The Owner’s Manual for the Brain by P. J. Howard

Summary by D. E. GoldbergUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign

deg@uiuc.edu

Text

• Howard, P. J. (1994). The owner’s manual for the brain: Everyday applications from mind-brain research. Austin, TX: Leornian Press.

• Director: Center for Applied Cognitive Studies, Charlotte, NC. PhD in Education UNC, Chapel Hill.

Brain Science

• Origins in WW2 & 1948 Hixon Symposium, “Cerebral Mechanisms of Behavior.”

• Fields:– Neurobiology

– Psychology

– Information Science

– Philosophy

– Antrhopology

– Linguistics

Mind versus Brain

• Brain as power plant• As computer• As 2.8x1020 bits• Principles:

– Nativism: inheritance & environment– Unity: brain-mind one– Connectivity: essence of growth– Interconnectivity: more or less– Control: health if individual controls situation.

Basics

• Reptilian brain: Survival, respiration, digestions, circulation, and reproduction.

• Leopard brain: Emotion and coordination of movement (GAS-Selye’s general adaptation principle).

• Learning brain: Cerebral cortex.

RAS and the Gap

• RAS: Recticular activating system switches between limbic system and cortex.

• Synaptic gap: gets dirty with protein buildup.

• Neurotransmitters: 100 billion neurons with new synapse following learning.

• Excitation and inhibition:

Topics in Passing

• Sexual differentiation: Wiring not the same.

• Aging: Use it or lose it.

• Diet

• Mind-altering drugs

Sleep

• Cycle: 6-noon, blood clotting high, memory sharp, noon-6 pm smell better, body temp higher, grip strength highest.

• Nap and live longer.

• Dreams: Hobson activation-synthesis theory.

Personality

• Nature versus nuture

• Equalizer theory of personality:– Intelligence-domains– Traits– intelligence-components– Values– motivators

Five Factor Model

• Resilience

• Extraversion

• Openness

• Agreeableness

• Conscientiousness

Emotions

• Modeling emotion:– Event– Perception of event– Appraisal of event– Filtering the appraisal– Reaction to the appraisal

Appraisal Filter

• Goal relevance

• Goal conguence or incongruence

• Goal content

• Source of blame or credit

• Coping potential

• Future expectations

Coping Styles

• Verbals

• Nonverbal

• Verbal and nonverb al

• Neither verbal nor nonverbal

3 Faces of Intelligence

• Process: Sternberg, processes at work in intellect.

• Content: Howard Garnner types of intelligence.

• Structure: Eysenck,

Gardner’s Domains

• Linguistic

• Musical

• Logical-mathematical

• Spatial

• Bodily-kinesthetic

• Personal

• Criteria:– Isolation by brain damage.

– Prodigies

– Developmental uniqueness

– Evolutionary plausibility.

– Validation experiments.

– Psychometrics.

– Existence of symbol system to express its contents.

Eysenck’s Correlates

• Reaction time• Inspection time• Overage evoked

potential

Optimism versus Hardiness

• Seligman (1991). Learned optimism.• Optimism: personalization (internal). Permanence,

Pervasiveness. Reverse on adversity• Cousins (1989). Hardiness.

– Positive expectations

– Relaxation

– Positive emotions

– Active role

Motivation

• Extrinsic versus Intrinsic

• Amabile’s indicators:– Stimulated by task– Sense of competence from task– Task free of strong external control– At play, not work

Seligman’s ABCDE Model

• Adversity

• Belief

• Consequences

• Disputation

• Energization

Pygmalion Effect

• Robert Rosenthal (1968). High potential, low potential groups.

• High potential did better. But both groups were the same.

Chunks

• Miller (1956). Seven bits of information.

• Testing is a learning process.

• Experts better than technques.

• Bartlett (1932). Schemas

Learning

• Hart’s environmental factors:– High expectations– Nonthreatening ambiance– Goal of 100 percent mastery– Air of reality

• Advance organizers– Schemas in advance of learning

Creativity

• Amabile’s creative personality– Domain-relevant skills– Creativity-relevant skills– Task motivation

• Creativity-relevant skills– Cognitive style: break perceptual sets, comfort with

complexity, suspend judgment, see things differently– Knowledge of heuristics– Work style: long periods of concentration, persistence,

hard work and high energy.

Traits of the Creative

• Self-discipline• Delay of gratification• Perserverance• Independent judgment• Tolerance for ambiguity• Autonomy• Absence of sex-role stereotyping• Internal locus of control• Willingness to take risks• Self starter• Absence of conformity

Removing Obstacles to Creativity

• Creativity assessment: http://www.creativelearning.com/Assess/index.htm

• Obstacles:– Critical nature

– Personality

– Diet

– Physical condition

– Fear

– Conflict style

– Highly developed superego

– Left-hemisphere dominance

– Conservative culture

– Closed end questioning

– Perceptual fixedness

– Need for power and control

– Pessimism

– Over/under achievement

– Time pressure

Styles for Approaching Problems

• Preserver: quick solution tried and true.

• Explorer: innovative solution on new insight.

• Challenger: truth based on logic

• Adapter: harmony through consensus.

Problem Taxonomy

• Problems for which causes are known or not.

• Solutions: Outcomes are certain or uncertain or prioritzed.

Techniques

• Mindmapping: Buzan (1991). Connect words and phrases.

• Ishikawa or fishbone diagram. People, methods, machinery, & materials.

• Pareto diagram.

• Actual versus ideal diagram

Brain-Philosophy Connection

• Epistemology: Philosophy of knowledge.

• Search and replace exercise

• Epistemology: similarities in structure.

• Kuhn: paradigm shifts

Pemberton’s Stages

• Permberton: Stages of semantic development:– Sensing– Pre-science– Early science– Modern science– Advancing science

• Law of Noninvalidation– React genuinely– Paraphrase them– Question them

Other Theories

• Kohlberg– Pleasure/pain

– Pragmatic

– Reciprocation

– Law and order

– Rational/legal

– Brotherly love

• Piaget– Sensorimotor

– Preoperational

– Concrete operations

– Concrete operations

– Formal operations

– Formal operations