?tate C^olbge of Agtitulturc At QforneU HmucraitH Dtljata, £?. $. IGibrarji Cornell University Library BF 56.E25 Psychology for business efficiency, 3 1924 014 098 648 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014098648 PSYCHOLOGY — FOR— BUSINESS EFFICIENCY BY GEO. R. EASTMAN, A. B., A. M. TEACHER IN STEELE HIGH SCHOOL SECRETARY OF THE REX FILM RENOVATOR MFG. CO. AUTHOR OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SALESMANSHIP AND PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING (IN PREPARATION) Bustnest has increased in efficiency and in honor as a career, as it has intelligently employed science and art in the solution of its problems PUBLISHED BY THE SERVICE PUBLISHING COMPANY DAYTON, OHIO COPYRIGHTED 1916 BY GEO. R. EASTMAN ^ ^^EC CONTENTS FOREWORD Page Business Is Concerned with Psychowgy 9 PART I Processes of Thinking, Feeling and Acting 11-101 CHAPTER I Introduction Mental and Physical Processes 17 Subjective and Objective Realms 19 Methods of Gaining Psychological Knowledge 19 Introspection 19 Experimental Method 20 Knowledge of Minds of Others 21 Mind, Soul, and Spirit 22 Definition of Psychology 23 Classification of Conscious Processes 24 CHAPTER II Conscious Processes and Brain Activity 26 Habit 27 Forming a New Habit 29 Acquiring Proficiency in a New l,ine 30 Efficiency Experts 31 Replacing Old Habits by New .C 35 CHAPTER III Association of Mental Processes 37 3 4 CONTENTS Association by Contiguity 37 Process of Acquiring Meaning 39 Association by Similarity 41 CHAPTER IV MEMORY 44 Art of Memorizing 52 CHAPTER V Association Processes in Education 56 Process of Learning 56 Meaning or Significance of Things 59 Learning Aims to Grasp Significance of Things 60 CHAPTER VI Interest and Attention 66 Practical and Theoretical Interest 67 Voluntary and Spontaneous Attention 68 Attention and Feeling 71 Attention and Salesmanship 72 Attention Directs Mental Processes 11 CHAPTER VII Focus and Margin of Attention 79 Expectant Attention 80 CHAPTER VIII Acts of Will or IdEo-Motor Activity 83 Impulsive Acts 84 Control of Impulse 85 Acts of Will Involving Deliberation 86 CHAPTER IX Thinking 88 Test of Truth 96 CONTENTS 5 Judgment and Reasoning 99 Beuef and Action 99 Effioency and the Aims in Life 100 PART II Factors, QuautieSj and Constitution of Consciousness 102-164 CHAPTER X Functions of Consciousness 102 CHAPTER XI Predispositions 108 Automatic and Reflex Acts 108 Instincts 108 Enumeration of Predispositions Ill Instincts Require Educational Direction 117 Modification of Instincts 118 CHAPTER XII Win TO Live 123 Predisposition to Seu-Realization 123 Ideal of Seu-Realization 124 Classes of Instincts 124 Man Is a Social Being 125 Meanings of Interest ;. 127 What Is "An Interest?" 127 Moral Interest 129 CHAPTER XIII • Classification of Interests = 132 Morality — The Major Interest 133 Philanthropy Interest 135 Politico-Legal Interest 135 Family and Home Interest _ 136 6 CONTENTS Sociability Interest 137 Health Interest 137 Education Interest 138 Aesthetic Interest 138 Wealth Interest 139 Vocation Interest 140 Work and Need for Recreation 143 Play Instinct and The Recreation Interest 144 Recreation Interest 146 corselation and co-ordination of interests - 149 Temperance and Dissipation 152 CHAPTER XIV Cause, Motive, PxntPOSE, Intention and Effect 153 Interest, Desire and Aversion 153 Arousing Desire ISS Arousing Desire Illustrated by Salesmanship 156 Interest, Desire, Value, and Price 158 Standard of Living 160 CHAPTER XV Social Service and Welfare Work 161 PART III Factors and Processes of Influencing Behavior 165-260 CHAPTER XVI Suggestion 155 Typical Ways in Which Behavior Is Influenced 166 Suggestive Influence on Physiological Processes 167 Suggestion as a Healing Agent 169 Auto-Suggestion 173 CONTENTS 7 CHAPTER XVII Subconscious Induction 176 Spontaneous Imitation 180 CHAPTER XVIII FashioNj a Type of Intentional Imitation 184 CHAPTER XIX Fads 197 Fads in Shoes 200 Intentional Imitation in Tradition and Custom 202 CHAPTER XX Hypnotism 204 CHAPTER XXI Appeal and Solicitation 209 Making an Appeal Effective 210 CHAPTER XXII Suggestibility and the Ability to Suggest 213 CHAPTER XXIII Belief and Truth 220 Demonstrated Truth 222 Fully Reasoned Choice 223 CHAPTER XXIV Rational Suggestion and Rational Imitation 227 Rational Imitation 227 Suggestion of Authority 231 8 CONTENTS CHAPTER XXV Solicitation 233 Factors Determining the Response 234 Corrective Advice 236 CHAPTER XXVI Creating Good Will in Business _ 238 CHAPTER XXVII Temperamental Qualities, Disposition, and Character 242 CHAPTER XXVIII Developing Character and Personality 246 Success Depends upon Character 246 Self-Confidence 249 Personal Magnetism 251 Leadership 252 Efficiency and Success 252 Personality, the Manifestation of Character 253 CHAPTER XXIX Habit and Adaptability 255 Progressivism and Conservatism 259 FOREWORD Business and life can not be separated. Business con- cerns, and is concerned with all the factors and activi- ties of a rightly ordered life. The principles which make for business efficiency are the principles which make for the efficient life. The business man must have knowledge of the material factors and processes with which his business is con- cerned, and skill in dealing with them. But notable suc- cess can be obtained in no line of business, unless one knows men, and has skill in influencing them. Skill in influencing men comes from knowledge of the mental processes and factors which determine the behavior of the men. Psychology furnishes this knowledge. To become efficient in business one must first deter- mine clearly and wisely the end to be gained by the busi- ness activity. He must rightly apprehend the best avail- able means for attaining the end. He must acquire skill in employing the means. He must devote himself reso- lutely and unswervingly to the attainment of the end. Business is concerned with rendering service to meet the needs and satisfy the interests of men. What is in- volved in rendering such service and the nature and func- tion of needs and interests, will appear later on. The final end, or aim, of business activities is to bring about a mutually advantageous exchange of services, or 9 10 Psychology for Business Efficiency of serviceable things. In this exchange, a fair amount of money, or pf some other means of securing service, or some form of service is received in return for the ser- vice, or the serviceable thing offered in the exchange. After one has clearly grasped the end of business ac- tivities the next essential is to master the means of at- taining it. One must gain a clear understanding of the character and interrelations of the various factors which must be dealt with in rendering service. Efificiency de- mands that one have the knowledge and skill which en- able him to deal with these factors in the most advan- tageous way. The most advantageous or efficient way is the way which involves the least expenditure of time, efifort, and material resources. Business is concerned largely with the properties of material things, with mechanical, industrial, and financial problems. This book has nothing to do with these mat- ters, except insofar as they are involved in correlations with mental processes. This discussion has to do only with the human ele- ment in business. It has to do with this element only as mental predispositions and processes become factors in business affairs. The activities, or behavior, of men enter directly or indirectly into every step of the processes which promote or hinder the attainment of business success. Mental processes determine human behavior, which is ever pres- ent as a factor making for the success or failure of busi- ness activities. The greatest problem in attaining business efficiency FOREWORD 11 is not concerned with the qualities of material things, or with mechanical, industrial, or financial processes. The problems of money, raw materials, machinery and finance are comparatively easy to solve. Yet experience has shown that it pays to employ well-trained men to deal with these matters. The most important, complex and difficult problems of the business world are the problems of developing honest, loyal and capable men, and of directing their activities so as to get the best service they are capable of rendering. The problems of dealing with men are difficult because they involve dealing with the intangible and subtle men- tal predispositions and processes which determine their behavior. The business world has long known that the problems of engineering, or of the various professions, can be solved only by one who has spent the time and effort required to master the various sciences which deal with the problems. Business men are just awakening to the fact that the science of human behavior can afford them assistance in solving the problems involved in dealing with men. BUSINESS IS CONCERNED WITH PSYCHOLOGY Business is engaged in supplying commodities to sat- isfy the needs of men, or in rendering other service to them. It is as vitally concerned with a knowledge of the needs and interests it serves, as it is with a knowledge of the material things it employs in rendering service. The business man should understand the processes that 12 Psychology for Business Efficiency go on in the minds of the men with whom he transacts business. Efficiency in transacting business requires that one observe, learn, remember, think, form habits, exercise will power, influence the actions of others, etc. In order to have skill in influencing men one must have knowl- edge of the mental processes, the predispositions, and qualities of character which determine the course of their thinking, feeling, and acting. Psychology is the science which gives an understanding of these things. One should have psychological knowledge to improve the working of his own mind. He should have this knowledge to increase his skill in dealing with the men- tal processes of others. Without psychological knowl- < edge one can not be efficient in directing the activities of other men. Knowledge of the nature and working of the human mind, and understanding of the processes of influencing it, and skill in exercising this influence, are necessary parts of the equipment of the efficient business man. He must know the established truths of psychol- ogy which have a practical application in business affairs. Psychological knowledge supplies a large part of the foundation on which the science of business efficiency must be built. If these statements are true, it must be evident that every successful business man must have acquired a con- siderable amount of psychological knowledge. While this is the case, it is also true that the psychological knowl- edge of the average man, who has not studied psychology. FOREWORD 13 is not as clear, comprehensive, and well organized as it should be, to give it the greatest usefulness. One who has never studied a systematic work on psy- chology has some insight into many psychological pro- cesses. He knows in a general way what is meant by habit, memory, attention, interest, desire, decision, etc., but as he studies psychology he will find that his knowl- edge of these subjects is vague and inadequate. As one's understanding of the general principles which explain the mind's activities becomes more certain and accurate, his efficiency in business should increase. One can deal more effectively with mental processes, when he sees clearly what they are, and how they work. His more exact and better organized knowledge will help him in understanding and influencing the minds of the men with whom he deals. It is now recognized that in business, as in education, we should turn to psychology as a science dealing with matters of fundamental importance. Many business men have long felt that a study of psy- chology should be of practical help to them. When they have taken up the standard works on the subject, they have found that the analyses and theoretical explanations, were involved in abstruse technicalities, and included much that did not seem to be practically helpful. The writers not only furnished no clue as to where or how to apply tbe principles in business practice, but also failed to make clear what could be used. As a matter of fact the ordin- ary psychological treatise contains much matter which can not be helpfully applied in practical business affairs. A few psychological tid-bits have been included in the 14 Psychology for Business Efficiency ' treatises aimed to give instruction in salesmanship and advertising. They have aroused the appetite of the read- ers for more psychology. A few psychological mono- graphs and special articles by psychologists have been put forth to meet the demand thus aroused. However, the appetite aroused by the tempting samples has not always proved a sufficient stimulus to insure proper digestion and assimilation of these contributions. Some of the current courses in salesmanship and advertising, along with much valuable practical knowledge, and some sound psychol- ogy, also contain many vagaries about the subjective and objective mind, and other matters which leave the reader groping in the dim obscurity of the labarynthine maze of the subconscious, which entangles even those who have gone somewhat deeply into psychology. In psychology, as in other matters, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Isolated fragments of psycho- logical knowledge are likely to be misinterpreted and misapplied, when not viewed in proper relation to other psychological principles. One needs a foundation, or apperception basis, consisting of a knowledge of general psychology, in order to view in the right perspective and properly apply the psychological principles which are practically helpful in business. Our aim is to give such a general survey of the whole subject as will enable one to see the part clearly, both as a part, and as a member of the whole. The crudely formulated and sketchy psychological knowledge of common sense will no longer meet the de- mands of modern business. Many men, realize this, and FOREWORD IS have been looking to psychology for assistance ; but the treatises on psychology at present available are not well adapted to meet their needs. 'The business man resorts to psychology for an explanation of human conduct, such as will be helpful in guiding him to understanding and influencing the men with whom he deals. He not only wishes to master the principles in accordance with which conduct can be influenced, but he also wishes to get a clear understanding of the principles in accordance with which he can develop in himself the ability to exert such influence. The business man is concerned chiefly with the part of psychology which deals with the processes by which we get our ideas and beliefs, and with the nature of the im- pulses and motives which determine human conduct, and the principles in accordance with which the conduct of one man is controlled or influenced by another. The cur- rent psychological treatises have given too little attention to these subjects, have included much which has no bear- ing on them, and have failed to make practically helpful the parts which are pertinent to them. Most of the work of competent psychologists very prop- erly has aimed to develop psychology as a science. They have sought to increase human knowledge as a means of satisfying the interest in knowing. They have been con- cerned with the establishing of the broad general prin- ciples of the science, rather than with showing how these principles may be applied to guide one helpfully in deal- ing with practical affairs. The present work deals with the principles and factors manifested in thinking, feeling, 16 Psychology foe Business Efficiency and acting, and with the methods in accordance with which this knowledge may be made practically useful in satisfying interests in life other than the scientific inter- est, or interest in knowing. PART I PROCESSES OF THINKING, FEELING AND ACTING CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES One is helped to understand mental processes by mak- ing an effort to distinguish between mental and physical processes. Think about your brain! The brain is a material ob- ject. It is similar to the various other objects of the physical or objective world. It can be weighed in ounces and measured in cubic inches. It fills a definite amount of space in the skull. Another material object can not be put in the space occupied by the brain without dis- placing and injuring it. Under certain conditions the brain can be observed by many different minds at the same time, or by the same mind at different times. Now think about the thing which thinks about your brain. This is the mind. By the mind, we mean the predispositions and processes manifested in the conscious- ness of the thinker. Conscious processes do not fill space or have weight. The head is no fuller and the person is no heavier, when he is thinking of a ton of coal, than when he is not think- 17 18 Psychology for Business Efficiency ing at all. Mental processes are closely associated with physical processes. But the mind is not in the brain or head as the seed is in the pumpkin. As far as our observation reveals, the inanimate ob- jects of the physical world are not aware of their exist- ence, or of what is happening to them. We have no direct knowledge of their inner nature. What this nature is, is a matter for metaphysical inference rather than psychological consideration. In the brain, and in other living things, are manifested certain vital processes. The inner nature of these pro- cesses is also clearly beyond our power of direct obser- vation. Our conception of them must be arrived at by inference from the activities observed. Mental processes are conscious of being mental pro- cesses. In the lowest, or least developed, forms of con- scious existence, the consciousness must be extremely vague and diffused. It probably takes the form of a feebly felt striving. Some philosophers hold that the in- animate and vital forces, referred to above, are essentially of this character. In the mental processes, with which we are concerned in this book, the mind does not merely think and feel and will ; it knows that it does so. The conscious processes are self-conscious. The ability to observe and classify and understand the function of mental processes has been developed. These conscious processes can be known di- rectly to one person only, and that person is the one in whose mind they occur. INTRODUCTION 19 SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE REALMS The things of which we have experience, but which exist independently of our experience of them, are known as objects of experience. They make up what is known as the objective world. Our conscious experiences of external objects are said to be subjective. Our thought, or idea, of another person, or of a material object, is sub- jective, but the person or house is objective. METHODS OF GAINING PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE INTROSPECTION One can get a direct or first hand knowledge of men- tal facts, only by looking into his own mind and seeing what is going on there. This act of observing the pro- cesses of one's own mind is known as introspection. In- trospection means looking within. Introspection is the study of one's conscious experience. Progress in the knowledge of the workings of mental processes would be very slow, if one had to rely solely on the results of his own introspection. In psychological literature one finds accumulated the knowledge gained by the efforts of the best observers and thinkers of count- less generations of men. Psychologists have gathered the general conclusions from this wide range of observation and experience. They have arranged and classified these observations and have formulated general principles. They have tested the truthfulness of these general prin- ciples by applying them to experience to see whether they 20 Psychology for Business Efficiency work satisfactorily in furnishing guidance in dealing with experience. Reading, alone, will not make a good psychologist, any more than it will make a good physician. A book can only serve as a guide in pointing out what to look for, where to find it, and what its signficance is. If one is to acquire useful psychological knowledge, he must become interested and skillful in observing what goes on in his own mind. One has not mastered the gen- eral principles of this book well enough to make them practically helpful in ordering the affairs of his own life, or in dealing with men, until he can illustrate them with elements of his own experience other than those given. One has not mastered a thing until he can apply it successfully. An attempt at application reveals whether one has adequately understood the principle. It is also an efficient method of learning. If one can not verify in his own experience the truthfulness of the general prin- ciples explained here, and make other applications of them, he has not adequately grasped them. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD Ways have been devised for studying certain mental processes experimentally. By using the apparatus and complying with the directions of the original experi- menter, the processes under observation may be repro- duced as often as desired, under conditions which free them, to a greater or less extent, from confusing or dis- tracting factors. INTRODUCTION 21 KNOWLEDGE OF THE MINDS OE OTHERS Psychology assumes that the minds of all men work according to the same laws. It also assumes that con- scious processes and behavior are similarly correlated in all persons. Such correlation means that in all persons the same conscious processes are manifested by the same forms of expression and behavior. It also means that similar expression and behavior may be assumed to have resulted from similar conscious processes. We can not directly observe what is going on in the minds of others. The mental processes of another can only be inferred from what he says, and from the ex- pression of his countenance, and the tone and manner of saying it; from what he does and his manner of do- ing it. In saying that we know the minds of others only by inference, we do not mean that we must discriminate the significant expressive elements in the total impression, and center attention on them, and make explicit inferences from them. The ability to understand feelings and motives is large- ly instinctive. One who did not have, at least, such an innate capacity, which could be developed readily in ex- perience, would not get along well with his fellows. Although we have this instinctive basis for understand- ing feelings and motives, our ability to apprehend them can be improved greatly by proper effort. The improve- ment in ability comes through wide experience which is carefully assimilated. We learn to apprehend feelings 22 Psychology for Business Efficiency and volitions manifested by expressive symbols, as read- ily as we grasp thoughts expressed by verbal symbols. Our attention is not directed to the symbol in either case. These symbols, which are significant expressions of the mental processes of others, can be interpreted rightly only as one, as the result of accurate introspection, has a cor- rect knowledge of the processes of his own mind which have the forms of expression he observes in others. Much of the time of the business man is spent in try- ing to interpret the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of other men. In this, one must be guided by their acts and expression, and by what they say. We assume that, if they are truthful, they have the same mental state we would have, if we expressed it in the same terms. But sometimes men do not tell the truth, or are mis- taken about their own state of mind. They may say they are calm, when they are excited or angry. Hence we jtidge people not merely by what they say, but by how they say it, by what they do, by their attitude and involuntary movements, and by the expression of their faces. Understanding of one's own mind must come first. Through this understanding one can gain insight into the interplay of forces in the minds of others, and plan the best ways to influence them by bringing about suit- able processes in their minds. MIND, SOUL, AND SPIRIT Mind, as the term is used in psychology, includes all the mental predispositions and all the processes of think- INTRODUCTION 23 ing, feeling and willing that manifest themselves in con- sciousness. The mind is the personal, conscious agent that thinks, and feels, and forms purposes, and strives to realize them. This agent is the thing referred to when we speak about our soul or spirit. All that we can know directly about our soul or spirit is gained by studying the mental processes manifested in conscious experience. The terms soul and spirit have metaphysical or reli- gious implications which the term mind does not involve. Soul and spirit, as applied to the mind, generally imply that it is capable of existing apart from the body after its death, as an individual being with thoughts, feelings and volitions organized as a conscious personality. Such a belief in the mind"'s immortality is not based upon direct psychological observations, but upon religious revelation, or on metaphysical reasoning proceeding from the ob- served facts of the subjective and objective worlds. DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology is the study of the conscious processes and mental predispositions manifested in behavior. The knowledge of the predispositions and processes, such as instincts, interests, habits, association, memory, attention, etc., which are common to all minds is known as Gen- eral Psychology. Social Psychology studies the processes which involve the co-operation of two or more individuals. Under this definition this book contains considerable social psy- chology. Under it, the Psychology of Business Efficiency, Salesmanship and Advertising are largely social psychol- 24 Psychology for Business Efficiency ogy. But the understanding of them involves the under- standing of certain processes studied in General and In- dividual Psychology. Individual psychology undertakes to determine how individuals vary in native endowment, and how their peculiar endowments have determined their development. Our aim in studying conscious processes and factors is to make clear how they are manifested in and deter- mine the behavior of men. CLASSIFICATION OF CONSCIOUS PROCESSES Conscious processes have three distinguishable aspects known as thinking, feeling and willing. The processes of knowing about things are studied in psychology under the headings: sensation, perception, conception, association, memory, apperception, judgment and reasoning. It is unnecessary, for the attainment of our purpose, to undertake an elaborate technical treat- ment of some of these subjects, such as has made up a large part of traditional psychology. In sensation and perception we get a knowledge of our own bodies and of the external world. We may distin- guish a mere sensation of warmth, cold, light, color, sound, touch, taste, sniell, pressure, muscular strain, or motion, without referring it to any particular object. But when we are aware of a warm object, or moving object, or colored object, we are said to have a perception of the object. We can distinguish a sensation of red. But we have a perception of a red apple. In the perception INTRODUCTION 25 tion of redness, we attribute to it various qualities as roundness, smoothness, weight, taste, odor, edibility, etc., which our previous experience has taught us are pos- sessed by the apple. CHAPTER II CONSCIOUS PROCESSES AND BRAIN ACTIVITY The processes of the mind are accompanied by and depend upon brain activity. An increase of mental activ- ity involves a similar increase of brain activity. The in- creased brain activity causes a more rapid consumption of the nourishment furnished to the brain cells by the blood circulating among them. The blood which sup- plies the energy must also remove the poisonous waste products resulting from the activity. Various organs of the body, such as those of digestion and assimilation and the liver, kidneys and lungs, are involved in supplying nourishment to the blood, or eliminating waste materials from it. Hence the efficiency of mental processes varies with the way the various organs of the body are perform- ing their functions of supplying nourishment and elimin- ating waste materials. Hence the old saying: "A sound mind in a sound body." An efficient mind must have an efficient body as its servant. To attain this end one must take proper food, exercise, recreation, rest, etc. Excessive exercise or too much manual labor leaves lit- tle energy for vigorous, protracted mental activity. Loss of sleep prevents proper nourishment and removal of waste matters. It also causes a temporary loss of weight, 26 Conscious Processes and Brain Activity 27 with a corresponding decrease in the amount of energy available. One must avoid these things, if he is to be fresh, vigorous, enduring, and efficient in the mental work which modem business requires. HABIT When one first undertakes to perform a new act which is complicated or requires special skill, his efforts are hesitating, awkward, and groping. Movements that are bungling and ill-suited to the purpose are mingled with those properly directed. The well-directed movements are noted with satisfaction. An effort is made to repeat them and to cheek the ill-suited movements. With practice, the movements gradually become bet- ter co-ordinated and easier to perform. Painstaking effort, faithfully persisted in, develops skill. Finally the whole complicated process is running smoothly. It runs along almost without conscious supervision, while atten- tion is directed to other things. Complicated acts, which at first required careful thought and effort to perform them at all, come at last practically to repeat themselves. To all intents and purposes they have become automatic. Acts which through practice have come to be prac- tically automatic are called habits. Thus we have learned to walk, to eat, to talk, to read and write, to sing or play, or run a typewriter, or do the countless other familiar acts with which our lives are so largely filled. The explanation of habit is largely physiological, rather than psychological. The tissues of the brain are plastic. Plasticity means that the brain cells are modified by, and 28 Psychology for Business Efficibncy permanently retain the effects of the activity which takes place in them. Nervous impulses, or currents of nerve activity, are aroused in the organs of sensation such as the eye, ear, or hand. They pass along the nerve to the brain. They go through the brain, and then pass out through another set of nerves, to control muscular activ- ity. In so doing, they leave an effect on the nerve cells. They establish a path, or course, that other impulses will tend to follow. While these courses are being developed, conscious supervision, guidance, and effort are necessary in per- forming the acts. When the pathway of nervous dis- charge has been definitely established, the impulse fol- lows it without guidance. The switches are set for the impulses in the nervous tissue to pass along the right track. The organism has gained the ability to perform acts which originally required conscious supervision. It performs them more quickly, and more accurately, and with less fatigue. Many hold that the mind is an important factor in directing habitual acts, but that it functions in so slightly conscious a form that we can scarcely notice it, or do not notice it at all. The mind as well as the brain has been modified by past functioning so that it has acquired dis- positions toward the performance of certain processes. Such functioning of the mind is called sub-conscious. In forming habits, the mind and brain have been moulded by practice. Stereotyped forms have been taken on by means of which many of the routine acts of life may be economically performed. The lessons of experi- HABIT 29 ence are thus registered in habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and acting about things. Familiar acts thus come practically to perform themselves, while the attention and intellect are left free to grapple with new problems and situations which arise. This makes clear the importance of rendering habitual the routine acts of life. FORMING A NEW HABIT The movements, or procedure, involved in forming a new habit may be learned by the method of trial and error, or by imitation of others. When the right procedure, or combination of move- ments, has been apprehended, the factors which make for success in forming the habit are: 1. Concentration of attention on the task. 2. Careful rehearsal, or repetition. 3. The avoidance of lapses into another procedure until the habit has been firmly established. With the formation of the habit, there develops a pro- pensity to do the thing in the way being made habitual. The habitual way grows to be the pleasant way. A de- parture from it becomes unpleasant. One should make a strong resolve to form the new habit. He should hold in mind the satisfactory consequences which will result from forming the new habit, and the unsatisfactory conse- quences which will result from failure. If the new habit is to displace a firmly established old habit, one should resolutely turn his thoughts from the old habit by keep- ing them directed resolutely on the task of forming the new one. Allowing the attention to dwell on the old 30 Psychology for Business Efficiency habit develops a tendency to perform it which is hard to resist. ACQUIRING PROFICIENCY IN A NEW LINE When a man takes up a new line of work, his general education and experience enable him to make rapid prog- ress at first. Improvement is rapid at first, because the steps of progress are made largely by merely using old habits and previously acquired skill and knowledge, and reorganizing them and adapting them to new uses. When these easy steps have been made, and when fur- ther advance depends mainly on acquiring new habits, progress becomes slow and difficult. The enthusiasm re- sulting from the novelty of the work fades away. For a time one seems to make no advance in skill. He may even become less successful in the performance. He has reached what is known as a plateau in habit formation. When a plateau of arrested progress has been reached, the faint-hearted often become discouraged and quit. However, the knowledge that their experience is a nor- mal one, should give them resolution to keep on. When a plateau has been reached, further progress depends mainly on the ability to hold one's self to the task by sheer force of will, until the new knowledge is assimilated, the new habits are formed, and the new skill is developed. Finally another stage of rapid progress will be entered upon, and may continue for some time, before another plateau is reached and another stage of arrested progress must be worked through. EFFICIENCY EXPERTS 31 EFFICIENCY EXPERTS The business of the efficiency experts, of whom we have heard so much of late, has been to study and improve habits of doing things in the various lines of industrial work and business management. The present interest in this line of work was aroused by the achievement of a young college man placed in charge of a gang of men shoveling dirt. By timing each movement, and study- ing its form, and comparing one man's method of work- ing with that of another, he found that they were mak- ing some unnecessary movements, and other motions with the wrong speed. He thought out the best way of doing the work. He determined the size of shovel and the weight of the shovelful which could be handled with the best results. He taught his best workman what motions he should make, in what order and with what speed. He offered him increased pay for mastering the best form and doing more work. Soon this man was doing more than twice the work of the others, without getting more tired than formerly. Soon the others were taught the new way of working with the result that their earnings were increased and the work was done at a greatly re- duced cost. The movement thus started has spread to many lines of mechanical industry and business. Offices and fac- tories have been rearranged to get better light, heat and ventilation, and safer and more convenient conditions of work. Machines have been replaced, tools have been im- proved and rearranged. All this has brought good re- 32 Psychology for Business Efficiency suits. But more unexpected and more profitable have been the improvements found possible in the old habits of doing things. To give another example, the move- ments used in laying brick were changed in kind and order, and reduced in number from eighteen to five. This increased the wages and the amount of work done and lowered the cost to the builder. The efficiently trained business man will have an equally great advantage over the inefficient. He should take the attitude of the efficiency expert toward his own way of doing things. He should become a specialist, working and planning with the one idea in mind. Specialization of function and concentration of effort go hand in hand with development of marked efficiency in every vocation. As long as the same man was both barber and surgeon he was highly efficient in neither line. One of the first principles of efficiency is to make a careful record of present attainment. This shows where improvement can be made and is a basis on which im- provement can be measured. The efficiency engineer, working in industrial lines, makes careful time and motion studies of various pro- cesses. He finds, perhaps, that production may be in- creased by reducing the number of motions, or by in- creasing their speed, or by substituting new motions, etc. By careful study he fixes upon standards for the employ- ment of the time of the men, of materials and of equip- ment. He supplies incentives to induce men to perfect themselves along approved lines. Improvements, even in the methods of complicated EFFICIENCY EXPERTS 33 business affairs, may be made by the haphazard and bungling method of trial and error and the selection of lucky strikes. But there is no assurance that the desired results will be gained by "going it blind." Such advan- tages as are gained are likely to be costly. This method contrasts strongly with that of the efficiency expert. One may gain considerable skill in the art of doing a thing by blindly imitating the methods of others. Such skill is not clarified by knowledge of the general prin- ciples which make clear the reason why the thing is done in that particular way. One has no assurance that the acquired way is the best way. His knowledge extends no farther than his skill. Knowledge and skill so acquired and limited can afford satisfactory guidance only in cases easily recognized as similar to those of past experience. They can not be applied under conditions materially different from those in which one has learned to apply them. They are not readily transferable and adaptable to a different situation. One who has learned by the method of trial and error, or by blind imitation, may not be able to perceive the cir- cumstances which alter the cases. Even if he perceives the new conditions, he can adopt his knowledge and skill to the requirements of the altered circumstances, only by more of the process of imitation, or of selecting from among the misses the lucky hits made by efforts which lack the guiding light of intelligence. One who gains success by this method is still lacking in the knowledge why one attempt succeeded and the others failed. One who has previously acquired the knowledge which 34 Psychology for Business Efficiency enables him to explain the whys and wherefores of suc- cess and failure, has a good chance of being able to select the right course of procedure at first. One so prepared can forecast, more or less accurately, the consequences of the various lines of effort as they occur to him. He can thus avoid much wasteful bungling. The business of the efficiency expert is to apply exact, or scientific, knowledge and methods to the solution of business problems. He determines the aim to be realized by the business activities. He locates and defines the problems involved in realizing the aim in the best avail- able way. The most efficient way is the way which requires the least expenditure of time, energy, and material resources. When this way has been clearly determined, one who wishes to become proficient in it, should at first go through the process slowly, aiming at right ordering of processes and accuracy in every part. When perfect form has been acquired, one can then attain speed by careful and attentive practice. One who wishes to become efficient should study his habits of using and wasting time. He must so arrange matters that a proper amount of time will be given to work, recreation, rest, etc. He should then hold him- self rigorously to the wise employment of his time. He should develop regular habits of working, resting and taking recreation in due proportion. The efficient man will have initiative. Initiative means ability to discover what is demanded, and wisdom in choosing and skill in using the best means and processes REPLACING OLD HABITS 35 to attain it. He will also have a predisposition to do these things without waiting to be told to do so. REPLACING OLD HABITS BY NEW HABITS The law of habit applies to every mental act and to every trait of character. Each step in our development involves the formation of a new habit. When you wish to break up a bad habit, substitute a good one for it. Whatever can be avoided under the notion that it is bad, can also be avoided by centering attention on the idea that something else is good, and forming a habit along the more desirable line. One may avoid drunkenness be- cause he fears he may develop poor digestion, a torpid liver, shattered nerves, blunted feelings, and wreck his home and business and lose the respect of his associates. This will be an effective motive. But the effect will be more wholesome if he dwells mainly on the attractiveness of sobriety as bringing a happy family, desirable friends, success in business, and a worthy place in the esteem of the community. But this in itself will not break up the vicious habit. One must not only cultivate aversion to the vicious and enthusiasm for the virtuous act, but he must also form a habit of acting virtuously. To develop a new habit, start with determination and vigor to do the act. Improve every opportunity to prac- tice it. Make no exceptions in favor of the old habit. One brief lapse into the old way will sweep away much that has been gained by long and painstaking efforts and will greatly increase the chance of future lapses. Banish the old habit from your mind by keeping your 36 PSYCHOI