butters

I read an interesting book called “How Emotions are Made” by Lisa Barrett which talks about how emotions are created by the brain - they’re not things you have; they’re things you make and they’re influenced by culture, your past experiences, and what your body is experiencing right now.

There was a few key takeaways (this is generated by GPT bc it does a better job at summarising).

Core Argument: Barrett argues that emotions are not hardwired, universal reactions to the world. Instead, they are constructed by our brains, much like perceptions or thoughts.

Key Concepts:

1. The Classical View vs. The Theory of Constructed Emotion

• Classical View: Emotions like anger, fear, sadness, etc., are innate, universal, and triggered automatically by specific stimuli.
• Barrett’s Theory: Emotions are not universal biological responses, but rather concepts constructed by the brain using past experiences, cultural knowledge, and context.

2. The Brain Predicts, Not Reacts

• The brain is a prediction machine, constantly guessing what will happen next based on past experiences.
• Emotions are predictions your brain makes to make sense of bodily sensations in context.

3. Concepts and Language Shape Emotion

• We learn emotional concepts from our environment, especially through language.
• Your culture gives you the emotional categories that your brain uses to construct experiences (e.g., some cultures have words for emotions we don’t name in English).
• What people feel and how they express emotions is shaped more by gender norms and socialization than by biological sex. For example: Women are often encouraged to express vulnerability or sadness. Men are often encouraged to express anger but discouraged from showing fear or sadness.
• These differences are learned, not biologically programmed.

4. Emotions are not hardwired or universal

• There is no specific brain region for each emotion.
• Physiological responses (like heart rate) vary widely even within the same emotion category.

5. Interoception: The Basis of Emotion

• Emotions begin with interoception—your brain’s perception of internal bodily states (like hunger, fatigue, or arousal).
• Your brain interprets these signals based on context and past experience and labels them as an emotion.

Practical Takeaways:

• You can reshape your emotional experiences by:
• Learning new emotion concepts.
• Becoming more aware of your bodily sensations (interoception).
• Expanding your emotional vocabulary (“emotional granularity”).
• Emotional intelligence involves managing predictions, not just reactions.

Barrett’s theory reframes emotion as a highly individual and cultural phenomenon, shaped by your brain’s predictions, concepts, and social context—not a universal biological blueprint.

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I went down a whole rabbit whole of “your brain is a prediction machine” after this and it was super cool.

Was just thinking… you know how like some ludicrous % of insect species have died out, maybe it’s bacteria as well. So maybe our gut biomes are deficient in strains that used to be abundant. 🧐

Yeah ham when I grew up was the processed stuff formed into logs. Devon? Lovely on a sandwich with tomato sauce but I have no idea what was in it!

Good choice. She’s always come across as calm and level headed. Hopeful they can do some good climate relevant negotiations with Labor.

I think anyone not knee deep in the Greens membership would prefer Larissa Waters.

Even if wages rise, we’re still leaving everyone on Jobseeker or DSP behind.

Isn’t that how Scomo got elected? If it’s worked in the past for them…

Yes it was a very tinkering around the edges budget. There’s no appetite for major tax reform, welfare increases or actual housing policy (negative gearing, capital gains discount). Seems like Australians like middle of the road government.

I wonder if this is Albanese saying “oi if you sign up for my education deal, I’ll throw a few extra $$ at Olympic stadiums.”