters are organized into five parts:

* Lifespan Perspective
* Learning Perspective
* Social-Cultural Perspective
* Emotional-Dynamics Perspective
* Intervention Perspective.

In each chapter an internationally renowned scholar presents a concise review of key findings from their own research perspective. The book will be of great interest to researchers in the area of emotion and emotion regulation as well as related fields such as developmental psychology, educational psychology, social, clinical psychology and psychotherapy. It may also be of interest to sociologists, philosophers, and economists interested in learning more about emotions.

About the Author

Dirk Hermans is Professor and the Director of the Center for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology at University of Leuven, Belgium. His work focuses on associative learning and fear, autobiographical memory, and the study of the automatic affective processing of stimuli.

Bernard Rime is Emeritus and Invited Professor at the University of Louvain at Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium and is a Past President of the International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE) and of the Belgian Psychological Society. His research examines how emotional episodes stimulate interpersonal and collective communication as well as the consequences of sharing emotions with others.

Batja Mesquita is a Professor and the Director of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her work focuses on the cultural and social constituents of emotion and emotion regulation. She is currently a Senior Editor for Psychological Science.

Reviews

"I am pleased to recommend this book. Its editors are very distinguished in the field of emotion research, and they have chosen contributors who are well known; not only that, but the big-name people - the stars - are here. Each contributor gives a succinct and up-to-date summary of their theoretical perspective, critical findings, and forward look, making the book more useful than the usual kinds of multi-authored works. If someone wanted an introduction to growing points in emotion research, they could not do better than to read this volume." - Keith Oatley, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Canada

"This book provides a diverse multidisciplinary collection of thoughtful and well-written chapters by leading researchers. Perspectives covered range from lifespan to learning and from social-cultural to intervention, making this a comprehensive guide for understanding how and why emotions change. This book will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the field." - Boris Egloff, University of Mainz, Germany

Book Information
ISBN 9781848721364
Author Dirk Hermans
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Psychology Press Ltd
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g