The so-called dynamogenic experiments
of the psychological laboratory have demonstrated what a manifold
influence flows from the sense-impressions to the will-impulses. If
the muscle contraction of a man's fist is measured, the experiment
shows that the strongest possible pressure may be very different when
the visual field appears in different colors, or tones of different
pitch or different noises are stimulating the ear, and so on. As yet
no systematic experiments exist by which such results can be brought
into relation to the sense-stimuli which reach the laborer during his
technical work. The psychophysical effect of colors and noises has not
been fructified at all for industrial purposes. The mere subjective
judgment of the workingman himself cannot be acknowledged as reliable
in such questions. The laborer, for instance, usually believes that a
noise to which he has become accustomed does not disturb him in his
work, while experimental results point strongly to the contrary. In a
similar way the effect of colored windows may appear indifferent to
the workmen, and yet may have considerable influence on his
efficiency. Numberless performances in the factory are reactions on
certain optical or acoustical or tactual signals. Both the engineer
and the workman are satisfied if such a signal is clearly perceivable.
The psychological laboratory experiment, however, shows that the whole
psychophysical effect depends upon the character of the signal; a more
intense light, a quicker change, a higher tone, a larger field of
light, a louder noise, or a harder touch may produce a very different
kind of reaction.
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