Few people would question nowadays that emotions influence beliefs but until recently little scientific research has been done on exactly how this effect takes place. This important new book, with contributions from some of the leading figures in the study of emotion, explores the relationship between emotions and beliefs from a number of different psychological perspectives. Combining theory with research, it seeks to develop coherent theoretical principles for understanding how emotions influence the content and strength of an individual's beliefs and their resistance or openness to modification.

Twenty-four of the most eminent researchers on emotion from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, sociology, philosophy, and economics provide an overview of the current status of emotion theory at the turn of the century. Their essays encompass up-to-date views on the nature of feelings and emotions; basic processes involved in feelings and emotions; the role of pleasure, feelings and emotions in a sociocultural context; and the relationships between emotions and morality.

Within psychology, emotion is often treated as something private and personal. In contrast, this book tries to understand emotion from the 'outside, ' by examining the everyday social settings in which it operates. Three levels of social influence are considered in decreasing order of inclusiveness, starting with the surrounding culture and subculture, moving on to the more delimited organization or group, and finally focusing on the interpersonal setting. At all these levels, emotion is influenced by social factors and has an impact on the way social life proceeds. For example, there are no direct equivalents in many cultures for some of the particular forms of emotion experienced in Western societies, suggesting that not all aspects of emotion are universal or biologically determined. Further, our various social identifications and allegiances partly determine what is emotionally relevant in a situation and how we respond to ingroup and outgroup members' emotions. Finally, emotions are usually occasioned by things that other people say, do, or have done to them, and often change the way interaction with those others proceeds. The book provides a critical review of existing theory and research on these topics from a social psychological perspective, and develops its own distinctive approach by recontextualizing emotion in an integrated cultural, organizational and relational world.

Within psychology, emotion is often treated as something private and personal. In contrast, this book tries to understand emotion from the 'outside' by examining the everyday social settings in which it operates. Three levels of social influence are considered in decreasing order of inclusiveness, starting with the surrounding culture and subculture, moving on to the more delimited organization or group, and finally focusing on the interpersonal setting. At all these levels, emotion is influenced by social factors and has an impact on the way social life proceeds. For example, there are no direct equivalents in many cultures for some of the particular forms of emotion experienced in Western societies, suggesting that not all aspects of emotion are universal or biologically determined. Further, our various social identifications and allegiances partly determine what is emotionally relevant in a situation and how we respond to ingroup and outgroup members' emotions. Finally, emotions are usually occasioned by things that other people say, do, or have done to them, and often change the way interaction with those others proceeds. topics from a social psychological perspective, and develops its own distinctive approach by recontextualising emotion in an integrated cultural, organisational and relational world.

Twenty-four of the most eminent researchers on emotion from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, sociology, philosophy, and economics provide an overview of the current status of emotion theory at the turn of the century. Their essays encompass up-to-date views on the nature of feelings and emotions; basic processes involved in feelings and emotions; the role of pleasure, feelings and emotions in a sociocultural context; and the relationships between emotions and morality.

Few people would question nowadays that emotions influence beliefs but until recently little scientific research has been done on exactly how this effect takes place. This important new book, with contributions from some of the leading figures in the study of emotion, explores the relationship between emotions and beliefs from a number of different psychological perspectives. Combining theory with research, it seeks to develop coherent theoretical principles for understanding how emotions influence the content and strength of an individual's beliefs and their resistance or openness to modification.