Emotions and Interpersonal Relationships: Toward a Person-Centered Conceptualization of Emotions and Coping

Richard S. Lazarus,

Richard S. Lazarus

University of California, Berkeley

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Richard S. Lazarus,

Richard S. Lazarus

University of California, Berkeley

Search for more papers by this author

First published: 15 November 2005

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00368.x

Citations: 403

E-mail: [email protected].

A draft of this article was completed by Professor Richard Lazarus one week before his death on November 24, 2002. At the request of his widow, Bernice Lazarus, Joseph J. Campos—his colleague and friend at Berkeley—completed the paper. Ruth Tennen and Howard Tennen then edited the manuscript and prepared it for publication.

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Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay describes my theory of emotions. I make a case for studying discrete emotions in the context of four processes that represent the central features of my theoretical system: appraising, coping, flow of actions and reactions, and relational meaning. I explain why coping is a key feature of the emotion process, and I discuss issues related to the measurement of coping and the importance of understanding coping processes in the context of personality and situational demands. I make the argument that emotions are best studied as narratives, and I offer one such narrative in the form of a case study to demonstrate how emotions can best be understood in the context of an interpersonal relationship and by considering individual differences, interpersonal transactions, and relational meaning. I conclude this essay with a caution that field specialization may interfere with our understanding of emotions and other psychological phenomena, and I underscore the virtues of ipsative-normative research designs as a way to move closer to a person-centered personality psychology.

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Volume74, Issue1

February 2006

Pages 9-46

Emotions and Interpersonal Relationships: Toward a Person-Centered Conceptualization of Emotions and Coping

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Emotions and Interpersonal Relationships: Toward a Person-Centered Conceptualization of Emotions and Coping

Abstract

REFERENCES

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