Kala Coker Professor Bolton English 101 November 7, 2013

Coker 1

Brain Training The human brain is b far the most !o"er things on earth# Think about it$ Cons%iousl or un%ons%iousl ever thing ou &o is %ontrolle& b our brain# 'or e(am!le, ever time ou take a ste!

ou min& is un%ons%iousl telling our mus%les ho" to move# )ith the thousan&s of things that go on in our brain it is har& to believe that one sim!le emotion or feeling %an affe%t the "a our min&

fun%tions# Think about a time "hen ou have been s%are& b someone or something, in that moment all o!tions of ho" to !rote%t ourself or get out of the situation ou ma be in %ease leaving ou feeling hel!less# *lthough that feeling onl lasts a %ou!le a se%on&s, it onl took one emotion to %hange our entire thought !ro%ess from fun%tional to nonfun%tional# +n the stor ,*n *%t of -o&. Bill, "ho "orke& for a !o"er !lant, "as /ust given a higher !osition "ithin the !lant# 0in%e Bill ha& "orke& "ith this !lant for a goo& "hile the training for his higher !osition "as nothing to serious# 1ne night a lighting strike hit a !o"er %ir%uit in u!state Ne" 2ork %ausing all !lants to be on their toes# The !o"er %oming from that %ir%uit "as no" nee&ing to be re&ire%te& to other !lants# Bills /ob "as to "at%h for overloa&ing %ir%uits an& boot u! the generators "ithin the %it # )ith man lights flashing on his boar&, bee!ing noises, an& numerous !hone %alls bet"een him an& his boss, Bill forgot to boot u! the generators "hi%h eventuall %ause& all the %ir%uits to overloa& an& the %it "as left in total &arkness# Bills min& "as greatl affe%te& b the emotions he "as feeling# )ith !ro!er training Bill3s brain %oul& have retaine& memor from being in a similar situation &uring his trainings# 0in%e he "as seeing all of this %haos for the first time not onl &i& the !o"er %ir%uits overloa& but so &i& his min&# 4aking trainee3s feel the emotions the "ill in real life situations &uring their training "ill allo" their brains to

rea%t in a more effi%ient "a #

*%%or&ing to *ntonio 5# 6amasio3s book Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain our brain %an be traine& to have a %ertain instin%ts, or in other "or&s, "e %an train our brains to behave or rea%t a %ertain "a # 7ike *ntonio sa s, ,In general, &rives an& instin%ts o!erate either b generating a !arti%ular behavior &ire%tl or b in&u%ing !h siologi%al states that lea& in&ivi&uals to behave in a !arti%ular "a , min&lessl or not# Virtually all the behaviors ensuing from drives and instincts contribute to survival either directly, by performing a life-saving action, or indirectly, by propitiating conditions advantageous to survival or reducing the influence of potentially harmful conditions. Emotions and feelings, which are central to the view of rationality I am proposing, are a powerful manifestation of drives and instincts, part and parcel of their workings. 86amasio 119:# The instin%ts "e nee& on a &ail basis are naturall engrave& in our brains an& %an not be remove& but if "hat 6amasio is sa ing is true then "e %an a&& to our list of instin%ts b training our brains# )e %an &o this b intentionall !la%ing ourselves in a situation an& rea%ting a %ertain "a # 'or e(am!le, if Bill3s boss "oul& have taken him to his boar&, ma&e it light u!, %alle& him numerous times, ma&e lou& noises an& tol& him ho" e(a%tl to rea%t in the %haoti% situation Bill3s brain "oul& have retaine& the information of ho" to kee! %alm an& rea%te& that same "a &uring the real life situation# )hi%h %oul& have lea& to the %it never e(!erien%ing the bla%kout# +f this kin& of training "as man&ator for an high;skille& /ob the !er%entage of human error "oul& &ro! &rasti%all be%ause trainees "oul& then un&erstan& an& kno" ho" to han&le the situation# 'or e(am!le, "hen + "as in training for m bab sitters %ourse the sho"e& ho" to save a %hil& "hen the are %hoking# The hos!ital ha& &ummies that "oul& a%tuall ,%hoke. an& "e ha& to save the &umm # + "as hire& as a summer nann almost t"o "eeks later an& the little girl %hoke& on her !i<<a# + instantl thought ba%k to saving the &umm an& a!!lie& the same maneuvers on

the little girl# )ithout having that real life training + ma not have been able to save the little girl#

*n arti%le b Peter =afiri&es, a physician and also a therapist, tells the story of a lady with some mental problems and how she feels trapped in her own body and emotions. The author, Peter afirides, uses her story to e!plain how the human mind reacts to the emotions we are feeling. The lady honestly felt like there was no way out of her situation. "he thought that would be her life forever. Peter afirides goes on to e!plain how certain feelings make us believe we have no option. #I try to help them see how their emotions $ like fear, for e!ample $ can impact their ability to act. In reality, we really do have many options and available solutions when we are faced with an obstacle or a challenge in our lives. %ll of us do. &ften times, our own self-doubt and insecurity will make us feel as if we are trapped...' ( afirides). *ere he e!plains how our minds are blocked by our emotions. *aving second thoughts about ourselves and what we can accomplish can cause the mind to block off certain options leaving us feeling trapped. +n a high skille& /ob this tra!!e& feeling %oul& be e(tremel &angerous# 'ortunatel , =afiri&es e(!lains later in his arti%le ho" "e %an !revent this from ha!!ening or "hen it &oes ha!!en he e(!lains ho" "e %an get out of the tra!# ,1n%e "e &are to !ush through our fear an& self;&oubt, "e reali<e there reall isn>t an 3tra!3 at all, other than "hat emotions 8like self;&oubt an& fear: %on/ure u! for us# The truth is, "e have enormous strength to materiall %hange our behaviors# +n &oing so, "e %an &ramati%all %hange our lives for the better an& a%%om!lish more than "e believe !ossible for ourselves. 8=afiri&es:# B taking a ste! ba%k an& taking a se%on& to /ust breath an& %alm &o"n our min&s "ill %olle%t our thoughts an& begin to "in& &o"n# +f em!lo ers "oul& en%ourage this u!on em!lo ees rather then elling at them to get it together or "ork har&er the em!lo ees "ork skills "oul& in%rease an& the business "oul& run

mu%h smoother# 'or e(am!le, + use& to "ork at a !i<<a !la%e an& m boss "oul& ell an& make ru&e %omments but never on%e &i& he take the time to sto! an& a%tuall sho" me "hat + "as &oing "rong# The nights that he "orke& "ere stressful an& %haoti%# The nights the manger "as "orking "ere smooth an& nothing reall "ent "rong be%ause instea& of elling he "oul& sto! me an& sho" m" ho" to &o things + "as &oing "rong# +n Bill3s %ase, if his boss "oul& have hel!e& him through the !roblem rather then %alling ever minute to ask over an& over if he ha& boote& the generators, Bill ma have been able to %lear his !ani%ke& min& set b having the feeling of someone letting him out of the tra!# Training for +obs should include or encourage this type of behavior.

1bviousl not ever ones brain "ill fun%tion the same "a # 0ome still ma not fun%tion &uring a %haoti% situation even after the training be%ause some ma argue that the real life situation "oul& feel %om!letel &ifferent then the fake one# 0ome ma also argue that a em!lo ee nee&s har& stru%ture rather then a softer stru%ture# 0ome !eo!le nee& the elling in or&er to im!rove their "ork ethi%# ?aving a softer stru%ture ma make a !erson la< or not "ant to listen to authorit # *lthough the average !erson "oul& fun%tion better "ithout the elling#

Kee!ing in min& that not all of these metho&s "ill "ork on ever one + still believe that b in%reasing the brain training !art of em!lo ee training em!lo ers "ill be mu%h ha!!ier "ith their em!lo ees an& also the amount of human error "ill &e%rease# The brain is al"a s thinking an& "e sometimes forget to take a minute an& let it %at%h u! "hi%h is "h "hen emotions like fear hit us "e free<e u!# @ust like a %om!uter "hen ou have several tabs o!en, one !la ing a song from 2ouTube, another one our !la ing a game on, another is the home"ork ou shoul& be &oing, it begins to run slo" an& eventuall after enough ,thinking. our internet shuts &o"n# )e have to take a&vantage of the man tasks our brain %an a%%om!lish# ?igh skille& /ob training nee& to make trainee3s feel the emotions the "ill in real life situations &uring their training "ill allo" their brains to rea%t in a more

effi%ient "a #

6amasio, *ntonio 5# Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain# Ne" 2orkA Putnam, 1BBC# Print#

,-lackouts., Encyclopedia of Urban America: The Cities and Suburbs. "anta -arbara. %-/ /0I&, 1223. Credo Reference. 4 "ept. 4553. 6eb. 7 8ov. 4519.

D?o" 1ur Emotions Can *ffe%t 1ur 6e%ision 4aking *bilit #D KevinMD.com# N#!#, n#&# 6eb. 5: 8ov. 4519.

D4in& 2our 4in&#D Films on Demand# @ourne man Pi%tures, 2012# )eb# 09 Nov# 2013# Ehttp.;;digital.films.com.storm.hgtc.edu;PortalViewVideo.asp!< !tid=71254F#

N e, 6avi& E# When The Li hts Went !ut : " Histor# !$ Blac%outs &n "merica# Cambri&ge, 4assA 4+T Press, 2010# eBoo% 'ollection (EB)'!host*# )eb# 9 Nov# 2013#