Emotion and Adaptation

This work provides a complete theory of emotional processes, explaining how different emotions are elicited and expressed, and how the emotional range of individuals develops over their lifetime. The author's approach puts emotion in a central role as a complex, patterned, organic reaction to both daily events and long-term efforts on the part of the individual to survive, flourish, and achieve. In his view, emotions cannot be divorced from other functions - whether biological, social, or cognitive - and express the intimate, personal meaning of what individuals experience. As coping and adapting processes, they are seen as part of the ongoing effort to monitor changes, stimuli, and stresses arising from the environment.

Table of Contents:
PART I: Background 1: About Emotion 2: Issues of Research, Classification, and Measurement PART II: The Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory 3: The Person-Environment Relationship, Motivation, and Coping 4: Cognition and Emotion 5: Issues of Causality PART III: Individual Emotions 6: Goal-Incongruent (Negative) Emotions 7: Goal-Congruent (Positive) and Problematic Emotions PART IV: Emotional Development 8: Individual Development 9: Social Influence PART V: Practical Applications 10: Emotions and Health 11: Implications for Research, Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention

Review :
Advance praise: "This volume is certainly the magnum opus of Lazarus' distinguished career. His landmark investigations and formulations of cognition, emotion, and motivation provide a much needed framework for social, abnormal, and clinical psychology. I have personally learned a great deal from reading this volume and recommend it to my colleagues." --Aaron T. Beck, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania "The book is a masterpiece. Novel and well-written, it contains the most thorough and thoughtful treatment of emotion presented by anyone anywhere. The concept of core relational themes is a major breakthrough in our understanding of the generation of affect. Especially important are the treatment of unconscious processes in emotion, and the discussion of the development of cognition-emotion relationships. The book is must reading for basic researcher and clinician alike." --Joseph J. Campos, Ph.D., Director of Institute of Human Development, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley "Another landmark work from the country's leading stress and coping researcher. Emotion and Adaptation is a must read by every emotion researcher. It will encourage some and irritate others, but all will find it thought-provoking." --Shelley E. Taylor, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles "Boldly original and insightful, this new comprehensive and controversial theory of emotion will challenge and inform the field. Beautifully written, this book is essential for students and scientists alike, for practitioners and researchers in fields as diverse as social, cognitive, developmental, personality and health psychology, as well as practitioners in psychology, psychiatry, and social work." --Paul Ekman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco "Lazarus' book sets forth compellingly the rich results and theoretical conclusions that come from a lifetime of research on emotion. The outlines of his 'cognitive-motivational-relational' theories are broad and sweeping, yet the detailed findings on which his views are based provide a stunning rationale for those views. It has been Lazarus' achievement to discern with remarkable acumen the interaction between cognition, motivation and cultural transactions in giving shape to our emotional lives. His espousal of concepts like appraisal and 'meaning-making' has changed the way psychologists look at emotion." --Jerome Bruner, Ph.D., Research Professor of Psychology, New York University "This latest contribution by one of our most seminal scholars addresses the formidable task of reintegrating emotion into our conceptualization of human adaptation. The results, in this volume, are remarkable. Emotion and Adaptation is both far ranging in scope and manifests the depth of Lazarus' scholarship. His reasoning is clear, the material well documented and appropriately illustrated. Equally impressive is the simplicity and even humor of his writing style. This is an edifying and important work. It will have a significant impact on our thinking." --Carl Eisdorfer, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychology, University of Miami "Thoughtful, scholarly, provocative, with many theoretical and practical implications. A 'magnum opus' from the pen of a distinguished psychologist." --Donald Meichenbaum, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo "As someone who has studied the field of emotions for over 20 years, I believe that this is the best book on emotions yet published in the field of psychology. It is must reading for any professional interested in the topic." --Dr. Edwin A. Locke, University of Maryland "An outstanding contribution from one of the foremost authorities on the psychology of emotions. . . .The author deals deftly with the complex task of attempting to define, classify and measure emotions. . . .Highly recommended." --The Newsletter of the American Institute of Stress "All in all, Lazarus has something to say about cognition and emotion, says it lucidly and with warmth, and tips us off to where the focal research should be." --Contemporary Sociology Advance praise: "This volume is certainly the magnum opus of Lazarus' distinguished career. His landmark investigations and formulations of cognition, emotion, and motivation provide a much needed framework for social, abnormal, and clinical psychology. I have personally learned a great deal from reading this volume and recommend it to my colleagues." --Aaron T. Beck, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania "The book is a masterpiece. Novel and well-written, it contains the most thorough and thoughtful treatment of emotion presented by anyone anywhere. The concept of core relational themes is a major breakthrough in our understanding of the generation of affect. Especially important are the treatment of unconscious processes in emotion, and the discussion of the development of cognition-emotion relationships. The book is must reading for basic researcher and clinician alike." --Joseph J. Campos, Ph.D., Director of Institute of Human Development, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley "Another landmark work from the country's leading stress and coping researcher. Emotion and Adaptation is a must read by every emotion researcher. It will encourage some and irritate others, but all will find it thought-provoking." --Shelley E. Taylor, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles "Boldly original and insightful, this new comprehensive and controversial theory of emotion will challenge and inform the field. Beautifully written, this book is essential for students and scientists alike, for practitioners and researchers in fields as diverse as social, cognitive, developmental, personality and health psychology, as well as practitioners in psychology, psychiatry, and social work." --Paul Ekman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco "Lazarus' book sets forth compellingly the rich results and theoretical conclusions that come from a lifetime of research on emotion. The outlines of his 'cognitive-motivational-relational' theories are broad and sweeping, yet the detailed findings on which his views are based provide a stunning rationale for those views. It has been Lazarus' achievement to discern with remarkable acumen the interaction between cognition, motivation and cultural transactions in giving shape to our emotional lives. His espousal of concepts like appraisal and 'meaning-making' has changed the way psychologists look at emotion." --Jerome Bruner, Ph.D., Research Professor of Psychology, New York University "This latest contribution by one of our most seminal scholars addresses the formidable task of reintegrating emotion into our conceptualization of human adaptation. The results, in this volume, are remarkable. Emotion and Adaptation is both far ranging in scope and manifests the depth of Lazarus' scholarship. His reasoning is clear, the material well documented and appropriately illustrated. Equally impressive is the simplicity and even humor of his writing style. This is an edifying and important work. It will have a significant impact on our thinking." --Carl Eisdorfer, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychology, University of Miami "Thoughtful, scholarly, provocative, with many theoretical and practical implications. A 'magnum opus' from the pen of a distinguished psychologist." --Donald Meichenbaum, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo "As someone who has studied the field of emotions for over 20 years, I believe that this is the best book on emotions yet published in the field of psychology. It is must reading for any professional interested in the topic." --Dr. Edwin A. Locke, University of Maryland "An outstanding contribution from one of the foremost authorities on the psychology of emotions. . . .The author deals deftly with the complex task of attempting to define, classify and measure emotions. . . .Highly recommended." --The Newsletter of the American Institute of Stress "All in all, Lazarus has something to say about cognition and emotion, says it lucidly and with warmth, and tips us off to where the focal research should be." --Contemporary Sociology "A masterful review of an extensive literature which achieves some degree of coherence in Lazarus' hands. . . .Should provide a stimulus to research for many years to come." --Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "This is a must-have book for academic libraries." --Choice "Truly magnificent. Lazarus presents a very carefully reasoned, penetrating perspective of the emotional process. . . . thoroughly enjoyable and required reading not only for other research investigators but for the wider audience of health practitioners." --American Journal of Psychiatry "A privilege to read. Lazarus has consistently been both thorough and interesting in the psychological questions he has addressed. He has dealth with important issues. Reading this book is a little like uncorking a fine wine which was laid down some years ago." --The Psychologist "The scholarship and integrative thought represented in the volume are highly admirable. Even emotion researchers who are close followers of Lazarus' long and productiove career those who are significantly influenced by his work are likely to learn something new from his insightful treatment of the broad set of topics that he correctly considers as relevant to the domain of emotion. Lazarus is innovative and provocative in attemoting to make his theory relational. He is quite convincing in marshalling evidence and arguments. The book is a monumental and elegent piece of work. It is replete with astute observations and insights gained from a long and productive career of research and scholarship. I feel better informed for having read this book." --Contemporary Psychology "