CAN BRAIN DATA BE USED TO ARBITRATE AMONG EMOTION THEORIES?
This chapter asks to what extent can neuroscientific data be used to arbitrate among different psychological theories of emotion. It focuses on human functional neuroimaging evidence that supports or contradicts tenets from three main classes of emotion theories – dimensional/constructionist, appraisal, and basic emotion theories. The chapter discusses the evidence required and used by neuroscientists to address these theoretical questions, and shows how recent advances in analytical approaches, namely a transition from univariate to multivariate analyses, can address theoretical issues in novel ways. While such neuroscience investigations cannot currently provide definitive answers, such efforts will forge greater cross-talk between psychological theorists and neuroscientific researchers that will be mutually beneficial to their respective fields.
