cross-associations

Updated: August 6, 2026

But interest, once shed upon a subject, is liable to remain always with that subject. Our acquisitions become in a measure portions of our personal self; and little by little, as cross-associations multiply and habits of familiarity and practice grow, the entire system of our objects of thought consolidates, most of it becoming interesting for some purposes and in some degree.

William James - Talks To Teachers On Psychology; And To Students On Some Of Life's Ideals