24. The Future Development of Economic Psychology
From what has been written thus far, the author hopes it will be clear to the reader that there is immense potential in both the manufacturing and selling of products for the tools of psychology to be leveraged. In all, very little has been done thus far, but the results that have been achieved should be compelling. There are many unanswered questions, small and large, that remain to be explored in more granular detail.
The author's aim in the present work is not to demonstrate a comprehensive system, but merely to stimulate further work. It is moreover unlikely that a single system would suit all circumstances, but more specific efforts need be undertaken to be applicable in practice to the specific nature of a given goal and situation.
Such work will necessarily be require interdisciplinary cooperation, with such varied fields as chemistry, physics, physiology, psychology, sociology and other pure and applied sciences contributing their knowledge toward a common goal that crosses the boundaries of each compartmentalized field of inquiry.
The work will also require cooperation between the academy and the field, which is an inherently problematic partnership in that the parties have conflicting interests: the academy wishing to pursue pure knowledge at a leisurely pace and the field needing practical information quickly.
He proposes "the ideal solution for the United States would be a governmental bureau for applied psychology" similar to the Department of Agriculture, which funds research that is of benefit to all involved in the production of food and other agricultural products.
(EN: Here I disagree vehemently. While such research would be a boon to the commercial sector and valuable to their interests, it has nothing to do with the purpose of government [defense of human rights] and does not justify the tools of government [compulsion by means of violence] to achieve. A nonprofit organization that is voluntarily funded by those who would benefit from its establishment would be just as practical and far more effective and ethical as a means to accomplish this goal - and likely multiple organizations for varied and specific industries or areas of practice.)
Munsterberg doubts that the businessman can ever be effective in conducting or even coordinating research into his own affairs. His knowledge is too superficial, his interests too narrowly defined, and his mercenary agenda leads him to prematurely act on information and abandon his investigations. The scientist must conduct a thorough and patient investigation and the technologist must discover how those findings can be put to practical application - then hand their work to the businessman for practical implementation.
He also suggests that science and technology must also make adjustments, as they tend to be to frivolous and undirected in their pursuit of knowledge. Such men must not remain aloof from mundane affairs in pursuit of loftier goals but recognize that the mundane is itself a lofty goal when one considers the potential impact on civilization as a whole when improvements in pedestrian affairs have effects of tremendous magnitude.
The mass of knowledge that remains to be uncovered demands a significant effort, and the practice will lead itself to specialization. Some examples:
- Some may specialize in the design of work, extending the research into the physical capacities of workers to consider their psychological capabilities
- Others may specialize in the problems of vocation, matching workers to jobs, training workers for jobs, and preparing youth for future employment
- Others might specialize in marketing, investigating the effectiveness of advertising, merchandising, and salesmanship
But while specialization would enable each such professional to focus and gain great familiarity with a very narrow field of study, there is still a need for aggregation on the broad level, as too compartmentalized a pursuit would lead to the overemphasis of one area and the prolonged and even purposeful neglect of others.
Businessmen and academics alike must recognize that the path to a more scientific approach to commerce will necessarily be a long journey of many early missteps. This is an area into which there will be slow progress and imperfect results, and is likely psychology will never be as accurate as the pure sciences - but nonetheless may be accurate enough.
Government regulators must also exercise restraint in regulations and policies - allowing the people to choose or decline the prescriptions of science of their own volition. To mandate that things should be done a certain way, even if it appears to be a "best practice," prevents experimentation and variation that may uncover an even better one. Moreover, the goal of industrial psychology is not a matter of life or death - merely advice for being more efficient and effective.
In that regard government must respect the liberty of the people to follow a direction of their own choosing, and should not seek to regulate commercial activity any more than it would regulate "the functions of eating and drinking and love-making." While it is of benefit to the nation for government to encourage economic activity in general, it is invariably a travesty and an affront when government inflicts regulations on the lives of citizens in a granular manner.
"Difficulties and discomforts are to be feared during the transition period [but] they should be more than outweighed by the splendid betterments to be hoped for." It is clearly in the financial interests of employers to engage in production and trade in a more effective and efficient. It should also be in the interest of employees to have easier and more profitable work, and a boon to the entire nation when the benefits of research are enjoyed by all.
The commercial interests of mankind are also the means to a greater cultural gain - as we apply less effort to the basic necessities of life and can devote more time to intellectual and artistic pursuits. It is only by discovering ways to address the mundane that we can rise above it, for until we have done so it will certainly drag us back down to the lowest level of abject need. And thus freed, the dissatisfaction of our work-lives may be replaced "by overflowing joy and perfect inner harmony."