University of Virginia Library

PSYCHOLOGY, GENERAL AND APPLIED. Hugo Munsterberg New York and London: D. Appleton and Co., 1914; Pp. xiv X487 1.75.

In this volume, designed to serve the needs both of the general reader and of the college student, Professor Münsterberg has represented in most readable form the essentials of the entire range of his contributions to psychology. The well-known differentiation

of the "two psychologies" is the core of the book; herewith is reintroduced the psychology of the soul, not merely as being on a level with, but ultimately even superordinate to, the descriptive psychology which had banished from so many systems all mention of the soul or even of the self. For we are shown how all description and explanation, whether of material objects or of conscious processes, is after all but construction in the service of purposes, to apprehend, understand, and realize which is the primary business, of life.

This exposition of purposive psychology, surely the most novel feature of the book, is what interests us most, and we discover with disappointment that though theoretically every conscious state is subject-matter for either type of psychology, i.e. may be either described in its causal relationships or immediately grasped as an act of will, still Professor Munsterberg fills five times as many pages with the usual descriptive psychology as with this newer departure. We willingly conceded the importance of tradition in textbook writing, but would urge upon Professor Munsterberg the impatience with which we await more extended treatment of this topic.

A second deviation for a book of this type,—if Professor Munsterberg may rightly be said ever to write books typical of anything but his own uniqueness,—is the inclusion of a section on social psychology. This too, we are inclined to regard as in nature of a promise, representing the germination of lines of thought which we are assured elsewhere[1] are later to receive more elaborate formulation.

Thirdly, one of the main divisions of the book is devoted to applied psychology, the presentation here being essentially an abstract of the author's previous publications in the field of his acknowledged preeminence, psychotechnics.

Throughout the book discussion of general principles, whether of philosophy or biology, takes precedence over the presentation of concrete facts; the text contains no explicit references, though a brief bibliography of works in English is appended. The consequent gain in readability is only one of the many factors which insure this volume a very wide reading.

R. M. ELLIOTT.
Harvard University.