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
()
About this ebook
Related to How to Use Your Mind
Related ebooks
Finance: Financial Blueprint To Success: Money Management, Budgeting, Investing & Planning For Retirement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Pillars of Prosperity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of Getting Money Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Power of Concentration Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Paradigm Shifts: The Power of Indomitable Decision Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThink Fast Act Faster: How to Generate Innovative Ideas and Make Them Happen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuccess Code & Develop Rules of Conduct That Transform Organizations and Businesses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Eureka Method: How to Think Like an Inventor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanadian Police: Winning Multiple Choice Strategies for the Canadian Police Office Test Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Powers: 12 Principles to Transform Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Mind and How to Use It: A Manual of Practical Psychology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThink Like A Genius: Seven Steps Towards Finding Brilliant Solutions To Common Problems Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Science of Mind (Impact Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brass Tacks Guide to Writing a Winning Business Plan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Success System That Never Fails (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Science of Getting Rich Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Tap into Your Divine Spirit: Discover Your Divine Purpose in Life by Following Six Easy Steps Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Be Happy Daily Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Master Key System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Millionaire'$ Manual (A Workbook for Wealth) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManagement Savvy: How to Get It, How to Use It and How to Become a Sparkling Leader Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fastest, Cheapest And Safest Way To Have Unlimited Energy Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMission: Adulthood: How the 20-Somethings of Today Are Transforming Work, Love, and Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Dare You to Be Great: Willpower Equals Mind Power The Secret to Developing True Greatness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to be a Genius Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Mental Chemistry: Secrets to the Law of Attraction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGet Real: The Power of Genuine Leadership, A Transparent Culture, And an Authentic You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnderstanding The Game Of Money Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEscape the Law: The Journey from Lawyer to Entrepreneur Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Classics For You
The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Count of Monte-Cristo English and French Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm: A Fairy Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Jungle: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Women (Seasons Edition -- Winter) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden (Original Classic Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn French! Apprends l'Anglais! THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: In French and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility (Centaur Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Titus Groan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for How to Use Your Mind
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
How to Use Your Mind - Harry Dexter Kitson
Harry Dexter Kitson
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
Published by Good Press, 2022
goodpress@okpublishing.info
EAN 4057664630896
Table of Contents
HOW TO USE YOUR MIND
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
INDEX
CHAPTER
I. INTELLECTUAL PROBLEMS OF THE COLLEGE FRESHMAN
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Nature of Interest. Intellectual Interests Gained Through Experience.
Many Possible Fields of Interest. Laws of Interest.
XII. THE PLATEAU OF DESPOND
Measurement of Mental Progress. Analysis of the Learning Curve.
Irregularity. Rapid Progress at Beginning. The Plateau. Causes.
Remedies.
XIII. MENTAL SECOND-WIND
Description: (1) Physical, (2) Mental. Hidden Sources of Energy.
Retarding Effect of Fatigue. Analysis of Fatigue. How to Reduce
Fatigue in Study.
XIV. EXAMINATIONS
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 FOB EFFECTIVE STUDY
FOOD: Quantity, Quality, Surroundings. SLEEP: Amount, Conditions,
Avoidance of Insomnia. EXERCISE: Regularity, Emphasis.
SUGGESTIONS FOB FURTHER READING
INDEX
HOW TO USE YOUR MIND
CHAPTER I
Table of Contents
INTELLECTUAL PROBLEMS OF THE COLLEGE FRESHMAN
In entering upon a college course you are taking a step that may completely revolutionize your life. You are facing new situations vastly different from any you have previously met. They are also of great variety, such as finding a place to eat and sleep, regulating your own finances, inaugurating a new social life, forming new friendships, and developing in body and mind. The problems connected with mental development will engage your chief attention. You are now going to use your mind more actively than ever before and should survey some of the intellectual difficulties before plunging into the fight.
Perhaps the first difficulty you will encounter is the substitution of the lecture for the class recitation to which you were accustomed in high school. This substitution requires that you develop a new technic of learning, for the mental processes involved in an oral recitation are different from those used in listening to a lecture. The lecture system implies that the lecturer has a fund of knowledge about a certain field and has organized this knowledge in a form that is not duplicated in the literature of the subject. The manner of presentation, then, is unique and is the only means of securing the knowledge in just that form. As soon as the words have left the mouth of the lecturer they cease to be accessible to you. Such conditions require a unique mental attitude and unique mental habits. You will be obliged, in the first place, to maintain sustained attention over long periods of time. The situation is not like that in reading, in which a temporary lapse of attention may be remedied by turning back and rereading. In listening to a lecture, you are obliged to catch the words on the fly.
Accordingly you must develop new habits of paying attention. You will also need to develop a new technic for memorizing, especially for memorizing things heard. As a partial aid in this, and also for purposes of organizing material received in lectures, you will need to develop ability to take notes. This is a process with which you have heretofore had little to do. It is a most important phase of college life, however, and will repay earnest study.
Another characteristic of college study is the vast amount of reading required. Instead of using a single text-book for each course, you may use several. They may cover great historical periods and represent the ideas of many men. In view of the amount of reading assigned, you will also be obliged to learn to read faster. No longer will you have time to dawdle sleepily through the pages of easy texts; you will have to cover perhaps fifty or a hundred pages of knotty reading every day. Accordingly you must learn to handle books expeditiously and to comprehend quickly. In fact, economy must be your watchword throughout. A German lesson in high school may cover thirty or forty lines a day, requiring an hour's preparation. A German assignment in college, however, may cover four or five or a dozen pages, requiring hard work for two or three hours.
You should be warned also that college demands not only a greater quantity but also a higher quality of work. When you were a high school student the world expected only a high school student's accomplishments of you. Now you are a college student, however, and your intellectual responsibilities have increased. The world regards you now as a person of considerable scholastic attainment and expects more of you than before. In academic terms this means that in order to attain a grade of 95 in college you will have to work much harder than you did for that grade in high school, for here you have not only more difficult subject-matter, but also keener competition for the first place. In high school you may have been the brightest student in your class. In college, however, you encounter the brightest students from many schools. If your merits are going to stand out prominently, therefore, you must work much harder. Your work from now on must be of better quality.
Not the least of the perplexities of your life as a college student will arise from the fact that no daily schedule is arranged for you. The only time definitely assigned for your work is the fifteen hours a week, more or less, spent in the class-room. The rest of your schedule must be arranged by yourself. This is a real task and will require care and thought if your work is to be done with greatest economy of time and effort.
This brief survey completes the catalogue of problems of mental development that will vex you most in adjusting your methods of study to college conditions. In order to make this adjustment you will be obliged to form a number of new habits. Indeed, as you become more and more expert as a student, you will see that the whole process resolves itself into one of habit-formation, for while a college education has two phases—the acquisition of facts and the formation of habits—it is the latter which is the more important. Many of the facts that you learn will be forgotten; many will be outlawed by time; but the habits of study you form will be permanent possessions. They will consist of such things as methods of grasping facts, methods of reasoning about facts, and of concentrating attention. In acquiring these habits you must have some material upon which you may concentrate your attention, and it will be supplied by the subjects of the curriculum. You will be asked, for instance, to write innumerable themes in courses in English composition; not for the purpose of enriching the world's literature, nor for the delectation of your English instructor, but for the sake of helping you to form habits of forceful expression. You will be asked to enter the laboratory and perform numerous experiments, not to discover hitherto unknown facts, but to obtain practice in scientific procedure and to learn how to seek knowledge by yourself. The curriculum and the faculty are the means, but you yourself are the agent in the educational process. No matter how good the curriculum or how renowned the faculty, you cannot be educated without the most vigorous efforts on your part. Banish the thought that you are here to have knowledge pumped into
you. To acquire an education you must establish and maintain not a passive attitude but an active attitude. When you go to the gymnasium to build up a good physique, the physical director does not tell you to hold yourself limp and passive while he pumps your arms and legs up and down. Rather he urges you to put forth effort, to exert yourself until you are tired. Only by so doing can you develop physical power. This principle holds true of mental development. Learning is not a process of passive soaking-in.
It is a matter of vigorous effort, and the harder you work the more powerful you become. In securing a college education you are your own master.
In the development of physical prowess you are well aware of the importance of doing everything in good form.
In such sports as swimming and hurdling, speed and grace depend primarily upon it. The same principle holds