James D. Laird is Professor of Psychology in the Frances Hiatt School of Psychology, at Clark University in Worcester, MA. He is a Social Psychologist, and his research has focused most consistently on emotions, especially emotional feelings.

This book aims to pinpoint the connection feelings have with behaviour - a connection that, while clear, has never been fully explained. Following William James, Laird argues that feelings are not the cause of behaviour but rather its consequences; the same goes for behaviour and motives and behaviour and attitudes. He presents research into feelings across the spectrum, from anger to joy to fear to romantic love, that support this against-the-grain view. Laird discusses the problem of common sense, self-perception theory, the association between feelings and higher cognitive processes, and also the literature on facial expression, posture, and gaze.