Affect: Neurobiological, Psychological and Sociocultural Counterparts of "Feelings"
This MIT OpenCourseWare course examines how affect, the study of feelings and emotions, connects to cognition, behavior, and belief. Lectures and readings trace these links across three levels of analysis: the psychological processes of feeling and thinking, the neurobiological systems that produce emotional states, and the sociocultural practices that shape how values and beliefs are expressed. Topics include the interplay between emotion and reasoning, how affective states influence action, and how culture and society mediate the expression of feeling. Materials include a syllabus, readings drawn from psychology, neuroscience, and sociology, and session-by-session topic outlines typical of MIT's OpenCourseWare offerings. There is no charge to access the materials, and no certificate is offered since OpenCourseWare publishes course content rather than running a live instructional platform. It suits students wanting an interdisciplinary grounding in emotion research.