The Science of Human Nature: A Psychology for BeginnersPyle, William Henry
Science
The Science of Human Nature: A Psychology for Beginners
Pyle, William Henry
Educational psychology; Psychology
_The psychological aspects of one's work._ All occupations have a
psychological aspect. They involve some trick of attention, of
association, of memory. Certain things must be looked for, certain
habits must be formed, certain movements must be automatized. Workmen
should be helped to master these psychological problems, to find the
most convenient ways of doing their work. Workmen often do their work in
the most uneconomical ways, having learned their methods through
imitation, and never inquiring whether there is a more economical way.
_Securing efficiency._ Securing efficiency is a matter of influencing
men, a matter which we have already discussed. Securing efficiency is
quite a different matter from that treated in the preceding paragraph. A
workman may have a complete knowledge of his work and be skilled in its
performance, and still be a poor workman, because he does not have the
right attitude toward his employer or toward his work. The employer must
therefore meet the problem of making his men like their work and be
loyal to their employer. The laborer must be happy and contented if he
is to do good work. Moreover, there is _no use in working_, or in living
either, if one cannot be happy and contented.
We have briefly indicated the possibilities of psychology in the various
occupations and professions. There is a further application that has no
reference to the practical needs of life, but to enjoyment. A
psychological knowledge of human nature adds a new interest to all our
social experience. The ability to understand the actions and feelings
of men puts new meaning into the world. The ability to understand
oneself, to analyze one's actions, motives, feelings, and thoughts,
makes life more worth living. A knowledge of the sensations and sense
organs adds much pleasure to life in addition to its having great
practical value. Briefly, a psychological knowledge of human nature adds
much to the richness of life. It gives one the analytical attitude.
Experiences that to others are wholes, to the psychologist fall apart
into their elements. Such knowledge leads us to analyze and see clearly
what otherwise we do not understand and see only darkly or not at all.
Literature and art, and all other creations and products of man take on
a wholly new interest to the psychologist.
SUMMARY. Psychology is of service to education in ascertaining the
nature of the child and the laws of learning; to law, in determining
the reliability of evidence and in the prevention of crime; to
medicine, in the work of diagnosis and treatment; to business, in
advertising and salesmanship; to the industries, in finding the man
for the place and the place for the man; to everybody, in giving a
keener insight into, and understanding of, human nature.
CLASS EXERCISES
1. Visit a court room when a trial is in progress. Note wherein
psychology could be of service to the jury, to the judge, and to the
attorneys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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