Book Description

We are publishing this volume in the belief that the student beginning the study of psychology can profitably read much more material than is commonly assigned him. It is hardly the purpose of a first course to train the student to such a point that he can read the technical articles of the psychological journals, but he should have enough practice to enable him to read with intelligence the more general literature of the subject, whatever its point of view. But the accomplishment of even this latter purpose is becoming increasingly difficult. Our elementary courses contain so many students that library assignments are in many cases all but impossible. In light of this fact, we feel that instructors will welcome a single volume, which contains an ample and representative supply of reading materials. Such a volume has an advantage over a library reserve shelf in that the students will not be discouraged by being unable to reach their assignments when and where they find it convenient to study. It has an advantage over a second textbook in that it contains more than another, often conflicting, system of description. In those cases where the instructor is interested in presenting his own system, this volume will furnish reading materials, which will be useful without coming into constant conflict with the lectures. While we do not believe that differences of opinion should be hidden from the student, we are convinced that constant conflict between instructor and text is very bad from a pedagogical standpoint. We have chosen these readings for the beginning student, and we hope that few of them will be beyond his comprehension. Now and again terms appear in the readings, which have not previously been defined. Usually where the meaning of such terms cannot be inferred from the context, we have defined them in footnotes. It is no disadvantage, however, if the student is occasionally forced to use a dictionary. The exercises included with the readings are not, in most cases, questions the answers to which can be taken directly from the text. Rather, they are problems which the student should be in a position to attack when he has mastered a given reading or group of readings. In many cases, these exercises are designed to bring out important points with which the readings do not happen to deal. In other cases, they are designed to bring up problems which will hardly be solved by either instructor or student, but which may profitably be discussed. Where suitable materials could be found in the sources, we have used them. Where these sources were too technical, too long, or too saturated with dead issues, we have taken more suitable restatements. We have exercised considerable freedom in using certain excerpts, which are not particularly representative of the writers from whom they are taken. While we have made slight changes in many of the selections, these changes are practically all of two kinds. First, sentences or words have been eliminated in order to avoid issues, which could not be discussed at length, and which we did not feel could be handled justly in a very brief way. Second, sentences or words have been modified or eliminated in order to disconnect a selection from its original setting. In neither of these cases, we feel sure, have meanings been attributed to an author which he himself did not intend. While we have arranged the contents of this volume along conservative lines, the readings can be taken up in almost any order. We have put side by side passages written from different points of view, and though we believe the student should get used to these differences and learn to see beyond them, there is no reason why the instructor should not emphasize certain facts and theories by a judicious choice from among these materials.