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Emotions and Life: Perspectives from Psychology, Biology, and Evolution Robert Plutchik. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (www.apa.org/books/). 2003, 381 pp., $59.95 (hardcover).
Always a mainstay of interest in psychology, in recent years, our field has seen a spike in the study of emotions. Although we are usually able to articulate the whens and whys of our emotional experiences, emotions themselves remain an elusive medium through which we experience and react to our world. Emotions have been long studied, but few have attempted such a review of the topic as has Robert Plutchik in his book entitled Emotions and Life: Perspectives from Psychology, Biology, and Evolution. Plutchik has effectively created a comprehensive text on the history of emotion and society. All other books on the topic of emotions can effectively be considered a footnote to this text.
Plutchik offers a lifetime of experience in research and instruction on emotions. This comprehensive text begins by examining popular thought on emotions in humans and nonhuman animals. From there, the author provides a thorough review of the history of emotion research as well as...