Psychological and biological approaches to emotion /

The '70s and '80s were witness to a veritable explosion of research into the cognitive and physiological aspects of emotion. Although by no means mutually exclusive, little has been done until recently in the way of building bridges between these two domains of inquiry. This fine volume, containing chapters written by some of the most prominent and active researchers in the study of emotion, represents a full-scale attempt to explore simultaneously the physiological and cognitive phenomena of emotion. The book is the result of a conference held at the University of Chicago in 1986 that sought to "integrate the biological consideration of emotion with current psychological approaches." Like the papers presented at the conference, the 17 chapters in the book are organized around five interrelated themes and accordingly are divided into 5 sections: relationships between cognition and emotion, biological perspectives on emotion, developmental perspectives on emotion, coping and psychopathology, and systems approaches to emotion. The contributions throughout are first-rate and will be useful to serious students of emotion as well as accessible to those seeking to acquaint themselves with current thinking in this area for the first time. This is an important contribution to the literature on emotion. Undergraduates and up. R. R. Cornelius Vassar College