gravity of the offense in tearing the leaves out of books, but if its hands are
sharply spatted whenever they tear a book, the association between the sight of
books and tearing them will soon cease. In fact, all punishment should have for
its object the use of pain in the breaking of associative bonds between certain
situations and wrong responses to them.
On the other hand, the dog that is being trained to perform his tricks is rewarded
with a tidbit or a pat when the right response has been made. In this way the
bond for this particular act is strengthened through the use of pleasure. All
matter studied and learned under the stimulus of good feeling, enthusiasm, or a
pleasurable sense of victory and achievement not only tends to set up more
permanent and valuable associations than if learned under opposite conditions,
but it also exerts a stronger appeal to our interest and appreciation.
The influence of mental attitude on the matter we study raises a question as to
the wisdom of assigning the committing of poetry, or Bible verses, or the
reading of so many pages of a literary masterpiece as a punishment for some
offense. How many of us have carried away associations of dislike and bitterness
toward some gem of verse or prose or Scripture because of having our learning
of it linked up with the thought of an imposed task set as penance for wrong-
doing! One person tells me that to this day she hates the sight of Tennyson
because this was the volume from which she was assigned many pages to
commit in atonement for her youthful delinquencies.
Interest as a Basis for Association.—Associations established under the
stimulus of strong interest are relatively broad and permanent, while those
formed with interest flagging are more narrow and of doubtful permanence. This
statement is, of course, but a particular application of the law of attention.
Interest brings the whole self into action. Under its urging the mind is active and
alert. The new facts learned are completely registered, and are assimilated to
other facts to which they are related. Many associative connections are formed,
hence the new matter is more certain of recall, and possesses more significance
and meaning.
Association and Methods of Learning.—The number and quality of our
associations depends in no small degree on our methods of learning. We may be
satisfied merely to impress what we learn on our memory, committing it
uncritically as so many facts to be stored away as a part of our education. We
may go a step beyond this and grasp the simplest and most obvious meanings,
but not seek for the deeper and more fundamental relations. We may learn