The Psychology of Passion: A Dualistic Model

Winner of the 2017 APA William James Book Award

The concept of passion is one we regularly use to describe our interests, and yet there is no broad theory that can explain the development and consequences of passion for activities across people's lives. In The Psychology of Passion, Robert J. Vallerand presents the first such theory, providing a complete presentation of the Dualistic Model of Passion and the empirical evidence that supports it. Vallerand conceives of two types of passion: harmonious passion, which remains under the person's control, and obsessive passion, which controls the person. While the first typically leads to adaptive behaviors, the obsessive form of passion leads to less adaptive and, at times, maladaptive behaviors. Vallerand highlights the effects of these two types of passion on a number of psychological phenomena, such as cognition, emotions, performance, relationships, aggression, and violence. He also discusses the development of passion and reviews a range of literature on passion for activities.

About the Author
Robert J. Vallerand, Ph.D., is Professor of Social Psychology and Director of the Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Comportement Social at the Université du Québec à Montréal where he holds a Canada Research Chair in Motivational Processes and Optimal Functioning. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on motivational processes and is the author of 7 books and over 300 scientific publications. Over 20 of his former students are university professors. He has served as President of the Quebec Society for Research in Psychology (SQRP), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). Professor Vallerand has been elected a Fellow of over a dozen learned societies including the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, and the Society for Social Psychology and Personality Psychology (SPSP). He has also received a number of distinguished career awards including the Adrien Pinard Award (SQRP), the Donald O. Hebb Career Award (CPA), the Christopher Peterson Gold Medal Award (IPPA), as well as the Sport Science Award from the International Olympic Committee.