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Concept
Theory of constructed emotion
Summary
The theory of constructed emotion (formerly the conceptual act model of emotion) is a theory in affective science proposed by Lisa Feldman Barrett to explain the experience and perception of emotion. The theory posits that instances of emotion are constructed predictively by the brain in the moment as needed. It draws from social construction, psychological construction, and neuroconstruction.
Barrett proposed the theory to resolve what she calls the "emotion paradox," which she claims has perplexed emotion researchers for decades, and describes as follows: People have vivid and intense experiences of emotion in day-to-day life: they report seeing emotions like "anger", "sadness", and "happiness" in others, and they report experiencing "anger", "sadness" and so on themselves. Nevertheless, psychophysiological and neuroscientific evidence has failed to yield consistent support for the existence of such discrete categories of experience. Instead, the empirical evidence suggests that what exists in the brain and body is affect, and emotions are constructed by multiple brain networks working in tandem.
Most other theories of emotion assume that emotions are genetically endowed, not learned. Other scientists believe there are circuits in the brain: an anger circuit, a fear circuit, and so on. Charles Darwin, in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, used examples to support the idea that emotions and their "expressions are a universal part of human nature", and that people can recognize and express emotions without any training.
The theory of constructed emotion calls this assumption into question. It suggests that these emotions (often called "basic emotions") are not biologically hardwired, but instead are phenomena that emerge in consciousness "in the moment" from more fundamental ingredients.
The theory is given in simplified form as:
"In every waking moment, your brain uses past experience, organized as concepts, to guide your actions and give your sensations meaning.
Official source
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