Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Physiological needs/Triune brain theory
 | This exercise is no longer used as of 2020 due to the arguments put forth by: Cesario, J., Johnson, D. J., & Eisthen, H. L. (2020). Your brain is not an onion with a tiny reptile inside. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(3), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420917687 |
A useful starting point to understanding the human brain structures which relate to our motivational and emotional lives, is the triune theory which understands the brain as having evolved in evolutionary layers:
- Reptilian brain (Brain stem): Instinct, survival, alertness
- Mammalian brain (Limbic system / Mid-brain): Emotional functions
- Human brain (Neocortex): Higher order capacities to self-regulate, plan, make choices, exercise volition, decide whether to approach or avoid, and so on, in the frontal cortex.
Discuss:
- What is it?
- What are the layers?
- What is their function?
- What does the triune brain theory tell us about motivation and emotion?
- What does science say about the triune brain theory?