| Summary: | "Is there anyone who is responsible for the care and culture of a child who is not casting about everywhere for counsel respecting ways and means of improving the child's personality? Listen to parents or teachers who are discussing their everyday problems; it will soon become apparent that they are worried principally about the personal traits of their charges. The training of the intellect is secondary to the training of personality. One rarely attends a meeting of parents and teachers without hearing a discussion of methods of weeding out undesirable traits from a child's personality and establishing attractive characteristics therein. Any contribution to this subject is certain to be timely and to be heartily welcomed by all who are engaged in the education of the young, either in the home or in the school or in the community. It may be predicted, therefore, that this volume by Professor Myers will be eagerly read by parents, teachers, guardians, and social workers. The reader will probably have his conception of personality broadened as he progresses through this volume. The author regards personality as considerably more fundamental and comprehensive than do most teachers, parents and laymen. Professor Myers includes in the child's personality every trait except strictly intellectual processes ; all of one's attitudes towards one's fellows, all of one's feeling about himself, all of one's reactions to the situations in which he is placed, what one says and does, the way he looks, his posture, his unconscious mannerisms--all these are elements in one's personality and all must be considered in the treatment of measures for the improvement of personality. Practically everything that affects a child has an influence for good or for ill upon his personality. Always he is responding overtly or internally to what is said and what is done in his presence, even though it is not intended specifically for him. Always he is getting his cue from the tones of voice, the appearance, the assertions and the bearing of the people about him--his companions, visitors to his home, older brothers and sisters, and principally his parents, teachers and guardians. According to Dr. Myers, the child or the youth is never neutral in any social situation; he is always influenced in one way or another by his social environment. For this reason the words and the deeds of all who train the young, or who are even bystanders while the training is in progress, are of importance in shaping the child's personality"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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