The Psychology Book (62 page)

as the jungles of Papua New

1960s
American psychologist

into nonverbal behavior and

Guinea. He found tribespeople

Silvan Tomkins (Ekman’s

facial expressions.

could interpret facial expressions as

mentor) proposes his Affect

Theory of Emotions, distinct

from the basic Freudian drives

of sex, fear, and the will to live.

Emotions can

Emotions can and

1970s
Gordon H. Bower

override
some of our

often do
start before

most
fundamental

uncovers and defines the

our conscious mind is

drives
(disgust can

links between emotional

aware
of them.

override hunger).

states and memory.

AFTER

2000s
The findings of

Ekman’s work on facial

expressions and deception

are incorporated into security

It is therefore

Emotions are

procedures used by public

difficult to control

powerful and difficult

transport systems.

what we become

to hold back, like a

emotional about.

runaway train.

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 197

See also:
William James 38–45 ■ Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Nico Frijda 324–25 ■ Charlotte Bühler 336 ■ René Diatkine 338 ■ Stanley Schachter 338

The Six Basic Emotions

Anger

Disgust

Fear

Happiness

Sadness

Surprise

well as anyone in more globally-

mind has time to register the

Ekman that a better understanding

aware countries, which suggests

causes of that emotion. Ekman

of emotions would help to overcome

that facial expressions are universal

inferred not only that our faces can

some mental disorders. We may be

products of human evolution.

reveal our inner emotional state,

unable to control our emotions, but

but that the emotions responsible

we may be able to make changes to

Basic emotions

for these involuntary expressions are

the things that trigger them and

Ekman came up with six basic

more powerful than psychologists

the behavior they lead to.

emotions—anger, disgust, fear,

had previously thought.

Running parallel to his work

happiness, sadness, and surprise—

In
Emotions Revealed
, Ekman

on emotions, Ekman pioneered

and because of their ubiquity,

states that emotions can be more

research into deception and the

concluded they must be important

powerful than the Freudian drives

ways we try to hide our feelings.

to psychological make-up. He noted

of sex, hunger, and even the will to

He identified small tell-tale signs,

that facial expressions linked to

live. For example, embarassment or

which he called “microexpressions,”

these emotions are involuntary—

fear can override libido, preventing

detectable when someone is either

we react automatically to things

a satisfactory sex life. Extreme

consciously or unconsciously

that trigger these emotional

unhappiness can override the will

concealing something. This has

responses—and that this reaction

to live. The power of the “runaway

proved useful in devising security

often happens before our conscious

train” of emotions convinced

measures to counter terrorism. ■

Paul Ekman

Paul Ekman was born and spent

nonverbal behavior and facial

his early childhood in Newark,

expressions. This work led to his

New Jersey. At the outbreak of

studies of the concealment of

World War II, his family moved

emotions in facial expressions,

west to Washington, then Oregon,

which in turn took Ekman deep

and eventually southern California.

into the then-unexplored field of

Aged just 15, Ekman took up a

the psychology of emotions. He

place at the University of Chicago,

was appointed Professor of

where he became interested in

Psychology at UCSF in 1972,

Freud and psychotherapy, and

and remained there until his

went on to study for his doctorate

retirement in 2004.

in clinical psychology at Adelphi

University, New York. After a brief

Key works

spell working for the US Army,

he moved to the University of

1985
Telling Lies

California, San Francisco (UCSF),

2003
Emotions Revealed

where he began his research into

2008
Emotional Awareness

198

ECSTASY IS

A STEP INTO AN

ALTERNATIVE REALITY

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (1934– )

Carl Rogers were beginning to

IN CONTEXT

D
uring the “cognitive

revolution,” there was a

think about what constituted a

growing movement in

good and happy life, rather than

APPROACH

clinical psychology away from

merely alleviating the misery of

Positive psychology

seeing patients solely in terms

depression and anxiety. From this

BEFORE

of their disorders, toward a more

grew a movement of “positive

1943
Abraham Maslow’s
A

holistic, humanistic approach.

psychology,” which concentrated

Theory of Human Motivation

Psychologists such as Erich

on finding ways to achieve this

lays the foundations for a

Fromm, Abraham Maslow, and

good and happy life.

humanistic psychology.

1951
Carl Rogers publishes

When we engage in an
activity that we enjoy
and that gives

Client-Centered Therapy
, a

enough challenge to our skills…

humanistic approach to

psychotherapy.

1960s
Aaron Beck introduces

…we become absorbed in that activity and reach

cognitive therapy as an

a state of “flow”
in which…

alternative to psychoanalysis.

1990s
Martin Seligman

switches from “learned

helplessness” and depression

…we are

…we feel a

…we feel a

…we have a

to “positive psychology.”

totally

sense of

sense of

feeling of

focused
.

serenity
.

timelessness
.

inner
clarity
.

AFTER

1997
Csíkszentmihályi works

on The GoodWork Project with

William Damon and Howard

Above all, we are
not conscious of ourselves
or the

Gardner, publishing
Good Work:

world around us.

When Excellence
and Ethics

Meet
and
Good Business:

Leadership, Flow
,
and the

Making of Meaning
in 2002
.

Flow is similar to a
state of ecstasy
.

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 199

See also:
Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Aaron Beck 174–77 ■

Martin Seligman 200–01 ■ Jon Kabat-Zinn 210

Csíkszentmihályi found that all

reality, totally separated from the

these people described a similar

cares and worries of ordinary life.

sensation when they were totally

Flow, Csíkszentmihályi felt, is key

engaged in an activity they enjoyed

to optimal enjoyment of any activity,

and could do well. They all reported

and consequently to a fulfilling life.

achieving a state of mind with no

But how can flow be achieved?

sense of self, in which things came

Csíkszentmihályi studied cases of

to them automatically—a feeling

people who regularly reached this

of “flow.” It starts, he said, with

“ecstatic” state, and realized that

A good jazz musician
will pass into

“a narrowing of attention on a

it always occurred when the

an almost trancelike state when he is

clearly defined goal. We feel

challenge of an activity matched a

playing. Engulfed by the ecstatic feeling

involved, concentrated, absorbed.

person’s skills; the task was doable,

of “flow,” he becomes totally absorbed

We know what must be done, and

but also extended their capabilities

by his music and performance.

we get immediate feedback as to

and demanded total concentration.

Central to the new psychology was

how well we are doing.” A musician

Only a reasonable balance of ability

the concept of “flow,” devised by

knows instantly if the notes he

and difficulty could lead to flow. If

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in the

plays sound as they should; a

someone’s skills were not up to the

1970s, and fully explained in his

tennis player knows the ball he

task, this led to anxiety, and if the

book
Flow: The Psychology of

hits will reach its destination.

task was too easily done, it led to

Optimal Experience
in 1990. The

boredom or apathy.

idea came to him from interviewing

State of ecstasy

Csíkszentmihályi’s concept of

people who appeared to get a lot

People experiencing flow also

flow was eagerly picked up by other

out of life, either in their work or

describe feelings of timelessness,

advocates of positive psychology,

their leisure activities—not only

clarity, and serenity, which led

and became an integral part of

creative professionals such as

Csíkszentmihályi to liken it to a

this new, optimistic approach.

artists and musicians, but people

state of ecstasy (in its truest sense,

Csíkszentmihályi himself saw flow

from all walks of life, including

from the Greek
ekstasis
, meaning

as a vital element in activity of all

surgeons and business leaders, and

“being outside oneself”). A major

kinds, and thought it especially