Skip to main content

How Emotions Work

Many of the ways in which we express and react to emotions make very little sense. From the tears that mark both the best and worst moments in our lives to the rages sparked by the most trivial of traffic annoyances, emotions surprise us-they lead us to act in ways contrary to our better judgment, and they always seem to lie just beyond our control. In How Emotions Work, Jack Katz observes situations ranging from a criminal’s interrogation-room breakdown to a child’s temper tantrum, and offers new approaches to understanding our emotions, their sources, and the behavior they lead to, all with unprecedented clarity.

407 pages | 54 halftones, 13 line drawings | 6 x 9 | © 2001

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Cognitive Science: Human and Animal Cognition

Criminology

Culture Studies

Psychology: Social Psychology

Rhetoric and Communication

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
One: Pissed Off in L.A.
Two: Families and Funny Mirrors
Three: Shameful Moments
Four: What Is Crying?
Fog and Fugue: An Introduction to Two Cryings
Five: An Episode of Whining
Six: Crying in the Whirlpool: A Murderer Breaks Down under Police Interrogation
Seven: Mundane Metamorphoses
Notes
References
Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press