Psychology and Industrial Efficiency

Laboratory experiments meet the working day in Hugo Münsterberg's study of how psychology can serve commerce and industry. Published in 1913, the book connects research on individual abilities with vocational guidance, training and the organization of tasks. Its contents range from railway, ship and telephone service to advertising and buying decisions. Münsterberg presents this field as a developing science, using specific experiments to show what practical applications might become possible.

The discussion of machinery brings the argument down to bodily movement. Münsterberg examines the effort required by different muscle groups, the value of coordinated motions and the part rhythm plays in repeated work. Attention, fatigue and monotony also belong to his account of industrial efficiency. Readers interested in the history of workplace psychology can see how he links mental processes, physical effort and economic goals, while distinguishing broad laws of the mind from the differences between individual workers.