Lecture 1

Emotions and Feelings

• The word "emotion" is derived from the Latin word "Emovere", meaning to be stirred up.
• Emotions are mental experiences of body states, signifying physiological needs, tissue injuries, optimal function, specific social interactions, and threats to the organism.
• Feelings offer a glimpse into what goes on in our flesh, describing a state of the body in which the condition of the viscera (heart, lungs, gut, and skin) has a key role.

Motives

• There are two types of motives: biological and psychosocial.
• Biological Motives focus on innate, biological causes of motivation, such as hormones, neurotransmitters, and brain structures (e.g., hypothalamus, limbic system).
• Psychosocial Motives focus on psychological and social factors, and how they interact with each other to produce motivation.

The Three-Parted Brain

• The Lizard Brain (brain stem and cerebellum) is responsible for autopilot functions, fight and flight responses, and controls the body's basic functions.
• The Mammal Brain (limbic system) is responsible for emotions, memories, habits, and attachments.
• The Human Brain (neo-cortex) is responsible for language, abstract thought, imagination, consciousness, reasoning, and rationalizing.

Brain Regions and Hormones

• The pituitary gland is divided into two parts: the anterior pituitary and the posterior pituitary.
• The anterior pituitary produces hormones such as TSH, ACTH, LH, FSH, GH, and prolactin.
• The posterior pituitary produces hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin.
• The brain area traditionally associated with emotions is the limbic system.