Attention and Emotion (Classic Edition)

Adrian Wells is Professor of Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology at the University of Manchester, UK. His research interests are in the areas of cognitive theory and therapy and emotional disorders. He has made major contributions to treatments for anxiety disorders and he is the originator of Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). His treatments are included in NHS NICE guidelines. Gerald Matthews is Research Professor at the Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, USA. His research focuses on human factors, cognitive models of personality and individual differences, and task-induced states of stress and fatigue.

‘The impact of the publication of Attention and Emotion twenty years ago cannot be underestimated. It systematized accumulating empirical evidence in the emerging field of emotion-cognition interactions. It provided a structured framework to integrate these data, as well as a theoretical model to guide and stimulate research and the development of clinical applications. One of the many strong features of that work was and remains to anchor cognition-emotion research in a precise understanding of the cognitive architecture. Twenty years later most of the issues initially introduced in that ground breaking book are at the heart of current research on emotion and cognition. The original text is just as relevant as it was. The key topics of attentional bias, thinking styles, strategic processing and emotion are still at the forefront of current research. Their importance was presciently established in Attention and Emotion twenty years ago. These concepts have also had a significant impact on clinical practice, with the development of interventions now documented as being effective. The introduction to the new edition clearly synthesizes the progress that has been made since the original publication of the book. It highlights the many topics that are still relevant in current research and practice and brilliantly identifies avenues that remain to be investigated.Attention and Emotion is a must read for anybody interested in the interaction between cognition and emotion both in healthy and clinical populations.’ – Isabelle Blanchette, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada.Praise for the 1st edition:'A major contribution to the study of cognition and emotion. In addition to an authoritative and extremely comprehensive review of the literature, the authors present us with an innovative theory which places strategic processes, self-focussed attention and meta-cognitive beliefs in centre stage. Thought provoking and rewarding, this book has much to interest emotion researchers, students and clinicians'. – David M Clark, University of Oxford, UK'This book presents the most thorough and detailed review yet written of the complex area of attention and emotion. The authors have comprehensively examined the extensive research literature and have original and insightful comments to make about almost every study and article they discuss. Despite working in the area for a number of years I found myself being forced to view familiar studies and ideas in a new light and one can ask nothing more from a book than this!' – Tim Dalgleish, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, UK

• Introduction: Cognitive Theory of Emotional Disorders Part 1 Emotion, Attention and Information Processing 1. Attention - Basic Conceptual and Theoretical Issues 2. Selection of Complex, Personally Significant and Emotional Stimuli 3. Attentional Bias In Emotion Disorders 4.Affective Bias in Attention - Theoretical Issues 5. Emotional Disorders - Attentional Deficit Part 2 Cognitive Content and Process In Emotional Disorder 6. Attentional Content - Distressing Intrusive Thought 7.Interactionist Approaches To Stress 8. Self-focused Attention 9. Attention Manipulations Moderating Influences in Treatment? 10. Attentional Disorder - Cause or Consequence of Emotional Problems Part 3 New Theoretical Model and Clinical Implications 11. Theoretical Integration 12. Clinical Implications