The essential condition for habit formation
is repetition with intensity of application.
The modern movement in the industrial world
known as scientific management supplies this
need for repetition by standardizing all activities
so that they will be repeated over and
<p 297>
over in identical form; and it secures the intensity
of application by means of the task and
bonus system. By these means the most
valuable experiences for habit formation are
secured and utilized.
The working out of this fact is so admirably
described in recent reports upon scientific
management that further description here
would be superfluous.
_Special Conditions Favorable to the Formation
of Practical judgments_
In addition to the four general conditions
discussed on pages 278 to 283@@@ the special
conditions most favorable to the formation of
practical judgments are the three following:--
1. The experiences most effective in arousing
practical judgments are those that are most
recent. A few days ago I purchased a piece
of real estate and was asked how I wanted the
property transferred. I replied immediately
that I wanted a warranty deed and a guarantee
policy. This was a practical judgment made
upon the basis of a recent previous experience.
<p 298>
As a matter of fact there are three distinct
methods of transferring real estate, but until
after my judgment had been made I was perfectly
oblivious of the other methods, although
I had had experience with them some years
before. Thus I utilized only my recent experience
in making my practical judgment.
2. Other things being equal, those experiences
are most valuable in arousing practical
judgments that have been the most frequent.
I have seen burns dressed many times and in
many ways, but most often they have been
dressed with soda and water. When I was
called upon recently to dress a burn I recalled
the method which I had seen most often and
formed a practical judgment based thereupon
and was helped out of my difficulty.
3. Our most vivid and intense experiences
are the ones most likely to be recalled and to
be utilized in the formation of practical judgments.
The mistakes that I have to pay for
and the deed that secured my promotion are
the experiences most fertile in the formation of
practical judgments.
<p 299>
_Special Conditions Favorable to the Formation
of Reflective judgments_
In addition to the general conditions mentioned
on page 278@@@ the special conditions favorable
for the formation of reflective judgments
are as follows:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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