S T R E AM O F T H OU GH T I N SAL E^23
to ry app a rat us, sta ti stical tabl e s and graph s.
In stea d of donnin g th e c resc en t-dec ora te d
rob e of th e clai rvoya n t, th e p sych ol ogi st roll s
up his shirt- sl eeve s an d ent er s th e a dve rtising
c opy room, th e fa cto ry, th e m arke t— any pl ac e
wh ere h uma n c on duc t may b e fo und— wi th a
slide-rul e un de r hi s a rm.
A s w e ent e r up on th e p sychologi cal study of
th e sal e we sh all a dh ere a s ri gi dly a s possibl e
to th e me th od of scie nc e. We sh all avoi d
t h e vague a nd ea sy form ula tion s of a rm -ch air
p sych ol ogy, an d endeavor to make no sta te
m ent wh ic h cann o t b e supp orte d by fa c t s se
c ure d t h rough experimental research. Wh e re
w e la ck such informa tion w e shall a ttemp t
to ou tlin e th e step s by which i t may b e se
c ure d. Whereve r w e gi ve opinion w e sh all
label it a s s uch. Th ough thi s m ay p reven t
u s from making downrigh t, do gm atic s ta te
m ent s regarding c ert ai n p oin ts t ha t som e
rea ders w o ul d like to h ave se ttl e d ; still i t
will tes tify t o o ur a rdo r fo r truth, an d will
i mp ress up on th e rea de r th e chief m essage o f
th e book : n amely, th a t th e p sych ology o f sell
ing m ust be devel op ed ac co rdin g t o th e rigid
m e th od s o f exp eri m en t.
“ R ule of thumb ” versus scientific
psychology.
Afte r w e h ave foll owe d th e h a rd a nd fast
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