Carroll Ellis Izard (October 8, 1923 – February 5, 2017)
was an American research
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
known for his contributions to
differential emotions theory (DET), and the Maximally Discriminative Affect Coding System (MAX) on which he worked with
Paul Ekman. Izard also undertook empirical studies into the
facial feedback hypothesis
The facial feedback hypothesis, rooted in the conjectures of Charles Darwin and William James, is that one's facial expression directly affects their emotional experience. Specifically, physiological activation of the facial regions associated wit ...
according to which emotions which have different functions also cause
facial expression
Facial expression is the motion and positioning of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers and are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying ...
s which in turn provide us with cues about what emotion a person is feeling. In addition, Izard constructed a multidimensional self-report measure – the ''
Differential Emotions Scale'' – currently in its 4th edition (DES-IV). His later research focused on
emotional development in young children and the development and testing of his Emotions Course for Young Children.
[
]
Academic career
Izard earned his PhD from Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
in 1952 and served initially as a psychology professor at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
, where he carried out pioneering research into human emotions. In 1976, he joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
, where he remained active as Unidel Foundation Professor of Psychology in the McKinly Lab until his retirement in 2014.[ A '']festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' was held at the University of Delaware on October 22, 2012, to celebrate Izard's lifelong contributions to the understanding of human emotional development.
Works
Izard is noted for contributions to the developmental research on emotion. In 1971, Izard - along with colleagues - conducted groundbreaking research on this subject, which challenged the then established theory that emotions were undifferentiated and also validated universally recognizable expressions. He also defined personality as an interrelated system and that emotion is one of the core components that also include homoeostatic, motor, perceptual, and cognitive systems. As many experts maintain that emotions unfold gradually alongside the development of the nervous system, Izard maintained that even infants who are 10 weeks old are capable of several basic emotions. Izard's 1977 theory of emotion identified ten primary and discrete emotions: fear, anger, shame, contempt, disgust, guilt, distress, interest, surprise, and joy. One of Izard's major theoretical competitors, Robert Plutchik
Robert Plutchik (21 October 1927 – 29 April 2006) was an American psychologist who was professor emeritus at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and adjunct professor at the University of South Florida. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia ...
, proposed that all the distinctive emotions Izard put forth were primary except shame and guilt. Izard postulated that these ten fundamental emotions cannot be reduced to more basic emotions but can be combined to produce other emotions, just like primary colors could be combined to create different colors. He theorized that each emotion was an intra-individual process or a conscious feeling state marked by its neurobiological activity and expression pattern like distinct facial expression
Facial expression is the motion and positioning of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers and are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying ...
s. Izard's theory of emotion is also called differential emotions theory. Izard proposed that these specific emotions would emerge in a child not because of social learning but as adaptive behavior.[Izard CE, Malatesta CZ. Perspectives on emotional development: Differential emotions theory of early emotional development. In: Osofsky JD, editor. Handbook of Infant Development. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley Intersci.; 1987. pp. 494–554.]
Books
* ''Face of Emotion''. (1993). Irvington Publishers.
* ''The Psychology of Emotions''. (1991). New York: Plenum.
* ''Human Emotions''. (1977). New York: Plenum.
* ''Patterns of Emotions: A New Analysis of Anxiety and Depression''. (1972). New York: Academic.
* ''The Face of Emotion''. (1971). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
* ''Depression in Young People: Developmental and Clinical Perspectives''. (1985). Guilford. (with Michael Rutter)
* ''Emotions, Cognition and Behavior''. (1984). Cambridge University Press. (with Jerome Kagan)
* ''Measuring Emotions in Infants and Children: Vol. 1''. (1982). Cambridge University Press.
See also
* Discrete emotion theory
* Basic emotions
* Emotion classification
Emotion classification, the means by which one may distinguish or contrast one emotion from another, is a contested issue in emotion research and in affective science. Researchers have approached the classification of emotions from one of two fun ...
References
Sources
*Cicchetti, D. (2015). Reflections on Carroll Izard's contributions: Influences on diverse scientific disciplines and personal reflections. ''Emotion Review, 7''(2), 104–109. doi: 10.1177/1754073914554781
*Hope, D. A. (1996). (Ed.), Perspectives on Anxiety, Panic, and Fear. ''Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Current Theory and Research in Motivation'' (Vol. 43). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
*Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). ''Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior''. New York: Plenum.
External links
Carroll E. Izard's homepage at University of Delaware's Department of Psychology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Izard, Carroll
1923 births
2017 deaths
Emotion psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
Syracuse University alumni
Vanderbilt University faculty
University of Delaware faculty