Robert Kennedy was assinated; Richard Nixon was jeered as he attended Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral; Andy Warhol received two bullets into his stomach but recovered; Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Janis Joplin were thriving throughout the world as Hippies indulged in tribal rites in Manhattan. Hair hit Broadway; The Wadsworth Publishing Company published Studying Psychology by C.W. Telford.

Grandpa died on Tuesday the 13th. He was shaving and Grandma found him on the floor, collapsed. Mom called me at work at around 1:30 pm or so. I started crying instantly and had to call Carolyn to take over the phones. I left work at 2:00 pm after a nudge from her. I called Dad but the machine was on - I called Bev at work; I went to the flower shop and sent flowers to Grandma. I got home and called Aunt Karen. I called Jennifer Sandler too. I found an old text book Grandpa wrote in '68 and gave to me. I ended up on the computer for 3 hours typing quotes from his book. Around 7:00 pm, I went to Jennifer's. She held me and comforted and kissed me. We got pizza and watched a movie until 12:15 am. Allow us to grieve and be grateful. Allow us to sleep in peace and awaken with new life, love and energy.

-Diary entry from 10-14-92 10:04 pm (Wed)

Known to many as "Tel," C.W. Telford was a Professor of Psychology, clock-maker, home-builder, writer, gardener, and Grandpa to me.

The following is a collection of quotes from the one book he so gracefully gave to me.....

"Whenever a man relates an experience he tells two stories: the story of his subject and the story of himself. When properly read, the second story is often the more interesting of the two. It suggests why he noticed, perceived, remembered, and now relates the various components of his experience. What he attends to and experiences, what impresses him so that it is remembered and related, and why he tells just this tale under the present circumstances are all parts of the story behind the story. If properly and completely interpreted, they tell something of his past history, his desires and ambitions, and his interests and occupations."


"Someone who has heard a story from the beginning can usually grasp its meaning and significance better than someone who has come in at the middle."

"It (this manual) is not a magic key to learning but rather a tool, which, in the hands of a diligent worker, should open up new resources for learning."


"....The success of each of us depend(s) on his skill in playing the game...It is an elementary truth that our fortune and happiness depend upon our knowing something of a game that has been played from the beginning of time. It is a game in which everyone must participate. Everyone is playing it every day of his life and is either 'winning' or 'losing' continuously. The equipment with which we play consists of our personal capacities and characteristics. The rules of the game are the laws of human nature. The players on the other side are all the people with whom we interact...For the man who plays well there are rich rewards of personal happiness; for the man who plays poorly, however, there is criticism and unhappiness...We are, of course, talking about the game of...relationships. We...now look at some of the rules and principles of this sport."

Whenever possible, you should read the textbook assignments and other pertinent supplementary reading before the lecture."


"You should do what you can to make material meaningful. Meaningful material is easier to learn and easier to remember."


"Previously established habits may hinder the learning of new approaches necessary for solving new problems."

"Attention follows interest."


"Thus if we want to develop an interest in a new field we must first learn something about it; interest will then follow. We should also try to relate the new facts to our present interests and goals."

"Some goals are immediate, though many lie in the future - even the far distant future. Most individuals develop certain long term goals either consciously or unconsciously...If distant...goals are to become more than vague wishes, they must be related to a hierarchy of more immediate and specific sub-goals."

"Learning plays a vital role in our lives. Everyone...believes those things he has learned to believe, acts as he has learned to act, sees what he has learned to see, is interested in what he has learned to be interested in, enjoys what he has learned to enjoy..."


"....There is no royal road to this goal (memory improvement)...It has been said that interest is the secret of a good memory."


"...If you concentrate carefully whenever you...listen to concerts, even if you know very little about music, you build habits...which will be a boon to you in time of need.


"...You can probably profit from some remedial work in reading."


"If you are serious about improving your reading skills, go about it systematically...Popular magazines such as Time, Newsweek, Life, and The Reader's Digest are about right. Select an article that interests you and time yourself as you read it."


"Select an article in one of the current newspapers or magazines. Read through this article and try to distinguish fact from opinion."


"To learn...entirely from books, without verifying or applying it to actual people, may be an interesting pastime but will never be of any practical use."


"The acquisition of associative connections between ideas as the result of experience constitutes learning and accounts for the succession of ideas in recall and in thought."


"The less the activity following learning, the better the retention. Sleeping will be best. Activity immediately following learning is thought to interfere with the consolidation of the learning."


"Self-approval for progress in learning operates continuously and without regard to external circumstances."


"Don't permit yourself to use disturbances as an excuse for doing poor work or for stopping entirely."


"There are a large number of possible appropriate answers to the problem presented...We can only list representative explanations, interpretations, and inferences."

"Each lecturer has his own style..."


"'Whatever exists at all exists in some amount...'"


"Intelligence is never observed or measured directly. It is inferred from some sort of performance."


"Motives are purposive. "


"Positive reinforcements are generally more effective than negative ones."


"What sort of knowledge is really furnished by one's senses?...the characteristics perceived by the senses...are not even directly connected with (material things themselves)...Thus the apparent greenness of the tree depends on...light rays impinging on the...eye. The matter of the external work is everywhere in a perpetual state of violent motion. It is as much so on the seemingly slumberous surface of a lake as in the storm-dashed foam of the ocean."

"Can you see a motive? Explain."


"Discuss this statement: "A satisfied motive is no longer a motive."

"Look into his eyes for honesty..."


"The common notion that perception is simply an image formed on a photographic plate arises from a failure to distinguish between automatic recognition and the searching attitude of genuine observation."


"Illusions refer to perceptions which prove to be grossly erroneous when checked with other broader and more objective means."

"Comment on the following quotation: 'Nobody ever sees his own face...What he observes there is a compound of what he is, what he expects to see, and what he hopes to behold.'"


"To see, we just open our eyes and look; to hear, we just listen - we do not even have to open our ears!"

"Things are able to move or inspire us only because they touch our inner feelings and motives which, like an internal sounding board, respond to every change in experience, coloring our activities pleasantly or unpleasantly, elevating our spirits, exciting us to passion, or arresting us to calm and quiescence."


"Man is as much a creature of the 'heart' as he is of the 'head.' He is moved principally by impulses which are not rational but emotional. The things that he does and the things that he seeks usually have little to do with reason. Reason functions, it is true, but not so much in determining goals as in devising the best means of attaining them."


"It is through our capacity to experience emotions that life gains meaning and value. If we had no emotions, everything would seem indifferent, as it does to the individual who, through abnormalities of functioning, has lost his feelings. To such an individual nothing is significant, nothing seems to matter--not even life itself. His spouse, his family, his loved ones do not move him. He is not depressed, nor in despair, but merely unemotional."


"We typically think of play as distinct from work or drudgery. However, the difference is not primarily one of the kind of activity, but one of attitude...Listening to a concert, working problems in mathematics, sewing, painting, playing a game of cards...may be hard work to one person and play to another...When an activity is considered play, the activity itself is seen as satisfying...When...work...is play, the activity and its result combine to form an enjoyable whole."


"Are illusions confined to man?"


"The most common form of color blindness involves difficulties in perceiving the reds and greens and is known as red-green color blindness. It is much more common in men than in woman."


"Not all bodily needs produce appropriate changes in one's tendencies to act. "

"Aggression is typically a reaction to frustration."


"All anxiety is characterized by a state of generalized uneasiness..."


"Don't begin this experiment immediately after walking rapidly or exercising."


"Make a list of things people do that particularly annoy you. Try to analyze the situations to determine why they annoy you and why the people do them."

"Try to determine the cause of some undesirable fear that you or one of your acquaintances has. Outline a plan for overcoming it."


"Describe the most important decision that you have ever had to make. What elements of conflict were involved? How did you feel during your period of indecision? Why?


"Stand on one foot, trying to balance yourself for a few seconds. What and where are the sensations involved in this act?"


"Have you ever experienced a sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach? What apparently produced it? How long did it last? Did you notice any other effects accompanying it? Try to account for them."

"Hold your breath awhile. Note the effect on breathing immediately after."


"Our aim in 'desensitization' is to be able to relax at will and to maintain a high degree of relaxation while engaging in imaginative experiences of a specified sort."


"When you...relax...you should simply try to 'let go' further and further...you are to continue on and on, past the point where you seem to be perfectly relaxed."


"Any positive progress made in reducing anxiety and increasing the adequacy of performance...gives the individual an increment of assurance and control. The increased assurance provides a positive feedback, which promotes further relaxation and a feeling of satisfaction."

"The writer hopes that students will find themselves becoming more tolerant and understanding of people's behavior and perhaps more efficient in their own behavior..."


"You are nearing the end of the course, and final examination time is near."


"Study...early memories - Record you every earliest childhood recollection...in as much detail as you can."


"Take one of your own strongest beliefs or attitudes and try to discover the major influences that have produced them."


"For one week, keep a written account of your dreams...not(ing) any particular circumstances surrounding the dreams which may be of significance."


"Analyze your personal reasons for your conforming behavior in such things as observation of traffic signs, church attendance, table manners, manner of dress, and selected moral issues."


Are you using what you learn...as a springboard to a better understanding of yourself and others? If not, you are losing much...Try to put to immediate use...that (which) you learn. Apply to yourself and to others your knowledge...Seize every opportunity to relate what you learn to the practical situations of everyday life. Test what you know in the crucible of life...(otherwise) you have failed in the principal aim..."

"Do you need further help in understanding? If so, ask...another knowledgeable person for guidance."


"...It is largely by virtue of his tremendous capacity for learning that man maintains his dominant position in the animal kingdom."


"Our native equipment provides only a rough adjustment to the environment - just good enough so that, with the assistance of the capacity to learn, the species as a whole manages to survive."


"We shall leave problems of love, courtship, and marriage to more specialized texts."


"The writer must also make special acknowledgments to his wife Aldene and his daughters...Jean...and ...Janet for their assistance in typing and editing the manuscript."




"Insight carries the implication of at least the appearance of suddenness."

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Last updated 10 December 1997