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
Now that we have shown the results of habituation let us consider
additional illustrations. In piano playing, the stimuli are the notes as
written in the music. We see the notes occupying certain places on the
scale of the music. A note in a certain place means that we must strike
a certain key. At first the response is slow, we have to hunt out each
note on the keyboard. Moreover, we make many mistakes; we strike the
wrong keys just as we do in typewriting. We are awkward, making many
unnecessary movements, and the work is tiresome and fatiguing. After
long practice, the speed with which we can manipulate the keys in
playing the piano is wonderful. Our playing becomes accurate, perfect.
We do it with ease, with no unnecessary movements. We can play the
piano, after we become skilled, without paying attention to the actual
movements of our hands. We can play the piano while concentrating upon
the meaning of the music, or while carrying on a conversation, or while
thinking about something else. As a rule, pleasure and confidence come
with skill. Playing a difficult piece on the piano involves a skill
which is one of the most complicated that man achieves. It is possible
only through habituation of the piano-playing movements.
Nailing shingles on a roof illustrates well the various aspects of
habituation. The expert carpenter not only nails on many more shingles
in a day than does the amateur, but he does it better and with more
ease, and with much less fatigue. The carpenter knows exactly how much
he can do in a day, and each particular movement is certain and sure.
The carpenter has confidence in, and usually prides himself on, this
ability, thus getting pleasure out of his work.
The operations in arithmetic illustrate most of the results of
habituation. Practice in addition makes for speed and accuracy. In a few
weeks' time we can very much increase our speed and accuracy in adding,
or in the other arithmetical operations.
The foregoing examples are sufficient, although they could be multiplied
indefinitely. Almost any habit one might name would show clearly most of
the results enumerated. The most important aspects of habituation may be
summed up in the one word _efficiency_. Habituation gives us speed and
accuracy. Speed and accuracy mean skill. Skill means efficiency.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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