50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know

• Insight: Most people can hold around 7 items in their short term memory. This volume of total information can be expanded by incorporating more information into each item (chunking).

• Example: Individual perception about body image.

"The human brain... is the most complicated organisation of matter that we know."

- Isaac Asimov

• Insight: The brain upgrades its 'wiring' throughout adolescence through myelination.
• Insight: The prefrontal cortex, the brain's 'control system', which is involved in processes such as decision making and long term planning, develops through myelination.

• Definition: A form of learning where behaviour is modified by consequences (good or bad).
• Reference: Operant conditioning was first studied by American psychologist Edward Thorndike who places cats into puzzle boxes to reach food. He proposed the Law of Effect: behaviour is likely to be repeated when there are pleasant consequences, and not repeated with unpleasant consequences.
• Reference: B.F Skinner went deeper into operant conditioning with the concepts of reinforcement and punishment - positive reinforcement can strengthens a behaviour through rewards, negative reinforcement can strengthen a behaviour that removes negative stimulus.