A general presentation of artificial neural networks. I.

This article, the first in a series, presents the use of a new processing technology: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) Modeling. We introduce the reader, in an easy way, to types of problems for which researchers can use this technology. ANN represents a powerful way for understanding, predicting, and simulating complex and chaotic dynamics. We believe that social fields, human psychology, and behaviors, which are nonlinear in their essence, need an adequate methodology such as ANN in order to best investigate and comprehend them.