Psycho-Cybernetics

Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon, draws on his clinical experience and the then-emerging science of cybernetics, the study of goal-striving behavior in machines, to present a self-help system for transforming one's life by changing one's self-image. The book blends case histories from Maltz's surgical practice with principles from psychology, physiology, and feedback-control engineering to argue that every person possesses an internal guidance system that can be reprogrammed for success and happiness. Maltz defines success not as prestige but as the satisfactory accomplishment of personally meaningful goals, arguing that humans are by nature goal-striving beings.

Maltz begins by recounting how his surgical work led him to the concept of the self-image. He observed that correcting a patient's facial defect often produced dramatic personality changes: shy people became bold, and struggling salesmen regained confidence. Yet some patients showed no change after surgery, continuing to act as if they still had their old faces. This led Maltz to conclude that a nonphysical "face of personality," the self-image, is the true determinant of behavior. He defines the self-image as the mental picture a person carries of himself, built unconsciously from past experiences, successes, failures, and others' reactions. Once a belief enters this picture, the person treats it as true and acts consistently with it, regardless of objective reality. He cites Prescott Lecky, a schoolteacher and early pioneer in self-image psychology, who showed that students' poor performance stemmed from negative self-conceptions rather than lack of ability.

Maltz then introduces the Success Mechanism, a built-in goal-striving guidance system he compares to electronic servo-mechanisms, devices that steer toward a target by detecting and correcting errors. Drawing on mathematician Norbert Wiener's work, he argues that the human brain operates by the same principles as a self-guided torpedo and coins the term "Psycho-Cybernetics" for this application to the mind. He clarifies that his system does not equate humans with machines but holds that humans possess a goal-striving machine. The self-image is the key goal-image driving this machine, prescribing what a person believes is possible. He calls the internal system the "Creative Mechanism" and asserts it is impersonal: It works automatically toward whatever goals the individual sets, whether positive or negative.

Maltz argues that imagination is the primary key to activating the Success Mechanism, because the nervous system cannot distinguish between a vividly imagined experience and a real one. He cites hypnosis research showing that subjects produce measurable physiological changes, such as shifts in skin temperature, based solely on what they believe to be true. He presents evidence that mental practice yields results comparable to physical practice: a basketball study found that students who practiced free throws only in imagination improved nearly as much as those who physically practiced. He instructs readers to practice a daily 30-minute visualization exercise, vividly imagining themselves acting and feeling as the person they want to be so that the experience registers as real in the nervous system.

Maltz contends that most people are effectively hypnotized by false beliefs and must dehypnotize themselves. He tells the story of "Mr. Russell," a patient whose belief in a fraudulent diagnosis of a deadly parasite caused him to age visibly until Maltz removed harmless scar tissue and showed Russell the truth, after which Russell rapidly recovered. Firmly held ideas, Maltz argues, exert the same power over behavior as a hypnotist's suggestion. He addresses the inferiority complex, contending that feelings of inferiority arise from measuring oneself against other people's standards rather than recognizing one's own uniqueness. The cure lies in relaxation rather than willpower, because beliefs are formed without effort and must be replaced the same way.

In his chapter on rational thinking, Maltz challenges the assumption that conscious thought cannot influence unconscious patterns. Conscious thinking, he argues, is the "control knob" of the unconscious mechanism: It was conscious thought that created negative patterns, and conscious rational thought can change them. He presents philosopher Bertrand Russell's method of examining irrational beliefs until rational convictions override old patterns, and advises readers to trace negative behaviors back to underlying beliefs and ask whether those beliefs rest on facts or assumptions.

Maltz devotes a chapter to the principle that the Success Mechanism functions best when the conscious mind stops interfering. He cites psychologist and philosopher William James's advice to dismiss concern about outcomes once a decision is reached, and presents evidence that creative breakthroughs typically arrive during periods of relaxation rather than effortful concentration. He offers five rules: do all worrying before a decision, then let go; respond to the present moment; do one thing at a time; sleep on unresolved problems; and periodically recall the sensations of deep relaxation during work.

Turning to happiness, Maltz adopts physician John A. Schindler's definition: "a state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant a good share of the time." He presents happiness as a cultivable mental habit, challenges the notion that it must be earned, and argues it is a precondition for health and effective functioning. He prescribes a 21-day practice in which readers change a small daily habit as a trigger for consciously choosing cheerfulness, friendliness, and tolerance.

Maltz outlines seven ingredients of the "success-type" personality using the acronym S-U-C-C-E-S-S: Sense of direction, Understanding, Courage, Compassion, Esteem, Self-Confidence, and Self-Acceptance. He explains that self-confidence is built on memories of past successes and that self-acceptance means honest recognition of imperfections without self-hatred. In a complementary chapter, he identifies the Failure Mechanism's seven symptoms using the acronym F-A-I-L-U-R-E: Frustration, Aggressiveness (misdirected), Insecurity, Loneliness, Uncertainty, Resentment, and Emptiness. He frames these as warning signals rather than permanent character flaws.

The chapter on emotional scars draws a parallel between physical scar tissue and psychological calluses formed after being hurt. Maltz prescribes therapeutic forgiveness, defined as complete cancellation of resentment, and extends the principle to self-forgiveness, cautioning readers not to confuse behavior with identity. He addresses personality inhibition as the product of excessive self-monitoring, using stuttering as an example: experiments showed that eliminating stutterers' awareness of their own speech improved fluency immediately. He prescribes disinhibition exercises such as speaking before thinking and expressing positive feelings openly.

In his chapter on mental tranquility, Maltz uses the analogy of a ringing telephone to argue that external stimuli have no inherent power to disturb. Many anxious responses, he explains, are conditioned reflexes that can be extinguished through relaxation, and he prescribes building a "quiet room" in the imagination, a vividly detailed mental sanctuary for clearing emotional residue between tasks. He also addresses crisis performance, arguing that practicing under low-pressure conditions builds flexible mental maps for handling real stress.

In his chapter on the "winning feeling," Maltz argues that evoking the emotional state associated with past successes is the key to present achievement. Successful actions create electrical patterns, called engrams, in the brain's neurons; reactivating these patterns reactivates the accompanying feelings of confidence. He instructs readers to recall past successes in vivid detail, transfer those feelings onto current goals, and overcome negative feelings through substitution rather than willpower.

The final chapter presents Maltz's reflections on goal-striving and longevity. He cites stress researcher Hans Selye's work on "adaptation energy," a life force that enables the body to combat stress, heal wounds, and resist aging. He reports that his most optimistic patients healed fastest and argues that creative workers tend to live longer because creativity generates more life force. He urges readers to "develop a nostalgia for the future" and closes by expressing his belief that the most adequate self-image is to conceive of oneself as made in the image of God.