Psycho-Cybernetics

The contemporary definition of cybernetics refers to the scientific study of how people, animals, and machines control and communicate information. Psychocybernetics—a term coined by Maxwell Maltz—specifically means “directing the mind toward a productive and useful goal, in order to reach the greatest port in the world: peace of mind.”

Maltz, an eminent plastic surgeon and celebrated American author, was also the first researcher to explain how self-image—a term he himself popularized—in turn controls an individual’s ability to achieve a given goal. Drawing these concepts together, the author developed techniques that any reader can use to manipulate their self-image—visualization, mental rehearsal, or relaxation, for example—and which have informed and inspired motivational specialists, sports psychologists, and self-help practitioners for decades.

The teachings of psychocybernetics in this book have been revised and expanded to make Maltz’s message even more relevant to the contemporary reader.