A simple way to feel happier, according to the new science of emotion
As someone who&#x27;s done a ton of academic research in emotions, I just want to point out:<p>Lisa Feldman Barrett&#x27;s theory of emotions (which this article uses) is widely considered implausible by emotions researchers, but she&#x27;s gotten a surprising amount of media coverage that presents her theories as consensus or fact.<p>In a nutshell: traditional &quot;appraisal theory&quot; says for example, we appraise something as dangerous (a bear), and have an emotion that consists of bodily and mental feelings (fear), and that emotions are inbuilt much like colors are. (You can&#x27;t choose to see red as blue).<p>What Barrett argues is that seeing a bear produces adrenaline -- a feeling which <i>precedes</i> emotion -- and then we can interpret that adrenaline feeling however we like, that emotions are essentially cultural constructions or labels we&#x27;ve invented that we&#x27;re free to uninvent.<p>However, this view, besides defying common sense, simply isn&#x27;t consistent with data. Emotions follow regular patterns in what generates them (e.g. a dangerous situation creates fear) and what relieves them (e.g. escaping a dangerous situation allows fear to subside). There&#x27;s zero evidence we can reinterpret or redefine our emotions by will, as she suggests. (Nor can she account for why infants all share the same emotional patterns, before they could have learned them culturally.)<p>If you <i>really</i> want to get into current academic theories of emotion (and Ctrl+F for &quot;Barrett&quot; to see where she sits), you can basically start here:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;plato.stanford.edu&#x2F;entries&#x2F;emotion&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;plato.stanford.edu&#x2F;entries&#x2F;emotion&#x2F;</a>