Researchers in Northeastern’s PEN group use machine learning analysis to question the assumption that commonly used emotion words have biological meaning in a recent paper.

Everything from emotion-reading AI to TSA terror threat recognition training relies on the assumption that emotions can be deciphered from basic and universal facial expressions. A new study by Northeastern professor Lisa Feldman Barrett shows that the evidence has always been saying otherwise.

Can you discern the differences among all the subtle shades of your anger? Lisa Feldman Barrett explains how emotion and the brain are linked.

Can you discern the differences among all the subtle shades of your anger? Lisa Feldman Barrett explains how emotion and the brain are linked.

For hundreds of years, psychologists have operated under the notion that each emotion category—anger, sadness, fear, disgust, happiness, surprise—has its own physiological fingerprint. But that assumption is not true, according to new research by Northeastern psychologists Lisa Feldman Barrett and Karen S. Quigley.

For hundreds of years, psychologists have operated under the notion that each emotion category—anger, sadness, fear, disgust, happiness, surprise—has its own physiological fingerprint. But that assumption is not true, according to new research by Northeastern psychologists Lisa Feldman Barrett and Karen S. Quigley.

Lisa Feldman Barrett was was featured on NPR's health news site, "Shots," talking about her theory on emotions.

Lisa Feldman Barrett's newest book "How Emotions Are Made" challenges many longheld beliefs of how the brain constructs emotions.

Lisa Feldman Barrett's newest book "How Emotions Are Made" challenges many longheld beliefs of how the brain constructs emotions.

Research led by Northeastern professor Lisa Feldman Barrett found, for the first time, that the neurotransmitter dopamine is involved in human bonding, bringing the brain’s reward system into our understanding of how we form human attachments.

Psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett provides perspective on the intensity of our emotions this election season, how the campaign might affect us psychologically over the long term, and how we can regain our equilibrium as individuals and as a nation.

We're terrible at self-control, psychology professor David DeSteno will tell you. But, he adds, it's what controls your success.

Lisa Feldman Barrett, University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern, explains why misconceptions about emotion persist, how our emotional brains change as we age, and the role context plays in what we feel.

Psychology professor David DeSteno writes the cover story for Pacific Standard, "A Feeling of Control: How America Can Finally Learn to Deal With Its Impulses."