Your Mind and How to Use It: A Manual of Practical Psychology

Psychology is generally considered to be the science of mind, although more properly it is the science of mental states--thoughts, feelings, and acts of volition. It was formerl...

The mechanism of mental states--the mental machinery by means of which we feel, think, and will--consists of the brain, nervous system, and the organs of sense. No matter what m...

The spinal cord is that cord or rope of nerve substance which is inclosed in the spinal column or "backbone." It leaves the lower part of the skull and extends downward in the i...

The fact of consciousness is the great mystery of psychology. It is difficult even to define the term, although every person of average intelligence understands what is sought t...

Intimately connected with the object of consciousness is that process of the mind which we call "attention." Attention is generally defined as "the application of the mind to a...

It is a common mistake that we _perceive_ everything that is reported to the mind by the senses. As a matter of fact we perceive but a very small portion of the reports of the s...

Psychologists class as "representative mental processes" those known as memory and imagination, respectively. The term "representation" is used in psychology to indicate the pro...

What is known in psychology as the Law of Association is based on the fact that _no idea exists in the mind except in association with other ideas_. This is not generally recogn...

The imagination belongs to the general class of mental processes called the representative faculties, by which is meant the processes in which there are re-presented, or present...

In thinking of the mind and its activities we are accustomed to the general idea that the mental processes are chiefly those of intellect, reason, thought. But, as a fact, the g...

As we have seen in the preceding lessons, an emotion is the more complex phase of feeling. As a rule an emotion arises from a number of feelings. Moreover, it is of a higher ord...

Many attempts to classify the emotions have been made by the psychologists, but the best authorities hold that beyond the purpose of ordinary convenience in considering the subj...

Arising from the most elemental instinctive emotions, we find what may be termed "the passions." By the term "passion" is meant those strong feelings in which the elemental self...

As man became a social animal he developed new traits of character, new habits of action, new ideals, new customs, and consequently new emotions. Emotions long entertained and l...

By "the religious emotions" is meant that class of emotional feeling arising from the faith and belief in, or consciousness of the presence of, supernatural beings, powers, enti...

By "the æsthetic emotions" is meant those emotional feelings which are concerned with the perception of beauty or taste, and by reason of which we "like" or "dislike" certain pe...

By "the intellectual emotions" is meant that class of emotional feeling resulting from the presence of objects of intellectual interest. This class of emotions depends for its s...

The average person greatly underestimates the part played by the emotional nature in the mental activities of the individual. He is inclined to the opinion that, with the except...

"Happiness" has been defined by an authority as "the pleasurable emotion arising from the gratification of all desires; the enjoyment of pleasure without pain." Another has said...

The class of mental states or processes grouped together under the name of "intellectual processes," forms the second great division of the mental states, the two others being "...

The process of conception has been well defined by Gordy as "that act of mind by which it forms an idea of a class; or that act of the mind that enables us to use general names...

In the preceding chapter we have seen the process of conception--of the forming of concepts. _The idea of a general class of things or qualities is a concept._ Each concept cont...

We have seen the several steps of the mental process whereby simple sensations are transformed into percepts and then into concepts or general ideas. The formation of the concep...

In connection with this subject we herewith call the attention of the student to the well-known Primary Laws of Thought which have been recognized as valid from the time of the...

Reasoning, the third great step in thinking, may be said to consist of ascertaining new truths from old ones, new judgments from old ones, unknown facts from known ones; in shor...

Inductive reasoning is based upon the axiom: "_What is true of the many is true of the whole._" This axiom is based upon man's belief in the uniformity of nature. Inductive reas...

We have seen in the preceding chapter that from particular facts we reason inductively to general principles or truths. We have also seen that one of the steps of inductive reas...

A fallacy is defined as "an unsound argument or mode of arguing which, while appearing to be decisive of a question, is in reality not so; or a fallacious statement or propositi...

The activities of the will comprise the third great class of mental processes. Psychologists always have differed greatly in their conception of just what constitutes these acti...

It is of the utmost importance that the individual develop, cultivate, and train his will so as to bring it under the influence of the higher part of his mental and moral being....

In addition to the general rules for developing and training the will given in the preceding chapter, we ask you to tone up and strengthen the will by the inspiration to be deri...