Frijda, Nico H. The Laws of Emotion.

• Author: Losonczy-Marshall, Marta E.
• Position: Book review

Frijda, Nico H. The Laws of Emotion. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2007. 352 pages. Cloth, $99.95; paper, $34.50.

Nico Frijda's The Laws of Emotion deals with important theoretical issues in the study of emotion. These include defining "emotion," discussing how emotions work, and describing the significance of emotion in our lives. In addressing these important issues, the author draws on the work of earlier theorists, philosophers, and psychologists currently in the field.

"Emotion" has been defined in various ways over time. Frijda differentiates between "feelings" and "emotions." Feelings refer to our awareness of emotional processes, such as appraisal and action readiness. Feelings, therefore, are our conscious awareness of emotional processes after they occur. We cannot be aware of them while they occur, because during emotional processes, such as appraisal, our focus is on what is happening during that particular situation or event. In other words, our focus is on the world, not on ourselves. Once we have reacted and taken action, our focus may shift to ourselves; when this occurs we become aware of our "feelings." These feelings are our awareness of our appraisals and action readiness.

An "emotion," refers to a state of action readiness, which is a motivational state. Frijda expands on this relationship between motivation and emotion. Emotion processes involve dynamic systems, which Frijda outlines as follows: An event occurs, and we interpret that event. The interpretation of that event is our appraisal. The appraisal leads to action readiness, affect, and arousal; these three responses are what motivate behavior. The appraisal may gear us (action readiness) to flee (behavior) a dangerous situation (situation appraised as "dangerous"). Frijda devotes an entire chapter to "Appraisal." The urgency to flee a dangerous situation is the motivational state of action readiness. In the chapter entitled "Passion," he discusses and analyzes how action readiness operates. Affect refers to a basic motivational state that operates on the hedonic principle (approach pleasurable experiences, withdraw from painful ones). Frijda then discusses the phenomenology of pleasure experience and the various kinds of pleasure experiences in the chapter entitled "Pleasure." Next, in the chapter entitled "Concerns," he discusses two different types of hedonism.

Emotions are part of a complex dynamic process, in which we interact with...