A Fast Road to the Study of Emotions, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2017 An Introduction

This book is an ideal introduction to work in psychology and the neurosciences. Walking us through the key topics including historical, developmental and cultural perspectives, the book shows that the different types of emotions each is an evolved adaptive structure that serves a functional purpose. It is shown how these types are expressed differently on the human face, how they are developed in the child, and how they influence and are influenced by culture, health and the ways persons think and perceive. Knowledge of emotions is essential for anyone who plans to work, or whose work already involves, helping, instructing, negotiating, or controlling others. This introductory-level book teaches undergraduates as well as general readers the main components and methods, and helps readers to better understand how emotions operate both within the body and out in the world. It is a valuable resource for undergraduate students in psychology, nursing, social work, physiotherapy and occupational therapy find this book an important accompaniment.

Chapter 1. What are Emotions?.- Chapter  2. The Facial Expressions.- Chapter 3. The Individual Emotions.- Chapter 4. Personal Indications.- Chapter 5. The Development of Emotions.- Chapter 6. Emotions and Cognition.- Chapter 7. Emotions and Health.- Chapter 8. The Regulation of Emotions.- Chapter  9. Emotions and Culture.- Chapter 10. Emotions in the Workplace.- Chapter 11. Historical Background and Current Theories.- Chapter 12. Biological Background of Emotions.- Chapter 13. Final Issues. 

Arne Vikan is a psychotherapist and professor emeritus at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He graduated as a psychologist in 1970 and completed his PhD at the University of Oslo in 1979. He was associate professor in 1979, professor of clinical psychology in 1986, and professor of medicine in 1994, and was a visiting professor at the Brazilian Federal Universities of Pernambuco (Recife)2003, and Paraiba (Joao Pessoa) 2010.  Vikan is professor emeritus from 2013.  He is also a certified psychotherapist and has practiced psychodynamic psychotherapy for more than 30 years.

His research focuses on the development of logic, social cognition and magical thinking, epidemiology of mental illness in children, cross-cultural studies of children’s concepts of causes and regulation of emotion, ecological cognition, emotion communication, shame, and cultural and clinical comparative research on emotion regulation strategies. He has published books in Norwegian