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Susan R. Fussell (Ed.), THE VERBAL COMMUNICATION OF EMOTIONS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002; pp. 296, $65.00 hardcover, ISBN: 0805836896; $29.99 paper, ISBN: 080583690X.
The study of emotion is a rapidly growing area. Academic research in this area has been embraced by multiple disciplines. This text brings together ideas from several disciplines and cultures with an aim to broaden ideas for further research. The book is organized into three sections: theoretical foundations, figurative language in emotional communication, and social and cultural dimensions. The first chapter serves as an overview for the book. Fussell explains the book's approach, overviews each chapter, and highlights themes and areas for future research. This is beneficial as Fussell addresses issues of concern for researchers of emotion.
The first full section focuses on theoretical foundations for research in emotion. In chapter 2, Goddard, a psychologist, discusses theoretical difficulties in the cultural study of emotion. He effectively shows that much of the study of emotion is based in Western thought and therefore is affected by Western bias. He defines and explains the value of the natural semantic metalanguage as an approach to cross-cultural emotion study. After giving several examples from English-based and non-English-based perspectives, he moves into nonverbal expressions of emotion. Although this is insightful, it does diverge from the text's focus on the verbal communication of emotion.
Chapter 3 provides three theoretical perspectives for how verbal and nonverbal...