How to Use Your Mind

by Harry D. Kitson

Layout 2

 

HOW TO USE
YOUR MIND

BY
HARRY D. KITSON, Ph.D.

 

HOW TO USE
YOUR MIND

A PSYCHOLOGY OF STUDY

BEING A MANUAL FOR THE USE OF
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN THE
ADMINISTRATION OF SUPERVISED STUDY

 

BY

HARRY D. KITSON, Ph.D.

PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY. INDIANA UNIVERSITY

 

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED

 

 

PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

Copyright, 1916, by J. B. Lippincott Company
Copyright, 1921, by J. B. Lippincott Company

 

Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company
At the Washington Square Press
Philadelphia, U. S. A.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The kindly reception accorded to the first edition of this book has confirmed the author in his conviction that such a book was needed, and has tempted him to bestow additional labor upon it. The chief changes consist in the addition of two new chapters, "Active Imagination," and "How to Develop Interest in a Subject"; the division into two parts of the unwieldy chapter on memory; the addition of readings and exercises at the end of each chapter; the preparation of an analytical table of contents; the correction of the bibliography to date; the addition of an index; and some recasting of phraseology in the interest of clearness and emphasis.

The author gratefully acknowledges the constructive suggestions of reviewers and others who have used the book, and hopes that he has profited by them in this revision.

H. D. K.

April 1, 1921

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Educational leaders are seeing with increasing clearness the necessity of teaching students not only the subject-matter of study but also methods of study. Teachers are beginning to see that students waste a vast amount of time and form many harmful habits because they do not know how to use their minds. The recognition of this condition is taking the form of the movement toward "supervised study," which attempts to acquaint the student with principles of economy and directness in using his mind. It is generally agreed that there are certain "tricks" which make for mental efficiency, consisting of methods of apperceiving facts, methods of review, devices for arranging work. Some are the fruits of psychological experimentation; others are derived from experience. Many of them can be imparted by instruction, and it is for the purpose of systematizing these and making them available for students that this book is prepared.

The evils of unintelligent and unsupervised study are evident to all who have any connection with modern education. They pervade the entire educational structure from kindergarten through college. In college they are especially apparent in the case of freshmen, who, in addition to the numerous difficulties incident to entrance into the college world, suffer peculiarly because they do not know how to attack the difficult subjects of the curriculum. In recognition of these conditions, special attention is given at The University of Chicago toward supervision of study. All freshmen in the School of Commerce and Administration of the University are given a course in Methods of Study, in which practical discussions and demonstrations are given regarding the ways of studying the freshman subjects. In addition to the group-work, cases presenting special features are given individual attention, for it must be admitted that while certain difficulties are common to all students, there are individual cases that present peculiar phases and these can be served only by personal consultations. These personal consultations are expensive both in time and patience, for it frequently happens that the mental habits of a student must be thoroughly reconstructed, and this requires much time and attention, but the results well repay the effort. A valuable accessory to such individual supervision over students has been found in the use of psychological tests which have been described by the author in a monograph entitled, "The Scientific Study of the College Student."^[1]

But the college is not the most strategic point at which to administer guidance in methods of study. Such training is even more acceptably given in the high school and grades. Here habits of mental application are largely set, and it is of the utmost importance that they be set right, for the sake of the welfare of the individuals and of the institutions of higher education that receive them later. Another reason for incorporating training in methods of study into secondary and elementary schools is that more individuals will be helped, inasmuch as the eliminative process has not yet reached its culmination.

In high schools where systematic supervision of study is a feature, classes are usually conducted in Methods of Study, and it is hoped that this book will meet the demand for a text-book for such classes, the material being well within the reach of high school students. In high schools where instruction in Methods of Study is given as part of a course in elementary psychology, the book should also prove useful, inasmuch as it gives a summary of psychological principles relating to the cognitive processes.

In the grades the book cannot be put into the hands of the pupils, but it should be mastered by the teacher and applied in her supervising and teaching activities. Embodying, as it does, the results of researches in educational psychology, it should prove especially suitable for use in teachers' reading circles where a concise presentation of the facts regarding the psychology of the learning process is desired.

There is another group of students who need training in methods of study. Brain workers in business and industry feel deeply the need of greater mental efficiency and seek eagerly for means to attain it. Their earnestness in this search is evidenced by the success of various systems for the training of memory, will, and other mental traits. Further evidence is found in the efforts of many corporations to maintain schools and classes for the intellectual improvement of their employees. To all such the author offers the work with the hope that it may be useful in directing them toward greater mental efficiency.

In courses in Methods of Study in which the book is used as a class-text, the instructor should lay emphasis not upon memorization of the facts in the book, but upon the application of them in study. He should expect to see parallel with progress through the book, improvement in the mental ability of the students. Specific problems may well be arranged on the basis of the subjects of the curriculum, and students should be urged to utilize the suggestions immediately. The subjects treated in the book are those which the author has found in his experience with college students to constitute the most frequent sources of difficulty, and under these conditions, the sequence of topics followed in the book has seemed most favorable for presentation. With other groups of students, however, another sequence of topics may be found desirable; if so, the order of topics may be changed. For example, in case the chapter on brain action is found to presuppose more physiological knowledge than that possessed by the students, it may be omitted or may be used merely for reference when enlightenment is desired upon some of the physiological descriptions in later chapters. Likewise, the chapter dealing with intellectual difficulties of college students may be omitted with non-collegiate groups.

The heavy obligation of the author to a number of writers will be apparent to one familiar with the literature of theoretical and educational psychology. No attempt is made to render specific acknowledgments, but special mention should be made of the large draughts made upon the two books by Professor Stiles which treat so helpfully of the bodily relations of the student. These books contain so much good sense and scientific information that they should receive a prominent place among the books recommended to students. Thanks are due to Professor Edgar James Swift and Charles Scribner's Sons for permission to use a figure from " Mind in the Making"; and to J. B. Lippincott Company for adaptation of cuts from Villiger's "Brain and Spinal Cord."

The author gratefully acknowledges helpful suggestions from Professors James R. Angell, Charles H. Judd and C. Judson Herrick, who have read the greater part of the manuscript and have commented upon it to its betterment. The obligation refers, however, not only to the immediate preparation of this work but also to the encouragement which, for several years, the author has received from these scientists, first as student, later as colleague.

The Author.

Chicago,
September 25, 1916.

CONTENTS

Chapter	Page
I. Intellectual Problems of the College Freshman	17
Number. Variety. Lecture Method. Note Taking. Amount of Library Work. High Quality Demanded. Necessity for Making Schedule. A College Course Consists in the Formation of Habits. Requires Active Effort on Part of Student. Importance of Good Form.
II. Note Taking	26
Uses of Notes. Lecture Notes—Avoid Verbatim Reports. Maintain Attitude of Mental Activity. Seek Outline Chiefly. Use Notes in Preparing Next Lesson. Reading Notes—Summarize Rather Than Copy. Read With Questions in Mind. How to Read. How to Make Bibliographies. Laboratory Notes—Content. Form. Miscellaneous Hints.
III. Brain Action During Study	43
The Organ of Mind. Gross Structure. Microscopic Structure. The Neurone. The Nervous Impulse. The Synapse. Properties of Nervous Tissue—Impressibility, Conductivity, Modifiability. Pathways Used in Study—Sensory, Motor, Association. Study is a Process of Making Pathways in Brain.
IV. Formation of Study-habits	57
Definition of Habit. Examples. Inevitableness of Habits in Brain and Nervous System. How to Insure Useful Habits—Choose What Shall Enter; Choose Mode of Entrance; Choose Mode of Egress; Go Slowly at First; Observe Four Maxims. Advantages and Disadvantages of Habit. Ethical Consequences.
V. Active Imagination	76
Nature of the Image. Its Use in Imagination. Necessity for Number, Variety, Sharpness. Source of "Imaginative" Productions. Method of Developing Active Imaginative Powers: Cultivate Images in Great Number, Variety, Sharpness; Actively Combine the Elements of Past Experience.
VI. First Aids to Memory—Impression	85
Four Phases. Conditions of Impression: Care, Clearness, Choice of Favorable Sense Avenue, Repetition, Overlearning, Primacy, Distribution of Repetitions, (Inferences Bearing Upon Theme-writing), "Whole" vs "Part" Method, "Rote" vs "logical" Method, Intention.
VII. Second Aids to Memory—Retention, Recall and Recognition	110
Retention. Recall. Recall Contrasted With Impression. Practise Recall in Impression. Recognition. Advantages of Review. Memory Works According to Law. Possibility of Improvement. Connection With Other Mental Processes.
VIII. Concentration of Attention	117
Importance in Mental Life. Analysis of Concrete Attentive State. Cross-section of Mental Stream. Focal Object, Clear; Marginal Objects, Dim. Fluctuation. Ease of Concentration Requires (1) Removal of All Marginal Distractions Possible, (2) Ignoring Others. Conditions Favorable for Concentration. Relation to Other Mental Processes.
IX. How We Reason	134
Reasoning Contrasted with Simpler Mental Operations. Illustrated by Method of Studying Geometry. Analysis of Reasoning Act: Recognition of Problem, Efforts to Solve It, Solution. Study in Problems. Requirements for Effective Reasoning: Many Ideas, Accessible, Clear. How to Clarify Ideas: Define, Classify. Relation Between Habit and Reasoning. Summary.
X. Expression As An Aid In Study	154
Expression an Inevitable Accompaniment of Nervous Activity. Extent of Expressive Movements. Relation Between Ideas and Expressive Acts. Ethical Considerations. Methods of Expression Chiefly Used in Study: Speech, Writing, Drawing. Effects of Expression: (1) On Brain, (2) On Ideas. Hints on Development of Freedom of Expression.
XI. How to Become Interested in a Subject	170
Nature of Interest. Intellectual Interests Gained Through Experience. Many Possible Fields of Interest. Laws of Interest.
XII. The Plateau of Despond	183
Measurement of Mental Progress. Analysis of the "Learning Curve." Irregularity. Rapid Progress at Beginning. The Plateau. Causes. Remedies.
XIII. Mental Second-Wind	195
Description: (1) Physical, (2) Mental. Hidden Sources of Energy. Retarding Effect of Fatigue. Analysis of Fatigue. How to Reduce Fatigue in Study.
XIV. Examinations	212
Purposes. Continuous Effort and Cramming. Effective Methods of Reviewing. Immediate Preparation for an Examination Conduct in Examination-room. Attitude of Activity. Attitude of Confidence.
XV. Bodily Conditions for Effective Study	224
Food: Quantity, Quality, Surroundings. Sleep: Amount, Conditions, Avoidance of Insomnia. Exercise: Regularity, Emphasis.
Suggestions for Further Reading	247
Index	251

1. Princeton University Press.