In this episode we try to make sense of our emotions.

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Culturally speaking – we view emotions as distinct archetypes. We all recognise the sudden rage provoked by a dangerous driver or the kind of joy that puppy inspires. But according to Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, not all of us experience and express these emotions in the same way.

Her new book, How Emotions are Made (Pan Macmillan, £9.99), challenges our current understanding of emotions. In it she describes how our feelings aren’t as clear cut as we think that instead, they’re complex psychological experiences crafted in moment and shaped by lives.

She speaks to sciencefocus.com Editor Alexander McNamara about what happens in our brains when we create emotions, how to control them, and what this means for the future of artificial intelligence.

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Authors

Alexander McNamaraOnline Editor, BBC Science Focus

Alexander is the former Online Editor at BBC Science Focus.

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