Lecky theorized that if a student had trouble learning a certain subject, it could be because (from the student's point of view) it would be inconsistent for him to learn it. Lecky believed, however, that if you could change the student's self-conception, which underlies this viewpoint, his attitude toward the subject would change accordingly. If the student could be induced to change his selfdefinition, his learning ability should also change. This provedto be the case. One student who misspelled 55 words out of a hundred and flunked so many subjects that he lost credit for a year, made a general average of 91 the next year and became one of the best spellers in school. A boy who was dropped from one college because of poor grades, entered Columbia and became a straight "A" student. A girl who had flunked Latin four times, after three talks with the school counselor, finished with a grade of 84.A boy who was told by a testing bureau that he had no aptitude for English, won honorablemention the next year for a literary prize.
莱基的理论认为:如果一个学生在学习某一门学科方面有困难,那可能是因为(从那个学生的角度来看)他认为自己不适于学习那门学科。然而莱基认为,如果你能改变使这个学生产生这种看法的自我概念,那他对于这门学科的态度就会相应地改变。如要能说服这个学生改变他的自我定义,他的学习能力也会随之发生变化。事实证明了他的这一理论。有个学生在100个单词中拼错了55个,而且因为多门功课不及格失去了一年的学分,但在第二年他的各科平均成绩却达到91分,并成为全校拼写最好的学生之一。一个男生因为成绩太差被某所大学开除,后来进了哥伦比亚大学却成了一名全优生。一个女生拉丁语考试四次不及格,同辅导员谈过三次话以后,最后考了个84分。一个男生被某测试管理处断定为没有学习英语的才能, 但在第二年却赢得了文学荣誉奖。
The trouble with these students was not that they were dumb, or lacking in basic aptitudes.The trouble was an inadequate self-image ("I don't have a mathematical mind"; "I'm just naturally a poor speller"). They "identified" with their mistakes and failures. Instead of saying"I failed that test" (factual and descriptive) they concluded "I am a failure." Instead of saying "I flunked that subject" they said "I am a flunk-out." For those who are interested in leaning more of Lecky's work, I recommend securing a copy of his book: self consistency,a Theory of Personality. The Island Press, Now York, N.Y.
这些学生的问题并不在于他们迟钝或缺乏基本能力。他们的问题在于他们有一个不适当的自我意象(如:“我没有数学头脑”;“我天生不会拼写单词”)。他们把自己同他们的错误和失败“等同”起来。他们不是说“我那次考试失败了”(这种说法是对事实的描述),而是下结论地说“我是个失败者”。他们不是说“我那门功课没及格”,而是说“我是个不及格的学生”。对于那些有兴趣进一步了解莱基工作的人,我建议他们买一本他的书:《自我一致,关于个性的一种理论》(纽约岛屿出版社出版)。
来源:可可英语 //www.utensil-race.com/daxue/201610/466824.shtml