An Analysis of Psyco-physiological Activities on Cognitive Process of Nature Phenonena (I) : A Study of EEG on Problem-solving Behavior

Abstract

For the organization of the best suited teaching-learning activities, it is necessary to make clear the conditions of children learning behaviors. This is the basic research study to make clear the learning conditions by analysis of psyco-physiological activities. The study was undertaken to measure EEG in undergraduate students, in place of children, on the problem-solving about "The combustion of a candle". The students observed nature phenomena on TV, and were asked to interpret the changes of phenomena. The results are summarized as follows; (1) The reduced alpha waves in P_3 - P_4 EEG were seen at quation-answering behaviors more than at observating behaviors. (2) There were some EEG patterns among students on the process of this problem- solving. And there was the relation between EEG patterns and the patterns of learner's answer contents. These results mean that the proportion of intuitive and analytic thinking is being changed by circumstances he is placed in. The behavior of collecting and dealing informations that depends on intuitive thinking rather than analytic thinking, affects to the next internal symbolic behavior that depends on analytic thinking rather than intuitive thinking.