The Science of Human Nature

science. For a bit of knowledge to become a part of science, its relation to other bits of knowledge must be found. In botany, for example, bits of knowledge about plants do not make a science of

we must know the significance of the knowledge, must know its meaning. This is only an

t or comes after it,-is its cause or its effect. This causal relationship that exists between events enables a scientist to prophesy. By carefully determining what always precedes a certain event, a certain type of happening, a scientist is able to predict the event. All that is necessary to be able to predict an event is to have a clear knowledge of its true causes. Whenever, beyond any doubt, these causes are found to be present, the scientist knows the event will

the world seems a very mixed-up, chaotic place, where anything and everything is happening. But as we come to know causes and relations, the worl

in it only a stone and think nothing of how it came to be there; but the scientific man sees quite an interesting bit of history in the stone. He reads in the stone that millions of years ago the place where the rock now lies was under the sea. Many marine animals left their remains in the mud underneath the sea. The mud was afterward converted

about motion and forces; chemistry, about the composition of matter; astronomy, about the heavenly bodies, etc. The world has many aspects. Ea

tain events always take place, according to all previous observations. The Law of Falling Bodies may be cited as an example. By this law, the physicist means that in observing falling bodies in the past, he has noticed that they fall about sixteen feet in

same circumstances, always produce precisely the same result. The scientist has faith that events will continue to ha

ledge which the astronomer has of the solar system. Even in the case of human beings, uncertain as their actions seem to be, we can predict their actions when our knowledge of the factors is sufficiently complete. In a great many instances we do make such predictions. For example, if we call a person by name, we expect him to turn,

of psychology? What kind of problems does it try to solve? What

does not present. If we consider the differences between a human being and a table, we shall see at once the special field of psychology. If we stick a pin into a leg of the table, we get no response. If we stick a pin into a leg of a man, we get a characteristic response. The man moves, he cries out. This shows two very great differences between a man and a table. The man is sensitive and has the power of action, the power of

the sense organs, the nerve-ends are so modified or changed as to be affected by some particular kind of force or substance. Vibrations of ether affect the eye. Vibrations of air affect the ear. Liquids and solutions affect the sense of taste. Certain

echnically as stimulation, and that which

lation, he is dead. If we are to continue alive, we must constantly adjust ourselves to the forces of the world in which we live. Generally speaking, we may say that every nerve has one end in a sense organ and the other in a muscle. Thi

out an important detail. The nerve does not extend directly to a muscle, but ordinarily goes by way of the brain. The brain is merely a great grou

stimulation passes on to the brain and agitates a cell or group of cells there, we are c

s revival is the basis of memory. When the brain is agitated through the medium of a sense organ, we have sensation; when this agitation is revived later, we have a mem

st study man not only from the outside; that is, objectively, in the same way that we study a stone or a tree or a frog, but we mus

earn of the minds only through the actions. But our interests in other human beings are not in their minds but in what they do. It is true that our interest in ourselv

uman race. The relation of one generation to that preceding and to the one following makes necessary a study of heredity. We must find out how our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and ideas are dependent upon a physical body and its organs. A s

ndividual differences in human capacity make necessary a treatment of the different types and grades of intelligence, and the compilation of tests f

is very proper to make this inquiry concerning psychology. Psychology, being the science of human nature, ought to be of use in all fields where one needs to know the

psychology to learn about the nature of children and to find out how we can

professions and vocations. Psychological investigations of the reliability of human evidence make the science of service in the court room. The study of the laws of attention and interest give us the psychology of advertising. The study of suggestion and abn

cational psychology," which constitutes at the present time the most important subdivision of psychology. While in this bo

evelopment, and learning of children are all controlled and determined by definite causal factors, then a systematic statement of all these factors would constitute the science of education.

education? (2) What is the nature of education? (3) What is the nature of the child? (4) What

ents generally wish their children to become honest, truthful, sympathetic, and industrious. It should be the aim of education to accomplish this social ideal. It should be the aim of the home and the school to subject children to such influences as will enable them to make a living when grown and to do their pro

usted to the world. It is the process of acquiring the habits, knowledge, and ideals suited to the life we are to live. T

must know the instincts and all the other inherited capacities and tendencies. We must know the laws of building up habits and of acquiring knowledge, the laws of retention and the laws of attention. These prob

gle thing in school work; we are trying to find out by experimentation. The proper way to teach children to read, to spell, to write, etc., must be determined in each case by independent investigation, until our knowledge of the child becomes sufficient for us to infer

e can answer them in part now, and we know how to find out the answer in full. It is just a matter of patient and extensive investigation. We must say, then, that we have only the beginnings of a science of education. The problems which a science of education must solve are almost wholly psychological problems. They could not be solve

em of acquiring and organizing experience-habit-formation, memory, thinking, and the various factors related to these processes. There are many subordinate problems, such as the problem of individual differences and their bearing on the education of subnormal and superno

ings act in all the various circumstances of life. We learn about the human mind by observing our own mind. We learn that we see under certain objective conditions, hear under certain objective conditions, taste, smell, feel cold and warm under certain objective conditio

ut to provide the necessary conditions, eliminating some and supplying others according to our object. The experiment has certain advantages. It enables us to isolate the phenomena to be studied, it enabl

f the class take a sheet of paper and a pencil, and make as many strokes as possible in a half-minute, as shown in Figure I. The instructor can keep the time with a stop watch, or less accurately with the second hand of an ordinary watch. Before beginning the experiment, the instructor should have each student taking the test try it for a second or two. This is to make sure that all understand what they are to do. When

okes Made in

f muscul

l, or whether it is constant and fundamental, can be determined by repeating the experime

f doing this are known to psychologists, but the beginner must use a simpler method. When the experiment is performed for the first time, the students can be ranked with reference to their abilities, t

experiment, constancy in this performance is indicated. Or we might determine how many change their ranks and how much they change. Suppose there are thirty in the class and only four improve their ranks and these to the extent of only two places each. This

e plotted to show the improvement from day to day. The average daily speed of the class can be taken and a graph made to show the improvement of the class as a whole. This might be plotted in bla

take several months to solve anything like all of them. It might be interesting, for example, to determine whether one's spee

throw about the experiment all possible safeguards. Every source of error must be discovered and eliminated. In the above experiment, for example, the work must be done at the same time of day, or else we must prove that doing it a

ychology is the study of sensitivity, action, and consciousness, or briefly, human behavior. Its main problems are development, heredity, instinc

EXER

nd as you find your questions answered in this book, or in other books which you may read, check them off. At the end o

u do have a cause?

Human action consists in muscular con

ct of which shall be to lea

a knowledge of some aspect of human nature would

ncerning a child, which

ete outline

S FOR CLA

y, General and Applied

ntials of Psych

of Educational Ps

ginner's Psycho