--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You make a great, very great mistake, if…" description: "\"You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind's laws, is something from which you can deduce defini..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png" --- # You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that… ![“You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind's laws, is something from which you can deduce definite programmes and schemes and methods of instruction for immediate schoolroom use.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png) > “You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind's laws, is something from which you can deduce definite programmes and schemes and methods of instruction for immediate schoolroom use.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote cautions against overestimating psychology's ability to provide ready-made, definitive teaching methods for classrooms. **In simple terms:** Psychology isn’t a ready‑made teaching manual. Key Takeaway Apply psychological insights critically. Themes education psychology methodology Mood analytical pragmatic Type educational critical. When to use this quote - curriculum design - teacher training - policy making Key Concepts applied science educational theory Questions to Reflect On - How can educators balance theory with practical needs? - What evidence‑based strategies are truly effective? A Different Perspective It may underestimate the value of research‑based practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Definite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definite/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Great Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-mistake-366673/) [Great mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-mistakes/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Instruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruction/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-laws-1792636/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-think-485102/) [Programmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmes/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Psychology Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology-science-2404140/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-art/) [Think Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-psychology-1838078/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/psychology-is-a-science-and-teaching-is-an-art-and-sciences-never/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Psychology is the science of mental life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/psychology-is-the-science-of-mental-life/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Of the works of this mind history is the record. Its genius is illustrated by the entire series of days. Man is explicable by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/of-the-works-of-this-mind-history-is-the-record-its-genius-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The thing to keep in mind is that laws are framed by those who happen to be in power and for the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-thing-to-keep-in-mind-is-that-laws-are-framed-by-those-who-happen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think psychology still has a sway over everything we do, but music, in and of itself, is the therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-think-psychology-still-has-a-sway-over-everything-we-do-but-music/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [I just enjoy it and drive as fast I can. But so many people think your psychology is such a massive thing. For me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-verstappen/i-just-enjoy-it-and-drive-as-fast-i-can-but-so-many-people-think-your/) [Max Verstappen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-verstappen/) > [I think psychology would be an easy transition and figuring out the human mind somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilmer-valderrama/i-think-psychology-would-be-an-easy-transition-and-figuring-out-the/) [Wilmer Valderrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilmer-valderrama/) > [Psychology saves us from mistakes. It makes us more clear as to what we are about. We gain confidence in respect to any method…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/psychology-saves-us-from-mistakes-it-makes-us-more-clear-as-to-what/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The science of logic never made a man reason rightly, and the science of ethics never made a man behave rightly. The most such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-science-of-logic-never-made-a-man-reason-rightly-and-the-science/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [What a teacher needs to know about psychology "might almost be written on the palm of one's hand."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-a-teacher-needs-to-know-about-psychology-might-almost-be-written/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is only the fundamental conceptions of psychology which are of real value to a teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-the-fundamental-conceptions-of-psychology-which-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In teaching, you must simply work your pupil into such a state of interest in what you are going to teach him that every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-teaching-you-must-simply-work-your-pupil-into-such-a-state-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The amount of psychology which is necessary to all teachers need not be very great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-amount-of-psychology-which-is-necessary-to-all-teachers-need-not/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Ingenuity in meeting and pursuing the pupil, that tact for the concrete situation, though they are the alpha and omega of the teacher's art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/ingenuity-in-meeting-and-pursuing-the-pupil-that-tact-for-the/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The worst thing that can happen to a good teacher is to get a bad conscience about her profession because she feels herself hopeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-a-good-teacher-is-to-get-a-bad/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind's laws, is something from which you can deduce definite programmes and schemes and methods of instruction for immediate schoolroom use.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-you-think-that-psychology/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-you-think-that-psychology/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/william-james-228_art_you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-y_378650.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You make a great, very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind's laws, is…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You make a great, very great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-you-think-that-psychology/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/you-make-a-great-very-great-mistake-if-you-think-that-psychology/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```