Lisa Feldman Barrett's research overturns the widely held belief that emotions are housed in different parts of the brain and are universally expressed and recognized. Instead, she has shown that emotion is constructed in the moment, by core systems that interact across the whole brain, aided by a lifetime of learning. This new theory means that you play a much greater role in your emotional life than you ever thought. Why do emotions feel automatic? Does rational thought really control emotion? How does emotion affect disease? How can you make your children more emotionally intelligent? How Emotions Are Made answers these questions and many more, revealing the latest research and practical applications of the new science of emotion, mind, and brain.

The two-thousand-year-old assumption -- The search for emotion's "fingerprints" -- Emotions are constructed -- The myth of universal emotions -- The origin of feeling -- Concepts, goals, and words -- How the brain makes emotions -- Emotions as social reality -- A new view of human nature -- Mastering your emotions -- Emotion and illness -- Emotion and the law -- Is a growling dog angry? -- From brain to mind : the new frontier -- Appendix A. Brain basics -- Appendix B. Supplement for chapter 2 -- Appendix C. Supplement for chapter 3 -- Appendix D. Evidence for the concept cascade.