Fear, in evolution, has a special prominence: perhaps more than any other emotion it is crucial for survival.

Teachers need to be comfortable talking about feelings.

The people we get along with, trust, feel simpatico with, are the strongest links in our networks

When the eyes of a woman that a man finds attractive look directly at him, his brain secretes the pleasure-inducing chemical dopamine - but not when she looks elsewhere.

Our genetic heritage endows each of us with a series of emotional set-points that determines our temperament. But the brain circuitry involved is extraordinarily malleable; temperament is not destiny.

The basic premise that children must learn about emotions is that all feelings are okay to have; however, only some reactions are okay.

A little girl who finds a puzzle frustrating might ask her busy mother (or teacher) for help. The child gets one message if her mother expresses clear pleasure at the request and quite another if mommy responds with a curt 'Don't bother me - I've got important work to do.'