THE QUESTION OP FATIGUE PROM THE ECONOMIC STANDPOINT. 303 



which ' probably means a quite direct saving of energy through the 

 removal of pressure from the central nervous organ.' Its manifestation 

 is the ' increase of facihty, rapidity, certainty, and regularity of a par- 

 ticular action or operation through its frequent repetition.' The result 

 on working capacity may be expected to be that ' at the beginning the 

 increase in practice outweighs the early fatigue, so that the output 

 curve as a whole moves upward, ' bub ' as the work continues the 

 fatigue begins more and more to outweigh the increase of practice in 

 its effect on the output. ' 



By Incitement (Anregung) Weber means a ' psycho-motor state ' 

 which ' arises in a purely mechanical manner from the work itself, 

 and without the active intervention of the will,' and he supposes that 

 it ' usually makes itself felt very shortly after work has begun, and 

 after fairly short intervals, sometimes of about a quarter of an hour, 

 suddenly vanishes away.' As Dr. Myers points out, the result of the 

 loss of incitement is familiar enough when we return to a task from 

 which we have been called away, even for a few minutes. 



By Spurt (Willensantrieb) Weber means ' an impulse arising under 

 special conditions and carrying sudden outbursts of energy. ' ' Its 

 typical effect is seen in short sudden rises in the curve at the begin- 

 ning of work, after disturbances and almost equally regularly towards 

 the conclusion.' It may be caused by the desire to earn more or to 

 finish off well, or even by a smitten conscience, or by the desire to 

 come up to a certain standard. 



To these three component states we should like to add a fourth 

 which the accident statistics collected will show to be extremely im- 

 portant. Weber came very near to noting this new component by its 

 absence, when he says ' a man's driving power (Antrieh) is ap- 

 parently also influenced in a negative direction by the tedium {Lang- 

 weile) of his work and (at the beginning) by the consciousness of 

 a long day's work before him.* I refer to the excitement that accom- 

 panies the anticipation of a rest, a change and food near at hand, with 

 possibly also the satisfaction derived from work accomplished, the same 

 frame of mind that makes schoolboys at the end of term exclaim with 

 glee: 



' In two weeks where shall I be ? 

 Not in this acadamee . . . ' 



This factor, like incitement, is not a manifestation of the will, but 

 contrary to incitement it is due not to something ' in ' the work, but 

 something 'outside' it. Indeed, as Mr. C. K. Ogden has suggested, 

 ' e3;citement ' seems a ' peculiarly appropriate name for this feeling,' 

 though if it is held too broad a term ' Anticipation ' or ' Eelief ' might 

 be used, or even ' Eally. ' 



Fatigue and the four other states we have considered important do 

 not necessarily influence the course of accidents and output in the same 

 direction. Fatigue and practice have indeed an entirely opposite effect, 

 fatigue tending to increase accidents and decrease output, practice to 

 decrease accident and increase output ; as Weber puts it, the output and 

 accidents distribution will show the result of a ' struggle between 

 practice and fatigue.' Further, incitement, spurt, and excitement all 



