One of the earliest and most convincing experiments
along this line was conducted by the late Prescott Lecky,
one of the pioneers in self-image psychology. Lecky conceived
of the personality as a "system of ideas," all of
which must seem to be consistent with each other. Ideas
which are inconsistent with the system are rejected, "not
believed," and not acted upon. Ideas which seem to be
consistent with the system are accepted. At the very center
of this system of ideas—the keystone—the base upon
which all else is built, is the individual's "ego ideal," his
"self-image," or his conception of himself. Lecky was a
school teacher and had an opportunity to test his theory
upon thousands of students.
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 self-definition,
his learning ability should also change. This proved
to 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 honorable mention the next
year for a literary prize.