THE ACTION APPROACH

Our personal orientation is relatively stable by the time we become adult; we are conscious of only part of it. It is made up all the long-standing beliefs that have emotionally meaning to us. This orientation has been called in recent years our character structure-a term that William James did not use; however, he has told us in effect that by undertaking new modes of activity, we can alter our character structure. If James is correct, what we need is knowledge of how the various behavior patterns that we may possibly undertake will influence us. Such knowledge would enable of us to find the particular courses according to our needs-for instance, rid us of anxiety, or fear of authorities, or guilt.