心理学、生物学、人類学、精神医学などの専門家を結集した学際的なレファレンス。全67章にて、感情への進化論的アプローチの概念的基礎、愛・嫉妬・怒り・誇り・嫌悪・恥などの特定の感情、日常生活における感情の重要性、情緒障害に、特に焦点をあてる。Experts from a number of different disciplines, including psychology, biology, anthropology, psychiatry, and others, tackle a variety of how (proximate) and why (ultimate) questions about the function of emotions in humans and nonhuman animals, how emotions work, and their place in human life.