Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2007 - Volume 30, Issue 5-6  

Open Peer Commentary

Emotional consequences of alternatives to reality: Feeling is for doing

Marcel Zeelenberga1

a1 Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands. Marcel@uvt.nl

Abstract

When creating alternatives to reality, people often feel emotions in response to these imaginary worlds. I argue that these emotions serve an important purpose. They signal how the world could have been better and prioritize actions to bring this better world about.

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    Précis of The Rational Imagination: How People Create Alternatives to Reality Ruth M. J. Byrne School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland rmbyrne@tcd.ie http://www.tcd.ie/Psychology/Ruth_Byrne/