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An Emotion's Emergence, Unfolding, and Potential for Empathy: A Study of Resentment by the "Psychologist of Avon"

Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada, koatley{at}oise.utoronto.ca

To understand human emotions we need, alongside appraisal, the concept of emergence (derivation from the expectations of relationships) and the concept of unfolding (of sequences that can be expressed as narratives). These processes can be seen in resentment, which has not been studied extensively in psychology. It is associated with envy, and it can be thought of as a kind of destructive anger. Such issues can be studied in works of literature: simulations of the social world in which emotions can be experienced by means of empathy. Shakespeare's Othello enables us to understand the emergence and unfolding of resentment in Iago, who is passed over for promotion and improvises a plan to destroy Othello. Iago's resentment is difficult to empathize with, and the play raises the question of whether we need to recognize in ourselves the capacity for reprehensible emotions.

Key Words: empathy • narrative • planning • relationships • resentment • Shakespeare

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Emotion Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 24-30 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1754073908097180


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This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Oatley, K. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?