The Psychology of Management: reading level, length and free edition

Name: The Psychology of Management
Author: Lillian Moller Gilbreth

The Psychology of Management by Lillian Moller Gilbreth is a non-fiction in English. Our team rates it B2. It runs to 84,315 words with 5,142 different word forms, about 7–14 h of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from Project Gutenberg.

By the Readlang Mobile team (an independent app, not affiliated with readlang.com). Updated 31 October 2026.

Author: Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Language: English
Level: B2
Form: non-fiction
Words: 84,315
Different word forms: 5,142
Forms for 95% / 98%: 2,170 / 3,456
Reading time: 7–14 h
Free edition: Project Gutenberg

"The Psychology of Management" by Lillian Moller Gilbreth is a book published in 1914 that investigates the psychological aspects of scientific management. Gilbreth argues for incorporating the "human element" into management principles, emphasizing workers as individuals with personalities rather than merely economic units. Originally her unpublished doctoral dissertation, the work challenged prevailing management theories by bringing together fundamental elements including individual behavior, group theory, communication, and rational decision-making—establishing it as a pioneering contribution to industrial psychology.

Is The Psychology of Management right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in The Psychology of Management, you need its 2,170 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 3,456. The median English B2 book in our table needs 3,747 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is easier than most for its level: number 3 of 19, easiest first.

A word form is any spelling that appears in the text, so “walk” and “walked” count twice, and names count too. These numbers are a guide to how much vocabulary the book asks for, not a test. The level itself was set by hand by our team. Before you commit, read one page of the free edition and count the words you do not know: the one-page test takes two minutes.

Which words should you know before you start?

These are the words that The Psychology of Management uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 309 English books in our library; the number is how many times each appears. Names of people and places are left out. Learning a handful of them first makes the opening chapters easier.

worker 451
teaching 232
standard 206
methods 203
records 188
workers 170
results 157
output 146
reward 135
instruction 132
measurement 130
record 119
elements 109
standards 102
standardization 99

How does it begin?

Definition of Psychology of Management. — The Psychology of Management, as here used, means, — the effect of the mind that is directing work upon that work which is directed, and the effect of this undirected and directed work upon the mind of the worker.

From the Project Gutenberg edition, which is in the public domain. If this paragraph already feels slow, try a book one level lower.

How long does it take to read?

Hours to read *The Psychology of Management* (84,315 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
84,315	14 h	9.5 h	7 h	5.5 h

Learners reading a book at their level often manage 100 to 150 words per minute, and readers in their first language 200 to 250. Where these speeds come from, and a calculator for your own: How long does it take to read a book?

Where can you read it for free?

The free edition is Project Gutenberg eBook #16256. Project Gutenberg publishes books that are in the public domain in the United States, as EPUB, Kindle and plain text, free and without an account. Copyright terms differ by country: if you live outside the United States, check that the book is out of copyright where you are before you download it.

To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.