Critical Approaches to the Psychology of Emotion

This fascinating book explores the different methodologies, resources and strategies that have been used to study emotion, and identifies emerging trends and research perspectives in the field.

Emotion is a subject that has been thoroughly investigated in all fields of social and behavioural sciences. And yet the more we have attempted to individualize emotions and set limits that separate the different types of emotions, the more the subject has resisted these categorizations. Mapping the changes and diverse perspectives in the study of emotion, author Simone Belli explores how a critical psychology of emotion has emerged in order to answer this paradox, examining emotions within a social framework. Divided into five chapters, the book uses interdisciplinary critical approaches to cover everything from the interaction between emotion and language, to emotional contagion such as the spread of fear in a pandemic. There is also a particular focus on emotion analysis in digital environments, which have left a deep mark on our lives from the beginning of this century.

Showcasing a selection of important investigations that have dealt with the study of emotions in society, Critical Approaches to the Psychology of Emotion is essential reading for students of critical social psychology, sociolinguistics, sociology, anthropology and philosophy.

Simone Belli is a Professor of Social Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. His research is focused on understanding why emotions have a strong relationship with language, and how it is possible to express these emotions in online/offline spaces and intercultural contexts.