Get the mind into the (partial) state that solved the old problem; then it might handle the new problem in the "same way." - Marvin Minsky

Perhaps the music that some call 'background' music can tranquilize by turning under-thoughts from bad to neutral, leaving the surface thoughts free of affect by diverting the unconscious.

Changing the states of many agents grossly alters behavior, while changing only a few just perturbs the overall disposition a little.

Most theories of learning have been based on ideas of "reinforcement" of success. But all these theories postulate a single, centralized reward mechanism. I doubt this could suffice for human learning because the recognition of which events should be considered memorable cannot be a single, uniform process. It requires too much "intelligence." Instead I think such recognitions must be made, for each division of the mind, by some other agency that has engaged the present one for a purpose.