This chapter updates and extends ideas advanced by Royzman, McCauley, and Rozin in The Psychology of Hate. In particular, it builds on the work of Shand, who argued that hate and love are not themselves emotions but the occasions of experiencing many different emotions, depending on what is happening to the one hated or loved. The first section reviews four ways of getting to the meaning of hate. The second section stipulates a definition of identification and provides examples of the power of positive and negative identification in human affairs. The third section reviews ideas about what it means to essentialize a category. The fourth section explores positive and negative essence as perceived in human individuals and groups. The concluding section points to research directions implied by the stipulated conceptions of hate and love, ending with an overview of how these conceptions relate to fusion theory, intergroup emotions, and dehumanization.
Publication Information
McCauley, Clark. 2020. "The Essence of Hate and Love." In Perspectives on Hate: How it Originates, Develops, Manifests, and Spreads, ed. Robert J. Sternberg. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0000180-003&errorCode=invalidAccess