Synopses & Reviews
Silvan Tomkins was one of the most influential theorists on emotion and emotional expression. Over a period of forty years--until his death in 1991--he developed a set of original, important ideas about the nature of affect and its relationship to cognition and personality. Tomkins dealt with fundamental questions in a fresh and provocative way, establishing affect as a separate, biological system, and providing compelling data on discrete affect expressions. Virginia Demos has undertaken the enormous task of compiling Professor Tomkins' papers and writing connective material for this volume, which brings together his works of four decades and makes them available at a more receptive time in the field. It is a rich compilation of insightful and relevant ideas appropriate for researchers and graduate students in personality and social psychology.
Review
"...an edited volume of Tomkins's selected writings is of such great value. Though the task was no doubt arduous, E. Virginia Demos has selected and edited a perspicuous account of Tomkins's nearly 50 years of scholarship." Ed de St. Aubin, Contemporary Psychology
Synopsis
Over a period of forty years--until his death in 1991--Silvan Tomkins, one of the most creative theorists on emotion and emotional expression, developed a set of original, important ideas about the nature of affect and its relationship to cognition and personality.
Table of Contents
Introduction M. Brewster Smith; 1. Affect theory; 2. Affect and ideology; 3. The face of affect; 4. Script theory: the differential magnification of affect; 5. Human being theory: a foundation for the study of personality; 6. A complete annotated bibliography of Silvan S. Tomkins' writings with a brief biography.