Exuberance - the Temperament
There have been many different theories of “affect” or “emotion” over the years, but most scientific research has been reserved for mental illness or for other aspects of human behavior. The book Exuberance sets out to study the normal affect of “exuberance” and in the process relates it to the more pathological state of “mania.”
Jamison treats exuberance as a “temperament”, stressing the fact that some people are just born that way. She writes about it as a personality trait similar to unbridled enthusiasm. Because scientists haven’t studied exuberance, Jamison uses biographies of famous people as a way of “studying” exuberance. This turns out to be the book’s greatest strength as well as its inherent flaw. Writing about famous people who have been described as having an exuberant temperament certainly puts a human face on exuberance; but we are left wondering what these people really had in common. Certainly they were all gregarious extraverts, but is there more there?
Famous People
Jamison starts with Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir, citing their own works and descriptions of them by others. I especially enjoyed her descriptions of the work of William “Snowflake” Bentley who enthusiastically photographed thousands of snowflakes and is credited with “discovering” that no two snowflakes are alike. She also looks at the relationship of exuberance to mania, and at the problems that exuberance sometimes creates (such as problems created by overly exuberant soldiers in combat). She also looks at the research literature on play, especially the importance of play in animals. Jamison sees exuberant people as people who continue to “play” through their adult life, and repeatedly quotes scientists as saying that they would be doing their same job even if they were not paid to do it. She repeats it a little too often, in fact. One of the book’s weaknesses is that it is sometime repetitive. Another of the book’s weaknesses is that it is far from rigorous.Future Research?
Jamison’s method of inquiry is similar to that of psychologists like William James who wrote in the mid 1800s. It’s not exactly science, but it’s a good start. In writing this book she has defined a new potential area of study for psychologists and mental health researchers. She has given future researchers a starting point for studying the complexity of “normal” human affect and temperament.
