4). Techniques used in brain study.

There are 3 methods, that most often used in studying the brain: injury ablation, electrical or chemical stimulation and electrical effects of neural activity.

Noting the kind of symptoms produced when tumors or injuries damage certain parts of the brain may give clues about functions controlled by the area. In experiments with animals it is possible to remove systematically parts of the brain and observe the kind of defect that results.

Sometimes ablation operations are performed on human patients. They are carefully studied to asses the effects of the operation.

Stimulating parts of the brain with mild electrical currents produces effect on behavior. From patient reports of sensations during stimulation, fairly accurate maps of the cortex have been obtained.

Chemical stimulation has also been widely used to affect behavior.

When neural actions occurs, slight electrical currents are produced. The brain as a whole also produces rhythmical electrical discharges.

Results obtained by these methods further our psychological understanding.

5). Thinking and feeling.

Felling is what makes a human being human. It is to satisfy our emotions and values that we arrange our actions.

Feelings are a sort of actions. Thinking should never attempt to be a substitute for feeling. The job of thinking is to clarify and arrange perception.

In practice it is extremely difficult to think first and feel second.

The very first step in teaching thinking must be to provide a bypass to this instant judgement by requiring the thinker to direct attention to all the interesting points in the situation. In addition to his natural feelings he directs attention to the other aspects.

We trust our feelings because we cannot see how they can be wrong. Feelings are, indeed, always right but within the universe created by our perception at the time.

6). Strategies in problem solving.

There are 7 strategies in solving problems: retreating, attacking, going around the barrier, seeking expert opinion, changing the goal, changing oneself, crying, worrying and whining.

Retreating. Sometimes it is wise to retreat from the solving of a problem if after analysis it appears to be insoluble. It may be wise to retreat in order to build up new skills and develop new attitudes.

Attacking. To attack is one of the most humanly impulsive things to do when we are confronted with a barrier to the attainment of a goal.

Going around the barrier. Sometimes it is wise to discover new pathways to achieving a desired goal.

Seeking expert opinion. Seeking expert opinion is becoming more necessary because of the rapid development of specialized knowledge.

Changing the goal. After analyzing a problem, we may see that the attainment of a particular goal is beyond our capabilities. We may then see that an alternate, but attainable, goal may give us the same satisfaction.

Changing oneself. After the analysis of the problem we may find that the barrier lies within ourselves, so that the solution may involve changing ourselves.

Crying, worrying and whining. It results from our previous learning as children when these methods paid off in instant problem solving by mama or papa. Although ineffective, this method helps us to temporarily let off steam so that we can seek better ways of solving our problems.