Differential Emotions Theory

Abstract

Differential emotions theory draws from a rich intellectual heritage and claims kinship with the classical works of Duchenne, Darwin, Spencer, Kierkegaard, Wundt, James, Cannon, McDougall, Dumas, Dewey, Freud, Rado, and Woodworth and with the more contemporary works of Jacobson, Sinnott, Mowrer, Gellhorn, Harlow, Bowlby, Simonov, Ekman, Holt, and Singer and many others. All of these scientists, representing several different disciplines and points of view, have in common a belief in the central importance of the emotions in motivation, social communication, cognition, and action. However, the contemporary writer most directly responsible for the ideological foundations of the theory presented here is Silvan Tomkins, whose brilliant two-volume work—Affect, Imagery, Consciousness—will be cited frequently throughout this volume.