Passion and Reason

In Passion and Reason, Lazarus draws on his four decades of pioneering research to bring readers the first book to move beyond both clinical jargon and `feel-good' popular psychology. In plain, accessible language, Lazarus explains how emotions are aroused, how they are managed, and how they critically shape our views of ourselves and the world around us. Dr Lazarus explores the latest findings on the short and long-term causes andeffects of various emotions, including the often conflicting research on stress management and links between negative emotions and heart disease, cancer, and other aspects of physical and psychological health.

“"The Lazaruses provide a roadmap--clear, concise, and informative--to oneof the most difficult and fascinating areas in psychology, the emotions. Thereis no better book of its kind on the market today. A wise and sensitive book, itis both intellectually honest and fun to read."--James R. Averill, University ofMassachusetts”

"An original and thoughtful book."--Journal of Mind-Body Health"Readers will come away from this book with invaluable tools for better self-understanding--and for handling emotions that can otherwise obstruct personal relationships, productivity at work, happiness, and health."--Kliatt"Very few people can write on emotions with as much authority as Richard Lazarus....It is a very timely contribution, and provides for the lay reader an analysis which is both authoritative and accessible at the same time."--Sexual and Marital Therapy"Compelling....A helpful, clearly written users guide to the human emotion."--Kirkus Reviews"Readers will see not only how professionals decipher the meaning of client's feelings, but also how they themselves can employ new strategies to unravel and cope with their own emotions."--Booklist"A good and solid counterpoint to the many overblown and untested self-help books."--Library Journal"This book allows the reader to learn from and enjoy its contents. It is the product of the loving labor of a husband and wife team....The writing is clear in meaning with vignettes reflecting well on the points made."--American Library Book Review"An original and thoughtful book."--Journal of Mind-Body Health"The Lazaruses provide a roadmap--clear, concise, and informative--to one of the most difficult and fascinating areas in psychology, the emotions. There is no better book of its kind on the market today. A wise and sensitive book, it is both intellectually honest and fun to read."--James R. Averill, University of Massachusetts"Anger, anxiety, compassion and love are complex and often perplexing reactions. Passion and Reason effectively blends case studies with research and theory to produce a compelling description and analysis of these and many other emotions. Richard and Bernice Lazarus are to be commended for providing a unique roadmap of our daily emotional excursions that is both fascinating and easy to read. I enthusiastically recommend their book to anyone interestedin better understanding the seemingly mysterious domain of the 'passions.'"--Alan Monat, Professor of Psychology, California State University, Hayward

Richard S. and Bernice Lazarus have been happily married since 1945. Richard S. Lazarus, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, was recipient of a 1989 Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association. He is the author of Emotion and Adaptation, Stress, Appraisal, and Coping and Psychological Stress and the Coping Process, and editorof the 14-volume Foundations of Modern Psychology series.

When Oxford published Emotion and Adaptation, the landmark 1991 book on the psychology of emotion by internationally acclaimed stress and coping expert Richard Lazarus, Contemporary Psychology welcomed it as "a brightly shining star in the galaxy of such volumes." Psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers hailed it as a masterpiece, a major breakthrough in our understanding of the emotional process and its central role in our adaptation as individuals and as a species. What was still needed, however, was a book for general readers and health care practitioners that would dispel the myths still surrounding cultural beliefs about emotion and systematically explain the relevance of the new research to the emotional dramas of our everyday lives.Now, in Passion and Reason, Lazarus draws on his four decades of pioneering research to bring readers the first book to move beyond both clinical jargon and "feel-good" popular psychology to really explain, in plain, accessible language, how emotions are aroused, how they are managed, and how they critically shape our views of ourselves and the world around us. With his co-author writer Bernice Lazarus, Dr. Lazarus explores the latest findings on the short and long-term causes and effects of various emotions, including the often conflicting research on stress management and links between negative emotions and heart disease, cancer, and other aspects of physical and psychological health. Lazarus makes a strong case that contrary to common assumption, emotions are not irrational--our emotions and our analytical thought processes are inextricably linked.While not a "how-to" book, Passion and Reason does describe how readers can interpret what lies behind their own emotions and those of their families, friends, and co-workers, and how to manage them more effectively. Exploring fifteen emotions in depth, from love to jealousy, the authors show how the personal meaning we give to the events and conditions of our lives trigger such emotions as anger, anxiety, guilt, and pride. They provide fascinating vignettes to frame a "biography" of each emotion. Some are composite case histories drawn from Dr. Lazarus's long career, but most are stories of people the Lazaruses have known over the years--people whose emotional fears, conflicts, and desires mirror readers' own. The Lazaruses also offer a special chapter on the diverse strategies of coping people use in managing their emotions, and another, "When Coping Fails," on psychotherapy and its approaches to emotional stress and dysfunction, from traditional Freudian psychoanalysis to continuing research into relaxation techniques, meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback.Packed with insight and compellingly readable, Passion and Reason will enrich all readers fascinated by our emotional lives.

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