HowtoStudy&TakeExams

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5/85HOW TO STUDY 1

WHAWHAWHAWHAWHAT IS STUDT IS STUDT IS STUDT IS STUDT IS STUDYYYYY

Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.

Francis Bacon

What is study?

According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary study meansdevotion of time and thought to acquiring information frombooks, pursuit of some branch of knowledge. To study means to

take pains to investigate or acquire knowledge of a subject. As Dr

G.G. Neill Wright puts it, to study is to set about learning something

or other in deliberate manner, that is, on a definite plan.

Forms of study

Sir John Adams classifies study into two forms, namely:

(1) acquisitive (assimilative); and

(2) constructive

Acquisitive (assimilative) study depends largely on memory;

constructive study depends more upon reason. The two forms of

study are not mutually exclusive; they necessarily interpenetrate:

Assimilation does not consist entirely in gathering new facts, nor

does construction confine itself to the manipulation and application

of facts already acquired. The two processes, to some extent, over-

lap. In acquiring new facts we must always use a little reason; while


6/852 HOW TO STUDY

in constructive work we cannot always rely upon having all the

necessary matter ready to hand: we have frequently to stop our con-

structive work temporarily in order to acquire some new facts that

we find to be necessary. In this way we acquire a certain number of

facts while we are reasoning about things; and while we are engaged

in acquiring new matter we must use our reason at least to some

extent. Both forms of study are essential for a real mastery of any

subject.

In examinations, there is now a distinct trend to give greater

prominence to the constructive side of study.

The test of study

The world is interested not in the storms you encountered but inwhether you brought your ship home. The test of study is nothow long or hard you have worked but what you have attained by

your study, says Adams. Your study-work is judged by your success

in mastering your subject(s).

It is not the amount of study that you get through, or the amount

of reading, that makes for success; but the appropriateness of the

study to the purpose for which you pursue it, the concentration of the

mind for the time being, upon the subject concerned; and the habitual

discipline by which you regulate the whole system of mental applica-

tion. Speaking of the study of medicine, Dr Abernethy said, If a manhas a clear idea of what he desires to do, he will seldom fail in select-

ing the proper means of accomplishing it. The most beneficial is

that conducted with a definite and specific aimall reading, reflec-

tion, observation being directed upon it for the time being.

Active process

Study is not a passive process of absorption; to be effective itmust be an active process. It is not merely parrotry or just a mat-


7/85HOW TO STUDY 3

ter of memory; it is also a matter of understanding and thinking. The

ideal mind is not a recording apparatus like a disc but an apparatus

for doing. The nature of study is better indicated by the phrase which

speaks of the student cultivating his mind than by Byrons meta-

phor of wax and marble in his Beppo:

His heart was one of those which most enamour us;

Wax to receive, and marble to retain.

A matter of technique

Effective study, says Martin Rhodes, is a matter of technique,

of understanding and consistently applying the right methods.

Success in study depends not only on ability and hard work but also

on effective and efficient techniques. Many able and highly intelli-

gent students fail because they did not learn how to study effectively

and efficiently.

There is no gainsaying the need to master and practise such

study techniques. They will enable you to hit the bulls-eye and do

your study-work with less effort and in less time, getting the maxi-

mum learning and retention for the least expenditure of energy and

effort.

Like techniques for any other activity, study techniques can be

mastered and applied by anyone who earnestly tries.

Basic factors of study

The basic factors of study are:

Interest: interest means concern, curiosity or quality exciting

them. The term is employed in two senses, functional and structural:

1. designating a type of feeling which might be called worthwhileness,

associated with attention to an object, or course of action; 2. an

element or item in an individuals make-up, inborn, or acquired,

because of which he tends to have this feeling of worthwhileness in


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souls do little else than sing and play their harps, but rather one of a

study where I work everlastingly at some marvellous novel of infi-

nite length with the keen power and precision that I could so rarely

command upon earth. The paradise of the gardener is a garden; a

carpenters is a bench. (We may add that the paradise of the student

is his study.)

Jerome K. Jerome in his famous book Three Men in a Boat

says:

I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.

I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my

heart.

Motivation: A motive is what induces a person to act, e.g.de-

sire, fear and other positive or negative wants or needs. It is defined

as an affective-conative factor which operates, in determining the

individuals behaviour towards an end or goal. To motivate is to

provide an incentive. Motivation is a term employed generally for

the phenomena involved in the operation of incentives, drives and

motives. Motivation is the driving dynamic of purpose. It has to do

with the direction and persistence of action.

Interest, the foundation of effective study, depends in turn on

motivation. Lack of adequate motivation is an important cause of

failure.

Goals: For the satisfaction of his wants (needs) man selects a

goal, as becoming an executive, an engineer, a bank officer, a doctor

or an administrator.

A goal is the object of effort or ambition, the end result, imme-

diate or remote, which the individual seeks, and towards which he

directs action.Since a goal is the life-blood of successful study, select it judi-

ciously. The characteristics of an appropriate goal are:


10/856 HOW TO STUDY

(i) It should be realistic, that is achievable, at least most of the

time.

(ii) It must be such as to exert a pressure on you, a pressure that

keeps you working.(iii) It should be one that puts screws on you.

It is futile and dangerous to select an unattainable goal. Failure

can sap self-confidence and destroy energy. Repeated failure often

causes the individual to give up trying altogether. Psychologists, as a

rule, think that those who set their aspirations at absurdly high levels

would do better to be more realistic. The goals that you set your-self, advises Maddox, should be goals that you can, with effort,

reasonably expect to attain. A fools paradise is no paradise.

Limitations: The possibilities of human beings are not unlim-

ited. There are inescapable physical and intellectual limitations. By

denying them we blind ourselves to reality and come to grief. The

fable goes that once upon a time, a frog saw an ox in a meadow andwas envious of its huge bulk. So she swelled out her body till all the

wrinkles disappeared and then asked her children if she was now

fatter than the ox. No, they said. With a still greater effort she

stretched her skin tight and asked which was the bigger now. The

ox, they replied. At last she got cross, and making frantic efforts to

blow herself out still more, she burst herself and died. Be consciousof your limits while selecting your goal. As Rollo May observes,

Confronting limits for the human personality actually turns to be

expansive. Struggle with limits is actually the source of creative

productions.

Believe in the possibility of success: If a goal has been well

chosen, your powers will enable you, barring accidents, to achieve it.Men, says H.D. Thoreau, were born to succeed, not to fail.

Alfred Adler said, Life (and all psychological expressions as part of


11/85HOW TO STUDY 7

life) moves ever toward perfection, toward superiority, toward

success. You cannot train or condition a living being for defeat.

Stick to your goal: Once chosen stick to your goal. Dont make

any radical changes in it lightly. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Ifyou persevere and follow up doggedly, you will almost always emerge

not only having reached your goals but often having far exceeded

your initial expectations.

Remember, the grass always appears greener on the other side

of the fenceuntil you get there.

Intermediate goals: You may set up intermediate goals whichyou must reach en route to your final goal. The successive achieving

of these intermediate goals sustains a long-range action because the

reaching of them indicates signs of progress towards the ultimate

goal. Research studies have revealed that even small steps towards

the ultimate remote goal can thus reinforce and sustain action. As

Krech and Crutchfield observe, Whenever an individual can see or

believes he can see evidence of advance toward the goal, motivation

is likely to be strengthened. The converse is also true. Just as, Noth-

ing succeeds like success, so, Nothing fails like failure.

Right attitude: The third basic factor of successful study is the

adoption of the right mental attitude toward your study-work. Suc-

cess or failure in study, as in any other activity, is caused more by

mental attitudes than by mental capacities. No condition or posture

of circumstances is itself a calamity to be feared. It is your reaction to

it that makes a field of triumph or a Waterloo.

An attitude is defined as a relatively stable, learned, emotion-

alized predisposition to respond in some consistent way toward one

or a group of objects, persons or situations.

Research studies show that attitudes can be changed according

to principles of conditioning. For instance in one study nonsense syl-


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lables were regarded positively or negatively depending on whether

they have been associated with the names of historys heroes or

villains. Personality factors such as the individuals goals and his

self-concept also influence attitudes.

Your attitude towards your study work should have the follow-

ing characteristics:

(a) It should be balanced.

(b) It should be action-oriented.

(c) In art, said Goethe the best is good enough. This ap-

plies to the art of study also. The most favourable state of mind forstudy appears to be one in which you try your best, are rewarded with

success and feel as a result adequate confidence to try again.

(d) It should be based on the recognition that study is a positive

processthe attitude of men who possess single-track minds; their

tenacity and obsession may be sometimes boring, but they succeed,

by repeated attacks, in demolishing obstacles that hinder their progress.(e) It should not be over-anxious. Trying overly hard defeats

its own purpose. A more carefree attitude pays off. Anxiety leads to

immobilization:

This Centipede was happy quite,

Until the Toad in fern

Said, Pray which leg goes after which?

And worked her mind to such a pitch,

She lay distracted in the ditch

Considering how to run.

(Mrs Edmund Craster)

(f) Finally it should be an attitude of tough-minded optimism

the winning, overcoming attitude of an indomitable, dogged, deter-

mined, resolute, courageous kind of personality. One of the sim-


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14/8510 HOW TO STUDY

PlanningPlanningPlanningPlanningPlanning

A man who does not think and plan ahead will find trouble at

his door.

Confucius

What is Planning?

To plan means to scheme, arrange beforehand, the way of pro- ceeding to achieve an object, as planning a compaign or economy,or a journey through space, or

But I was, thinking of a plan,

To dye ones whiskers green

in Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking-Glass.

The Importance of planning

Planned or unplanned activity makes a difference. Carrying out anactivity by fits and starts, spasmodic and desultory dabbling neverproduces the same result as work carried on with a definite purpose

and clear-cut lines.

If G.B. Shaw had not made it a strict rule to do first things first,

he would probably have failed as a writer and might have remained a

bank cashier all his life.

His plan called for writing five pages each day. That plan and


15/85HOW TO STUDY 11

his dogged determination to carry it through saved him.

That plan inspired him to go right on writing five pages a day

for nine heart-breaking years, even though he made a total of only ...

about a penny a day.

He snapped his fingers at circumstances and said, People are

always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I dont believe

in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people

who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they

cant find them, make them.

No magician ever pulled a rabbit out of a hat without carefullyputting one there in the first place. No man can hope to arrive if he

does not know whither he is going. He will be like a ship without a

rudder, adrift at the mercy of wind and tide or of circumstances.

The difference between planned activity and unplanned activ-

ity is brought out crisply by Victor Hugo:

He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, andfollows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the laby-

rinth of the most busy life. The orderly arrangement of his time is like

a ray of light which darts itself through all his occupations. But where

no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to

the chance of incidents, all things lie huddled together in one chaos,

which admits of neither distribution nor review.Worthwhile accomplishments are seldom, if ever, accidental.

They are the end-result of planned efforts towards specific objects or

concrete goals. This is what Edison meant when he said, I never did

anything worth doing by accident; nor did any of my inventions come

by accident; they came by work.

The secret of success in any field of endeavour, including studylies in six magic words:

PLAN YOUR WORK; WORK YOUR PLAN



How to plan your study-work?

In coping with any course of study make yourself (1) a long-termplan embracing the total time you have at your disposal; and(2) short-term plans, monthly, fortnightly, or weekly as may beconvenient.

For making the long-term plan find out all about the syllabuses

you have to cover, the text books and other material you must read

and learn, the practical work you have to cover and other require-

ments which you have to satisfy. This long-term plan may have to be

revised from time to time, but you should have an over-all picture ofyour study-work and the time-range of your plan.

The long-term plan may be split up into periodical short-term

plans in which you can set yourself targets for important pieces of

work.

Keep a record of the progress of your plans-in-action.

How to work your plans?

Your plans will work only if you work them. Give top priority totheir implementation. Put your whole heart into them. Strivewith both your body and mind towards hitting your targets.

Give each stage in your plans your undivided attention. Dont

look farther than each stage, thereby following the example of themountaineer who cuts steps in the ice, refusing to look up at the heights

or down into the depths because the sight of either would terrify him.

A French sage remarks pertinently, The fool thinks every thing

is easy and comes in for many rude awakenings; the sluggard

believes that all is impossible, and undertakes nothing; the good

workman knows that great things are possible, and prudently, littleby little, he accomplishes them.

The homely saying Little by little and bit by bit teaches



patience and perseverance. Dont be discouraged by the size of the

task you have to do. Stick to it and you will achieve success. The

well-known fable of the hare and the tortoise teaches us that slow but

sure, wins the race. The race was won by the slow tortoise, which

plodded steadily on while the hare, over-confident of victory, took

things too easily.

To persist you need the ability to turn a deaf ear to the remarks

of other people. Some will tell you that you cannot succeed because

you lack brains, brawn, skill, time and so on. Others will tempt you to

leave work for more pleasurable occupations. Do what you have

planned inspite of discouragement and temptations of others. Then

the day will come quickly when you will have the satisfaction of

reaching your goals and free time for pleasure while others are still

dabbling, wobbling and struggling.

There is marvellous thrill in finishing. Drake was proudest when

he said, And all that we said we would do, we have done. Casson

has well said, If you have started something, get on with it. Reach

the satisfaction of finishing.

You never hear of quitters. They never attain success or happi-

ness. They go through life leaving a trail of unfinished jobswhat

can they possibly lead to but frustration and failure?

A winner never quits; a quitter never wins. In reply to an invi-

tation from Lady Astor to visit Cliveden at the time of preparation of

African landing during the World War II, General D.D. Eisenhower

said, Thell with it. Ive work to do!

Frame a time-table: Indispensable need

For successful study a time-table is an indispensable need. As the

old saying has it, what may be done at any time is done at notime. When you dont work to a time-table but work only when the fit

is on you, your study will become spasmodic.



Advantages of a time-table

The advantages of a time-table are many:

(i) The first advantage is the saving in time and effort. Without

it you are likely to spend much time in decisionin making up yourmind when and what to study. A lot of energy is uselessly consumed

in trying to choose between alternatives and in screwing up your

resolution to work. As William James has it, There is no more

miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but

indecision.

(ii) The second advantage is the proper use of time. It isfatally easy to fritter time away. If you do not impose set hours on

yourself, you are more likely to spend the time when you should be

studying, in watching T.V., reading a magazine, conversing idly over

cups of tea or in doing any of those hundred and one things which

weak and irresolute persons are ready to do rather than buckle to

work. If you have a time-table and mean to stick to it, it has all theforce of a law which must be obeyed, and in time adherence to it

becomes effortless, and you begin to regard it as a natural part of

your life.

(iii) The third advantage lies in the saving that comes from

intelligent dovetailing of your various activities; in ensuring that you

do each work at the best possible time; and eventually in the self-confidence and sense of competence which comes from regular daily

work. As Anthony Trollope puts it, A small daily task, if it be done

really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.

(iv) The fourth advantage is that a time-table is an antidote

against procrastination. Procrastinationdeferring things from day

to daywastes a lot of time and usually ends in nothing being doneat all. Edward Young who coined the famous proverb Procrastina-

tion is the thief of time, also exhorts, Be wise today; tis madness to



defer.

(v) A time-table makes for efficiency. A sense of the value of

time, says Arnold Bennett, that is, of the best way to divide ones

time into ones various activitiesis an essential preliminary to effi-

cient work; it is the only method of avoiding hurry.

(vi) Finally, a carefully worked out time-table will help you to

keep up to date, to form good study habits and to persevere.

How to frame a time-table?

In the light of psychological research, the following guidelines are

suggested for making a time-table:

(1) A time-table is a guide. It is an aid, not a task-master. It

must beflexible.It can be changed from time to time to meet present

needs and exigencies.

(2) As much as possible use your day time hours for study.

During the day our attitude towards work is more positive, and as arule, we have more energy and are less fatigued.

(3)Do not be too heroic: In order that you may live up to your

time-table base it on a careful estimate of your capacity for work. A

time-table that falls through has its disastrous aftermath. Fix a number

of hours that you know to be within your powers.

(4) Having estimated the total amount of time to be given tostudy, settle in what order these subjects should occur in your time-

table bearing the following principles in mind:

(a) The more difficult subjects should come first and the

easiest last.

(b) While the hardest subjects should generally come first and

the easiest last, there is room for a certain alteration of the easy andthe difficult. After a very hard subject a very easy one may be used as

a kind of rest after the strain. But the alteration should be according



to the different kinds of subject. For example, international law should

be followed by sociology and mathematics by history.

(5) Introduce a variety of different kinds of tasks: spend some

time reading, some writing, some on revision and so on. Follow a

period of sociology with a period of geography. As Martin Rhodes

observes, Your mind responds to variety which prevents it from

becoming stale and helps to keep it alert and lively.

(6) Have a target for each period of study, a fixed quota of

work to get through, such as a chapter to read, an essay to write.

(7) Dont be overly rigid in the use of your time-table. If youcannot finish your target work at the exact moment when a new

subject is due, dont stop when a few more moments might produce

all the difference between complete and incomplete task.

(8) The length of the study periods to be devoted to each

subject will depend upon the nature of the subject and your stage of

advancement. Experts have suggested various periods (i) 40 min-utes; (ii) 45 to 90 minutes and more. As a general rule 60 minutes

forms a suitable average period of study for a subject.

(9) It is necessary to give equal time to your subjects. If you

find a particular subject difficult allot more time to it than to others.

Rest Periods

Rest means abstinence of exertion or activity. There are optimumperiods of work and rest for every task and for every individual.The art of resting, says Andre Maurois, is a part of the art of work-

ing. An individual who is tired and greatly in need of rest cannot do

any good work. The human organism cannot survive without alter-

nating work and rest. Work produces fatigue; rest or recreation re-

moves fatigue. Goethe said, Repose is works greatest achievement.

In the course of study, rest periods or breaks are essential and



invaluable. Boredom, distractability, and dissatisfaction with work

tend to set in after about two hours without a break.

The following guidelines on rest periods given by an eminent

psychologist are commended:

During a session of continuous work on the same task, rest

periods should be short in relation to the work periodof the order

of 5 minutes or so. If longer breaks are taken momentum will be lost

and considerable effort needed before you become warmed up to the

task again. A rest should be taken whenever you feel that you are

slowing down and making errors.

A change in activity or posture during the rest are desirable,

such as walking around the room, stretching your arms, etc.

Rest intervals between different tasks may well be longer

about 10 or 15 minutes. Then a short, brisk walk outside or some

light refreshment, often serves to restore energies to their former level.

In general, it is sensible to take 15-minute breaks between tasksand smaller breaks in the course of a task.

Adhere to your time-table

Having drawn up your time-table, adhere to it. You must be ruth-less and self-disciplined and permit only special circumstancesto interfere with it:

See first that the design is wise and just,

That ascertained, pursue it resolutely,

Do not for one repulse forego the purpose

That you resolved to effect.

George Stephenson, when addressing young men, was accus-

tomed to sum up his best advice to them in the words, Do as I have

donepersevere.



If you want to reach your goal, you will have to give up your

giving up and replace it with dogged perseverance. Sir Thomas Fowell

Buxton once wrote:

I hold to a doctrine, to which I owe not much, but all the little I

ever had, namely, that with ordinary talent, and extraordinary perse-

verance, all things are attainable.

Planning your work and working your plan will ensure your

success. Make it a habit to work to your time-table. Habit is a

second nature! Habit is ten times nature, the Duke of Wellington is

said to have exclaimed. Keep to this habit till you reach your goal.

And dont ever be discouraged if every shot is not a bulls-eye.



CONCENTRACONCENTRACONCENTRACONCENTRACONCENTRATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is

dissipation....

Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in

trade, in short, in all management of human affairs.

R.W. Emerson

What is concentration?

Concentration means the fixing of attention or a high degree ofintensity of attention. To concentrate on an object is to employall attention on it. In his Heartbreak House, G.B. Shaw asked, Has

he attained the seventh degree of concentration? Concentration means

sustained attention.

Concentration is not a faculty of the mind, but depends upon

control of attention. Attention itself is defined as the process of psy-

chological selectivity by which we select from a vast number of

potential stimuli, only those which are related to present needs and

interests. For example, when we are deeply involved in an interesting

conversation, we usually are not much aware of the temperature and

furnishing of the room or the noises of traffic outside. To quote William

James, It (attention) is the taking possession by the mind, in clearand vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously pos-

sible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of con-



sciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things

in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has

a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatter-brained state which in

French is called distraction andZerstreutheitin German. In English

the opposite of attention is inattention, that is, scattered attention;

educationally, attention to something other than the lesson.

Involuntary and voluntary attention

Attention may be involuntary or passive, and voluntary or active.Involuntary attention is given without or even against will.Voluntary attention results from a direct act of the will. If the subjectattended to is not a barren one, voluntary attention passes into inter-

ested attention. As Wright points out, in study voluntary attention

and interested attention are both indispensable: Interest is the driv-

ing power, the engine; voluntary attention is the streering wheel. He

adds aptly: Thus concentration, in the sense of absorption in the

subject one is studying to the point of blindness and deafness to allelse is not the result of the strength of will, but of strength of interest,

the strength of some desire for a particular piece of knowledge.

Depend upon it, Sir said Dr Johnson, when a man knows he is to

be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

(Boswell :Life of Johnson.)

Importance of concentration

In any area of success concentration is essential. Geniuses are com-monly believed to excel other men in their power of sustained at-tention. Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninetynine per cent

perspiration, said Edison. Genius, said Helvetius, is nothing but

a continued attention. Genius, said Buffon, is only protracted

patience. In the exact sciences at least, said Cuvier, it is the pa-

tience of a sound intellect when invincible, which truly constitutes

genius. And Chesterfield also observed that the power of applying



an attention, steady and undissipated, to a single object, is the sure

mark of a superior genius.

The common denominator in the spectacular success stories of

great men is their remarkable power of concentration. For example,

in his biography of Bertrand Russell, The Passionate Sceptic, Alan

Wood, referring to Russells extraordinary gift for concentration says:

He would sit writing page after page, turning page after page neatly

face downwards as he finished them; he never minded children play-

ing around him while he worked; and, once a guest in Cornwall, watch-

ing fascinated, saw that Russell did not even notice a wasp circling

his head.

Concentration was the motto of Andrew Carnegie: Concen-

tration is my mottofirst honesty, then industry, then concentration.

Concentration an essential technique for study

Concentration is an invaluable and indispensable technique of suc-

cessful study. To study something you must concentrate upon it,

give your voluntary attention to it. Without sustained attention, you

gain very little from your study-work. As Martin Rhodes has it, Abil-

ity to concentrate is a vital study skill. Without concentration you

will never succeed in learning effectively; with it, almost nothing is

beyond your grasp and understanding.

According to William James, Each of us literally chooses by

his way of attending to things, what sort of a universe, he shall appear

to himself to inhabit. The immediate effects of attention are, he says,

to make us:

(a) perceive (b) conceive (c) distinguish (d) remember better

than we otherwise wouldboth successive things and each thing more

clearly. It also (e) shortens reaction time. (The interval elapsingbetween the presentation of a stimulus and the action that follows it

is the individuals reaction time.)



Concentration as an aid to memory is of vital importance in

study. The human mind has been likened to a camera. You can get a

good sharp detailed picture if the camera is properly focussed and

held still. But if it is not, the picture will be blurred and no amount of

skill in developing and printing it can overcome these defects. In the

same way, however much you may strain your memory, it cannot

recall items that your mind failed to register clearly and faithfully at

the time of studying them.

Concentration also leads naturally to persistence. However quickly

you learn, the extensive knowledge needed for the achievement of your

goal can be acquired only by hard work over a long period.

Aids of concentration

Concentration is an act of will, not an inborn gift. It can beacquired by intense will-power and sustained and reinforcedby the following aids:

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm moves mountains. Nothing worthwhile can ever beachieved without it. Once you have made yourself enthusiasticabout learning, once you have filled your mind with the benefits of

acquiring knowledge, you will have no difficulty in concentration.

The material will take charge of your mind. As Peale has it, Enthu-siasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles which you could

otherwise never hurdle. It tones up your physical vitality and keeps

you going even when the going is hard. It invests the ups and downs

of daily life with come-back strength and adds significance to all that

you do.

Make a beginning

Concentration initially depends almost entirely on will-power. Thecrux of the problem lies in making a beginning. You learn to



concentrate by just sheer obstinate refusal to give in: Force yourself

to pay full attention right from the first moment and soon concentra-

tion will become habitual. Begin at the beginning, the king (in

Alice in Wonderland) said gravely, and go on till you come to the

end; then stop. Concentration is in fact a matter of habit which can

be perfected by persistent practice. There is no such thing as volun-

tary attention sustained for more than a few seconds at a time, says

William James. What is called sustained voluntary attention is a

repetition of successive efforts which bring back the topic to the mind.

Cultivate the habit of concentration by bringing your mind back every

time it wanders to other things.

Variety

William Cowper wrote in his long poem, The Task:

Variety is the very spice of life,

That gives it all its flavour.

Any sort of work, including study-work, becomes very mo-

notonous without an element of variety. The human mind craves va-

riety, which is why concentration on anything for any length of time

is difficult. Make use of this desire for variety to help you concen-

trate better on your study work. Try to introduce change into your

studies. The more you are able to introduce variety into your study

pattern, the more easily you will be able to keep your mind focussed.

Divide your study-work time by spending so much time reading, so

much time on written work, so much time on revision and so on.

Systematic Study

Concentration is helped by systematic study. As far as feasible

study the same subjects at the same time and in the same placedaily. Tackle the topics you are learning about in a systematic man-

ner. First assemble the facts. Then marshal them in the logical order.



Finally seek their significance. It is easier to rivet attention on rightly

organized material than on a higgledy-piggledy one.

Resist distractions

You can concentrate more effectively by resisting internal as wellas external distractions. Nothing can be accomplished by any-body who cannot resist them. You must have a sense of priorities and

iron determination to adhere to them. By continually reminding your-

self of the ultimate goal you are seeking to reach in your studies, you

can keep before you the urgent feeling for what is really significant

for you. As far as your study is concerned, any thing that does notcontribute towards that goal is a side-issue. Ruthlessly eliminate such

matters from your time-schedule. Dont draw a red herring across the

track.

You can cope with distractions by disciplining yourself to do

one assignment at a time. Do whatever you have planned to do at a

particular time without thought for any other task awaiting your atten-tion. Focalize all your attention on the one task in hand. The farmer

cutting hay does not look towards the far end of the field. The house-

wife who undertakes a thorough cleaning attacks her cupboards shelf

by shelf.

It is advisable to concentrate on performing a certain unit of

work, and then, relaxing before buckling to again. The relaxationmay be no more than looking out of the window or walking up and

down the room for a few moments.

You can also eschew distractions by taking breathers with-

out leaving your work environment. Stop for a cup of tea, by all

means, but if it is feasible have it at your desk with books and

papers around you: By staying on the scene you will often findyourself getting back to work in a minute or two without almost

realizing it.



Eliminate emotional worries

Emotional worries result in irritability, lack of objectivity,narrowing of consciousness and distraction. Damocles, you maybe sure, could give little attention to the food and wine before him orto his hosts conversation while the sword hung by a single hair over

his head.

To achieve intense concentration take steps to resolve any emo-

tional worries occupying your mind. Chronic emotional problems

can play havoc with your study. If need be take professional advice

to end them. This Quiet, said Browning, all it hath a mind to do,doth. A mind at peace is the best guarantee of concentration.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence helps sustain and enhance concentration. The feel-ing that you can attain your goal prods you to focalize on it. Tokeep self-confidence at a high pitch, realise the psychological pay-offs

of failure to concentrate effectively. You will lose self-esteem. You

will come to feel that other persons are superior to you when in fact

they have no greater brain power, power of concentration or ability.

Never under-estimate your physical and mental capabilities.

Almost every man thinks too poorly of himself, says H.N. Casson.

He has no idea of what he can doif he dare.

Positive and optimistic attitude

Apositive and optimistic attitude towards your study and goalboosts your capacity for concentration. There is magic in thewords: Certainly it can be doneand I can do it. Each day as you

approach your study tell yourself what you propose to accomplish.

Think of the glittering prizes that will come your way when you reachyour goal. Tune yourself to the right mood and attitude. They will

bolster up your morale and key up your concentration.



Be patient

Be satisfied to work energetically with a purpose, and await theresults with patience. Buffon has said that patience consistsmainly in continuous working and waiting.

Impatience results from under-estimation of the amount of time

the task will take. Very few tasks get done as quickly as planned.

impatience is the first reaction against a set-back and can soon turn

into anger if you are not careful. Impatience is best handled by allow-

ing adequate time for the task.

Important tasks call for a lot of hard work and take a long timeto complete.

Care and excellence

Care tremendously for what you are doing. Care is a feeling ofidentification with what you are doing. When you have this feel-ing you also see the inverse side of caringquality meaning worth,

excellence. Tie care to quality. Care and quality are the external and

internal aspects of the same thing.

Robert M. Pirsig in his well-known Zen and the Art of Motor

Cycle Maintenance (1974) says, You have to have some feeling

for the quality of the work. You have to have a sense of what is good.

That is what carries you forward. This sense isnt just something

youre born with, although you are born with it. Its also something

you can develop. Its not just intuition, not just unexplainable skill

or talent. Its direct result of contact with reality. There is a beauti-

ful way of doing things and an ugly way of doing things.

Care married to quality sustains and tones up concentration.

Keep Boredom at bay

Boredom destroys concentration. It is debilitating and psycho-logically unhealthy. It means you are off the quality track. It



means your gumption supply is low and must be replenished before

anything else is done. Turn on the T.V. Call it a day. Some peoples

cure for bredom is sleep, others a cat-nap, still others, coffee or tea.

Use paper and pencil

Use paper and pencil in the course of your study. It will fosterbetter concentration. Dont just sit biting your pencil and wait-ing for inspiration when you have writing to do. Plunge into it right

away. Waiting for inspiration is a great strategy for doing nothing. It

is a sort of Santa Claus fantasy.

Strengthen your interest by auto-suggestion

Interest is the pivot of concentration. Develop and build a deepinterest in your subject. When interest is lacking altogether or whenit flags, stimulate or reinforce it by auto-suggestion by repeating such

affirmations as This work is interesting me more and more, or This

subject is useful to me for passing my exam and I like it more andmore each day. (Remember Coves formula of his health cures,

Every day, in every way, Im getting better and better.)

Muscular tension

F

or optimum concentration a slight amount of muscular tension is

essential. Too much of it diminishes concentration by leading to

jitters, jumpiness and fierce determination to concentrate which is

fatiguing. Try to put your mind into a state where it is eager and set

for action but not too rigidly determined or strung up to do the deed.

Avoid over-fatigue

Over-fatigue saps concentration. As Adams points out, the

difference between normal fatigue and over-fatigue is that over-

fatigue demands special effort: If after a piece of work you are tired...

you go to bed and have a good sleep and waken up refreshed, you



have been merely fatigued. But if when you go to bed you are....too

tired to sleep, or if when you do sleep you waken still tired, and the

tiredness hangs about you all the next day and interferes with your

effectiveness in work then you have been over-fatigued. To combat

over-fatigue take a real rest away from your studies. Two leisurely

days holiday can work wonders. To prevent its occurrence distribute

your time over as many different study periods as can be conven-

iently arranged and have rest periods of 10 or 15 minutes each at

intervals.



THE PHYSICALTHE PHYSICALTHE PHYSICALTHE PHYSICALTHE PHYSICALENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENT

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Samuel Smiles

Importance of the physical environment

The physical conditions of work, such as lighting, heating, venti-lation influence your study-work output as well as efficiency.

Maude in the Life of Tolstoy, quotes him as saying, One thing I

cannot do without: I must have a quiet room to work.

It will be a great help if you can have a room where you can

study in reasonable comfort and without distraction. If necessary turn

a corner of your bed room into a study.Psychologists have underscored the advantages of study room

or corner of ones own. A regular work place excites a disposition to

work in a very useful way. There you are free from distractions which

compete for your attention elsewhere. Says Wright, To enter the

work room, or sit at ones desk, is then to induce the appropriate

mental set, and to be relatively free from wandering thoughts andcontrary impulses, till the job in hand is completed. George J.

Dudycha, writes in the same vein: The place in which we study puts



us into the mood for studying. Each time you sit down to your study

table, the attitude producing nature of the work place, will release in

you studying activities and nothing else.

A quiet study room is also invaluable for concentration. For

creative work it is indispensable.

A separate study room will save you from interruptions which

result in desultoriness. As Andre Maurois says, The effectiveness of

work increases according to geometrical progression if there are no

interruptions. In short the familiar study room provides the right

attitude, mood, atmosphere and stimulus for work. It is, therefore, a

desideratum.

Study furniture, Desk-table and chair

Study is best done while sitting at a desk or table and maintainingan erect posture. Tension of musculature facilitates mental activ-ity. You can study better sitting upright on a hard chair than slumped

in an easy chair or lying on a bed. The desk/table should be of a

suitable height. It should permit an easy posture of the body, in which

both arms are free to manipulate or reach for books or papers and

neither breathing nor circulation is interfered with. It should be so

arranged that it is properly lighted, both during the day time and after

dusk.

The most desirable placement of a study desk is against a wall

so that you face the wall yet close enough to a window so that you

can take advantage of the day light without being distracted by that

which is going on outside.

Keep a business-like desk. A cluttered desk is not conducive to

study. Habits of orderliness save time and diminish tension.

Like a good workman you should have your tools within reach.

The books etc. that you are likely to want should be so placed that

you put your hand upon them without leaving your seat.



Importance of posture

The posture you assume while studying needs added emphasis.You must assume a posture that is conducive to attending well.This means that you sit reasonably erect rather than slouch or assumea body posture suggestive of rest or relaxation. Surely lying on your

bed to read an assignment is the poorest thing you can do. As Dudycha

puts it, You will learn best in such a position that indicates your readi-

ness and willingness to work. Avoid trying to combine rest and relaxa-

tion with study for when you do you are most apt to end up resting.

Lighting

The general level of illumination in your room must be adequate,the light should be well-distributed, and there should not be glareor sharp contrasts of light and shade. You can obtain this level with

an ordinary 100 watt electric lamp.

There are four main types of shades and light-fittings: (1) di-

rect, (2) semi-direct, (3) indirect and (4) semi-indirect. The direct

type, such as a low-hanging ceiling fixture which exposes the eye to

direct glare from the lamp, is the worst. An instance of the semi-

direct is the white glass globe, enclosing the lamp, which diffuses the

light, much of it being reflected from the ceiling. In indirect lighting

all the light goes to the ceiling and upper walls, where it is diffused

about the room. A hanging fitting with an opaque circular reflector

below the lamp is an example. In the semi-indirect type the reflector

is translucent and allows some of the light to reach the working

surface direct. Indirect lighting is to be preferred to the other types of

lighting. Uniform distribution and avoidance of glare are best

obtained by indirect lighting, says an authority.

As it is not usually practicable to obtain adequate localillumination by this means, some combination of local and general

illumination is needed. You should have an indirect light for general



illumination and a table lamp directly over your study work. The

table lamp should not have an opaque shade, because this produces a

bright area of light surrounded by shadows. An ordinary table lamp

with a semi-transparent shade is better, but the bottom of the shade

should be about 20 inches above the table top so that the lamp shade

itself is outside the field of vision.

Avoid tubular fluorescent lighting which, though it provides a

high level of illumination at a low cost, can be fatiguing.

Research reveals that there is no substitute for daylight. As

Dudycha observes, Because daylight is white light and because of

its intensity, one is able to read with greater speed and efficiency and

with less fatigue under daylight than with any other type of light.

Ventilation and heating

From the efficiency view-point the main requirements are (1) pureair to breathe and (2) suitable air temperature and air movementso that body temperature can be maintained without discomfort. Sleep

with the window open. In waking hours a close and stuffy atmos-

phere should be guarded against because it results in the deficiency

of oxygen (anoxia) thus preventing the brain from operating at top

efficiency.

Working under conditions of extreme heat or cold involves more

effort and more discomfort. To ensure maximum mental perform-

ance your study should have an electric fan and an electric heater in

hot and cold weather respectively.

Noise and study

Noise is a menace to study. It pollutes environment; affects effi-

ciency, plays havoc with concentration, and sets our nerves onedge. At times students are distracted or even maddened by noise.

Unfortunately noise is on the increase: bull-dozers, aeroplanes, auto-



mobiles, motor scooters, loudspeakers plague those who require quiet

for study.

Intermittent noises are the worst. They distract attention from

work thus adversely affecting accuracy as well as out-put.

Fortunately we become inured to lower levels of noise and are

able to shut them out from our consciousness.

Impact of noise on different persons

N

oise affects some people more than others doing the same work.

Extroverts are most influenced; introverts are least affected, and

some of them not at all by ordinary amounts of noise.

Attitude to noise

Alot depends on your attitude to noise. To illustrate, Dr Maddoxstates, I work a few hundred yards from a drop-forge and whoseloud discontinuous clanging appals most visitors. But it is possible to

get used to it, and even to regard it with affection by regarding it as a

symbol of industry and national prosperity.

Impact of different kinds of noise on efficiency

Modern efficiency boffins have found that a little noise mayactually help efficiency because it keeps us from becominglonesome. At the other extreme noises of 90 decibels or louder arealmost always detrimental. In between these extremes personal effi-

ciency begins to be lowered after the noise reaches a loudness of

above 60 decibels.

A distinction is made between meaningless noise and more

meaningful sounds such as conversation and music. Meaningful

sounds, though of less intensity, are much more distracting than mean-ingless noise.

High-pitched noises are worse than those of medium pitch. The



squeal of a poorly tuned radio, the squeak of a hinge, the screech of

skidding or a cats mewing are annoying out of proportion to their

loudness since they are high-pitched.

Intermittent, periodical warbling noises are detrimental out of

proportion to their loudness. They have more power to distract than

steady whir or hum would. Thus occasional hammering of a steam

radiator is worse than the steady grinding of a lathe.

The noise that other people make is more distracting or annoy-

ing than the noise you yourself make.

Noises that are irrelevant to work in hand are harder on per-sonal efficiency. You expect certain noises from the equipment you

are using so that they do not catch you unawares and so forcefully

distract your attention. The unexpected noises: something dropped, a

slammed doorcatch you by surprise and distract your attention from

what you are doing.

The noises made by neighbours tend to be more upsettingbecause they often appear to arise from lack of consideration and

ignorance on their part.

Methods of reducing or controlling noise

S

ome concrete methods for the reduction or control of noise are

outlined below:

(1)Muffle the nosie at the source. For example use door checks

to prevent the noise of slamming doors; work on a linoleum instead

of metal or glass table top.

(2) Isolate the noiseby shutting it out, moving it away, and

moving away from it.

(3)Absorb the noise to lower its loudness. Thick-pile fabricsabsorb 50 per cent of the sound that strikes them. Thick rugs absorb

more noise than thin ones.



(4)Mask the noise: In bad cases you may insulate from dis-

tracting noise by closing the windows and generating some sounds

yourself in order to mask the unwelcome noises from outside. For

example, a radiogram enables you to play music which you think is

pleasant at intensities great enough to mask unwanted noises.

Background music softly played is sometimes used to mask

the irregular ringing of telephone bells and other noises.

(5) Change your attitude to noise: There are people who be-

come so absorbed that they do not hear noises realizing that this is a

noisy world and is likely to continue to be so; it may even become

noisier as cities grow, traffic multiplies, and jet planes fill the sky.

Experiments reveal that people who had a passive attitude towards

the noise, who accepted it as just one of those things, to put up with,

tended to ignore the noise and consequently their work was not

affected. Become stoical about noise and put up unflinchingly with

what noise is unavoidable. It is futile running out to fight the man

with the sledge hammer. Buckle down to work to get your mind off

the noise that cannot be eliminated.

Also make it a habit to do your work more quietly; maybe the

noisy guy will imitate you!

The present state of the world and the whole life, said

Kierkegaard, is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked for my

advice, I should reply: Create silence.

Music while you work

Research demonstrates that the effects of music depend uponattitudes to music. It can enhance or lower performance de-pending upon whether you believe it to be an aid or hindrance to your

work. In industry its effect is greatest on boring and monotonouswork. As study is not, as a rule, boring or repetitive, it is not likely to

be aided by music. It is in fact crystal clear that difficult mental work



is best performed under quiet conditions.

You cannot watch a TV programme and study at the same time.

Attention is divided with most of it on the TV programme. This can

hardly be called studying.

Background music is objectionable particularly when what you

are studying requires considerable reasoning, comprehension and

memorization of details.

Visual distractions

Apart from auditory distractions (noises), there are visual dis-

tractions that influence effective study. There may be photo-

graphs of friends, athletic events, idols of the movies, beloveds and

other exciting experiences to gaze upon. Eliminate such visual dis-

tractions. Place your table or desk against a blank wall. Keep photos

out of sight. Allow nothing in your field of vision when you are at

your study desk except those things that suggest study.

Shun time-wasters

Do not let time-wasters intrude upon you while you are at work.They are pitiless and unscrupulous. If you do not resist themthey will waste your valuable time. Kindness and patience towards

them are serious faults. Treat them ruthlessly; it would be suicidal to

make friends with them.When despite contrary orders, a bore forced his way into

Goethes house, he was quickly discouraged by the great mans gla-

cial manner. Goethe put both hands behind his back and refused to

speak. If a visitor was someone of importance Goethe cleared his

throat and uttered a few monosyllables which soon brought the con-

versation to an end! Many people complained of Goethe for this in-human quality, but it was this quality that enabled him to produce

such masterpieces as Faust and Wilhelm Meister.



Working in libraries

Only those individuals who are strongly motivated are able towork in libraries. American research in fact reveals that stu-dents who work habitually in libraries do better than those who donot. The sight of others working makes it easier to buckle to work,

behaviour is more disciplined; there are rules enjoining silence etc.

So if you are a person who is strongly affected by external stimula-

tion you may find it easier to work in a library, where others are

working.



WHAWHAWHAWHAWHAT IS LEARNING?T IS LEARNING?T IS LEARNING?T IS LEARNING?T IS LEARNING?

He who adds not to his learning diminishes it.

The Talmud

What is learning?

To learn means to get knowledge of a subject or skill in art etc. bystudy; learning is (possession of) knowledge got by study. F.L.Ruch defines it as a process which brings about changes in the indi-

viduals way of responding as a result of contact with aspects of theenvironment. According to G.J. Dudycha, learning is the retention

of behaviour that has been modified through experience.

Learning curves

Alearning curve is a graphic device for showing the amount or

quality of a subjects performance after successive units of prac-tice. As learning can only be inferred from observable changes in

behaviour, a number of criteria of learning are used. These include:

accuracy of response, speed of response, strength of response, prob-

ability of response, effort in response, and resistance to extinction or

interference. Learning curves are employed to give a clear picture of

the course of learning.Most laboratory studies of learning performance yield curves

of decreasing returns. Such a curve indicates that the greatest amount



of improvement occurs during the early trials. This diminishing of

returns on subsequent trials continues until a point is reached beyond

which practice brings no further improvement. The curve then levels

off, indicating that the subjects top level of performance has been

reached. There are also curves of equal returns and curves of increas-

ing returns. Few experiments show the entire learning process. It is

the S-shaped curve that represents the complete process of learning,

incorporating all these curves. It indicates a period of increasing re-

turns from practice during early trials, a period during which the rate

of improvement remains constant, and finally a period of decreasing

improvement.

The important point to note in learning curves is that learning

takes time, and that there are often periods of little obvious progress.

The moral is not to become discouraged when you seem to be stuck

on a plateau or flat places or periods of no apparent learning. As

you accumulate experience, difficulties often appear to fade away:

In all learning advances tend to come irregularly, as you gain freshinsights into the subject.

Factors in learning

A variety of factors are involved in learning:

Motivational factors: It has been observed that learning, as

measured by both quantity and quality, usually improves as the strengthof motivation increases. As Dudycha observes learning seldom

occurs unless there is a need for learning. By need he means that it is

desirable and necessary to learn certain things, that there is some

compulsion to motivate learning. He adds, If we hope to learn more

with less effort we must be purposeful, goal-oriented, and motivated

by candid recognition of the presence of a need for learning.The most important motivational factors are:

(1)Intent to learn: the presence of conscious intent to learn.



(2) Reward and punishment: Punishment is usually most

effective when used in conjunction with reward.

(3)Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation: Learning may be sought

for its own sake or as a means to some other goal. In everyday learn-

ing situation both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are often in-

volved. Intrinsic motivation, whether concerned with immediate goals

or long-term goals, usually leads to better learning than extrinsic

motivation such as grades.

Effect of stress: When an individual is motivated to achieve a

certain level of proficiency in performing a task, failure or threat of

failure produces stress. Working under the pressure of time or under

distracting conditions also induces stress in the learner.

The effect of stress on learning varies with individuals, acting

as a strong motivating force for some but producing damaging men-

tal blocks or severe anxiety reactions in others. Anxiety can interfere

with effective learning. Frustration results in stereotyped behaviour

and increases the length of time for learning.

Characteristics of material to be learned: Learning is greatly

affected by the characteristics of the material to be learned, espe-

cially its amount and meaningfulness. Memory spanthe amount of

verbal learning an individual can master in a single presentationis

higher for digits than for single words or letters. With amounts of

material greater than the memory span, there is an increase not only

in the total length of time required for learning but also in the average

amount of time required for learning each unit of material. For exam-

ple, an individual who can learn a list of 7 nonsense syllables in a

single presentation might require three or four repetitions to learn a

9-syllable list and nine or ten trials to learn ten syllables. It has been

shown that the increased learning time per unit with increased lengthof material is considerably less striking with meaningful material

though there is an increase in the number of ideas presented. It has



also been shown that where the learner has only to master the essen-

tial ideas of a passage rather than learn the material verbatim, in-

creased length has a comparatively small effect on learning time.

Meaningfulness: Many studies have demonstrated clearly that

the rate of verbal learning depends greatly upon the meaningfulness

of the material. Thus meaningful prose and poetry can be learned

more readily than can meaningless material: Even where there is no

intent to learn, meaningful relationships facilitate learning. The heart

of academic learning, says Dudycha, is discovering new relation-

ships. Learning is the process of discovering relationships.

Influence of prior learning: deja vu (already seen): Prior learn-

ing has an important influence on later learning. The more ready learn-

ing of a new task because of a prior learning task is called proactive

facilitation or positive transfer. Interference of a prior learning task

with the learning (and recall) of a new task is called proactive inhibi-

tion or negative transfer. Positive transfer results when the prior task

and the present task have similar stimulus-response combinations,

whereas negative transfer may result when the stimuli used in the

prior activity must be related to different responses, when conflicting

associations must be learned or when the items to be learned are not

clearly differentiated from each other. When the two learning situa-

tions have nothing in common, there is no transfer at all.

Almost everybody has had the experience when in a new place,

of a feeling that the place is familiar. The French term it deja vu

which means already seen. Psychologists view this phenomenon

as a case of transfer of a common element. Many complex situations

have some detail in common. This common detail, having been ex-

perienced before, is recognized in the new situation. Deja vu, says

Freud, is that strange feeling we perceive in certain moments andsituations when it seems as if we had already had exactly the same

experience or had previously found ourselves in the same situation.



It is important for you to avoid the conditions that produce

negative transfer and to establish the ones that bring about positive

transfer. The baseball coach is trying to prevent negative transfer

when he forbids his players to play golf during the baseball season;

he knows that the curved swing used in golf would interfere with the

horizontal swing required in baseball.

Psychological feedback (Knowledge of results): Research

shows that a person who has knowledge of his progress will learn

more rapidly than an equally motivated subject of comparable ability

who works in the dark. The term knowledge of results has been

replaced with the expressionpsychological feedback defined as the

process whereby the individual gains information concerning the

correctness of his previous responses in order to correct error. It is

an important factor in facilitating learning.

Rote learning v. Meaningful (insightful) learning: Rote learn-

ing means verbatim learning without regard for meaning. It is mere

parrot-like repetition designed to commit a form of words to the brute

memory without any thought of their meaning (Adams). Although

rote learning has value at times as a means of learning factual mate-

rial, do not allow it to replace the more conscious, insightful and

meaningful learning that is so essential for college students.

Effect of emotions:Emotion not only hampers recall of that

which has been learned, but it also interferes with the learning of new

knowledge. Emotions and especially unpleasant emotions must be

kept off if learning is to be facilitated. Try not to neglect those as-

pects of your subjects which you dislike. If you have to cover a sylla-

bus for an exam, you can hardly afford to neglect any part of it

because you think it is unimportant or because you dislike it.

Understanding: To obtain insights into academic learning youmust thoroughly understand what you are studying. G.A. Dudley

speaks of the The Law of Comprehension. It is: to remember



understand. Clearly comprehend what you want to learn and remem-

ber, if the meaning is not clear it is difficult to remember it. The very

effort to find a meaning will stimulate attention and fix the material

more firmly in the memory. The more you know about a thing, says

Dr H.K. Miller, the easier it is to remember.Always try to under-

stand.

To understand thoroughly what you are studying and to attain

insight into it, you must think and reflect and relate new knowledge

to the old. As William James put it: In mental terms, the more

other facts a fact is associated with in the mind, the better possession

of it our memory retains. Each of its associates becomes a hook to

which it hangs, a means to fish it up by when sunk beneath the sur-

face. Together they form a network of attachments by which it is

woven into the entire tissue of our thought. The secret of a good

memory is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associa-

tions with every fact we care to retain. But this is forming of associa-

tions with a fact, what is but thinking about the fact as much aspossible? Briefly, then, of the two men with the same outward expe-

riences and the same amount of mere native tenacity the one who

THINKS over his experiences most, and weaves them into system-

atic relations with each other, will be the one with the best memory.

We see examples of this on every hand. Most men have a good memory

for facts connected with their own pursuits. The college athlete whoremains a dunce at his books will astonish you by his knowledge of

mens records in various feats and games and will be a walking

dictionary of sporting statistics. The reason is that he is constantly

going over these things in his mind, and comparing and making

series of them. They form for him not so many odd facts, but a

concept-systemso they stick.

Use of imagination: Use of imagination is an important factor

in learning. In the intellectual process of learning you must use im-



agination to help you visualize the reality of the material you are

studying. As Rhodes observes, without imagination you can learn a

book by heart and still remain ignorant because what you have learned

remains words which you repeat without true understanding. Make

imagination your active ally in learning.

Psychological quiz: For successful management of learning it

is important to know answer to some questions about your ability to

learn, in the light of psychological research:

Question: Is there an all-round ability?

Anwer: A single all-round ability to learn and remember hasnot been found, but there may be abilityfactors common to different

kinds of learning tasks.

Question: Do slow learners remember better?

Answer: Fast learners appear to remember better than slow

learners.

Question: Can ability be increased through learning?Answer: Learning set formation, is an important factor in the

rate of learning. (Learning set means a readiness to respond in a

certain way to a learning situation; learning how to learn). The more

learning sets an individual has in his repertoire, the greater his ability

to tackle complex learning material.

Question: How does learning ability change with age?

Answer: In general the quality of learning performance

increases during childhood and upto maturity, but then declines in

both speed and accuracy. Part of the age difference ability is due to

differences in motivation, decreased visual acuity with age and inter-

ference with previously learned material. There is no reason why

older people should give up trying to gain new knowledge and learnnew skills.

The adage, You cannot teach an old dog new tricks is false.



No one is ever too old to learn. No matter how old you are, you are

not handicapped by age. Kelvin made his first scientific discovery

when he was 18 and he improved his marine compass when he was

83!

Learninga life-long process: Learning is a life-long process.

As psychologist puts it, No matter how long one lives, there is need

for learning. We continue to learn even when we rival Methuselah in

longevity. Solon, the Athenian law giver (d. 558 B.C.) said But I

grow old always learning many new things.

Aun aprendo, I am still learning, was one of the famous

mottoes of Aldous Huxley, and his way of life. The motto is the cap-

tion for a drawing Goya did in his old age, representing a man, bent

by the weight of years and infermities haltingly walking with the aid

of a staff.

Aun aprendo was the message Huxley would give to young

students who after twenty years of classroom learning were starting

out in life; it was the compliment he paid to his great friend Igor

Stravinsky on his seventy-eighth birthday. In one commencement

address he said, Age is no limit on the process of learning; not only

for masters such as Goya and Stravinsky, but for us all... The process

goes on, from the cradle to the grave and doubtless, beyond.

When you cease to learn, you cease to grow. Remember what

Merlin said about learning:

The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the

only thing that never fails...That is the only thing which the mind can

never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or dis-

trust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.



WHAWHAWHAWHAWHAT MAKES UST MAKES UST MAKES UST MAKES UST MAKES USFORGET?FORGET?FORGET?FORGET?FORGET?

Life cannot go on without much forgetting.

Balzac

Meaning of forgetting

T

o forget is to lose remembrance of or about. Drever defines

forgetting thus: Failure at any time to recall an experience,when attempting to do so, or to perform an action previously learned...

The term forgetfulness is employed of the tendency to forget.

Importance of forgetting

F

orgetting is essential to learning. Without forgetting, the learning

of new things would be greatly hampered, if not altogether

impossible.

In the practical use of our intellect, says William James, for-

getting is an important a function as recollecting. He points out that

the peculiar mixture of forgetting with our remembering is an in-

stance of our minds selective activity: Selection is the very keel on

which our mental ship is built... If we remembered everything, we

should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing.

It would take as long for us to recall a space of time as it took the

original time to elapse, and we should never get ahead with our think-



ing. All recollected times undergo accordingly, what M. Ribot calls

fore-shortening; and this fore-shortening is due to the omission of an

enormous number of facts which filled them.

As M. Ribot has it, we reach the paradoxical result that one

condition of remembering is that we should forget. Without to-

tally forgetting a prodigious number of states of consciousness,

and momentarily forgetting a large number we could not remem-

ber at all. He adds significantly, Oblivion, except in certain cases,

is thus no malady of memory, but a condition of its health and its

life.

The course of forgetting

Forgetting does not proceed at a steady rate. It is most rapidimmediately after the learning period. As time goes on, theremaining knowledge becomes more and more stable.

Most of what we forget is forgotten soon after it has been

learned. This fact was first discovered by the German psychologist

H. Ebbinghaus. He constructed a curve of retention on the basis of

his data. This curve, known as the Ebbinghaus Curve is a classic in

psychology. It shows initial rapid forgetting followed by more gradual

loss.

In other words forgetting is characteristic. You forget more in

the beginning than you do later; you forget more immediately afterlearning than you do after a lapse of time.

Generally speaking you forget about half of all your expe-

riences within 24 hours and about three-quarters within 48 hours.

That is to say, in two days time you will have forgotten all but a

quarter of a days experiences. Thereafter memory fades more

slowly. (This vital truth shows how necessary it is to take stepsto fix material in your memory quickly after you have learned

it.)


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from subsequent activity.

Forgetting after sleep is substantially less than forgetting that

occurs during waking life which is filled with experience. Engaging

in an activity closely similar to the original learning causes the most

interference.

Meaningful organized material tends to resist retroactive

inhibition and is not forgotten as readily as nonsense material.

Tasks interrupted before completion are more likely to be

remembered than completed tasksthe Zeigarnik effect, after the

Russian psychologist Blum Zeigarnik who first demonstrated itexperimentallyexcept under stress when the reverse is true.

Repression: Repression is a defence mechanism in which pain-

ful or guilt-producing thoughts, feelings or memories are excluded

from conscious awareness. It occurs when two forces in the mind are

opposed to each other, the desire to recall being countered by a strong

resistance or wish not to recall.Memories which threaten the individuals self-esteem often meet

unconscious resistancea form of repression.

Illustratively: Two girls about 12 years old had been placed by

their parents in a house of prostitution under circumstances that were

almost unbelievably degrading. When this situation became known

and the girls were encouraged by the authorities to tell their story,they gave highly detailed information which was quite adequate to

incriminate their parents and the other people responsible.

But when the girls were questioned again several months later,

they omitted many of the factual detailseven those concerning some

of the more drastic parts of their experience. When their earlier testi-

mony was summarized for them, they denied with apparent sincerity,that such things had ever happened and said indignantly that the

stories must have been made up to discredit them (Erickson).



In a case like this where the original experience had been so

vivid and so emotionally significant, one would expect retention of

the facts to be easy. But repression often acts as a self-protective

device, tending to make the person forget such painful experiences.

However, that repressed material usually stays active at an uncon-

scious level and may produce emotional conflicts.

Other conditions influencing retention and forgetting

S ome other factors, influencing retention and forgettingare:(1) In general, pleasant memories indicate a stronger tendency

to persist than unpleasant ones and both are better retained than

neutral ones.

(2) With controversial material, the degree of retention is re-

lated to the individuals attitudes toward the subject. People have a

tendency to learn material faster and remember it better when it agrees

with their own attitudes than when it contradicts them.

Maddox observes that It has often been shown that controver-

sial material is more readily learnt if it fits in with existing beliefs and

attitudes. For instance, pro-communist students learnt more readily

than anti-communist students, a list of statements favourable to the

U.S.S.R. The recall of controversial material may also be selective:

for example, theistic students remembered better than atheistic stu-

dents statements favourable to religion and vice versa.This suggests

some resistance to learning and retaining material which is not ac-

ceptable to us. Conversely we are very ready to learn from certain

sources to which we are favourably inclined, such as a political weekly

or a particular author. Even in factual subjects, in which there may

not appear to be much room for controversy, there may be some partsof the subject which you consider old fashioned or dead wood.

(3) Factors in social environment also influence how much is



remembered. Group recall has been found to be superior to individual

recall. Its superiority has been found to be greater in cooperative

groups than in competitive ones.

(4) As James has pointed out, as a rule a mans memory is good

in the departments in which his interest is strong; but those depart-

ments are those in which his discriminative sensibility is high. A

man with a bad ear is not likely to have practically a good musical

memory, or a purblind man to remember visual appearances well.

(5) According to Galton there are individual variations in the

type of memory where it is strong. Some have it verbal. Others have

it good for facts and figures, others for form. Most say that what is to

be remembered must first be rationally conceived and assimilated.

(6) James also refers to an interesting fact connected with

remembering and forgetting, which R. Verdon was the first writer

expressly to call attention to: We can set our memory as it were to

retain things for a certain time, and then let them depart. Verdon

illustrates this fact:

Individuals often remember clearly and well upto the point

when they have to use their knowledge, and then, when it is no longer

required, there follows a rapid and extensive decay of the traces. Many

school boys forget their lessons after they have said them, many bar-

risters forget details got up for a particular case. Thus a boy learns

thirty lines of Homer, says them perfectly and then forgets them so

that he could not say five consecutive lines the next morning, and a

barrister may be one week learned in the mysteries of making cog-

wheels, but in the next he may be well acquainted with the anatomy

of the ribs instead.

Forgettery: Memory has its important and proportionate place

in the scale of mental life, says Dr H.K. Miller. So has forgettery.

We need to learn the fine art of relegating into the mental discard

lifes sordidness, griefs, errors, failures and disappointments... The



capacity to forget is an essential prerequisite for happiness. You can-

not be happy while constantly pursued by haunting memories of past

transgressions, errors and failures. By the same token, you cannot

study effectively if you are constantly plagued by past unhappy

experiences.

As Christina Rossetti said:

Better by far you should forget and smile,

Than that you should remember and be sad.

(Remember)

A Japanese proverb has it:

My skirt with tears is always wet

I have forgotten to forget.

This is what Francis Durivage wrote in this regard:

They teach us to remember; why dont they teach us to for-

get? There is not a man living who has not, some time in his life,admitted that memory was as much of a curse as a blessing.

Here are some tips to forget futile, unhappy past experiences

that rob us of happiness and tend to immobilize us:

(i) Heed to Shakespeares admonition: What is gone and past

help, should be past grief. And things without remedy, should be

without regard; what is done is done.(ii) It is no use crying over spilt milk. But if you do condense it.

(iii) All those dreadful memories you have stored in your brain

are hardly ever worth recalling. As a master of what stays in your

brain, you dont have to choose to keep them. Rid yourself of those

self-crippling memo

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