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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/outlineofindivid01part 
 
AN OUTLINE 
 
 OF 
 
 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 BY 
 G. E. PARTRIDGE, Ph. D. 
 
 FORMERLY LECTURER IN CLARK UNIVERSITY 
 
 flew l£orft 
 
 STURGIS & WALTON 
 
 COMPANY 
 
 1910 
 
 All rights reserved 
 

 Copyright 1910 
 By STURGIS & WALTON OOMPANY 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published March. 1910 
 
 ©CI.A261G24 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 
 HISTOEY AND THEORY OF INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. The Nature of Individuality 3 
 
 II. Individual Study as a Science 11 
 
 III. The Variational Method 17 
 
 IV. Individual Study Within Psychology .... 26 
 V. Individual Study Prom the Biological Point of 
 
 View 36 
 
 PART II 
 
 PRACTICAL STUDY OF INDIVIDUALS 
 
 I. Methods and Directions - . ._ 47 
 
 II. Examination of the Health 52 
 
 III. Observation of Body Characteristics 64 
 
 IV. Measurement of the Body 73 
 
 V. Observation of Movements ....... 85 
 
 VI. The Experimental Study of Movement .... 72 
 
 VII. General Description of Mental Traits . . . .103 
 
 VIII. The Emotional Life 113 
 
 IX. Interests and Instincts 128 
 
 X. Some General Characteristics of Interest . . . 138 
 
 XI. Senses and Perception 146 
 
 XII. Senses and Perception {continued) 153 
 
 XIII. Mechanism of the Mind: Memory 163 
 
 XIV. Mechanism of the Mind: Association .... 171 
 XV. Free Activity of the Mind 178 
 
 XVI. Purposive Thinking 186 
 
CONTENTS 
 PART III 
 
 APPLICATION AND EESULTS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. A Study of Two Children 201 
 
 II, Types of Individuals 221 
 
 III. Pedagogical Aspects of Individuality .... 227 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This manual of methods for the study of the 
 human individual is intended to serve a prac- 
 tical and introductory rather than a scien- 
 tific purpose. It is not intended for students 
 interested in research, but is for those who 
 wish a first guide in the study of individuals. 
 It is in one sense and not another that it is 
 called practical. It does not contain much 
 about standards and results of experiments, by 
 means of which one can safely compare in- 
 dividuals with the average or norm, for the 
 purposes of an exact or scientific pedagogy. 
 It is intended to be practical in the sense that 
 it is hoped that by it the student can be led 
 to observe individuals more intelligently and 
 systematically, and thus be the better able to 
 understand and serve them. Incidentally it is 
 to be hoped that some insight into the nature of 
 individuality and the scientific study of it will 
 be acquired. 
 
 The book comprises for the most part a 
 course of study that has been used several 
 times in classes in a Normal School, each time 
 with an increased conviction that some such 
 work is the best psychology and pedagogy for 
 
ii PREFACE 
 
 these classes: for with the attention focused 
 on the individual and his needs, general prob- 
 lems cannot fail to appear also, and practical 
 questions are always within reach. This is the 
 case method that has succeeded so well in the 
 training of physician and lawyer. That it has 
 a wider application in the training of the 
 teacher than has yet been given it, seems to be 
 indicated. As a method of mind training it 
 has some of the advantages of the intensive 
 work of higher grades, and the value to the 
 student of studying thoroughly cne or a few 
 individuals is believed to be great. The par- 
 ticular experiments made, and the scientific 
 knowledge gained are of minor importance from 
 this consideration, but the increased power to 
 analyze the life- situation of another person that 
 is acquired is of great value. To be led from 
 a state of ignorant indifference toward an un- 
 interesting person to a sympathetic and intelli- 
 gent cooperation in his welfare is one of the 
 best experiences that can come to any one, and 
 particularly to a teacher. 
 
 In practice, work such as is outlined in this 
 book can be given to students either before or 
 after other study of pedagogy and psychology. 
 The experience and observation of the writer 
 lead him to the conviction that most so-called 
 general psychology, even the most elementary, 
 fails to affect the practical life of the teacher, 
 and that more study of the kind that brings 
 
PREFACE iii 
 
 the student into contact with children is needed 
 in Normal Schools. It seems better to lead to 
 psychology from practical questions that arise 
 in actual teaching or observing of children than 
 to try to apply psychology in advance to the 
 work of teaching. Students do not readily ap- 
 ply psychology, and one successful training 
 teacher whose experience extends over a period 
 of twelve years declares that in all her ac- 
 quaintance with practice teachers she has never 
 known an instance in which any reference was 
 ever made spontaneously by a student to any 
 principle or fact that had been acquired in pre- 
 vious psychological work. Such testimony, if 
 it is at all representative of the state of affairs 
 in the Normal School, argues for closer contact, 
 on the part of the psychological student, with 
 the problems of the schoolroom and the indi- 
 viduals in it. 
 
 If some general psychology is to precede ob- 
 servation and practice it seems best that it 
 should be largely genetic psychology; study in 
 which the teacher-to-be is made to live again 
 his own childhood, and to follow the course of 
 his own mental development. If this is entered 
 into with zest by the student it is difficult to 
 see how study of systematic treatises on ana- 
 lytic psychology, in the time that is usually 
 devoted to psychology, can add much to the 
 practical result that is desired for the teacher. 
 
 The experiments and methods of observation 
 
iv PREFACE 
 
 that are described have been gathered from 
 many sources, and no special effort has been 
 made to give credit to those who have first 
 suggested them, except in cases in which the 
 results of research made by the method have 
 been mentioned. The greatest single source 
 of assistance has been the work of Binet. 
 Many of his tests have been used, and some of 
 them modified to suit present purposes. The 
 experimental work of American writers has 
 yielded others: some have been devised by the 
 writer. Nearly everything in the book has 
 been put to considerable trial in actual investi- 
 gations. Some of the tests have been modified 
 as a result of such use, or to avoid the use 
 of apparatus: some are described exactly as 
 they were tried. The purpose being to stimu- 
 late practical observation of individuals, rather 
 than research, it has not been thought neces- 
 sary in some cases to describe the methods in 
 full detail, but to leave something to the choice 
 and ingenuity of the student. The investiga- 
 tions and observation of the writer upon which 
 the methods are based are as follows: — In- 
 vestigation of special topics such as control of 
 the reflex wink and description of an imaginary 
 animal made upon Worcester school children; 
 study of two hundred East Side school children, 
 New York, with H. S. Curtis, reported in New 
 York School Board Eeports 1898; physical ex- 
 amination of two thousand school children, 
 
PREFACE ▼ 
 
 Worcester; study of physical condition of 
 school children, Mankato, Minnesota; report to 
 Worcester School Board on examinations of 
 sight and hearing of school children; study of 
 a group of eighty school children during a 
 period of three years, Mankato Normal School ; 
 study of defectives in schools and hospitals, 
 Worcester; study of twins, reported in Chap- 
 ter I, Part III. Some of the material used in 
 Part I is adapted from unpublished lectures 
 delivered at Clark University in 1905, on the 
 subject of Variational Psychology. 
 
 G. E. Paeteidge. 
 Worcester, Mass., 
 December 5, 1909. 
 
HISTOEY AND THEOEY OF INDI- 
 VIDUAL STUDY 
 
THE NATUBE OF INDIVIDUALITY 
 
 Although to the student of philosophy the 
 nature of individuality is a profound problem, 
 for our ordinary practical purposes we have 
 a sufficiently clear understanding of what we 
 mean by a human individual. We speak of 
 ourselves and others as individuals, thinking 
 of individuals as centers of action, and pos- 
 sessors of a unique mental content, into which 
 no other person can penetrate, except indi- 
 rectly. Individuals moreover possess bodies 
 through which the inner life is partly expressed 
 and by means of which they contend and coop- 
 erate with each other. Many experiences in 
 practical life teach us that there are many dif- 
 ferences among individuals; that, indeed, no 
 two can be found that are exactly alike. 
 
 Study of other forms of life than the human 
 shows that variability among individuals also 
 exists even in the lowest orders of life, both 
 in the vegetable and animal kingdom; that 
 though individuals of these orders are less com- 
 plex than the human, yet they differ greatly 
 from each other. Accepting the evolutionary 
 theory of life, it is plain that the problem of 
 
 3 
 
4 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 individuality in the human race may be re- 
 garded as a part of a larger problem that deals 
 with variability in general as it appears in 
 all forms of life. Individuality therefore is a 
 deep scientific problem. 
 
 An individual, regarded as a scientific prob- 
 lem, presents himself for study in several dif- 
 ferent aspects. He is, first, a member of a 
 species, an individual different from all other 
 individuals of that species. Being complex, he 
 can be analyzed into factors or elements, and 
 can then be compared with others of the species 
 with reference to the characteristics of these 
 elements. The ideal of an exact science of in- 
 dividuality would be to measure each of the 
 variable traits and to assign the individual with 
 regard to it, to his place in the species. 
 
 But an individual would not be described 
 completely even if it were possible to attain 
 this ideal, for he is more than a mere collec- 
 tion of variables; he is a unique whole, in 
 which the parts are balanced in just such a way 
 as to make this particular individual. Analy- 
 sis fails to find the whole nature of a man, just 
 as a description of the features one by one 
 would fail to be a description of that whole 
 we mean when we speak of a face. Two faces 
 very much alike in the analysis would be very 
 different in the total; so two individuals sim- 
 ilar in the analysis may be different when ap- 
 
NATURE OF INDIVIDUALITY 5 
 
 predated as wholes; when they are judged 
 with reference to their values, social and eth- 
 ical. Conversely two people much alike in 
 their social and ethical values may be quite 
 different in their composition, a similarity of 
 result being produced by a different combina- 
 tion of elements. 
 
 But this descriptive method, even when both 
 analytic and synthetic points of view are taken, 
 does not yet tell us entirely what is meant by 
 an individual; for a person is not only some- 
 thing that can be analyzed and described, but 
 he is, from birth to death, a concrete series of 
 connected events, only a part of which can be 
 understood by examining his nature as a sum 
 of parts, or even as a member of a group ; for 
 in a measure these events are the result of 
 forces not contained in the individual at all, 
 and in some cases the whole career seems to 
 hinge upon a single event. 
 
 An individual therefore is not only a bundle 
 of elements interrelated with each other ; he is a 
 whole which can be described and judged as 
 such; and he is that which he appears to him- 
 self to be, a self with a life history made up of 
 concrete events, some of which are the fulfill- 
 ment of his own purposes, some the result of 
 forces and purposes which he does not control. 
 All of these aspects of the individual must be 
 observed, in their relations to each other, if an 
 
6 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 insight into the meaning of individuality is to 
 be obtained. An individual can be understood 
 only by examining him from all of these view- 
 points. 
 
 Making now a division of subject matter for 
 the purposes of observing differences of in- 
 dividuals, there appears to be a sharp distinc- 
 tion between traits of mind, and traits of body. 
 Both the body and mind seem to be made up of 
 parts or functions so joined that, although 
 they can be observed separately, there are many 
 relations among them. 
 
 Both common observation and scientific study 
 show that in bodily traits individuals differ 
 greatly; this is certainly true of all parts of 
 the body that can be observed, and anatomists 
 and physiologists declare that differences are 
 quite as great in those internal parts that are 
 concealed from ordinary observation, even in 
 the minute structures and processes that can 
 be examined only by the microscope and by 
 chemical methods. 
 
 The most casual observation shows, too, that 
 there are many and great differences among in- 
 dividuals in their mental traits. The mind like 
 the body seems to be made up of parts that 
 can vary independently of each other; and 
 yet, though all combinations are thinkable, 
 some appear to be found more frequently than 
 others. 
 
NATURE OF INDIVIDUALITY 7 
 
 Not only when viewed in this analytical way 
 do individuals appear to differ, but when they 
 are considered synthetically with reference to 
 their personality as a whole, and to those as- 
 pects of it which they present to us in the 
 practical relations of life : their values and effi- 
 ciencies : aspects of the individual in recognition 
 of which we have a rich vocabulary of descrip- 
 tion, approbation, and disapproval. 
 
 Lastly, from that point of view which we 
 take in regarding an individual as a series of 
 concrete events, the greatest differences of all 
 are found, some of which we can understand 
 by referring to the traits of the individual, or 
 to the logic of events in which he participates, 
 others of which seem to be mysterious dispen- 
 sations of Providence or the result of fortui- 
 tous combinations of circumstance. 
 
 The study of individuality then is no mere 
 observation of the likenesses and differences 
 that appear to superficial view, but it is a com- 
 plex problem, a part, on the one hand, of the 
 biological problem of variation, on the other 
 related to problems of general psychology, 
 ethics, and sociology. Variation in the human 
 species is presumably subject to the same laws 
 that prevail in producing variability elsewhere ; 
 but the complexity of the human organism 
 makes the study of human variability pecu- 
 liarly difficult. It would be suspected at the 
 
8 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 outset that the study of an object so complex 
 as a human individual would be beset with 
 many difficulties, and in the actual pursuit of 
 it that suspicion is not likely to be proven un- 
 founded. If we examine the causes that pro- 
 duce individuality the explanation of the 
 complexity of the problem is soon found. Two 
 great divisions of fact must be considered; the 
 factors of heredity and of environment. Each 
 individual is a product of two long lines of 
 ancestry; he is a mixture of elements derived 
 from both, a sum of innumerable factors. But 
 he is not only a complex organism, but a plastic 
 one, and environment at the earliest moment 
 of life begins to play a part in still further es- 
 tablishing his individuality. The human being, 
 having both greater complexity of structure 
 than other species, greater plasticity, and a 
 longer period of infancy, and at the same time 
 being influenced by a more complex environ- 
 ment, becomes finally the most individual of all 
 creatures. 
 
 But this process of creating individuality 
 has not ceased with our present state of so- 
 ciety but goes on continually and as specializa- 
 tion increases in modern life individuals tend 
 apparently to become more complex, and at 
 the same time, to differ from one another in 
 more ways. An estrangement of individuals 
 from one another and an increasing difficulty 
 of mutual understanding therefore go hand in 
 
\ 
 
 NATURE OF INDIVIDUALITY 9 
 
 hand with the increasing cooperation that is 
 more often noticed as the result of social 
 progress. This increasing individuality has 
 both advantages and disadvantages, consid- 
 ered from the standpoint of the interests 
 of society. Greater specialization makes for 
 greater efficiency and a social life richer in 
 possibilities of moral and social progress; but 
 it also, by isolating the individual, increases 
 the difficulty of his personal problems, and in 
 dealing with others he tends to lack more and 
 more adequate knowledge of them. No doubt 
 the increasing estrangement from our fellows 
 is in part compensated and overcome by the in- 
 creased definiteness and specialization of our 
 relations with them, but the fact remains that 
 in many departments of life there is a grow- 
 ing necessity for a better knowledge of individ- 
 uals and better methods of studying them. 
 The result is that the study of the individual is 
 itself becoming a specialty, and the specialist 
 comes to mediate between the practical worker, 
 and the object of his labor. Indications of 
 this movement are to be found in education in 
 the development of the research department 
 and of the psychological, medical, and anthropo- 
 metrical specialist. In the profession of medi- 
 cine a class is coming to be set apart for the 
 special work of scientific diagnosis, more exact 
 than can be carried on by the busy practitioner. 
 It is shown in literature by the rapidly increas- 
 
10 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ing interest in biography as a form of litera- 
 ture: and in all the sciences that deal with 
 human nature there is a trend of interest toward 
 the problems of the individual. Stern has de- 
 clared enthusiastically that individuality is to be 
 the great problem of the twentieth century ; it is 
 certainly one of the fields in which scientific 
 research is likely to be active in the near fu- 
 ture, for many interests seem to be converging 
 to a center in the study of the problems of 
 the individual, both in their practical and their 
 scientific aspects. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 If one wishes to enter into philosophic questions 
 of the nature of individuality works like The World 
 and the Individual, by Royce, and Social and Ethi- 
 cal Interpretations in Mental Development, by Bald- 
 win should be read. These are profound and sys- 
 tematic works and are intended, it is presumed, only 
 for the serious student. No better introduction to the 
 biological problems of variation can be found than 
 Darwin's Origin of Species. The articles of Pearson 
 and others published in Biometrika will be interesting 
 to those interested in the mathematical aspects of 
 variation. Some of the best literature of individual- 
 ity was written without intention to throw light upon 
 its scientific problems. The reading of biography will 
 be an excellent accompaniment to observation and ex- 
 periment. Autobiographies like Herbert Spencer's, 
 and such books as Amiel's Journal, the Confessions of 
 Rousseau, the Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff are ex- 
 
SCIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS 11 
 
 cellent portrayals of types of human character. 
 Books that contain studies of national characteristics 
 are helpful. Fiction is valuable but to a less degree, 
 for though its characters may be vivid they are often 
 untrue to nature. The study in detail of the work of 
 anyone who has expressed himself freely in any artis- 
 tic or literary form, is a study in personality. Books 
 and articles that pertain directly to the study of in- 
 dividuals are numerous; they are written in many 
 languages and from many points of view. A few 
 that seem most important or that are most readily 
 accessible will be mentioned in connection with special 
 topics. 
 
 II 
 
 INDIVIDUAL-STUDY AS A SCIENCE 
 
 The study of individuals appears to be one 
 of the great scientific problems of the day, 
 related to and involved in the work of various 
 sciences, that have for their purpose the in- 
 vestigation of man. There are many special 
 problems of individuality, but the whole sub- 
 ject can be brought for discussion under four 
 general topics: (1) The description of individ- 
 uals, including analysis of the organism into 
 its variables and the measure of these variables 
 and the correlation among them; (2) Study of 
 the causes and conditions of differences among 
 individuals such as heredity and environment, 
 and the study of the genesis of traits in the 
 individual and the race; (3) Diagnosis of in- 
 
12 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 dividuals, that is, the development and use of 
 methods of testing individuals to discover their 
 characteristics, abilities, and standing; (4) Ap- 
 plication of these results to the practical treat- 
 ment of individuals; that is, the development 
 of an individual pedagogy, using the term in a 
 wide sense. 
 
 The first, or central, problem of individuality 
 is the descriptive, a problem that is likely to 
 engage the interest of investigators for a long 
 time to come. There are already many con- 
 flicting standpoints, for the individual is a 
 meeting place of many interests. A complete 
 descriptive science of the individual must in- 
 clude : 
 
 (1) Analysis and measurement of the in- 
 dividual regarded as a complex of variable 
 traits ; the establishment of norms or standards 
 for each of these traits or elements and the man- 
 ner of variability of the traits about their norms. 
 This must include the study of both mental 
 and physical traits. If psychology and physi- 
 ology were sufficiently advanced so that these 
 elements were known this problem would be 
 comparatively simple, but this is by no means 
 the case, and it is possible that the general 
 sciences of psychology and physiology will 
 never supply this want. The problem of 
 description is still further complicated by the 
 manner in which variables enter into apparently 
 inextricable combinations with each other. 
 
SCIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS 13 
 
 Always therefore with the isolation and meas- 
 urement of the elements must go investigation 
 of the relations between them, of the manner 
 in which they are coordinated to produce com- 
 binations or types. 
 
 (2) It has already been shown that this 
 method of approaching the study of individual- 
 ity is not entirely satisfactory; partly because 
 the analysis of the individual into elements and 
 the measurement of the elements is an ideal not 
 to be reached in actual practice, but also be- 
 cause this method of study leaves out of account 
 entirely some of the most distinguishing traits 
 of individuality. Methods must be devised for 
 studying the individual from the standpoints 
 of practical life, and of the sciences of ethics 
 and sociology. The essential variables of 
 those qualities of the individual that represent 
 or constitute his values in relation to his fel- 
 lows must be discovered, and methods devised 
 for observing and completely describing them. 
 
 (3) The life history of the individual must 
 be described; that is, he must be studied from 
 the biographical point of view, with reference 
 to the most determining events of his life. For 
 this point of view, too, there is as yet but im- 
 perfect preparation in the general sciences of 
 human life. Something can be derived from 
 ethics, from the study of religion, and social 
 science, but all must be adapted to the study of 
 individuals. The essential events of the lives of 
 
14 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 individuals must be determined with reference 
 to the meaning of life as a whole so far as we 
 can know it from our limited human outlook 
 upon it. This in a sense is the metaphysical 
 attitude toward the problem of individuality. 
 
 A second step always follows the descriptive 
 phase of a science; the explanatory. The sec- 
 ond problem of individuality is the investiga- 
 tion of the relations of differences among hu- 
 man beings to other facts, and to other laws. 
 This means a study of the causes of differences, 
 the working of the laws of evolution, genesis, 
 and variability to determine how they produce 
 types and differences, in what direction differ- 
 entiation of types is proceeding, the effects of 
 environment, the relations of genesis of traits in 
 the individual and in the race. The develop- 
 ment of characteristics in children must be 
 observed and recorded ; the forces that have pro- 
 duced differentiation must be studied in retro- 
 spect by the adult. Finally the whole subject 
 must be interpreted in the light of the unified 
 views of life that are obtained in the philosophic 
 and other sciences. 
 
 The third problem of individuality — the 
 diagnostic — involves the application of knowl- 
 edge derived from descriptive and explanatory 
 studies of individuality to the definite practical 
 study of particular individuals. When types 
 and varieties are known, and norms established, 
 and the relative importance of characteristics, 
 
SCIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS 15 
 
 and their dependence upon one another are de- 
 termined, methods must then he devised for 
 discovering the essential traits of any individ- 
 ual as quickly and as simply as possible, in 
 order to understand in a practical way, his abil- 
 ities and values, to predict reasonably his 
 future, and to have a basis for rationally con- 
 trolling his life. That such a diagnostic of in- 
 dividuality must wait for the development of 
 description and explanation seems inevitable; 
 yet in a way this is the most pressing of the 
 problems of individuality. It is the task that 
 has often been taken up in mental-test schemes 
 and other methods of diagnosing individuality, 
 all of which have failed or have been unsatis- 
 factory largely because they have made the 
 error of supposing that the characteristics 
 which they attempted to test were better known 
 than they actually were. This is precisely the 
 problem of the old phrenology, which divided 
 the individual into a score or two of definite 
 traits, and tried to determine the degree in 
 which he possessed each of these traits by ob- 
 serving the size of the skull compartment in 
 which they were supposed to be represented. 
 The scheme was very simple, but it ignored the 
 fact that even the most fundamental traits were 
 but imperfectly known and that they must be 
 known before the individual could be tested. 
 Other attempts to make practical systems of 
 diagnosis like palmistry, chirography, and as- 
 
16 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 trology (which pretends to find the signs of 
 character not in the individual himself, but 
 in the stars) are to a greater extent guilty 
 of the same errors. Eventually there will be 
 a diagnostic that will be both scientific and 
 practical. When characteristics are sufficiently 
 well known simple methods for studying those 
 that are most central to individuality can 
 probably be devised. Whether the ideal of a 
 short, perfectly simple, and accurate means of 
 measuring or psychographing an individual 
 will ever be reached it is difficult to say. Any 
 such system would, in the nature of the case, be 
 a makeshift, a substitute for more detailed 
 knowledge, but it is likely that in time it will 
 be possible, by a fairly brief examination, to 
 discover the most essential traits of a person, 
 and that the methods will be simple enough to 
 be applied generally in practical examinations 
 for all kinds of advancement and appointment, 
 and for various uses of education and medicine. 
 The fourth problem is the practical one of 
 applying knowledge of individuality in general 
 and the result of tests to the practical control 
 of individuals. There are two problems in- 
 volved: (1) To discover or to decide upon that 
 which it is desired to accomplish for an indi- 
 vidual, decisions that are determined partly by 
 knowledge about the individual, and partly by 
 the ideals- of the society in which he lives; (2) 
 To discover the best means of reaching the de- 
 
VARIATIONAL METHOD 17 
 
 sired end, that is to construct an individual 
 pedagogy. Both of these problems are inter- 
 related in various ways with the problems of 
 general pedagogy, but they are also individ- 
 ual, and must be treated with reference to 
 the facts of variability among human individ- 
 uals. 
 
 Such, briefly stated, is the ideal of the science 
 of individual-study. Every science tends to 
 pass through stages similar to those men- 
 tioned ; descriptive, explanatory, and finally the 
 stage of application and practice. These steps 
 represent, it is true, an ideal course of pro- 
 cedure. Actually, the process is more complex 
 and confused, for the advancement of a science 
 is not determined by a consensus of opinion, 
 but progress is made by more or less detached 
 and independent efforts. In a general way, 
 however, a science proceeds from the descrip- 
 tive stage to the explanatory, and then to the 
 practical. 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE VAKIATIONAL METHOD 
 
 The descriptive problem has been shown to 
 be the central problem of the study of indi- 
 viduality. Individuals must be described be- 
 fore the causes of their differences can be 
 understood, or practical consequences deduced. 
 
18 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Individual-study is also seen to be more than 
 a mere observing of superficial traits of body 
 and mind. The individual as a whole must 
 be studied in all his aspects, from the stand- 
 point of all the sciences that deal with human 
 nature, and from all these sciences methods 
 must be drawn and modified to meet the special 
 requirements of application to the study of in- 
 dividuals. It so happens that in nearly all the 
 sciences of human nature a strong current of 
 interest has turned, in recent years, in the di- 
 rection of the variational or individual problem. 
 The recent interest in numerical problems of 
 biology, which has become an important phase 
 of that science, will illustrate the general trend. 
 Variability is being measured not only for all 
 important traits of the human body, but of 
 plants and animals. Almost all the conspicu- 
 ous traits of the human body have already been 
 so treated, and the method has even been ap- 
 plied to some mental characteristics. Pearson 
 thinks that all traits, when accurately enough 
 measured, and a sufficient number of cases are 
 taken, will show variation around a norm, ac- 
 cording to the law of probability, and that dis- 
 continuous variation and types are, for the 
 most part, due to insufficient number of cases, 
 inexact methods, or imperfect analysis of the 
 characters to be studied: that discontinuous 
 variation, if it exists at all, is so infrequent 
 that it can be neglected in theory. He thinks, 
 
VARIATIONAL METHOD 19 
 
 too, that every idea of Darwin, such as varia- 
 tion, natural selection, sexual selection, inherit- 
 ance, prepotency, reversion, seems capable of 
 exact mathematical definition and statistical 
 treatment. 
 
 The anatomical problems of variability are 
 much further advanced than others and we now 
 have a fairly good numerical account of the 
 main features of the external configuration of 
 the body : some work has also been done in the 
 study of variability of internal organs, and the 
 correlation of one organ with another. Meas- 
 urement of the body has been a problem of 
 interest to two different classes of workers, bi- 
 ologists and anthropometrists, the latter work- 
 ing especially in the interest of practical appli- 
 cation of measurements to the physical train- 
 ing of youth, and also studying racial differ- 
 ences. 
 
 In physiology, work along variational lines 
 is less advanced although many studies have 
 been made of the more accessible functions, such 
 as respiration, circulation, metabolism, temper- 
 ature, tonus rhythms in muscles, rapidity of 
 nerve impulse, secretion and excretion. 
 
 Pathologists naturally approach their prob- 
 lems with some conception of types and varia- 
 tion. Already, true variational methods and 
 conceptions are beginning to change the meth- 
 ods of studying disease and of regarding 
 disease processes. There is a growing change 
 
20 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 of viewpoint in the direction of regarding the 
 variation of physiological functions from the 
 normal rather than the presence of germs or 
 disease processes as the main factor in the pro- 
 duction of diseases. On this consideration the 
 constitution of the individual as a whole, and 
 his life history are taken into account, rather 
 than the habits and life history of the germ, or 
 the microscopical examination of the patho- 
 logical process. Individuals must be studied, 
 in order to satisfy this new turn in pathological 
 research; they must be regarded as members 
 of a group, as a sum of variables capable of 
 departing in all degrees from a norm or aver- 
 age. So in branches of medicine like psychi- 
 atry we hear much about the physiological 
 activity of cells, changes in irritability, causing 
 cells to act more slowly or more sensitively, 
 and in other fundamental characteristics of 
 living matter. Pathologic types are explained 
 as the result of departures from the norm in 
 the few elementary variables, and in the man- 
 ner of their combination. 
 
 Other organs and functions of the body than 
 the nervous system are coming to be regarded 
 in this same way. Kraus and Martius, for ex- 
 ample, have been studying types of efficiency 
 of heart and stomach; and thoughtful physi- 
 cians look forward to the time when a complete 
 description of a man in terms of functional 
 efficiency of his parts or physiological systems, 
 
VARIATIONAL METHOD 21 
 
 including his conscious adaptations, will be pos- 
 sible. The great advantage of such a concep- 
 tion for the physician is obvious; it would 
 enable him to study in cases small departures 
 from normal activity, to trace the development 
 of individuals toward abnormal functioning, 
 and to understand in their origin and as they 
 appear in small departures those disease types 
 that later appear in pronounced form. This 
 would include the study of those diatheses that 
 are the foundations of physical diseases, and 
 the types of constitution that result in mental 
 disease: such as the psychasthenic, neuras- 
 thenic, hypochondriacal, hysterical, epileptic, 
 the deterioration type, the maniacal, paranoiac. 
 
 Within psychology proper the development 
 toward what has been called the variational 
 method or study of individual differences has 
 appeared in many departments; though the 
 studies are as yet fragmentary and the actual 
 results meager, and there is wide divergence 
 among psychologists in their conception of the 
 whole problem, there is here the clearest notion 
 of a science of individual-study, and the most 
 promising state of interest. The following 
 chapter will relate, in some detail, the history 
 and present status of the variational method in 
 the field of general psychology. 
 
 The same method of attacking problems is on 
 the increase also in the special psychological 
 and philosophical sciences. In the science of 
 
22 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 religion comparative methods are being used, 
 not only in the study of racial types of religious 
 beliefs, but in the investigation of varieties of 
 religious experience among individuals. In 
 ethics, too, similar lines of attack are appearing. 
 
 In ethnology the study of differences in traits 
 among races of mankind necessarily adopts the 
 conceptions of variability; the ethnologist is 
 particularly interested in discovering those 
 traits that are least variable, and so of most 
 value in classifying the human species into 
 varieties. 
 
 In sociology the problems of variability are 
 at the front. Questions of the formation of 
 national types, the study of traits of various 
 social and economic groups require the concep- 
 tion of the problem that has been called the 
 variational, and the interpretation of the facts 
 in accordance with the general laws of evolu- 
 tion. Besides these normal groups, the crim- 
 inal, and the socially defective generally, must 
 be studied as members of a variational series 
 rather than merely as diseased or abnormal 
 persons. The victims of alcohol, the unfit, and 
 the vicious of all kinds must so be considered. 
 
 Thus it is seen that all through the sciences 
 that deal with human nature the biological con- 
 ception of variability applies, and that methods 
 are being worked out which, though specially 
 applicable to the use of special scientific prob- 
 lems, have a common ground. These methods 
 
VARIATIONAL METHOD 23 
 
 need to be brought together and considered 
 with reference to their applicability to the study 
 of individuals as such in a systematic manner. 
 
 The methods that have thus far been applied 
 to the study of individuals can be grouped into 
 four classes: (1) Medical and physiological 
 methods; (2) Anthropological methods; (3) 
 Psychological methods; (4) General observa- 
 tion and pedagogical methods. 
 
 From the medical interest in individuals a 
 science of diagnosis has arisen that has gradu- 
 ally been extended into new subjects, until now 
 the medical methods of examining individuals 
 form one of the most scientific aspects of the 
 subject. Chemical and physiological methods 
 have been worked out for measuring and test- 
 ing physical functions, some of them adapted 
 merely to discovering the presence or absence 
 of disease, others suitable for testing normal 
 functions, and measuring variability. Medical 
 diagnosis has extended to the mental life, and 
 the study of types of mental disease and defi- 
 ciency has led to more or less complete sche- 
 mata for the study of the normal mental life, 
 especially the temperament, the emotions, and 
 habits. A thorough medical examination now, 
 at its best, includes a broad examination of an 
 individual and comprises investigation of both 
 mental and physical functions. 
 
 From the anthropologists have come methods 
 for exact measurement and description of physi- 
 
24 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 cal conformation, and of some mental traits 
 that are distinctive of racial types. Anthropo- 
 metrists have developed and refined these 
 methods and applied them to the problem of 
 physical diagnosis and to the measurement of 
 development of normal and abnormal individ- 
 uals. 
 
 Psychologists have supplied many methods 
 for the study of individuals. Their first at- 
 tempt was to devise a short series of tests or 
 experiments based upon the divisions of mind 
 made by analytic psychology, with the expecta- 
 tion that these tests could be used in analyzing 
 an individual completely enough for practical 
 purposes. It was soon seen that these methods 
 failed to strike at the essential traits of the 
 individual, and attention was turned rather to 
 the more complex functions, using methods in 
 part new, and unknown in general psychology, 
 and in part adapting methods of general psy- 
 chology to the requirements for studying indi- 
 vidual differences. This work has been par- 
 tially successful in establishing methods that 
 have some practical bearing and at the same 
 time are exact enough for the purposes of 
 scientific investigation. Meantime the whole 
 problem of individuality has been seen in larger 
 ways and now the aim of psychologists is to 
 attack the problem systematically and to devise 
 methods for a complete description of mental 
 traits ; that is, to work out a science of psycho- 
 
VARIATIONAL METHOD 25 
 
 graphy or descriptive method for the study of 
 all those characteristics that can in any way 
 come into consideration in the study of individ- 
 uality. Materials for such a comprehensive 
 methodology are scattered throughout the liter- 
 ature of general psychology, and methods that 
 have been used in general problems can readily 
 be adapted in many cases to the study of in- 
 dividual differences. Many of these methods 
 require complicated apparatus, and such facili- 
 ties as can be had only in a laboratory supplied 
 with electrical equipment. 
 
 Into a fourth group can be placed those meth- 
 ods that have been employed in the study of 
 individuals in the moral and social sciences, 
 for the purposes of education, and also those 
 methods that have been worked out from 
 the standpoint of biography. They are largely 
 observational methods and they are but little 
 coordinated or developed, but they represent at- 
 tempts to approach the study of the individual 
 from those wide standpoints in which he is 
 regarded in his social and ethical relationships, 
 and as a unique person. 
 
 All these various methods must eventually 
 be incorporated into a descriptive science of 
 individuality which, from the nature of the case, 
 cannot be confined within the limits of any pres- 
 ent science, for both mental and physical traits 
 must be investigated, and no way of regarding 
 individuality must be neglected in a complete 
 
26 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 descriptive scheme. Yet, for reasons that are 
 readily discoverable, the study of individuality 
 is more closely related to psychology than to 
 any other science. In the past most of the the- 
 oretical formulation of individual-study and 
 most of the outlines for procedure have come 
 from psychology. For this reason, it is impor- 
 tant to trace at some length the history of 
 individual or differential psychology; and 
 finally to examine the claim of psychology to be 
 the foundation of the science of individuality. 
 
 rv 
 
 STUDY OF INDIVIDUALITY WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 The history and present status of the prob- 
 lems of variation and individuality within 
 psychology need special attention, for it is in 
 psychology, as has been said, that the problem 
 of individuality seems to center. There has 
 been, and is, in psychology great diversity of 
 opinion with regard to the whole matter of 
 individual-study. Over some of the funda- 
 mental conceptions there is still confusion, and 
 even plain contradiction. The main differences 
 of attitude can be disclosed best by considering 
 briefly the work of German, French, English, 
 and American psychologists, with special refer- 
 ence to the experimental investigation of differ- 
 ences. 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 27 
 
 Exact work in differential psychology ap- 
 pears to have begun with the work of Kraepelin 
 and his school. Kraepelin was led to the study 
 of normal mental differences by the study of 
 insanity and nervous diseases. In order to 
 analyze the constitution of certain types of 
 defectives which he thinks are different at the 
 very beginning of life, he is brought to the 
 differential study of various traits of normal 
 people. His study of the fatigue curve is an 
 example of the method, and is an instance of ex- 
 cellent results in the investigation of individual 
 differences. He succeeded in isolating several 
 factors of fatigue, each in itself independently 
 variable, and in establishing norms and types, 
 with which the abnormal can be compared. 
 
 Oehrn's work, done in Kraepelin 's laboratory, 
 was one of the earliest contributions to indi- 
 vidual psychology, and was a product of the 
 conception just referred to. His aim was to 
 obtain norms for some of the common mental 
 processes, such as letter counting, search for 
 certain letters, learning of digits, marking in- 
 correct spelling, adding of single place figures, 
 writing from dictation, reading at maximal 
 speed — and then to compute the relationship 
 of these activities in the individual, and, if pos- 
 sible, to discover mental types. Although the 
 actual results were not so conclusive as could 
 have been wished, the method itself seems to be 
 promising. 
 
28 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 At the present time the most comprehensive 
 study of individual differences in Germany is 
 being made by Stern. He, too, approaches the 
 subject from the standpoint of general psychol- 
 ogy. The descriptive problem, he maintains, 
 comes first; we must first find the differences 
 before they can be studied in any other way. 
 And in order to discover them a beginning must 
 be made with the simplest mental functions 
 such as have been discovered by general psy- 
 chology; then variations in the working of 
 simple psychological laws must be investigated ; 
 the arrangement of simple elements into types, 
 and the simple types into more complex types 
 must next be known; and finally insight into 
 individuality itself, which is a combination of 
 types, must be obtained. It would be hoped 
 that a few elementary variables could be found, 
 the combination of which produces the complex 
 differences of individuality. Two methods are 
 allowable in investigating types: (1) By find- 
 ing out how the elementary functions vary to- 
 gether, new types will be discovered; (2) by 
 analysis of such types as are already known, 
 variables among elementary traits are to be 
 discovered. There are many ways of approach- 
 ing the whole problem of individuality, and 
 among them, according to Stern, six promising 
 methods: (1) Self -observation ; (2) observa- 
 tion of others ; (3) study of literature ; (4) study 
 of civilization; (5) syllabus method; (6) ex- 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 29 
 
 periment. The most promising of these, he 
 thinks, is the method of experiment, and he 
 proceeds to outline methods for the study of 
 individuality based upon the achievements of 
 general psychology; although, as he soon dis- 
 covers, the methods of general psychology must 
 be adapted to these special purposes. At some 
 points present psychology seems to him to be 
 adequate for the study of individual differ- 
 ences ; at others it seems to be of little service. 
 Turning to the study of individual psychol- 
 ogy in France, a different point of view is 
 found. The French literature of the subject is 
 rich in attempts to classify characters, but these 
 studies, for the most part, have not led to sys- 
 tematic investigation. They have, however, 
 determined apparently the standpoint of indi- 
 vidual psychology in France. Paulhan's sys- 
 tem of character-study needs, perhaps, special 
 mention, though it represents the older deduct- 
 ive kind of work, rather than the experimental. 
 Paulhan bases his classification of characters 
 upon principles of philosophy. An individual 
 is made up of both concrete and abstract ele- 
 ments. The concrete traits or elements are 
 those to which descriptive adjectives are ap- 
 plied : these elements combine according to 
 psychological laws, and the combination of ele- 
 ments accounts for the abstract elements. 
 Characters are classified according to four 
 main characteristics : (1) The degree of coher- 
 
30 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ence of a character and the nature of the 
 association among the elements; (2) the form 
 of the elements and of the mind as a whole ; (3) 
 the presence or absence of particular elements ; 
 (4) the manner in which the elements act to- 
 gether as a whole; their subordination one to 
 another. 
 
 Eibot also approaches the study of individual 
 difference from the consideration of the indi- 
 vidual as a whole. " There is more in the 
 synthesis than in the analysis"; and the most 
 distinguishing traits of an individual are just 
 those balances of function that can never be 
 reached by the study of elements. Therefore 
 the methods of studying individuals are not 
 the same as those employed in investigation 
 of the problems of analytic psychology, but 
 must be directed to the study of the more com- 
 plex functions. 
 
 Experimental psychology in France has fol- 
 lowed out these suggestions, considering the 
 individual as a whole rather than as a sum of 
 items. By far the most important work is that 
 of Binet and his school. They have been study- 
 ing variability and correlation for many years, 
 and have gradually been perfecting tests that 
 they think will enable them to make a compre- 
 hensive psychograph or mental diagnosis of an 
 individual. Their method has been to study 
 the traits that most characterize a person in 
 actual life, in order to discover those central 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 31 
 
 variables with which other traits of the indi- 
 vidual are connected. The order of procedure 
 has been to study many qualities in one or a 
 few persons, or a few qualities in a large group. 
 Some of the results of these methods, for ex- 
 ample Binet's comparative study of the intelli- 
 gence of two children, are very valuable 
 contributions to the psychology of mental dif- 
 ferences. 
 
 The psychological studies of individuality 
 that have been made in England, and also in 
 America, have been dominated or greatly in- 
 fluenced by what may be called the phrenological 
 idea; that is, the hope of finding some simple 
 tests by which the individual may be measured 
 and the result of which will stand for a descrip- 
 tion of him adapted to practical use. Although 
 phrenology did not originate in England, it 
 seems to have taken firm root there and to have 
 influenced some of the best thinkers; for ex- 
 ample, Spencer, Mill, Bain, Wallace. All of 
 these discuss the subject and Wallace maintains 
 that the neglect of phrenology is one of the 
 great sins of omission of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. Both in England and America elabo- 
 rates of the work of Gall and Spurzeim have 
 made attempts to classify mental character- 
 istics, and to show the interaction of traits in 
 the formation of character. Sizer and Dray- 
 ton's " Heads and Faces " is a good example of 
 this kind of work. They begin with a modified 
 
32 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 form of the ancient doctrine of temperament, 
 finding three great systems in the individual; 
 the motive or mechanical, the vital, and the 
 mental or nervous. They then proceed to de- 
 scribe the characteristics of the temperaments 
 in which these systems respectively predomi- 
 nate. 
 
 Mill, in his " Logic,' ' outlines a theory of 
 ethology or science of character, dividing the 
 subject into two parts: (1) Dynamic ethology, 
 or the science of character forming; (2) static 
 ethology, or the science of individual differ- 
 ences. Galton has followed out both these lines 
 of research and has contributed to the subject 
 brilliant investigations of differences, their 
 causes, and mathematical methods of treating 
 data. 
 
 The American studies in this field center 
 about the problem of mental tests. Although 
 considerable work has been done on this subject, 
 the investigations have lacked coordination, and 
 at present there are rather conflicting results. 
 Nearly all the numerical results, both of Amer- 
 ican and foreign investigators, are just now 
 under the ban of higher mathematical criticism, 
 for reasons soon to be mentioned. The Amer- 
 ican studies include investigations like those of 
 Gilbert, Cattell, Seashore, Thompson, Sharp, 
 Miles, Thorndike, the World's Fair tests, 
 Muensterberg 's tests — all dominated by the 
 desire to obtain practical measurements of in- 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 33 
 
 dividuals. The difficulty that confronts this 
 method is now well understood; the " simple " 
 processes that are examined are themselves 
 complex, and numerical results, when obtained, 
 do not sufficiently represent psychological states 
 or functions. When, therefore, attempts are 
 made to study correlation among mental func- 
 tions, the full difficulty comes to view. Eesults 
 are conflicting, but nearly all investigators have 
 failed to find much correlation among the func- 
 tions that they have tested. Smith, for exam- 
 ple, reporting in Thorndike's " Heredity, Cor- 
 relation, and Sex Differences in School Abili- 
 ties," studied the relations between abilities 
 involved in grammar school subjects and found 
 no great degree of correlation among them, 
 or among the various abilities demanded in 
 the same subject. Other studies by Thorndike 
 and his pupils tend to show that the abilities 
 used in school subjects are decidedly unrelated, 
 independent and specialized. Seashore found 
 but little correlation among traits; Bagley de- 
 nies all correspondence between motor and 
 mental abilities, except antagonistic relation- 
 ships; the studies of Cattell, Farrand, and 
 Wissler are negative, and Sharp found but 
 little correlation in a long series of tests of 
 various functions. 
 
 Into the midst of this discussion now comes 
 Spearman, with a remarkable investigation 
 based upon mathematical methods of studying 
 
34 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 correlation, which tends to show that the failure 
 to discover correlation among mental traits is 
 due to lack of understanding of mathematical 
 methods of handling data. His problem is the 
 investigation of correlation between various 
 kinds of sense discrimination, and general intel- 
 ligence as represented by school work. He ex- 
 amined small groups of school children, testing 
 discrimination for sound, light, and weight. 
 In estimating intelligence he used the ordinary 
 school grades based upon examinations, the 
 difference between each boy's rank in school 
 and his rank in age, the common sense marked 
 by the oldest pupil, the next oldest, and an 
 adult. He then proceeded to estimate the cor- 
 relations among these two series of gradings; 
 that is, to measure the common element or fac- 
 tor that enters into the ability to make sense 
 discriminations, and the general intelligence. 
 He proves that there is a factor common to 
 all of the discrimination functions that were 
 tested, and also a factor common to all the 
 intelligences represented in the various methods 
 of grading. Moreover, this common factor in 
 all the discriminations coincides exactly with 
 the common factor in all the intelligences. 
 What this factor is, psychologically, he does 
 not attempt to decide; it may be simple or it 
 may be complex. 
 
 If now Spearman's method is valid, there is 
 decided correlation among mental abilities, and 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS 35 
 
 the conclusions of many, especially among 
 American investigators, are wrong. The chief 
 contribution of the American differential psy- 
 chology, and it is a considerable one, seems to 
 be the experimental methods that have been de- 
 vised or applied to the study of differences ; 
 some of them no doubt crude, but serviceable in 
 the long course of preliminary work that is yet 
 to be done in the psychological investigation of 
 individuality. 
 
 The differences in standpoint that are found 
 in the psychological studies of individuality, 
 though somewhat perplexing, do not indicate 
 lack of progress in the subject, nor a permanent 
 state of contradiction. They seem for the most 
 part due, not to mistakes and wrong concep- 
 tions of the problem, but to the complexity of 
 the subject. This is a condition that almost 
 invariably arises at the beginning of a new de- 
 velopment of science. The new problem proves 
 to be larger than those who make the begin- 
 nings perceive, and the narrow schematization 
 that seems necessary at the outset soon gives 
 way to a broader conception of the problem. 
 Unexpected complications arise, and it is soon 
 seen that many methods must be tried, and 
 many preliminary investigations made, before 
 exact work can be done, or a clear view ahead 
 be seen. The study of individuality is in the 
 stage of preliminary investigations, when we 
 are just beginning to see that it is no mere 
 
36 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 problem, or branch, or method of psychology, 
 but a broad field for scientific research that 
 lies before us ; a field in which all methods must 
 be made welcome, for the study of individuality 
 is a meeting place of many sciences, and its 
 attitude must therefore be cosmopolitan. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 There is as yet no complete summary of the history 
 of individual psychology, but it must be studied in 
 scattered articles in the psychological journals. Par- 
 tial summaries of methods and pre-suppositions are 
 contained in articles by Sharp, Huey, and more re- 
 cently Spearman in the American Journal of Psychol- 
 ogy. Ribot, Psychology of the Emotions can be 
 consulted for some reference to French studies of char- 
 acter and temperament. Spearman's Article on Gen- 
 eral Intelligence (American Journal of Psychology, 
 April, 1904), should be read. 
 
 INDIVIDUAL-STUDY FROM THE BIOLOGICAL POINT OF 
 VIEW 
 
 The review of the present conceptions of in- 
 dividual-study and its history demonstrates at 
 least two facts: (1) that the study of individ- 
 uality reaches beyond the limits of any one 
 science; (2) that there is at present no concep- 
 tion of the problem of individuality that is 
 
BIOLOGICAL HYPOTHESIS 37 
 
 capable of bringing order among conflicting 
 views, or of serving as a working hypothesis to 
 unify the subject. Yet this seems to be neces- 
 sary, if progress is to be made. 
 
 It has been seen that most of the suggestions 
 for a science of individuality have been derived 
 from psychology ; and rightly, for it seems true 
 that the mind of a man is the most essential 
 part of his personality, and psychology has suc- 
 ceeded in making at least a partial analysis 
 of mind into its elementary processes. Some 
 think, in fact, that the study of individuality 
 is a branch or method of psychology. But this 
 seems to be too narrow a view; for physical 
 differences must be taken into account as well 
 as mental differences. And besides, the study 
 of mental traits does not belong entirely to psy- 
 chology, for the individual is more than a com- 
 plex of mental states and processes ; he is a self- 
 conscious person, a social unit, a body-mind 
 mechanism related to the whole history of the 
 race. 
 
 The question arises whether some point of 
 view more fundamental may not be taken from 
 which the subject of individual differences can 
 be approached more broadly than by conceiving 
 it as a psychological problem, yet in which psy- 
 chology shall be the central viewpoint. If psy- 
 chology is still to be retained as a basis for the 
 study of the individual, is there any way of 
 looking at psychological problems which will 
 
38 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 at the same time take into account the variation 
 of physical traits and the relations of the indi- 
 vidual to the history of the race and to the so- 
 ciety to which he belongs ; in other words in ac- 
 cordance with the conception of progress by 
 variation? 
 
 In accordance with this broader conception of 
 individual-study, if it is possible to take it, the 
 first principle that must be laid down is that 
 body and mind have evolved together in the 
 race and have developed together in the indi- 
 vidual; that, therefore, both objective and 
 subjective methods must be employed; that 
 physical and mental facts are to be placed theo- 
 retically upon equal terms. If such a psycho- 
 physical standpoint' is accepted as a working hy- 
 pothesis, other principles follow. It will be 
 necessary to consider first the simple functions, 
 both mental and physical, among the lowest 
 forms of life, and to see how these elementary 
 traits can vary. Even the single-celled animal 
 carries on a life process in which all the higher 
 processes are already represented. The single 
 cell can vary in movement, form, growth, and 
 reproductive processes. Processes of assimila- 
 tion, respiration, circulation, elimination, and 
 irritability appear at the outset. Naturally 
 then one would look for fundamental variables 
 among these simple functions. Here one would 
 search for light upon the physiological basis 
 of temperament, and other characteristics of 
 
BIOLOGICAL HYPOTHESIS 39 
 
 the individual that are most obviously connected 
 with physical traits. 
 
 In the evolution of the race, the characteristic 
 known as irritability soon emerges as a sig- 
 nificant trait of the animal cell. It becomes 
 pushed ahead by selection, becomes highly vari- 
 able, and the seat of those distinctions and se- 
 lections that are called psychical. When there- 
 fore the higher traits of the nervous system 
 and the mind are studied, we must try as far as 
 possible to connect them with variations in 
 fundamental processes, such as irritability^ 
 which can reasonably be supposed to underlie 
 them. In this way must be considered fatigue, 
 recovery, reflex activity, and many qualities of 
 the mental life, especially the more general 
 characteristics of emotion, mental tonus, and 
 mental tempo. Consciousness so considered is 
 the reverse side of a complex of physiological 
 traits; now we have a glimpse of the physical, 
 now of the mental, but it must be remembered 
 that the two series of facts belong together. 
 
 The nervous system is essentially a mechan- 
 ism by which impressions are coordinated for 
 the purpose of producing movements. In its 
 primitive form it is a sensori-motor cell in 
 which the functions of sensation, or its phys- 
 iological equivalent, and motion are carried on 
 together. The two functions become separated 
 and gradually increased in complexity by the 
 interposition of connecting elements. But the 
 
40 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 type of action is not changed. However com- 
 plex may be the functions of the human brain 
 they are but the result of summation of the 
 simplest reactions, and the highest conscious 
 processes are not different in kind from the 
 lowest. Complex differences in the psychic 
 field must be interpreted as correlates of varia- 
 tions in afferent-motor processes. 
 
 The nervous system, then, is a mechanism 
 for securing coordination in such a way that one 
 element may act with another to cause a unit in 
 function where morphologically there are sepa- 
 rate structures. This is the type of all psycho- 
 physical reactions, and it is secured in two ways 
 in the individual; (1) by the development of in- 
 nate coordinations; (2) by associations due to 
 experience. Variable factors in these two fun- 
 damental forms of coordination must be investi- 
 gated therefore as a preparation for the classi- 
 fication of differences in the higher processes of 
 the mental life, and the higher processes must 
 so far as possible be interpreted in terms of 
 these fundamental variables. So understand- 
 ing the mechanism of the nervous system in- 
 dividuals can be studied with reference to the 
 two types of coordination that have been de- 
 scribed. 
 
 In considering differences among individuals 
 the native coordinations would be considered 
 first, regarding the acts that result from them 
 as primarily body-mind adjustments in situa- 
 
BIOLOGICAL HYPOTHESIS 41 
 
 tions that are or have been practical in the 
 development of the race. Here indeed is the 
 central point of the theory of individual- study. 
 The most practical point to observe is that on 
 this consideration the most determining traits 
 of individuality are to be sought, not in the 
 higher sentiments and their manifestations in 
 conduct, but in the simple reactions, the primary 
 instinct-feelings; variations in which, if the 
 biological hypothesis is correct, determine 
 largely differences in the higher or more com- 
 plex traits of the moral, religious, social, aes- 
 thetic, and practical life. Many other traits 
 of the individual such as characteristics of in- 
 terest, attention, and habit must be examined 
 also with reference to variability of the primary 
 instincts, and it is reasonable to expect that 
 when a few basic traits are thoroughly under- 
 stood, many differences in human nature other- 
 wise inexplicable will be explained. To what 
 extent these differences will be referred to their 
 physical correlates it is impossible to know ; but 
 it is to be expected that many relationships be- 
 tween these mental differences and underlying 
 physical conditions will eventually be made out ; 
 that differences in excitability of nerve tissue, 
 in supply of blood to tissues, traits of metabo- 
 lism and the like will be found correlated with 
 differences that are discovered by subjective 
 methods and by observation of activity. 
 Coming now to the phase of consciousness 
 
42 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 that is represented by the acquired brain con- 
 nection, we must begin again, if possible, with 
 a central characteristic or elementary process, 
 which seems to be associative connection. 
 Again, it is the general characteristic of men- 
 tal habit, rather than content of consciousness 
 which must be examined for clues to the most 
 determining mental differences. The simple 
 reaction arc, that is made up of impression, 
 movement, and return of the impression must 
 be examined to detect its essential variables, 
 regarding it as a practical function, and the 
 type of all mental activity. We need not follow 
 out the details of this process of associative 
 connection, and the manner in which the se- 
 lective process that is inherent in it gradually 
 produces a connected stream of consciousness 
 in the individual, and directs it to practical 
 ends, but it is sufficient to point out that the 
 central problem of intellectual differences is 
 the analysis of this process of associative con- 
 nection into its variable elements, and to trace 
 the connection between the more complex dif- 
 ference in mental activity and these. Only 
 when, on this hypothesis, the explanatory 
 powers of the simple principles fail need others 
 be resorted to. 
 
 This statement of the theory of mental dif- 
 ferences is of course but the barest suggestion 
 of an outline but it will serve the purpose of 
 showing how an hypothesis can be constructed 
 
BIOLOGICAL HYPOTHESIS 43 
 
 that shall take into account both the physical 
 and mental aspects of individuality in the same 
 conceptions. The proof of the value of such a 
 working hypothesis would be found in the ac- 
 tual use of it. That such a method is more 
 comprehensive and better suited to the purpose 
 of individual-study than that which is based 
 upon analytic psychology there are many indi- 
 cations. For this psycho-physical view exam- 
 ines the individual as a whole, as a member of 
 a biological series and in relation to the de- 
 velopment of individuality in the race. It 
 brings to the foreground and puts into their 
 proper place the instincts and emotions, and 
 makes the differences among their most gen- 
 eral characteristics the foundation of person- 
 ality; and it emphasizes the social and ethical 
 aspects of individuality which are closely con- 
 nected with the primary instinctive reactions. 
 It connects also with those biographical methods 
 which must be used for the description of the 
 individual with reference to the most important 
 events of his life ; for the events that are most 
 determining in the life of an individual are 
 those usually that profoundly affect some funda- 
 mental emotion and its expression in conduct 
 or interest. 
 
 However one may approach the study of indi- 
 viduality, whether for the purposes of scien- 
 tific research or for practical ends, some means 
 must be adopted for bringing the subject into 
 
44 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 order. This can be done only by considering 
 the relations of the subject to the sciences on 
 which it is based. It has been the aim of the 
 preceding chapters merely to suggest these re- 
 lations, and the attitude of mind one must take 
 in considering how and why people differ 
 from each other. Attention can now be turned 
 to the actual methods that are to be used in 
 studying these differences. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 References for reading in connection with this chap- 
 ter would necessarily send one rather far afield in 
 psychological literature. To understand the position 
 of the naturalistic psychology upon which this view is 
 based, one should read the articles on anger, fear, and 
 other emotions by G. S. Hall, that have appeared from 
 time to time in the American Journal of Psychology. 
 The most systematic presentation of the subject is to 
 be found in the works of J. Mark Baldwin ; especially 
 Mental Development in the Child and the Race can be 
 read. Chamberlain's The Child contains most of the 
 facts. Royce's Outlines of Psychology is written 
 from somewhat similar points of departure. An ar- 
 ticle by Dewey, The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychol- 
 ogy (Psychological Review Vol. Ill, 1896), contains 
 the kernel of the psychological theory that has been 
 worked out by Baldwin. James, Talks to Teachers is 
 a more elementary treatment at least in part along 
 the same lines. Kirkpatrick 's Genetic Psychology is 
 a recent exposition of these topics. 
 
PKACTICAL STUDY OF INDIVIDUALS 
 
METHODS AND DIEBCTIONS 
 
 In the preceding sections an outline has been 
 given of a science of individuality and its 
 relations to other branches of knowledge. It 
 can readily be seen that the way to a deep un- 
 derstanding of the problems of individual dif- 
 ferences is a long one, but without some such 
 preliminary study a proper perspective for the 
 observation of individuals cannot be obtained. 
 Yet individual pedagogy, like general pedagogy, 
 considered as a practical art, stands in a pecul- 
 iar relation to the scientific principles which 
 underlie it. These practical arts cannot wait 
 for sciences to be worked out: meantime indi- 
 viduals must be dealt with in some way, just 
 as it is necessary to act upon some educational 
 philosophy, in the absence of one that is thor- 
 oughly grounded in well-established principles. 
 We do actually in our daily life study individ- 
 uals, and we act upon the result of our observa- 
 tions, with something like conviction of the 
 reasonableness of our actions. If it is toler- 
 able to act upon our superficial or natural 
 judgments, we seem to be justified in taking also 
 whatever partially worked out principles science 
 
 47 
 
48 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 already offers, and the methods that are readi- 
 est to hand, and may eke out our knowledge of 
 individuals as best we can, make what hypoth- 
 eses we are able about the causes of their dif- 
 ferences, their significance and value, and the 
 methods of dealing with them to the best in- 
 terests of society and the individuals in it. 
 Keeping the scientific ideals well fixed in mind, 
 we can proceed to make as comprehensive a 
 study of individuality as we can, and we have 
 a right to call such study practical if by it 
 power to understand individuals is increased, 
 or if some reasonably safe conclusions are 
 reached that can be applied to practical af- 
 fairs. This is exactly the position the prac- 
 ticing physician finds himself in; in want of a 
 complete and accurate method of making diag- 
 nosis, he must do the best he can, and proceed 
 to act upon his conclusions. The clearer his 
 conception of the ideals of his science, and the 
 greater his experience with huma.n nature, the 
 greater his skill in diagnosis and treatment will 
 be likely to be. 
 
 The methods of study and observation that 
 are to be described apply especially to children 
 of school age, and the point of view taken is 
 for the most part the practical or pedagogical. 
 The aim is to obtain as wide a knowledge of 
 children as possible, including both physical and 
 mental traits, using methods that require no 
 
PRACTICAL METHODS 49 
 
 apparatus, or but the simplest, and whenever 
 possible to suggest application of the knowl- 
 edge that is gained to the problems of school 
 and home. 
 
 For several reasons children from about eight 
 or nine to eleven or twelve years of age are 
 best for practice study of differences and types. 
 Younger children are difficult to manage in ex- 
 periments; they cannot introspect well, and 
 they cannot write fluently. Older children are 
 likely to have entered the adolescent period 
 and to have undergone changes that tend to 
 obscure for a time their permanent traits ; and 
 they have been modified by environment in a 
 way still further to complicate the problem. 
 A group of children of about fifty in number, 
 having somewhat similar work in school, makes 
 a suitable group from which to collect material 
 for study and comparison of individuals. 
 
 It is not likely that anyone will have oppor- 
 tunity or desire to apply in detail all the meth- 
 ods of study that are suggested, or to observe 
 a large group of children for a long time, as 
 would be necessary to obtain materials of suf- 
 ficient exactness for certain application. But 
 one can easily make selections from the tests 
 suited to whatever time and opportunity can 
 be found, and perhaps make a fairly compre- 
 hensive study of a considerable number of chil- 
 dren, that will have very practical results, and 
 
50 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 perhaps in exceptional cases be of the greatest 
 service to those who are studied. Much of the 
 experimental work is planned to be educational 
 to the child as well as to the observer. It puts 
 the mind to test in ways that seem new to the 
 child, makes use of normal competition, and 
 appeals to a natural desire on the part of the 
 child to know more about his own standing and 
 ability. Children can readily be made inter- 
 ested in such tests, especially if apparatus is 
 us°d, however simple it may be. 
 
 If study of a group of children is to be carried 
 on for a considerable time, it is well to provide 
 for each child an envelope or other form of 
 file large enough to contain many samples of 
 his school work, and the records of experiments 
 and observations that are made upon him. It 
 is better to save too much than too little, and 
 anything that is written or drawn by the child 
 expresses his individuality in some way. 
 
 In using these methods of observation and 
 experiment in the training of teachers, it is 
 probably best that the student should make as 
 comprehensive a study as possible of one or per- 
 haps two children; if two, children somewhat 
 different in type should be chosen. These chil- 
 dren must constantly be studied in comparison 
 with the whole group, for it is for the most 
 part by building up standards by observing the 
 many that the one can be understood. All the 
 facts that can be obtained about a child must 
 
PRACTICAL METHODS 51 
 
 be studied together, in order to understand him 
 as a whole or individual. For such study no 
 exact methods can be given but much depends 
 upon the student's power to see facts in relation 
 to each other. 
 
 If considerable attention is to be paid to nu- 
 merical results, records of the whole group that 
 can so be arranged should be spread upon a 
 chart, in which the data relating to one child 
 will appear in a line horizontally and the 
 records for all the class in any one experiment 
 will appear vertically in a column. By this 
 means facts become readily accessible for com- 
 parison, and for application of methods of cal- 
 culation, if they are required. 
 
 It is not supposed that data gathered under 
 the practical limitations of the school will be 
 exact enough so that standards can be com- 
 puted that will be of service to other experi- 
 menters, or that methods of studying correlation 
 will usually be applied. There are however 
 simple mathematical methods that can be 
 applied to the study of correlation among the 
 functions such as will be tested. Whenever in 
 fact two traits or functions have been measured 
 in such a way that the members of a group pos- 
 sessing them can be graded in a series with 
 regard to excellence or quantity of the quality 
 tested, simple methods of calculation can be 
 applied to express the degree of correlation 
 between those traits. To understand these 
 
52 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 methods the work of Boas, Pearson, Wissler, 
 and Spearman should be read. Although much 
 of this literature is difficult and demands pa- 
 tient study, for the most part it requires no 
 knowledge of mathematics beyond that usually 
 acquired in a secondary school. 
 
 II 
 
 EXAMINATION OF THE HEALTH 
 
 Although the subject of diseases of children 
 is a special science good health and poor 
 health are such relative conditions, and bodily 
 conditions and mental function are so closely 
 dependent upon one another, that some knowl- 
 edge of the most common affections of health 
 is necessary for anyone that wishes to investi- 
 gate individuality. Chronic conditions of ill- 
 health and tendency to disease are so common 
 in childhood that for practical reasons every 
 child of school age should at least once each 
 year be examined thoroughly by a competent 
 physician. During the last few years there has 
 been a growing conviction that the body of the 
 child has been neglected in the school, and 
 progress is now being made rapidly toward a 
 school practice in which attention to the health 
 will take a larger part. Thus far the best work 
 has been done in testing sight and hearing, and 
 in examining for some of the most prevalent 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 53 
 
 diseases that directly affect the intelligence of 
 the child, such as adenoids. The mentally de- 
 fective and the morally delinquent children have 
 lately received much attention and are in a fair 
 way to be more skillfully treated than in the 
 past. In many cities tests of the vision and 
 hearing of all school children are made once 
 or twice each year, and in some cases physical 
 examinations are carried out. Some practical 
 method is now needed of obtaining a reliable 
 examination of the health of every child, and 
 of so recording his physical standing that the 
 information can be used as effectively in the 
 school as the report of conduct and class stand- 
 ing now is. Departments of hygiene and med- 
 ical supervision, and departments of physical 
 training are being introduced into school sys- 
 tems here and there, and it is likely that soon 
 more complete information about the health of 
 children will be in the hands of teachers, and a 
 better provision made for the care of the health. 
 Parents will usually cooperate willingly in any 
 plan that can be shown to them to be in the in- 
 terest of their children's welfare and the ex- 
 amination of health by school officials for the 
 special purposes of the school could readily be 
 made a part of the routine of education. In 
 one city in which the experiment was tried a 
 note was sent to parents requesting that per- 
 mission be granted to examine their children. 
 More than sixty per cent responded at once 
 
54 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 granting the request, and many showed much 
 interest in the work. Many cases of defective 
 health were discovered that were before un- 
 known either to parent or teacher. In about 
 one case in five of all the children that were ex- 
 amined the health was found to be unsatisfac- 
 tory. In many instances the causes of the 
 physical inadequacy seemed to be obscure, and 
 the need was constantly felt for opportunity to 
 investigate more thoroughly and with the ad- 
 vantage of exact methods and laboratory facil- 
 ities. This was true especially of cases of 
 nervous defect in which a single examination 
 could give but a superficial knowledge. 
 
 If the health of the child is to be examined 
 some information must be obtained from the 
 home pertaining to the history of the child and 
 his heredity. Information about such topics as 
 the following should be obtained and records 
 made : — 
 
 Are the near relatives of the child — grand- 
 parents, parents, aunts and uncles, brothers and 
 sisters — in good health! If not what is the 
 nature of the deficiency in each case? If any 
 have died what was the cause of death, and the 
 age? Is there a marked tendency in the family 
 to any disease, such as tuberculosis, nervous 
 disease of any kind, rheumatism? Age of par- 
 ents, number of children in the family and the 
 age of each should also be known. 
 
 In general has the health of the child been 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 55 
 
 good? Has he ever been acutely ill, and if so 
 with what disease? Does he frequently suffer 
 from extreme fatigue or exhaustion, or show 
 sign of nervousness? Are appetite, sleep, ex- 
 cretory functions normal? 
 
 If such information about the health of chil- 
 dren is to be supplemented by examination by 
 a physician some provision must be made for 
 permanent records, and there should be printed 
 blanks provided, to serve as a guide for the 
 examiner, and to make the information uniform 
 and readily accessible. 
 
 The medical examination would include ob- 
 servation about the general condition of the 
 child, tests of respiration and circulation, ex- 
 amination of the abdominal organs, of the nerv- 
 ous system, observations for physical defects, 
 tests of vision and hearing, examination of nose 
 and throat. 
 
 Some of the conditions that the physician will 
 frequently find are : General delicacy without 
 definite disease, tendency to tuberculosis (as 
 shown by enlarged glands, eye troubles, dis- 
 charging ears), muscular weakness usually ac- 
 companied by round shoulders and protruding 
 abdomen, various forms of nervous weakness 
 and disorder, chorea, adenoid growths, enlarged 
 tonsils, chronic inflammation of nose and throat, 
 weakness of the lungs, irregular or overacting 
 heart, heart disease, rheumatism, chronic skin 
 disease, chronic indigestion, defective nutrition, 
 
56 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 curvature of the spine and other physical ab- 
 normalities, defects of vision and hearing. On 
 the whole, school life is a time of tendencies 
 and constitutional weaknesses rather than of 
 actual disease and the problems of diagnosis 
 are therefore delicate and difficult. The ideal 
 school physician is a man of broad experience in 
 diagnostic work, and in the diseases of child- 
 hood. If the work is to be exact and thorough, 
 laboratory facilities must be had for such work 
 as the examination of secretions and excretions, 
 blood analysis, and for exact methods for the 
 study of the nervous system. The school in 
 fact presents its own peculiar problems of diag- 
 nosis different from those of the clinic and 
 general practice, and the work of the school 
 physician needs special preparation, and special 
 laboratory equipment such as is not yet gener- 
 ally available. 
 
 The most important part of the medical ex- 
 amination from the standpoint of the school, 
 and the part that is most likely to be as yet 
 puzzling to the general practitioner is the ex- 
 amination of the nervous and mental condition 
 of the child. The school physician would be 
 expected to give special attention to this sub- 
 ject. He would examine not only for the more 
 common organic diseases that are seen in hos- 
 pital and clinical work, but he would especially 
 be on the lookout for neurotic conditions of all 
 kinds, tendencies toward abnormal mental and 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 57 
 
 moral life, fatigue, eccentricity, and the like. 
 He would aim to estimate the capacity and 
 resistance of the child with reference to the 
 work of the school. His examination would in- 
 clude enquiry into the habits and interests of 
 the child, particularly in the case of very bright 
 and very dull children, and all that appear in 
 any way exceptional, either physically or men- 
 tally. Such work at the present time does not 
 entirely fall within the interests or abilities of 
 the ordinary practicing physician, and the ex- 
 act study of the mental life of the child, from 
 the standpoint of medicine, is the special work 
 of the alienists, and even with them it is in its 
 pioneer stage. 
 
 If expert assistance can be had in testing 
 vision and hearing it should always be em- 
 ployed. If not, the ordinary tests that can be 
 made by anyone after a little practice are de- 
 cidedly better than nothing. It should be un- 
 derstood, however, that such tests are but ap- 
 proximately accurate, and that they are never 
 to be regarded as final. These tests of vision 
 do not discover all the defects of eyesight and 
 it does not necessarily follow that a child should 
 wear glasses if the vision is not normal. A 
 record of defective vision however does call 
 for further investigation by more exact meth- 
 ods, and such examination should never be neg- 
 lected. The best chance of a correct diagnosis 
 of the cause of defective vision and satisfactory 
 
58 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 correction of it is at the hands of a medical 
 specialist in eye diseases, an oculist. Some op- 
 ticians are now experienced and well equipped 
 with accurate appliances for measurement of 
 the eye, and a good optician is better than a 
 bad oculist. Tests of large numbers of chil- 
 dren in several cities by means of the Snellen 
 card or similar device shows that about one 
 school child in live has subnormal vision, and 
 needs therefore expert diagnosis by someone 
 competent to decide about treatment of the dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 In order that records may have value there 
 should be recorded in every case; name of the 
 child, age in years and months, sex, grade, 
 school, date of examination, vision of right eye, 
 vision of left eye. Note should also be made if 
 the child wore glasses in the test and if there 
 have been frequent headaches, inflammation of 
 the eyes, pain, or strain, in looking or reading, 
 these facts should be entered. The test is usu- 
 ally made by the Snellen card, which can be 
 obtained from any dealer in optical goods. It 
 should be hung in good light, not in direct sun- 
 light, and the light should not shine into the 
 eyes of the child but should come from the side 
 or back. One eye of the child should be covered 
 but not closed while the other is being tested. 
 In testing the child is to read the letters on 
 the card beginning with the largest, and reading 
 the lines one after another. The best distance 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 59 
 
 at which to place the child is twenty feet from 
 the card. The last line that can be read easily 
 should be recorded. The method of notation is 
 to make the distance at which the child stands 
 the numerator of a fraction and the distance 
 at which the last line that is read should be 
 read the denominator. Thus if the child stands 
 at twenty feet and reads the line that should be 
 read by the normal eye at that distance the 
 vision will be recorded as f#. If he reads 
 only so far as the line that should be read at 
 30 feet the vision will be recorded as §#. 
 The record should be made for each eye. 
 Twenty-twentieths is normal vision; anything 
 less than that is abnormal vision. 
 
 The hearing of school children has been stud- 
 ied by experts, and although the methods are 
 not quite so exact nor so easily practiced as 
 tests of vision they are practicable for the 
 teacher, if a little study is given to them. 
 There are several forms of audiometer that 
 can be purchased from the instrument maker 
 but fairly accurate tests of hearing can be made 
 with a watch, preferably a stop watch; or with 
 a little more practice, with the voice. 
 
 In the watch test the child stands with the 
 side turned toward the experimenter. An as- 
 sistant, or failing that the child himself, holds 
 the end of a tape line close to the face below 
 the ear. With the other hand he presses a 
 handkerchief to the ear not in use. The watch 
 
60 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 is held close enough to the ear to be distinctly- 
 heard and is then slowly withdrawn until a 
 point is reached at which it is no longer heard. 
 It can then be held at a distance quite out of 
 range of hearing and slowly brought nearer 
 until it is heard. By starting and stopping the 
 watch several times while it is held at this po- 
 sition the correctness of the result can be con- 
 firmed. In making the record the standard to 
 be used is the record of some one known by 
 more accurate tests or otherwise to have nor- 
 mal hearing. For the numerator the distance 
 at which the watch is heard by the child is used ; 
 for the denominator the distance at which it 
 can be heard by the standard or normal ear. 
 Each ear should be tested separately. Note 
 should be made of frequent earache or dis- 
 charge from the ear. Deafness is often inter- 
 mittent or variable and usually a single test 
 is not enough to establish the existence of good 
 hearing. 
 
 Better than the watch test because it tests 
 hearing over a wider range of tones is the voice 
 method. The examination is made under the 
 same conditions as in the watch experiment. 
 If the whisper is used the experimenter first 
 takes a deep breath and then breathes out as 
 much as possible, holding the breath thus while 
 whispering. With a little practice the test can 
 be made with a fair degree of accuracy. For 
 the ordinary purposes of the unpracticed ob- 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 61 
 
 server it is likely that tests with low spoken 
 tones are capable of giving quite as good results. 
 The child repeats after the experimenter each 
 word that is spoken to him moving away until 
 he can no longer repeat accurately. The value 
 of the records depends upon the uniformity 
 of the tests, and the conditions under which 
 experimenting is done. 
 
 Such an account as the above of methods of 
 examining the health of a child can of course 
 afford but a glimpse into the vast subject of 
 medical diagnosis; a subject which comprises 
 several well-defined branches of science, and 
 which is now pursued by the refined and exact 
 methods of the laboratory in ways that can be 
 fully understood only after specialization in 
 these sciences. In practical work the greatest 
 service of the amateur is to be qualified to 
 detect indications of disease, and to direct the 
 child to the proper persons for expert study 
 and if necessary, treatment. Little has been 
 said about mental abnormalities and diseases 
 of childhood, but in the following chapters some 
 of their signs will be examined. Below is given 
 a report-form that can be used for the work of 
 preliminary examinations of health: and also 
 a special report-form for laboratory examina- 
 tions of eye, ear, nose, and throat. They will 
 show the ground that is usually covered in such 
 examinations. 
 
62 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 REPORT OP MEDICAL EXAMINATION 
 
 Name Sex Age School Grade 
 
 Birthplace Nationality F M Age of parents F M 
 
 Age of brothers and sisters B S 
 
 Heredity and health of family 
 
 Personal history 
 
 Height Weight State of nutrition 
 
 Pulse, Rate Characteristics Respiration rate, etc., 
 
 Temperature 
 
 Chest 
 
 Lungs Inspection 
 
 Measurements Inspiration Expiration 
 
 Auscultation 
 
 Percussion 
 Heart Percussion 
 
 Auscultation 
 Abdominal organs 
 
 Nervous system Coordination Reflexes Movements 
 Muscular development 
 
 Skin Physical conformation 
 
 Direction to pathologist and special examiner. 
 Summary. Is health excellent, good, fair, poor, seriously 
 deficient? Is there any marked disease or tendency to disease, 
 and if so what are the present indications of its development? 
 Does the child need medical or surgical treatment? 
 
 Directions to teacher or parent. 
 Date Examiner 
 
 SPECIAL EXAMINATION, 
 Eyes R 
 
 Vision 
 Myopia 
 Hyperopia 
 Astigmatism 
 Ophthalmoscope and remarks R 
 
EXAMINATION OF HEALTH 63 
 
 Ears 
 
 Watch 
 
 Voice 
 
 Tuning fork 
 
 Membrana tymphana, Eustachian tube, and remarks 
 R L 
 
 Nose 
 Throat 
 
 Does the child need medical advice or treatment? 
 Remarks to teacher or parent 
 Date Examiner 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 L. E. Holt: Diseases of Infancy and Childhood. 
 This is a large medical work written especially for 
 medical students and physicians, but the general 
 reader will find it a valuable source book in the sub- 
 ject of children's diseases. 
 
 B. Sachs: A Treatise on The Nervous Diseases of 
 Children. Also a technical medical work but valuable 
 for reference. 
 
 W. W. Ireland : Mental Affections of Children. A 
 good introduction to the subject of mental diseases. 
 
 L. G. Guthrie: Functional Nervous Disorders in 
 Childhood. 
 
 W. L. McKenzie : The Health of the School Child. 
 
 E. S. Talbot: Degeneracy, its Causes, Signs, and 
 Results. A detailed study of degeneracy in the hu- 
 man mind and body. 
 
 Francis Warner: The Children; How to Study 
 Them — and other books by the same author. 
 
 S. H. Rowe : Physical Nature of the Child. 
 
 Culick and Ayres : Medical Inspection of Schools. 
 
 E. A. Kirkpatrick: Some Simple Methods of Rec- 
 
64 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ognizing Physical Fitness and Unfitness of School 
 Children. Addresses and Proceedings of the National 
 Educational Association, 1905, pp. 760-766. 
 
 Ill 
 
 OBSERVATION OF BODY CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 A chapter in the study of individuality that 
 has as yet hardly been entered upon in a 
 scientific manner is the analysis and descrip- 
 tion of physical traits, and the determination 
 of their relation to mental characteristics. 
 This is in part the problem of the old phrenol- 
 ogy which tried to read character from the 
 shape of the head alone, and of other pseudo- 
 sciences such as physiognomy and palmistry 
 that attempt the same task from observation of 
 face and hand. All of these methods, it has 
 already been seen, have failed to yield results 
 at all trustworthy. But that there is a relation 
 between physical form and mental trait there 
 is no doubt, for our practical estimations of 
 people are derived in part at least from judg- 
 ments that are based upon the recognition of 
 such fixed relationships. Not only are normal 
 mental and physical traits thus related but al- 
 ready there is promise of discovery of relations 
 between types of physical conformation and dis- 
 ease or tendency to disease and to criminality. 
 This whole subject of relation of physical con- 
 
BODY CHARACTERISTICS 65 
 
 formation to mental trait is yet to be put onto 
 a scientific basis, and we have among the recog- 
 nized sciences no successor to the old phrenol- 
 ogy, except such beginnings as are being made 
 by the anthropometrists. 
 
 The best attempt thus far to analyze the 
 human face and figure seems to be that of Ber- 
 tillon. The study was made in the course of 
 devising a system of marking for the identifica- 
 tion of criminals, and it is therefore somewhat 
 special; but it furnishes some excellent sug- 
 gestions for a more general study of individ- 
 uals. The Bertillon system describes minutely 
 the eye and the ear, and somewhat less in detail 
 the other parts of the face and figure. Most 
 of the suggestions that are given below for ob- 
 servation of the body are based upon the Ber- 
 tillon method. Many of the traits that are to 
 be observed are not in the present stage of our 
 knowledge indications that can be used in diag- 
 nosing the traits of mental life, but a systematic 
 observation of differences in physical conforma- 
 tion will train the observer of individuals in 
 ways that will prove practical. 
 
 Observation of the body can begin with notic- 
 ing the shape and size of the head. Is it large 
 or small compared with the size of the body? 
 Wide or narrow? Long or short? Has it any 
 marked peculiarities of outline? The head 
 should be observed from several points of view, 
 all its outlines studied, and if possible sketched. 
 
66 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 In this way, by making comparative observa- 
 tions upon a large group of children, standards 
 will be established in mind that will serve as a 
 basis of more exact work. Great variability 
 will be found in the contours of the head, and 
 many points for observation. 
 
 Qualities of the hair are regarded as impor- 
 tant indications from the ethnological stand- 
 point. Such traits as the following can be 
 noticed: Color; blond, yellow, brown (light or 
 dark), red, black. Is it straight, curly; abun- 
 dant, thin; coarse, fine; lustrous, dull? 
 
 Skin. Is the amount of yellow pigment in 
 the skin great or little? Is the sanguinity (the 
 red coloring) great, little? Qualities of skin 
 are indications, not only of temperament, but of 
 condition of health. Its firmness, elasticity, 
 smoothness, moisture, odor, color, warmth, fine- 
 ness of texture all vary, and these qualities 
 should be observed. 
 
 Face. Is it large or small compared with the 
 size of the body as a whole? Is it wide, nar- 
 row? Seen in profile, what is the direction and 
 contour of an imaginary line drawn from the 
 forehead to a point where the upper lip joins 
 the nose, and from there to the point of the 
 chin? Estimate the angle between two imag- 
 inary lines, one drawn from the center of the 
 opening of the ear to the point where nose and 
 upper lip are joined, and the other from the 
 last named point to the front of the forehead. 
 
BODY CHARACTERISTICS 67 
 
 Study of this angle in many children will show 
 that in a well-developed child the angle is usu- 
 ally a right angle, or nearly that, and the line 
 from forehead to chin is nearly a straight line. 
 A small facial angle and a strongly curved 
 facial line may accompany a low degree of men- 
 tal development. 
 
 Other traits of the face, such as the following, 
 can be recorded: Forehead; high, low, verti- 
 cal, sloping, broad, narrow. Contours of 
 mouth, nose, chin, lips, ears, can be analyzed 
 and described in a similar manner. Teeth 
 should be observed particularly. They may be 
 large, small, regular, irregular, vertical, pro- 
 jecting. 
 
 In the Bertillon system the eyes are minutely 
 described, for the eye is so variable and so 
 complex that an accurate description of it is 
 sufficiently characteristic of an individual to be 
 a means of almost certain identification. Eyes 
 are classified according to the presence or ab- 
 sence of yellow coloring matter in them, as pig- 
 mented and unpigmented eyes. The ground 
 color of the eye, the color that is always present 
 at birth, is blue; over this, covering it wholly 
 or in part, a pigmented layer develops in some 
 eyes. Both classes contain many varieties. 
 Pigmented eyes may be yellow, orange, chest- 
 nut, brown, or maroon. Other traits of the 
 eyes should be noticed ; whether large or small ; 
 protruding, sunken ; bright or dull, and so on. 
 
68 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 In a similar manner, by noticing all possible 
 variable traits, the whole body can be analyzed 
 and described. The figure can be described as 
 tall or short for the age ; stout, slender ; fleshy, 
 thin ; bones may be large or small ; the muscular 
 development good, poor; neck, long or short, 
 thick or slender; shoulders, broad or narrow, 
 square, sloping, flat or projecting; arms, long 
 or short; hands, large, small, wide, narrow, 
 long or short. The contour of the lines of the y 
 palm can be observed in detail and the main 
 lines sketched with a view to finding relations 
 between these traits and mental constitution. 
 The chest can be described as broad, narrow, 
 thin, deep, full, flat; legs, long, short, etc. 
 
 These suggestions are intended only to show 
 how to proceed in studying the conformation 
 of the body. Many other important character- 
 istics could be mentioned, and analysis could be 
 carried much further. The judgments that are 
 called for are relative ; they become trustworthy 
 in proportion as large numbers of individuals 
 are studied comparatively. Detailed study of 
 the body cannot fail to give to an observer a 
 sense of the great complexity of personality, 
 and its great variability. 
 
 Where variability is great, abnormal varia- 
 tion is to be expected, and the human body is 
 no exception to this law. Departures from the 
 typical, marked enough to have received special 
 names, are very numerous and there are all 
 
BODY CHARACTERISTICS 69 
 
 degrees of variation from norm or average. 
 Pronounced defects may be present in those 
 who are apparently normal in all practical 
 characteristics; in other cases even slight de- 
 fects seem to be connected with mental devia- 
 tion. Criminologists of some schools make 
 much of a certain class of marks called stigmata 
 of degeneration. These are often found in nor- 
 mal people, and alone cannot be regarded as 
 evidence of abnormal personality. Yet there 
 are physical defects that mean much to the 
 mind of the expert. In every case peculiarity 
 of body is at least an indication that a close 
 study of the mental life of the person is needed. 
 Some of the most commonly found defects are 
 mentioned below: 
 
 The head may be too large or too small, or 
 asymmetrical; there may be large projections 
 or depressions in its* surface, or it may be pecul- 
 iarly shaped as a whole — too narrow, too 
 wide, projecting at the top, or conical in shape. 
 The forehead may be very narrow or sloping, 
 asymmetrical, or too prominent. The ears may 
 be unlike or asymmetrical, very large or very 
 small, projecting, irregularly implanted, irregu- 
 lar in shape, excessively folded, or crumpled. 
 Some part may be absent or undeveloped; the 
 outer rim may be imperfect, too large or too 
 small, deficient in development or grooved. 
 The face may be undeveloped as a whole or in 
 some of its parts, or asymmetrical, having one 
 
70 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 side larger than the other or different in out- 
 line. The features may be very coarse and 
 heavy or disproportionate one to another. The 
 facial angle may be too small; the mouth may 
 be too large or too small, or may have one 
 angle lower than the other. The lips may be 
 thick, chin small and undeveloped, gums very 
 large, projecting or asymmetrical, narrow, V- 
 shaped, or flat and square. 
 
 The palate or roof of the mouth may be too 
 high, too shallow, V-shaped, saddle-shaped, ir- 
 regular; it may have a longitudinal ridge at 
 the top. Abnormalities of the teeth are very 
 common, and in the eyes of the expert in degen- 
 eracy they are important. There may be too 
 many or too few teeth, the presence of super- 
 numerary cone-shaped teeth being regarded as 
 one of the special marks of degeneracy. Some 
 of the teeth may have more than the normal 
 number of cusps; the teeth may be very large 
 or too small, or the surfaces may be notched or 
 uneven. 
 
 Defects of other parts of the body are com- 
 mon. Some of them seem certainly connected 
 with mental defects; others are the result of 
 diseases like tuberculosis, rickets, or paralysis. 
 The body as a whole may be much too large or 
 too small for the age, or it may be undeveloped 
 and retain infantile traits. The bones of the 
 chest may project forward, making pigeon- 
 breast, or the chest as a whole may be too 
 
BODY CHARACTERISTICS 71 
 
 round, like that of an infant. The shoulders 
 may be too square, or too sloping, irregular, 
 asymmetrical, or projecting at the back. The 
 back curves may be abnormal, such defects as 
 hollow back, lateral curvature of the spine, 
 angular deformity, being common. Hands, 
 arms, legs may also have deformities of many 
 kinds. 
 
 Even superficial observation of any large 
 group of children will disclose many departures 
 from the normal, typical, or average. In order 
 to have clear understanding of the deformities 
 that have been mentioned, it will be best to 
 observe them in children that have them in 
 marked degree. Among the feeble-minded they 
 will be found more frequently, and usually in 
 a more marked form, than among the normal, 
 but, on the other hand, many children with pro- 
 nounced mental defects seem to be entirely free 
 from bodily marks. Some departure from type 
 will be found in almost every one, and too much 
 should not be made of slight abnormalities and 
 peculiarities; but the child with decidedly an 
 atypical body should be singled out for more 
 careful study than can usually be given him by 
 the amateur observer. 
 
 Other suggestions for observation of physical 
 characteristics can be found in the literature of 
 phrenology and the like, all valuable if studied 
 in conjunction with other and broader concep- 
 tions of physical individuality. Especially the 
 
72 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 charts and observation systems of phrenologists 
 and physiognomists will.be found helpful. The 
 literature of palmistry is also interesting, and 
 contains many suggestive facts. Types of 
 hands certainly exist, and the palmist's classifi- 
 cation of fingers into square, spatulate, and 
 conical seems to indicate important traits. The 
 mounts of the hand, and the lines of the palm 
 are also worth study. That there are racial 
 differences in the lines of the palms is well 
 known, and types of conformation of fingers 
 appear to accompany types of temperament, 
 and, in the opinion of some, types of tendency 
 to disease. 
 
 In observing and recording the body charac- 
 teristics of children, it is best to arrange in 
 advance an outline containing the names of 
 traits that are to be observed and the adjectives 
 that are used in describing the degrees or kinds 
 that are usually found. The descriptive terms 
 can then be underlined as the traits are ob- 
 served, and notes added about such traits as 
 cannot be thus systematically described. 
 
 But analysis and description of parts does 
 not exhaust the methods of judging such char- 
 acteristics as traits of the body. There is also 
 a balance among parts that is characteristic of 
 the person as a whole, and of many variables 
 into larger traits, that for one reason or an- 
 other have come to be aesthetically regarded. 
 We commonly speak of a child as having a good 
 
BODY CHARACTERISTICS 73 
 
 head, or good eyes, or face, or figure. Such 
 judgments, even on the part of the untrained 
 observer, have value ; for our aesthetic approval 
 and disapproval of physical traits, like our 
 moral judgments of mental traits, are closely 
 related to their biological value. A child should 
 be studied, therefore, with reference to those 
 attitudes toward his physical traits that we 
 commonly call the aesthetic. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 The literature of physical abnormality is very 
 voluminous. Methods for description of normal traits 
 are not yet well worked out. The literature of phren- 
 ology, physiognomy, and palmistry should at least be 
 looked into in connection with these topics. Books 
 on ethnology and anthropology should be consulted 
 for methods of describing racial characteristics. 
 Brinton's Races and Peoples, works of Broca, Topi- 
 nard, and Galton can be mentioned. Books of Ber- 
 tillon, "Warner, Talbot, contain methods of observa- 
 tion and description of physical abnormalities. See 
 especially A. Bertillon, Signaletic Instructions and 
 the Theory and Practice of Anthropometrical Identi- 
 fication. 
 
 IV 
 
 MEASUREMENT OF THE BODY 
 
 Measurement of the body is an interesting 
 and, in part, practical method of studying in- 
 dividuals. Methods that are now in use 
 
74 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 have been devised for various purposes, and 
 the measurements that are taken vary with 
 the purpose for which they are made. An- 
 thropometrists measure for the purpose of pre- 
 scribing exercise and regime. Criminologists 
 and those who study the insane and the defect- 
 ive measure to detect departures from the 
 normal. Physicians measure to discover dis- 
 ease. Penologists measure for the purposes of 
 identification. Biologists, who are interested in 
 the problems of variation, measure to secure 
 data for determining laws of evolution. A 
 long laboratory course in measurement of the 
 human body could readily be prepared which 
 would be full of interest, and in a measure im- 
 mediately practical for the individuals that 
 were so studied. Performance of a few of the 
 most common measurements and study of indi- 
 viduals with reference to the standards for these 
 measurements will be a good introduction to 
 work in the exact study of individuals. 
 
 Height is usually measured by means of a 
 specially constructed rod and the record is best 
 made in centimeters and millimeters. In the 
 absence of the proper form of apparatus, cor- 
 rect measurement of height can be taken by a 
 scale attached to a wall at the proper height. 
 The child should stand with the back to the 
 wall, with feet close together. He should then 
 make himself as tall as possible without raising 
 his heels from the floor. The head will not 
 
BODY MEASUREMENT 75 
 
 rest against the wall, and the weight of the body- 
 will be felt on the balls of the feet. In taking 
 the measurement, a square such as is used in 
 drawing can be used. One arm of it should be 
 held against the scale and the square lowered 
 until the other arm rests firmly upon the highest 
 point of the head. Shoes should be removed or 
 the height of the heel measured separately and 
 deducted from the total height. 
 
 Weight can be tested with any accurately 
 adjusted scale, the child being in indoor cloth- 
 ing. About lave pounds are to be allowed for 
 the weight of clothing in estimating the actual 
 weight. 
 
 The two records, height and weight, and the 
 relation between them show important charac- 
 teristics of the child, and if the measurements 
 are taken two or three times each year, still 
 more important information is obtained. Chil- 
 dren of school age should show increase in both 
 these measurements each year, and if they do 
 not, further investigation is desirable. Below 
 is given a table of height and weight computed 
 for American children in several cities. From 
 it the relation of weight to height for each year 
 can easily be computed. The method of com- 
 paring an individual to the average is but a 
 rough way of using data about him, but it will 
 yield conclusions that are reliable enough to 
 be of practical use in many cases. 
 
76 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF AMERICAN 
 CHILDREN (FROM BURK). WEIGHT GIVEN IS PRE- 
 SUMABLY WEIGHT IN INDOOR CLOTHING. 
 
 Age wt. boys wt. girls lit. boys ht. girls 
 
 5 1-2 
 
 
 
 41.7 
 
 41.3 
 
 6 1-2 
 
 45.2 
 
 43.4 
 
 43.9 
 
 43.3 
 
 7 1-2 
 
 49.5 
 
 47.7 
 
 46.0 
 
 45.7 
 
 8 1-2 
 
 54.5 
 
 52.5 
 
 48.8 
 
 47.7 
 
 9 1-2 
 
 59.6 
 
 57.4 
 
 50.0 
 
 49.7 
 
 10 1-2 
 
 65.4 
 
 62.9 
 
 51.9 
 
 51.7 
 
 11 1-2 
 
 70.7 
 
 69.5 
 
 53.6 
 
 53.8 
 
 12 1-2 
 
 76.9 
 
 78.7 
 
 55.4 
 
 56.1 
 
 13 1-2 
 
 84.8 
 
 88.7 
 
 57.5 
 
 58.5 
 
 14 1-2 
 
 95.2 
 
 98.3 
 
 60.0 
 
 60.4 
 
 15 1-2 
 
 107.4 
 
 106.7 
 
 62.9 
 
 61.6 
 
 16 1-2 
 
 121.0 
 
 112.3 
 
 64.9 
 
 62.2 
 
 17 1-2 
 
 
 115.4 
 
 66.5 
 
 62.7 
 
 18 1-2 114.9 67.4 
 
 Sitting height. In taking this measurement, 
 the height is taken with the child seated upon 
 a stool or bench of convenient height. The 
 height of the stool is deducted from the total. 
 The relation of sitting to standing height is 
 regarded as an important index of vitality; 
 ordinarily, great length of trunk in proportion 
 to height accompanies good power of vital 
 organs. 
 
 Span of outstretched arms can be measured 
 by having the child stand facing a wall, and 
 taking the distance from a point touched by the 
 middle ringer of one hand to a point that can 
 just be reached by the middle finger of the other 
 hand. 
 
BODY MEASUREMENT 77 
 
 For most of the following measurements 
 some kind of calipers are necessary. Special 
 instruments can be purchased for making vari- 
 ous measurements. The best calipers for head 
 measurements are made from steel, with arms 
 about a foot in length, jointed in the middle. 
 They can be used also for chest measurements, 
 but wooden calipers are better for that purpose. 
 For practice purposes, calipers that will be 
 quite satisfactory can be made by any good 
 mechanic at a small cost. 
 
 Chest measurements. Those that are usually 
 taken are the antero-posterior and the lateral 
 diameters, and the circumference. The former 
 diameter is to be taken in a direction perpen- 
 dicular to the spinal column and at a level with 
 the armpits. The lateral diameter and the cir- 
 cumference are taken at the same height. The 
 expansion of the chest is the difference between 
 two measurements of circumference, one taken 
 at full inspiration, and the other at full ex- 
 piration. 
 
 Head measurements. Many measurements 
 of the head are made, and in exact work the 
 outline of the head in several directions is 
 taken. For the purposes of the school, three 
 measurements can be made to advantage; the 
 circumference, the breadth, and the length. 
 The circumference is taken with the tapeline 
 passed around the head, a little above the eye- 
 brows, and at the back passing over a point 
 
78 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 where there is a slight projection of the occipital 
 bone. With a little practice this measurement 
 can be made uniformly; the accuracy of the 
 observer can be tested by repeating the meas- 
 urements several times. Eoughly speaking, 
 the measure of the circumference is a measure 
 of the size of the head. 
 
 The length or maximal antero-posterior diam- 
 eter of the head can be taken by means of the 
 steel calipers. One point should rest on the 
 ridge between the eyebrows and the other point 
 should be moved about at the back of the head 
 until the greatest diameter is found. After 
 some practice this measurement can be taken 
 with a very small error. 
 
 The maximal lateral diameter of the head or 
 the breadth is found by moving the calipers 
 about the widest part of the head. The experi- 
 menter should stand behind the child, holding 
 the calipers in a horizontal position, and mov- 
 ing both points together in the same plane in 
 a zigzag manner, from front to back, until the 
 widest point is found. 
 
 The relation of the two diameters of the head 
 to each other is a characteristic that is regarded 
 as important by anthropologists. It is called 
 the cephalic index, and is a trait that changes 
 but little in the individual after early infancy. 
 The relation is usually expressed by a fraction 
 obtained by dividing width by length. Heads 
 are classified as dolicocephalic, mesocephalic, 
 
BODY MEASUREMENT 79 
 
 and brachycephalic, according to their breadth 
 in relation to length. Some recent studies in- 
 dicate that there is some relation between type 
 of head and characteristics of the intelligence. 
 
 Girth of wrist is taken with the tapeline at 
 the smallest part of the wrist; this, compared 
 with the girth of the forearm taken at the 
 largest part, will show something about the 
 relation of skeletal to soft tissues of the body. 
 
 Other measurements that are regarded as im- 
 portant by anthropologists are : Length of the 
 upper arm, of the forearm, of the upper and 
 lower parts of the leg, length of hand and foot, 
 various fractional heights, and the girth at vari- 
 ous points. To make most of these measure- 
 ments, knowledge of the anatomical points of 
 the body is required, and opportunity to meas- 
 ure the child with some of his clothing removed. 
 
 Measurements of physical traits have been 
 developed to a degree of refinement that would 
 perhaps seem too minute to anyone except a 
 specialist in anthropometry; but it is better to 
 know too much than too little about an individ- 
 ual. Koberts, for example, gives a list of sixty- 
 one measurements. Another comprehensive 
 system is that of Kellogg, and a list of his 
 measurements can be used for reference. If 
 the anatomical terminology is not familiar, any 
 good text-book on anatomy will give the 
 required information. Tests of muscular 
 strength are included. The measurements are : 
 
80 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Height standing, length of sternum, not includ- 
 ing the cartilage, abdomen from base of zyphoid 
 cartilage to pubes, sternum to umbilicus, um- 
 bilicus to pubes, circumference of neck, of upper 
 chest in repose, and after expiration and in- 
 spiration, lower chest in the same three meas- 
 urements, circumference of waist, hips, thigh, 
 calf, upper arm, forearm, depth of chest, of 
 abdomen, breadth of shoulders, of chest, of 
 waist, of hips, stretch of arms, bi-iliac diameter, 
 test of lung capacity with spirometer. 
 
 Tests of strength: Strength of hand flex- 
 ors, hand extensors, forearm pronators, forearm 
 supinators, arm flexors, arm extensors, latissi- 
 mus dorsi, deltoids, pectorals, shoulder retract- 
 ors, foot flexors, foot extensors, leg flexors, leg 
 extensors, thigh flexors, thigh extensors, thigh 
 abductors, thigh adductors, trunk muscles in 
 anterior, posterior, and lateral movements, 
 muscles of the neck in the same measurements, 
 inspiration power at waist and chest, inspira- 
 tion and expiration tests with pneumotometer. 
 
 From these measurements many coefficients 
 are estimated, such as height-weight, strength- 
 weight, respiration-weight, strength-height, res- 
 piration-height, coefficient of vital efficiency, 
 coefficient of vital development, arms-legs co- 
 efficient, totals for arms, legs, trunk, chest, 
 entire body. 
 
 Other systems provide for somewhat differ- 
 ent measurements, and there is no exact agree- 
 
BODY MEASUREMENT 81 
 
 ment, either in the number of measurements 
 that should be made, or the points on the skel- 
 eton that should be used as marks. Some 
 investigators have special methods or tests, the 
 importance of which they emphasize. Seaver, 
 for example, measures the specific gravity of 
 the body by computing the relation between the 
 weight of the body in air and its weight in 
 water. Some of the methods of measurement 
 that have been devised are interesting, aside 
 from the results that are obtained by their use, 
 for they illustrate the great complexity of the 
 human body, and the number of its variable 
 traits. Such a system as that devised by Rieger 
 for taking head measurements, for example, 
 can be mentioned. First the exact vertex of 
 the head is located, and at this point the center 
 where two threads are tied together is placed 
 and the threads let fall over fixed points of 
 the skull. The circumference of the head is 
 then marked by a rubber band. With these 
 lines fixed, measurements and outlines are taken 
 by means of lead wire, and the lines are repro- 
 duced upon a chart, on which the fixed points 
 are indicated. From the chart any measure- 
 ment of the head that is required can then be 
 computed. 
 
 For the purposes of research, many other 
 measurements and tests of the body are made, 
 and there are many kinds of apparatus and 
 instruments in use in the laboratory for this 
 
82 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 work. A chapter should, perhaps, be devoted 
 to the exact measurement of physiological 
 processes of the body and the measurement of 
 internal organs, but this is a field largely closed 
 to the amateur experimenter, partly because of 
 the technical knowledge of physiology and an- 
 atomy that is required, and in part because com- 
 plicated apparatus is needed, and the facilities 
 of a laboratory. Something should be said 
 about the many interesting instruments now in 
 use. Many of them are common to the psycho- 
 logical and physiological laboratory, and are 
 also used in medical work, the same measure- 
 ment being made from several points of view. 
 Some should more properly be mentioned in con- 
 nection with description of movements rather 
 than of structures of the body. For measuring 
 and describing qualities of the respiratory func- 
 tion, there are spirometer, pneumograph, and 
 pneumotometer ; for circulation, plethysmo- 
 graph, sphygmograph, cardiograph; for move- 
 ment, the ergograph and dynamometer. For 
 examination of the size and contour of internal 
 organs there are now the methods of the X-ray, 
 and in the medical laboratory will be found in- 
 struments for testing reactions to electrical 
 stimulus, and many others. 
 
 Such practice work in anthropometry as is 
 suggested here cannot, of course, be made al- 
 ways definitely practical. Yet anyone that is 
 
BODY MEASUREMENT 83 
 
 enough interested to acquire a few of the sim- 
 plest methods can become sufficiently informed 
 to detect the more pronounced departures from 
 the normal, and at least to direct individuals 
 to the expert for further examination and 
 treatment. Some knowledge of methods of 
 measuring and observing the human body 
 should be possessed by all who control children, 
 so that they can work with the experts in physi- 
 cal culture and medicine, who are becoming 
 more and more valuable coadjutors in the work 
 of education. 
 
 In the detail of methods the main purpose of 
 testing and measuring the body should not be 
 lost from sight. It is not knowledge about the 
 part that is measured that is usually sought, 
 but by means of examining those parts of the 
 body that are most accessible to observation, 
 it is hoped that a knowledge of the vital mental 
 and physical functions with which they are re- 
 lated may be gained. To what extent the super- 
 ficial traits are so connected, and how, is for 
 the most part unknown, but the study of the 
 accessible trait prepares the way for study of 
 the, at present, inaccessible trait. We wish to 
 know with regard to an individual the func- 
 tional capacity and vitality of the organism as 
 a whole, and the relative strength and resistance 
 of the physiological systems or groups of organs 
 that comprise the body, and whose combined 
 
S4 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 functioning make the efficiency of the man as 
 a whole ; but at present we are a long way from 
 the ideal of a complete biometry. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 The most comprehensive and most practical guide 
 for the study of anthropometry is the Manual of 
 Physical Measurements, by W. W. Hastings, It in- 
 cludes descriptions of apparatus, directions for per- 
 forming measurements, and tables containing norms 
 for both boys and girls of all school ages, and for all 
 the important measurements. Other manuals some- 
 what similar in scope are those of Seaver, Gulick, and 
 Roberts. The Reports of the Department of Re- 
 search, Chicago Public School contain valuable in- 
 formation about physical measurements of children. 
 For statistics of growth in height and weight the most 
 complete report is that by F. Burk: Growth of Chil- 
 dren in Height and Weight, American Journal of 
 Psychology, April, 1898. 
 
 Biometrika contains many articles on the subject 
 of variation in physical traits and the relations among 
 them. These articles are somewhat technical, but 
 they will show what is being done in the field of exact 
 measurement. 
 
 K. Pearson : On the Relation of Intelligence to Size 
 and Shape of the Head, and to Other Physical and 
 Mental Characters. Biometrika, Yol. 5, 1906, pp. 
 105-146. 
 
 Boas and Wissler : Statistics of Growth. Report of 
 the United States Commissioner of Education, 1896-7. 
 
 G. M. West : Observations of the Relation of Physi- 
 cal Development to Intellectual Ability Made on the 
 
MOVEMENT: OBSERVATIONAL 85 
 
 School Children of Toronto, Canada. Science, N. S. 
 IV, 1895, 106-159. 
 
 F. Boas : Anthropological Investigations in Schools. 
 Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. II, pp. 225-228. 
 
 OBSERVATION" OF MOVEMENT , 
 
 Information about individuals that is of 
 both practical and theoretical importance can 
 be obtained by observing their habitual mo- 
 tions. The best opportunity for observing the 
 child as a moving body is during his free 
 play. It can soon be determined whether he is 
 essentially an active or an inactive child. The 
 character of the movements should be noticed. 
 The movements of the sound, active child are 
 free, graceful, and animal-like in quality. If 
 they are awkward, difficult, or restrained, other 
 signs of deficient activity should be looked for. 
 Skill should be noticed, as in playing games 
 such as baseball, which requires display of both 
 activity and accurate coordination; or marbles 
 that requires more minute coordination. Infor- 
 mation should be obtained from the child about 
 his motor interests ; in games, occupations, and 
 school work. 
 
 A simple test that is recommended by War- 
 ner can be used to obtain information about 
 the child's neuro-muscular constitution. It is 
 
86 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 made thus : When an opportunity occurs under 
 natural conditions, extend your hand to the 
 child and take his hand, with some such remark 
 as " Good morning, " or (t How do you do this 
 morning? " Notice the characteristics of the 
 handclasp of the child. Is it firm or limp? 
 Is it steady or spasmodic? Is there squirming 
 of the whole body, or do the movements seem 
 under control? Is posture good? Are the 
 movements of the face normal, in excess, or 
 is there deficiency of reaction? Does the child 
 look steadily at you, or is the glance shifting 
 or downcast? Is there rapid change of color of 
 the face? Other points for observation will 
 occur to the experimenter; record should be 
 made of all that is observed. 
 
 Another simple method of studying charac- 
 teristic movement habits of the child is called 
 the hand-balance test. It was also first de- 
 scribed by Warner. The child is requested to 
 stand with hands at the sides, and then to hold 
 them out in front of him with palms down. 
 The posture that is assumed is then studied. 
 Posture being the result of movements, the 
 character of the muscular control is indicated 
 by it. If the balance is good, the arms will be 
 held at the same height, wrists and fingers will 
 be horizontal, the fingers held closely together, 
 the thumbs close to the fingers and nearly on 
 a level with them. The typical defective posi- 
 tion of the child with bad neuro-muscular con- 
 
MOVEMENT: OBSERVATIONAL 87 
 
 trol is that in which the arms are held at 
 unequal height, the back bent and hollowed, 
 arms drooping forward, hands bent, thumbs and 
 fingers drooping. This posture is sometimes 
 the result of acute fatigue, but it is also charac- 
 teristic of the badly organized neuro-muscular 
 system, and its presence in a child in a marked 
 degree always means the need of investigation 
 of the cause. A little practice in performing 
 the test with large groups of children will en- 
 able one to use the method with practical results. 
 Another defective posture is the nervous bal- 
 ance, less commonly seen, in which the palms 
 are bent backward, the fingers curved, and some- 
 times spread apart. This posture is often seen 
 in those subject to over-excitability or tension, 
 especially in nervous girls. 
 
 Much can be learned about a child by ob- 
 serving his movements as he is busy at his 
 ordinary mental occupations. Movements of 
 the face should first be observed, when the child 
 is active, as in recitation. Compared with other 
 children, are the facial movements many or 
 few? Is there over-mobility, or lack of expres- 
 sion? Are movements of the eyes steady, nerv- 
 ous, shifting? The upper and lower parts of 
 the face should be observed separately. 
 
 Then one should pass to observation of the 
 movements of the body. Are the movements 
 many or few, excessive or deficient? Are there 
 any habitual movements of hands or feet ? Are 
 
88 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 there frequent nervous or jerky movements? 
 Is the posture erect or drooping? What is the 
 habitual position of the feet in standing? 
 
 Observations should also be made when the 
 child is busy, seated at his ordinary mental 
 work. Movements of forehead, mouth, and 
 eyes should be noticed particularly. Habitual 
 movements of any part of the body, the charac- 
 teristics of the movements, amount of restless- 
 ness, habits of attention and distraction should 
 be observed. Complete rules for observing 
 movements in this way cannot be given. They 
 should be made a few at a time, and the child 
 under special observation should be compared 
 with others. In this way the eye is trained to 
 detect differences that are usually overlooked; 
 and certain types are recognized which will 
 serve as standards for comparison. 
 
 A few abnormalities of movement can be men- 
 tioned, with special reference to the defects of 
 school children. There may be excessive mobil- 
 ity shown in almost incessant action of the 
 body, appearing especially in facial movements, 
 such as blinking, scowling, movements of mouth 
 and tongue. There may be habitual movements 
 of some group of muscles, such as twitching, 
 or rhythmical performance of the same move- 
 ment. Movements may be unequal in the two 
 sides of face or body. In some cases a decided 
 deficiency of movement will be observed, appear- 
 ing in lack of expression of the face and 
 
MOVEMENT: OBSERVATIONAL 89 
 
 drooping postures. Two types of apparently- 
 excessive movement may be observed which, 
 though appearing alike on superficial notice, 
 are very different in meaning. In the first case 
 an excess of movement is due to multiplicity 
 of occupational interests ; the child is constantly 
 in motion, but the movements are, for the most 
 part, controlled and purposive. In a quite dif- 
 ferent type of over-mobility the movements are 
 automatic, unintentional, or, it may be, take 
 place in opposition to effort to control them. 
 Apparently there are two kinds of still child. 
 There is first the motor deficiency that is the 
 result of lack of nervous energy; the child is 
 still because little is taking place in the mind 
 that leads to action. There is also a stillness 
 that results from exceptional control and con- 
 centration of effort. 
 
 Postures should be observed also as indica- 
 tions of neuro-muscular control: habitual ec- 
 centric or atypical postures should always be 
 observed and recorded. In standing there may 
 be unequal position of shoulders, protruding of 
 abdomen, and holiowness of back. The posi- 
 tion of feet may be unequal, one much in 
 advance of the other ; or the feet may be very 
 wide apart, as though coordination were imper- 
 fect, and standing difficult. Sitting postures 
 should also be observed, and the child 's habitual 
 postures described; whether erect or drooping, 
 or in any way exceptional. 
 
90 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 The manual work of the child should be stud- 
 ied with reference to the qualities of his volun- 
 tary movements. It can be described in such 
 terms as the following: Accurate, skillful, 
 quick, neat, quiet, careful, inaccurate, awkward, 
 slow, untidy, noisy, careless. 
 
 Gait may be described as: Light, heavy, 
 rapid, slow, awkward, graceful, regular, irregu- 
 lar. Defects commonly seen are jerkiness and 
 irregularity of steps, swaying or bobbing of 
 body, lack of coordination, indirection. 
 
 The voice being a motor function in part, par- 
 ticipates in the qualities of the movements of 
 an individual. It can be described as : Strong, 
 weak, clear, indistinct or muffled, smooth, jerky, 
 high-pitched, low-pitched, rapid, slow. Defects 
 as stammering, lisping, tongue-tie, defective ar- 
 ticulation, should be noticed. 
 
 Expression of the face is also, in part, due to 
 muscular qualities, and can be regarded as pos- 
 ture resulting from motor activity in the mus- 
 cles of the face. Expressions can be analyzed 
 and described in terms of movement or position, 
 and they can also be described by such terms as : 
 Frightened, anxious, suffering, timid, relaxed, 
 tense, determined, confident, sullen, cross, weak, 
 strong, haughty, bold, pleasant, light, serious, 
 frank, deceitful, keen, stupid — and many 
 others. 
 
 Observation of characteristics of movement, 
 as the above suggestions should show, is a far- 
 
MOVEMENT : OBSERVATIONAL 91 
 
 reaching method of studying individuality. 
 Mind is expressed in movement, and the contin- 
 uous play of movement that goes on in the 
 body discloses the nature of the mental proc- 
 esses that incite or control the movements, and 
 also indicates the condition of the body itself. 
 No part of individual- study will yield better re- 
 turns to the practical student than the study of 
 movement, and although the precision of exact 
 experiment is lacking, many clues to important 
 traits of the individual will be found in the 
 characteristics of movement. 
 
 KEFERENCES 
 
 F. Warner: The Children, and other books by the 
 same writer. Dr. Warner appears to have developed 
 this method of individual-study further than anyone 
 else. 
 
 F. Burk: From Fundamental to Accessory in the 
 Development of the Nervous System and of Move- 
 ment. Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. VI, 1895, 5-64. 
 Contains a discussion of the development of movement 
 in the individual as related to its development in the 
 race. 
 
 Holt and also Sachs may be consulted for accounts 
 of abnormal movements in the child, and of diseases 
 that produce certain defects of motor activity. 
 
 E. H. Lindley: A Preliminary Study of Some of 
 the Motor Phenomena of Mental Effort. American 
 Journal of Psychology, Vol. VII, July, 1895, 491- 
 517. 
 
92 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 VI 
 
 THE EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF MOVEMENT 
 
 Experimental study of movement can be 
 made in many ways; for movement, con- 
 sidered psychologically and physiologically, is 
 complex, and several variable qualities can be 
 isolated for study. Movements vary in (1) 
 rapidity; (2) strength; (3) accuracy of control ; 
 (4) range; (5) endurance. These qualities are 
 themselves also complex and various aspects of 
 them can be considered separately. Endurance, 
 for example, is a result of several factors, and 
 though it can be measured as a separate trait, 
 its factors can also be distinguished, and, in 
 part, calculated. Besides the traits that have 
 been mentioned, the capacity of an individual 
 for learning a movement, or for improvement 
 can be measured. 
 
 Strength of movement is usually tested by 
 means of some form of dynamometer. Various 
 muscle-groups can be tested, but for a single 
 test of muscular strength, the strength of the 
 handclasp is usually selected. It appears to 
 be correlated with strength of other movements, 
 and it can be used as a rough measure of the 
 power of the individual to exert muscular force, 
 a characteristic which we now know is by no 
 means entirely due to quality of the muscle, but 
 is a complex result of several factors, in part 
 
MOVEMENT: EXPERIMENTAL 93 
 
 psychical. Although a makeshift for a dyna- 
 mometer can easily be constructed from a spring 
 balance of sufficient force, if accurate results 
 are demanded, one must be purchased. For use 
 with children, an instrument with adjustable 
 handles is best. 
 
 It should be understood at once that all tests 
 in which a maximal effort is required, examine, 
 not a single trait, but a complex result of several 
 factors, the numerical result standing for the 
 whole product. Ability to make an effort, and 
 willingness to do so, enter into such a simple 
 operation as making the strongest possible 
 handclasp in unknown proportions. There are 
 many ways of eliminating in part some of the 
 variables that we wish to disregard in the meas- 
 urement. If the greatest possible handclasp is 
 required, the factor of willingness to exert effort 
 must be made uniform in some way, and this is 
 not easily accomplished. In the case of some 
 children a mere suggestion is sufficient to bring 
 out the greatest effort ; others need the stimulus 
 of competition or reward. Much depends upon 
 the experimenter's ability to perceive all the 
 factors that are involved, and to adapt the 
 method of procedure to the conditions. Usually 
 in such an experiment as taking the strength 
 of handclasp, best results are obtained by excit- 
 ing competition, and by offering a reward for 
 the best record. But with these precautions it 
 can easily be seen that conditions are not made 
 
94 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 entirely uniform, psychologically considered; 
 indeed, it must be kept in mind constantly that 
 even the most simple test upon a human being 
 is no mere setting of a task and reading of the 
 result, but a problem that must be studied 
 broadly. In taking the handclasp, then, the ex- 
 perimenter aims at securing the child's greatest 
 effort. Several trials are to be made, and the 
 best single record is to be taken as a measure 
 of strength. Below is given a table showing in 
 kilograms the strength of handclasp of children 
 measured in the Chicago public schools. The 
 figures show the arithmetical mean, a quantity 
 slightly different from the average. 
 
 TABLE SHOWING STRENGTH OF HAND CLASP 
 
 FBOM EEPOET OF THE EESEAECH DEPAETMENT CHICAGO PUBLIC 
 
 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 
 
 age 
 
 b.r. 
 
 b.l. 
 
 g-r. 
 
 gL 
 
 4 
 
 6.0 
 
 6.0 
 
 6.0 
 
 5.25 
 
 5 
 
 9.0 
 
 8.0 
 
 7.5 
 
 7.0 
 
 6 
 
 10.5 
 
 10.0 
 
 9.5 
 
 9.0 
 
 7 
 
 12.0 
 
 11.5 
 
 11.0 
 
 10.0 
 
 8 
 
 13.5 
 
 13.0 
 
 12.0 
 
 11.0 
 
 9 
 
 16.0 
 
 15.0 
 
 13.0 
 
 12.5 
 
 10 
 
 17.0 
 
 16.0 
 
 15.0 
 
 14.0 
 
 11 
 
 19.0 
 
 18.0 
 
 17.0 
 
 15.5 
 
 12 
 
 22.0 
 
 20.0 
 
 19.0 
 
 17.5 
 
 13 
 
 25.0 
 
 23.0 
 
 22.0 
 
 21.0 
 
 14 
 
 28.0 
 
 26.0 
 
 25.0 
 
 23.0 
 
 15 
 
 35.0 
 
 32.0 
 
 28.0 
 
 25.0 
 
 16 
 
 41.0 
 
 38.0 
 
 29.0 
 
 27.0 
 
 17 
 
 45.5 
 
 43.0 
 
 30.0 
 
 27.5 
 
 18 
 
 49.5 
 
 46.5 
 
 31.0 
 
 29.0 
 
 19-20 
 
 51.0 
 
 48.0 
 
 32.0 
 
 30.0 (gl9) 
 
MOVEMENT : EXPERIMENTAL 95 
 
 In making such a test as the above, the nu- 
 merical result is not all that is obtained. When 
 a child is taken out of his ordinary routine and 
 set at a novel task it is an excellent opportunity 
 for discovering some of his most distinguishing 
 characteristics. Records should be made of his 
 attitude toward the experiment; what he said 
 and did, the interest and the effort that he ex- 
 hibited. 
 
 Rapidity of movement can be examined in 
 several ways without the use of complicated 
 apparatus. The best movement upon which to 
 experiment is tapping at maximal rate with 
 the finger. It is a natural movement and one 
 that can fairly easily be brought under uniform 
 experimental conditions. The number of dots 
 that can be made with a pencil in 30 seconds 
 can be used as a rough measure of rapidity. 
 Conditions must be made uniform as to general 
 position of the body, manner of holding the 
 pencil, and the like, but the tapping should be 
 done with a free movement, the child being told 
 to tap as rapidly as possible. For more accu- 
 rate tests of tapping, apparatus such as that 
 described by Bryan (American Journal of 
 Psychology, Vol. 5, p. 139) can easily be con- 
 structed. Standards for school ages for tap- 
 ping with a free movement do not seem to have 
 been established, but comparison of individuals 
 with a large group will give information about 
 exceptional cases that will be interesting. 
 
96 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Tests made upon 200 children in New York City- 
 show an average of approximately .180 second 
 as the time of making a dot, when 10-second 
 periods are used. Children ranged in age from 
 eight to sixteen years. Averages for boys 
 were: ten years, .181 sec; eleven, .176 sec; 
 twelve, .169 sec. Averages for girls : ten years, 
 .193 sec ; eleven, .182 sec. ; twelve, .181 sec. 
 
 For estimating rapidity of movement these 
 methods are probably better than the single 
 reaction method which requires the nse of com- 
 plicated measuring apparatus. None of these 
 methods however are very analytic, for they 
 test several qualities of the individual ; properly 
 they should be discussed also psychologically, 
 and an attempt made to discover exactly what 
 the factors in the process tested are. 
 
 A characteristic of the individual that has as 
 yet received but little attention is the relation 
 of habitual or preferred action, mental or physi- 
 cal, to the greatest capacity. The habit of the 
 individual can be tested for such a trait as 
 rapidity of performing a simple movement such 
 as tapping. The relation between optimum and 
 maximum rate can be tested in several ways. 
 The method of tapping can be used; prelim- 
 inary experiments being made in which care 
 is taken not to suggest speed or competition, 
 or tests can be made after the speed tests in 
 which the children are directed to tap at the 
 rate that seems easiest, most pleasant, or most 
 
MOVEMENT : EXPERIMENTAL 97 
 
 natural to them. Writing can also be used as 
 test method, the quantity of writing that is 
 done in a leisurely task being compared with 
 the quantity that can be done at greatest speed. 
 Copying from a book, using material that is 
 new, or writing passages that are well mem- 
 orized can be tested in a similar manner. Stern 
 used for the tests of optimum rate, the rate of 
 beating a triple rhythm. 
 
 The rapidity with which a more complicated 
 movement can be performed can be tested by 
 having the child deal an ordinary pack of play- 
 ing cards into four piles. Some preliminary 
 practice should be allowed before a record is 
 taken. 
 
 Control of movement is a loose term for sev- 
 eral qualities, such as steadiness, accuracy, re- 
 sistance to stimulus, and the like. Accuracy 
 of a movement can be tested fairly well by hav- 
 ing the child strike with a pencil at crosses made 
 upon a large sheet of paper. Twelve crosses 
 can be made in irregular position on the paper, 
 and the child must strike at the center of each. 
 Conditions should be made uniform, and some 
 preliminary practice should be allowed. Fixed 
 rules must be followed with regard to the plac- 
 ing of the paper, manner of holding the pencil, 
 height to which it is raised, and in other details 
 that will readily be suggested to the experi- 
 menter. If experiments are made on several oc- 
 casions, and several records are taken, a study 
 
98 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 of the numerical results will be likely to show 
 some types of control of movement. The aver- 
 age error for the day and for the whole series 
 should be computed, and also the average devia- 
 tion of the trials from the average, the latter 
 in order to find the variability of control. 
 
 Another test of accuracy of movement can be 
 made by means of the game in which a ball or 
 beanbag is tossed at a hole in a board. The 
 game becomes an experiment if fixed conditions 
 are prescribed, such as an exact distance, a 
 fixed method of holding the ball, uniformity of 
 surroundings. Series of about twenty-five 
 trials each should be taken. 
 
 A refinement of the test just described was 
 used by Bagley. The apparatus consists of a 
 target at which marbles are tossed, the records 
 being made on a carbon paper placed between 
 the target and the recording sheet. This ap- 
 paratus can easily be arranged by an amateur 
 experimenter, and it can be used for several 
 tests, especially for studying improvement in 
 control of movement, or the method of learning 
 a new movement. 
 
 Tests of steadiness can be made simply with- 
 out apparatus. A simple experiment is per- 
 formed by having the child hold out at arm's 
 length a long pointer, and directing him to hold 
 it as steadily as possible. Degree of unsteadi- 
 ness can be estimated by the eye by observing 
 the motion of the end of the pointer; or, if a 
 
MOVEMENT : EXPERIMENTAL 99 
 
 more accurate means is required, a rule can be 
 attached perpendicularly to a convenient sur- 
 face such as the edge of a door and the amount 
 of unsteadiness measured by having the pointer 
 held close to the scale but not touching it. 
 Both the extent of the excursions of the pointer, 
 and the characteristics of the unsteadiness such 
 as rhythm, rapidity, and the like should be ob- 
 served. Movements of the face and body 
 should also be noticed. The Warner hand-bal- 
 ance test can be used in studying steadiness of 
 control. Movements of fingers, wrists, arms, 
 and the whole body should be noticed. 
 
 Other experiments upon steadiness of move- 
 ment or control can be made by means of an 
 automatograph, which consists in its simplest 
 form of two slates, one of which is made to 
 move over the other by placing marbles between 
 them. A recording device is arranged by at- 
 taching an arm to the upper slate and to the 
 arm a vertical tube through which a pencil is 
 passed, slightly weighted, so as to press firmly 
 upon a smoked paper as the slate is moved. 
 Steadiness is tested by having the child place 
 his hand upon the slate, and try to hold it 
 as still as possible. The tracing on the paper 
 is the record of the unsteadiness. Several 
 types will be seen, according to whether there 
 is much or little movement, great or little varia- 
 bility in control, rapid or slow movement. 
 Other more accurate tests of steadiness require 
 
100 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 some equipment in the way of electrical ap- 
 paratus. Bagley used a scroll cut from tin foil 
 with a path 1 mm. in width. An electrical at- 
 tachment indicated the number of times the 
 edge of the path was struck in trying to follow 
 the path with a writing point. 
 
 Control of a reflex movement can be examined 
 roughly without apparatus or more accurately 
 by means of a simple device that can easily 
 be arranged. The reflex wink is a convenient 
 reflex upon which to experiment. The power 
 to control it is very variable among children. 
 Some measure of the control can be made by 
 making quick movements toward the eyes of 
 the child with a pencil. The child should be 
 seated comfortably and told to fixate a point 
 about ten feet from the eyes. The movements 
 are to be made at intervals of about two sec- 
 onds until the reflex is under control. The 
 measure of ability to control is the number of 
 movements. Apparatus for this experiment 
 that can easily be constructed, or from which 
 simpler models can be planned, is described in 
 the American Journal of Psychology, Vol. XI, 
 p. 244. 
 
 Fatigue of movement has been studied by 
 many methods, but somewhat unsatisfactorily 
 for the most part, on account of the difficulty 
 of isolating muscles for experiment. The sim- 
 plest method of testing fatigue of a movement 
 is to be found in the tapping experiment. Test 
 
MOVEMENT: EXPERIMENTAL 101 
 
 of rapidity of movement may be made a test 
 of fatigue sufficient to bring out some individ- 
 ual differences by continuing the movement 
 until there is marked decline in the rapidity. 
 By measuring the amount done during different 
 periods of the work characteristics of suscepti- 
 bility of the individual to fatigue are made out. 
 Class experiments can be made, if proper con- 
 ditions are maintained. Large sheets of paper 
 should be prepared by ruling them into quar- 
 ters; three sheets for each child to be tested, 
 the quarters numbered plainly from 1 to 12. 
 Periods of ten seconds each of maximal tap- 
 ping are then called for, the time of beginning 
 and ending being accurately indicated. Five 
 seconds can be allowed between the end of one 
 period and the beginning of the next. The num- 
 ber of dots made during each period is then 
 counted. Several trials on successive days 
 will be necessary to establish reliable records, 
 but some exceptional cases are likely to be 
 brought out by a single experiment. 
 
 Endurance of a large group of muscles can 
 be tested by having the child hold out the arm 
 at a level with the shoulders as long as he can, 
 holding a light weight. Or the handclasp ex- 
 periment can be made a test of fatigue, by 
 taking records at short intervals until there is 
 marked reduction in the pressure. 
 
 For accurate study of fatigue apparatus is 
 required, and considerable experience in con- 
 
102 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ducting experiments. Apparatus can now be 
 obtained from the instrument makers that will 
 enable one to test the fatigue habit of the in- 
 dividual with accuracy; the only objection be- 
 ing, for ordinary use, its cost. But the char- 
 acteristic is important, and it has played so 
 important a part in the study of individual dif- 
 ferences that it should be studied even in a 
 preliminary investigation. 
 
 Individual differences in power to improve 
 in motor ability, and to learn new movements 
 can be tested by several of the methods that 
 have already been described. For testing im- 
 provement the experiment must usually be 
 performed on successive days for a consider- 
 able period. The rate of improvement is com- 
 puted by taking the average improvement of 
 each day over the preceding. The variability 
 of improvement should be computed also, as 
 well as the total amount of improvement. 
 And the records should be studied to detect 
 individual differences that are not reducible to 
 numerical terms. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 W. L. Bryan : On the Development of Motor Abil- 
 ity. American Journal of Psychology, Nov., 1892, 
 pp. 125-214. 
 
 J. A. Hancock: A Preliminary Study of Motor 
 Ability in Children. Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. 2, 
 October, 1894. 
 
MENTAL TRAITS 103 
 
 Keports of the Research Department of the Chicago 
 Public Schools. These should be consulted for studies 
 of fatigue. 
 
 W. W. Hastings: Manual of Physical Measure- 
 ments. See for methods of testing strength. 
 
 W. C. Bagley: On the Correlation of Mental and 
 Motor Ability in School Children. American Journal 
 of Psychology, 1901, Vol. 12, 193-205. 
 
 J. A. Hancock: Observation of Children. Peda- 
 gogical Seminary, Vol. 8, pp. 291-340. 
 
 VII 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF MENTAL TRAITS 
 
 Having examined the physical nature of the 
 child in some of its fundamental traits the at- 
 tention can now be turned to the study of the 
 mental life. Anyone who has thoughtfully 
 studied the physical constitution of an indi- 
 vidual must have discovered that the distinc- 
 tion between physical and mental cannot in 
 practice be drawn so closely as such a division 
 of subject matter might seem to indicate. The 
 body cannot be understood without regarding 
 it as an expression of mental processes: so 
 mental traits can be understood only by con- 
 sidering them with reference to those physical 
 traits with which they are correlated. 
 
 The study of mental individuality has diffi- 
 culties peculiar to the nature of the mind; for 
 the processes and states that are to be studied 
 
104 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 are not only complex and very variable from 
 individual to individual but they are concealed 
 from direct observation and so must be studied 
 indirectly. They must be known by the indi- 
 vidual's own account of them, and they must be 
 inferred from their expression in activity. 
 Especially in studying the mind of the child, 
 its expression in the ordinary activities of life 
 or in experimental situations that greatly re- 
 semble these normal activities, must for the 
 most part be depended upon rather than the 
 child's own account of his mental processes. 
 
 A good introduction to the study of mental 
 individuality is a study of the words that are 
 used in common speech to describe mental 
 traits. In all languages there are many terms 
 with fine shades of distinction for those ob- 
 jects or attributes of objects in which man 
 takes a strong practical interest. It would be 
 expected that for the moral and mental attri- 
 butes of our fellow beings, characteristics which 
 our daily life is constantly busy in interpreting, 
 there would be a rich vocabulary; and such is 
 the case. 
 
 So the study of mental differences can begin 
 with the study of the dictionary. All words 
 that are used in describing human nature 
 should be culled out. They may then be studied 
 with reference to their exact meaning, ety- 
 mologically, and to their common usage. Es- 
 pecially those terms that seem synonymous 
 
MENTAL TRAITS 105 
 
 or nearly so should be scrutinized in order to 
 detect shades of difference in meaning. The 
 list that remains after actual synonyms are 
 eliminated can then be classified. Each word 
 should be written on a separate card, its full 
 meaning written out, and in addition some 
 concrete experiences or observations' that illus- 
 trate the student's own understanding of the 
 word or application of it should be entered. 
 The words are then to be arranged, all words 
 that signify emotional characteristics for ex- 
 ample brought together, and then subdivision 
 made according to the emotional states to 
 which they apply; such as fear, anger, love, 
 moral qualities etc. Words describing differ- 
 ences in sensory qualities and in intelligence 
 should similarly be arranged. If this work is 
 well done the student will find himself in pos- 
 session of a psychological outline for the study 
 of individuals that is based upon the practical 
 experiences of the race, and yet one that will 
 be likely to agree fairly well with the divisions 
 of scientific psychology. 
 
 When the words have been studied in the way 
 that is suggested they can be used as guides 
 for the study of individuals. The person un- 
 der consideration should be observed with ref- 
 erence to each of the words in the list, and 
 notes made about those characteristics which, 
 in the judgment of the observer, the individual 
 possesses, the observation upon which the 
 
106 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 judgment is made, or the inference is based 
 being precisely recorded. 
 
 Below is given a list of terms that were com- 
 piled by a class in psychology. It is not nearly 
 complete, synonyms have not been eliminated, 
 and it is imperfect in other ways, but it will 
 indicate the richness of the English language 
 in terms describing mental differences. Fol- 
 lowing the list of terms is a brief classified 
 outline that was used for a preliminary study 
 of the traits of school children. More com- 
 plete descriptive schemes should be worked out 
 by the student. 
 
 PARTIAL LIST OF TERMS IN ENGLISH WHICH 
 DESCRIBE MENTAL TRAITS 
 
 Abandoned, abject, abnormal, abrupt, absorbed, ac- 
 complished, accommodating, accurate, active, acute, 
 acrimonious, adventurous, affable, affected, affection- 
 ate, aasthetic, agile, agitated, aggressive, agreeable, 
 airy, alert, altruistic, ambitious, angular, angelic, ani- 
 mated, anxious, appreciative, apprehensive, apathetic, 
 apologetic, ardent, argumentative, artful, artificial, 
 artless, aristocratic, ascetic, aspiring, assertive, assum- 
 ing, assiduous, attentive, attractive, audacious, avari- 
 cious, awkward, 
 
 Babyish, bashful, bad, balky, blatant, bluffing, boast- 
 ful, boisterous, bold, boldfaced, bombastic, boobyish, 
 bothersome, bright, brainy, brilliant, bragging, brave, 
 broad, brokenhearted, buffoonish, buoyant, busy, 
 
 Candid, capable, capricious, careful, careless, cares- 
 
MENTAL TRAITS 107 
 
 sing, careworn, calm, casuistic, cautious, certain, cheer- 
 ful, chickenhearted, chaste, cheap, cheeky, childish, 
 civil, clean, clear, clownish, clumsy, cold, collected, 
 commanding, common, coarse, comfortable, companion- 
 able, comical, complaining, compliant, composed, con- 
 ceited, confessing, confidential, confused, congenial, 
 conscientious, constant, constrained, consistent, con- 
 temptuous, contented, contradicting, contrary, cool, 
 courteous, covetous, cowardly, crafty, cranky, creative, 
 credulous, crestfallen, cross, crotchety, crude, cruel, 
 cunning, curious, cute, cynical, 
 
 Dainty, dashing, dauntless, deceitful, decided, de- 
 corous, deep, deferential, defiant, dejected, deliberate, 
 despotic, derisive, destructive, determined, dexterous, 
 diffident, diffusive, dignified, diligent, diplomatic, di- 
 rect, disagreeing, discourteous, discreet, discriminat- 
 ing, disdainful, dishonest, dishonorable, disobedient, 
 disorderly, disputing, disrespectful, dissatisfied, dis- 
 tant, distracted, distressed, docile, dogmatic, domestic, 
 domineering, doublefaced, doubting, dowdy, down- 
 hearted, dreaming, dressy, droll, dull, dumpy, dutiful, 
 
 Earnest, eccentric, effeminate, effusive, egotistic, elo- 
 quent, embarrassed, emotional, emphatic, emulative, 
 enigmatical, energetic, entertaining, envious, equable, 
 erratic, erudite, even, evil, exact, excitable, exemplary, 
 extravagant, 
 
 Facetious, fair, faithful, faithless, familiar, fanci- 
 ful, fastidious, faultless, fawning, fearful, fearless, 
 fickle, filthy, flighty, fluent, foolhardy, forcible, for- 
 giving, forward, fractious, frank, frivolous, friendly, 
 funny, fussy, 
 
 Gallant, gawky, gay, genial, genteel, genuine, 
 gloomy, gluttonous, good, goodhumored, goodnatured, 
 goodtempered, goody, gossiping, graceful, grasping, 
 
108 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 grateful, grave, greedy, grouty, growling, grumbling, 
 gushing, 
 
 Happy, hardhearted, hairbrained, harmless, hasty, 
 hateful, haughty, headstrong, hearty, heartbroken, 
 heedless, helpful, hesitating, highminded, highstrung, 
 highwrought, hilarious, hinting, honest, honorable, 
 hopeful, hopeless, humble, humiliated, hurried, humor- 
 ous, hypocritical, hysterical, 
 
 Iconoclastic, idealizing, idle, ignorant, illbred, ill- 
 natured, illogical, imaginative, imitative, immature, 
 immethodical, immodest, immoral, immovable, impas- 
 sive, impatient, imperious, impertinent, impetuous, im- 
 polite, important, impressible, imprudent, impudent, 
 impulsive, impractical, impressionable, impure, inac- 
 tive, inane, inattentive, incautious, incoherent, incon- 
 sistent, inconspicuous, incorrigible, indecent, indefinite, 
 independent, indifferent, individual, indiscreet, indo- 
 lent, indomitable, industrious, inert, inexpressive, in- 
 fantile, informed, influential, ingenious, ingenuous, 
 initiating, innocent, inoffensive, inquisitive, insensi- 
 ble, insincere, insinuating, insipid, insistent, intel- 
 lectual, intelligent, intense, interested, interesting, 
 interrupting, intolerant, intractable, introspective, in- 
 trusive, inventive, investigating, invincible, irascible, 
 irrational, irresolute, irreverent, irritable, 
 
 Jealous, jeering, jerky, jesting, jolly, joyful, joyless, 
 judicious, just, 
 
 Keen, kind, knowing, 
 
 Laconic, ladylike, languid, lawless, lazy, levelheaded, 
 leisurely, lewd, liberal, licentious, lifeless, light, light- 
 headed, lighthearted, likeable, listless, literary, lively 
 longheaded, loquacious, loud, lovable, lowspirited, 
 loyal, ludicrous, 
 
 Magnetic, malevolent, malicious, malign, manly, ma- 
 
MENTAL TRAITS 109 
 
 tronly, mature, mean, merciless, merry, methodical, 
 mincing, misbehaving, mischievous, miserable, miserly, 
 modest, moody, moping, morbid, morose, motherly, mo- 
 tionless, mournful, motor, mouthy, muddled, mulish, 
 musing, musical, mysterious, 
 
 Naughty, natural, neglectful, nervous, nerveless, 
 noiseless, noisy, noncommittal, nonsensical, normal, 
 notional, 
 
 Obdurate, obedient, obliging, obscene, obstinate, ob- 
 serving, obstreperous, odd, offhanded, officious, offish, 
 old, oldfashioned, oldmaidish, openhearted, opinion- 
 ated, opposing, optimistic, orderly, ordinary, original, 
 ostentatious, outspoken, overbearing, overwrought, 
 overlearned, 
 
 Painstaking, palavering, particular, passionate, pas- 
 sive, peculiar, penurious, perfect, perplexed, perse- 
 vering, persistent, persuasive, pessimistic, perverse, 
 petulant, petty, pigheaded, pious, plausible, pleasant, 
 playful, plucky, pliable, poetic, poised, polite, politic, 
 pompous, popular, possessed, positive, practical, praise- 
 worthy, precautious, precipitate, precise, precocious, 
 prejudiced, prepossessing, presumptious, pretending, 
 pretentious, prevaricating, prim, priggish, problematic, 
 procrastinating, profuse, progressive, prolix, promis- 
 ing, prompt, proper, prosaic, protesting, provoking, 
 proud, prudent, prudish, punctilious, punctual, pure, 
 
 Quarrelsome, querulous, queer, questioning, quick, 
 quickwitted, quiet, quizzical, 
 
 Rash, rational, reasonable, reckless, rebellious, recon- 
 dite, refined, reflective, refractory, regular, regretful, 
 religious, reproachful, resentful, reserved, resolute, re- 
 sourceful, respectful, responsive, restful, restless, re- 
 strained, reticent, revengeful, roguish, romantic, 
 rough, rowdyish, rugged, rude, 
 
110, INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Sad, sagacious, sanctimonius, sanguine, sardonic, 
 saucy, saving, scatterbrained, scheming, scholarly, 
 scrupulous, sedate, secretive, sedentary, selfconceited, 
 selfconscious, selfcontrolled, selfish, selfpossessed, self- 
 reproachful, selfrighteous, selfsatisfied, self sufficient, 
 selfwilled, senseless, sensible, sensitive, sententious, 
 sentimental, serene, serious, servile, sexual, shallow, 
 shamefaced, sharp, sharpwitted, shiftless, shifty, shil- 
 ly-shallying, shoddy, showy, shrewd, shrinking, shy, 
 sideling, silent, silly, simple, simulating, sincere, 
 slangy, sluggish, slovenly, slick, slippery, slothful, 
 smart, smirking, smiling, snappish, snarling, sneaky, 
 sneering, snickering, snuffling, sober, soberminded, so- 
 ciable, social, soft, softhearted, solemn, solitary, so- 
 phisticated, sordid, sorrowful, soulless, sour, spas- 
 modic, spirited, spiritless, spiritual, spiteful, spon- 
 taneous, sportive, spoiled, sponging, sprightly, staunch, 
 stagey, steady, stealthy, stiff, still, stingy, stirring, 
 stolid, stormy, straightforward, strange, strenuous, 
 stubborn, studious, stupid, sturdy, submissive, sub- 
 servient, subtle, suffering, suggestible, sullen, super^ 
 ficial, surly, superior, suspicious, sulky, sullen, swag- 
 gering, swearing, sweet, sympathetic, systematic, 
 
 Taciturn, tactful, talebearing, talented, talkative, 
 tantalizing, tardy, tasteful, tasteless, tattling, teach- 
 able, teasing, tedious, tempestuous, tenacious, tender, 
 tenderhearted, testy, thankful, thankless, thickskulled, 
 thievish, thinking, thoughtful, thoughtless, thrifty, 
 tidy, timeserving, tired, tireless, torpid, touchy, tough, 
 tractable, tranquil, treacherous, tremulous, tricky, 
 trim, trifling, troublesome, trustful, trusty, truthful, 
 tumultuous, tyrannical, 
 
 Unaccountable, unaffected, unassuming, unbalanced, 
 unbelieving, unbending, uncharitable, unchaste, un- 
 
MENTAL TRAITS 111 
 
 civil, "unclean, uncomfortable, unconcerned, uncon- 
 scious, undaunted, underhanded, uneasy, uneven, 
 unfaithful, unfair, unfeeling, unforgiving, unfriendly, 
 ungainly, ungovernable, ungrateful, ungraceful, un- 
 happy, uninterested, unkind, unkempt, unpleasant, 
 unprincipled, unreasonable, unreliable, unscrupulous, 
 unselfish, unsettled, unsociable, unthinking, untruth- 
 ful, unwholesome, unwilling, unworthy, upright, up- 
 roarious, urbane, useful, 
 
 Vacant, vain, valiant, variable, vehement, versatile, 
 vicious, vigorous, vindictive, violent, virtuous, viva- 
 cious, voluptuous, voracious, vulgar, 
 
 Waggish, wanton, warmhearted, wary, wasteful, 
 waspish, weak, wellbred, wellmeaning, wellspoken, 
 whimsical, whimpering, whining, wicked, wild, willful, 
 willing, winsome, wistful, wise, witty, wideawake, 
 wishywashy, worthless, wretched, witless, witty, woe- 
 begone, worrying, worthy, 
 
 Zealous. 
 
 OUTLINE FOR STUDY OF AN INDIVIDUAL 
 
 This blank calls for a description of a child largely in 
 terms of adjectives. Underline all terms describing qualities 
 that the child under observation distinctly possesses. Under- 
 line twice if you think the quality is present in a striking or 
 unusual degree. 
 
 Name of child Sex Grade Age 
 
 Nationality 
 
 Attendance: regular, irregular? Home conditions: good, 
 poor ? Health : good, poor ? Muscular strength : good, poor ? 
 Is the child tall or short ( for his age ) , stout or slender, fleshy 
 or thin, good looking or plain looking, well formed or poorly 
 formed ? 
 
 Character. — Is the child good-natured, agreeable, well-dis- 
 posed, contented, too good-natured, over-social, ill-natured, ill- 
 
112 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 disposed, disagreeable, sensitive, revengeful, jealous, complain- 
 ing? Generous, obliging, selfish, disobliging? Affectionate, 
 sympathetic, lacking in affection, cruel, a tease, a bully, over- 
 affectionate ? Obedient, disobedient, balky, willful, " tough," 
 over-docile? Honest, frank, truthful, trustworthy, self-respect- 
 ing, dishonest, sly, untruthful, without self-respect, mischievous, 
 over-conscientious? Modest, confident, conceited, bold, proud, 
 bragging, timid, bashful, babyish, self -depreciating ? Earnest, 
 ambitious, serious, cheerful, frivolous, " funny," over-talkative, 
 a giggler, sad, over-anxious? Energetic, calm, self-controlled, 
 quiet, nervous, excitable, emotional, lacking in self-control, 
 restless, lifeless, lacking energy? Refined, coarse, neat, un- 
 tidy, over-fastidious, polite, impolite? 
 
 Mental Work.— Is the child industrious, lazy, patient, im- 
 patient, persistent, easily discouraged, attentive, inattentive, in- 
 tense, listless? Quick, accurate, thoughtful, careful, slow, 
 inaccurate, thoughtless, careless? Original, a memorizer, re- 
 tentive, forgetful? 
 
 Manual Work (e. g. drawing) — Is the child accurate, skill- 
 ful, quick, neat, quiet, careful, inaccurate, awkward, slow, un- 
 tidy, noisy, careless? Are the child's larger movements (as 
 in walking) quick, graceful, slow, awkward? 
 
 Class Standing. — Arithmetic: good, poor? Language: 
 good, poor? Geography: good, poor? Nature Study: good, 
 poor? History: good, poor? Reading: good, poor? Music: 
 good, poor? Drawing: good, poor? 
 
 Play. — Is the child rough, active, quiet, retiring, lifeless ? 
 
 Describe in detail (on the back of the blank) any marked 
 peculiarity of the child ; any unusual ability or disability, men- 
 tal or physical. Specify any bad habit. Remark upon any- 
 thing else of interest in regard to the child. 
 
 Teacher. 
 
 Date 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 113 
 
 VIII 
 
 THE EMOTIONAL LIFE 
 
 The study of the emotional life is probably 
 the most important chapter in the< study of 
 individuality, for not only are the emotions 
 the foundation of all the practical life, but they 
 enter into the abstract intellectual functions in 
 various ways. Failure to understand the emo- 
 tional life of those whom they teach is probably 
 the cause of more bad pedagogy on the part of 
 teachers than any other cause, for although the 
 emotions are so fundamental a part of the life 
 they are the very part, the full meaning of 
 which it is least easy to communicate, and which 
 is most often purposely hidden from the ob- 
 server. 
 
 To understand the emotional life of a child, 
 observation of conduct as a series of connected 
 acts is required. Many characteristics, inter- 
 ests, habits, and deficiencies that may seem per- 
 plexing when considered in themselves become 
 plain when the dominating emotions are under- 
 stood. Especially such primary emotions as 
 fear, anger, self-love, sexual-emotion, sorrow, 
 anxiety, need careful scrutiny — as well as the 
 more complex or higher emotions such as those 
 that are shown in the social, religious, moral, 
 and aesthetic life. As to methods of studying 
 emotion in the child, and the extent to which 
 
114 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 the child should be made a participant in the 
 investigation of his own emotional life, there 
 will probably be differences of opinion. The 
 importance of the subject, however, and the 
 great need of more light upon the emotional 
 nature of the child demand that serious at- 
 tention be given the subject, especially those 
 phases of it that concern the teacher. The con- 
 duct of the child should be observed in order 
 to detect the prevailing moods and emotions. 
 Information that can be obtained in the school- 
 room should be supplemented by accounts ob- 
 tained from the home, and in some cases, from 
 companions of the child. To what extent the 
 child should be made to report about his own 
 emotions will depend upon the relations be- 
 tween investigator and child and the means he 
 may have of turning the information he may 
 gain to the service of the child. But it should 
 be understood by all teachers that the school 
 does not as a rule deal with the child in his 
 most individual aspects, and that the very least 
 one can do for the nine-tenths of the child 
 that we do not teach is to understand it. 
 
 Fear. Fear, and its derivatives, anxiety 
 and worry, should be carefully studied, for they 
 may be the dominating moods in the life of the 
 child. It should be known whether a child is 
 naturally confident and fearless or timid; 
 whether there are particular fears or aversions 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 115 
 
 that influence conduct. Information should be 
 obtained from the home about fears in infancy 
 and early childhood ; whether the child has ever 
 evinced exceptional or morbid fears; whether 
 he has ever suffered from the effects of fright 
 or shock of any kind. Has there been great 
 fear of the dark or of imaginary animals 1 Are 
 there any causes of worry or anxiety? In ex- 
 ceptional cases insight into the child's fears 
 will be the most important information that can 
 be obtained about him, and in all cases an in- 
 vestigation of this part of the emotional life 
 is essential. 
 
 Further information about fear can be ob- 
 tained by questioning a child about his attitude 
 toward objects that are commonly feared. 
 Written exercises on the subject are allowable. 
 A list of common objects of fear can be written 
 and children asked to write about those they 
 think one would be most afraid of and to tell 
 why. The direct question as to what the child 
 is himself most afraid of, and why, can be used, 
 and he may be asked to tell in detail about 
 some time when he was badly frightened. To 
 detect subtle strains of fear and worry that lurk 
 in the mind is not always easy, and the method 
 cannot be reduced to rule. It should be kept 
 in mind, however, that in any case of unsatis- 
 factory conduct in a constitutionally timid 
 child, even in conduct not apparently directly 
 
116 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 connected with, the emotion of fear, fears and 
 aversions due to them may be the underlying 
 causes. 
 
 Anger. Anger in one or another of its 
 forms may also be a dominating emotion 
 throughout life. As irritability, jealousy, re- 
 sentment, tendency to chronic fault-finding it 
 may permeate all the conduct. The character- 
 istics of the child's anger reactions should be 
 studied. Is anger easily aroused, intense or 
 feeble, quick to subside or long continued? 
 What causes are most likely to excite it? What 
 are its characteristic expressions? The child 
 should be studied with regard to such descrip- 
 tive terms as: Good-natured, agreeable, 
 well-disposed, contented, too good-natured, 
 ill-natured, ill-disposed, disagreeable, irritable, 
 sensitive, revengeful, jealous, complaining, 
 quick-tempered, sullen, cruel. 
 
 Information about the qualities of the child's 
 anger reactions can be obtained through his 
 written opinions about situations in which 
 teasing, injustice, accidental injury, perverse- 
 ness of inanimate things, are involved. A list 
 of common causes of anger can be written and 
 the child requested to write about those he 
 thinks would make one most angry and to 
 tell why. Such themes as the following can be 
 discussed — " When someone purposely breaks 
 your new sled; " ■' When you are in a great 
 hurry and find that your brother has hidden 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 117 
 
 your hat ; ' ' " When your best friend tells tales 
 about you that are not true; " and the like. 
 Questions about the child's experiences with 
 anger and its derivatives, his opinions about 
 their effect on his conduct, his effort to over- 
 come them, can be asked about under proper 
 conditions. 
 
 The child's habitual emotional tone, with re- 
 gard to elation or depression, should be inves- 
 tigated. There are normal variations within 
 wide limits, and pathological departures in both 
 directions. It should be ascertained whether 
 the child is habitually cheerful, or sad, whether 
 he is easily depressed, feels keenly slights, 
 losses, and reproofs. Is the child easily moved 
 to laughter, light-hearted, sunshiny, lacking in 
 seriousness? Is he changeable or moody? In 
 general is the child calm, apathetic, self-con- 
 trolled, excitable, lacking in self-control? 
 
 When the basic feelings such as have been 
 suggested have been investigated the more com- 
 plex attitudes and interests which they under- 
 lie can be studied. Broadly speaking, the emo- 
 tional life can be divided for study into moral, 
 religious, social, and aesthetic emotions. These 
 are not to be regarded, however, as entirely sep- 
 arate compartments of the mental life, but as 
 the accompaniments of reactions of the organ- 
 ism in situations that overrun these philosophic 
 boundaries in many ways. There is as yet no 
 complete psychological analysis of the emotions, 
 
118 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 and therefore no completely systematic and 
 scientific way of examining the emotional traits 
 of individuals. 
 
 The moral life. In noticing the moral traits 
 of a child some of the characteristics that have 
 been observed before must again be considered, 
 but with special endeavor to see the effect of 
 these characteristics upon conduct regarded as 
 a social relation. The common descriptive 
 terms that relate to moral conduct should be 
 brought together and the child studied with 
 reference to them. Such terms as the follow- 
 ing should be considered: 
 
 Agreeable, well-disposed, contented, too good-na- 
 tured, over-social, ill-natured, ill-disposed, disagreea- 
 ble, irritable, sensitive, revengeful, jealous, complain- 
 ing, malicious, generous, selfish, obliging, disobliging, 
 affectionate, obedient, yielding, obstinate, disobedient, 
 balky, sympathetic, lacking in affection, cruel, teasing, 
 bullying, over-affectionate, secretive, untruthful, will- 
 ful, tough, over-docile, dishonest, sly, hypocritical, 
 deceiving, without self-respect, mischievous, over-con- 
 scientious, modest, haughty, indifferent, blase, inquisi- 
 tive, serious, cheerful, lazy, frivolous, orderly, refined, 
 coarse, neat, disorderly, untidy, over-fastidious, polite, 
 impolite, innocent, pure-minded, obscene, vulgar. 
 
 Such a description of morality, it is obvious, 
 is not based upon a strictly philosophical con- 
 ception of morality ; many of the qualities that 
 are thus described can be regarded also as 
 aesthetic, or morally indifferent, from the sub- 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 119 
 
 jective standpoint, but they describe conduct 
 with reference to its agreeableness to the ob- 
 server. Many other terms could be included. 
 
 Many test questions and problems have been 
 used in studying the moral life of children; 
 some of them suited well to the study of cer- 
 tain individual differences. In general, how- 
 ever, a child's written opinion about moral ques- 
 tions shows degree of intellectual development 
 rather than moral qualities of feeling and habit. 
 Some of the questions that have been used are 
 given below. The results that have been ob- 
 tained by writers who have used them can to 
 a certain extent be used for comparison in 
 studying the moral development of children. 
 Assigned as a series of compositions they will 
 be likely to give considerable insight into 
 the moral development of children, and will 
 bring to light some peculiar and exceptional 
 cases. In order to obtain good reactions from 
 children by this method considerable interest 
 must be roused in a general way in advance 
 without suggesting answers to questions. 
 Otherwise answers are likely to be brief and 
 superficial. 
 
 * i Mary, six years old, had a box of paints for 
 her birthday. The next day, when her mother 
 was down town, Mary painted some of the best 
 parlor chairs. When her mother came home, 
 Mary ran to her and said, ' 0, mother, come and 
 see how pretty I have made the chairs look.' 
 
120 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 The chairs were spoiled. If you had been 
 Mary's mother what would you have done? 
 Why? " 
 
 " Mary's parents told her not to sit on the 
 floor. One day the teacher told her to sit on 
 the floor in one of the kindergarten games. 
 Whom ought Mary to have obeyed, and why ? ' ' 
 
 " Hattie Smith's papa was very rich and 
 bought her many beautiful things. When Hat- 
 tie was nine years old she went to live with her 
 Aunt Mary who was very kind to poor people. 
 One day when Hattie was at school her aunt 
 gave her old hood to a poor girl. When Hattie 
 came home her aunt told her what she had done, 
 and Hattie said, ' Why did you give it away? 
 It is my hood. My papa bought it for me.' 
 Her aunt told her that her papa had sent her a 
 nice new one. But the next day at school Hattie 
 sat next to the poor girl who wore her hood — 
 Finish the story and make it end as it should." 
 
 " Tell about some punishment you have re- 
 ceived that you think was unjust. Why was it 
 unjust? Tell about a punishment you have re- 
 ceived that you think was just. Why was it 
 just? " 
 
 " James' father gave him a dog; but James 
 often forgot to feed it, and the dog cried at the 
 door. Then James' father took the dog and 
 gave it to a kind little girl who lived down the 
 street. Who had the best right to the dog ; the 
 father, James, or the little girl? Why? " 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 121 
 
 " One day the teacher left the room, and while 
 she was gone several children in the room began 
 to make a noise. The teacher heard the noise 
 as she was coming back, but she did not know 
 what children were out of order. As none of 
 the class would tell, she kept the whole class 
 after school. Was the punishment just or un- 
 just? Why? " 
 
 " Harry stole a dollar from his mother's 
 purse. Some of it he spent for marbles, and 
 with the rest he bought a knife. The next day 
 he felt bad about it and told his mother what he 
 had done. If you had been his mother what 
 would you have done I ' ' 
 
 1 ' Ella stole a dollar. Mary asked her where 
 she got it. Ella said she would tell if she would 
 promise to keep it a secret. Mary promised; 
 so Ella told her that she took it out of her moth- 
 er 's purse. Ought Mary to have told Ella's 
 mother ! Why f Or why not ? " 
 
 " Name three worst things to do. Why are 
 they bad \ Name three best things to do. Why 
 are they good? " 
 
 Keligious emotions and interests. In the 
 young child the religious ideas reflect for the 
 most part the environment of the child with 
 but little change. Individual differences are 
 the result of differences in teaching. If how- 
 ever the deeper roots of natural religion are 
 investigated, it will be found that there are 
 differences in capacity for emotional attitudes 
 
122 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 toward the unseen world, and in the imaginative 
 expression of these feelings. In studying the 
 religious feeling of a young child one must 
 study some of his secular interests at the same 
 time; such as his interest in Santa Claus, the 
 characters of heroic tales, fairies, and the myth- 
 ological persons that represent the abstract and 
 the general. The method of the school compo- 
 sition has been used to test the religious life 
 of a child but it usually examines intellectual 
 qualities rather than qualities of feeling. How- 
 ever, where there is imaginative interest there 
 is emotional attitude and something can be 
 learned from the child's description of God, and 
 his ideas of the soul and the future life, if the 
 questions are put in such a way as to make him 
 think rather than repeat what he has heard. 
 
 Two traits of the religion life that have deep 
 roots in fundamental emotions should be consid- 
 ered with reference to individual differences. 
 The first is the belief in the spirituality of 
 things, which is a strong characteristic of child- 
 hood but differs greatly among individuals. 
 The second is the temperamental tendency 
 toward or away from optimism about the good 
 will of things in general toward the individual. 
 In connection with the first topic the child's 
 life of imagination, his belief in fairies, unseen 
 worlds, spirits, mental traits in inanimate ob- 
 jects, must be studied. With regard to the 
 second topic the child's sense of himself as an 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 123 
 
 individual must be studied. Already the in- 
 vestigation of fear and other fundamental 
 emotions and moods will have thrown some 
 light upon the conditions underlying differ- 
 ences in the capacity for faith. Individuals 
 differ in their sense of isolation as an indi- 
 vidual ; their feeling of the presence of spiritual 
 companionship; in the sense of security as an 
 individual in the midst of larger forces. Such 
 differences determine differences in capacity 
 for religious sentiment, feeling of dependence, 
 and faith. This is an obscure region in the 
 personality of the child, and such suggestions 
 as these about the psychology of the religious 
 life are about all that can be given in the way 
 of directions for a preliminary study of the 
 religion life of the child. 
 
 Esthetic feelings and interests. In study- 
 ing the aesthetic life of the young child a some- 
 what broader conception of aesthetic feeling 
 than is commonly adopted for the purposes of 
 philosophic studies of the beautiful must be 
 used. The lovable, the beautiful, and the use- 
 ful are confused in the child's mind, and there- 
 fore examination for differences in the aesthetic 
 sensibilities must include the study of a wide 
 range of the child's interests, in which the idea 
 of attractiveness is dominant. Neatness and 
 fastidiousness with regard to dress should be 
 noticed as a sign of a sense for the aesthetic. 
 The child's interests in flowers, scenery, ani- 
 
124 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 mals, should be recorded. Musical interests 
 and appreciation of musical values, interests in 
 color, habits of order, appreciation of symmetry 
 and form, must be taken into account. Be- 
 sponse to rhythm, preferences among rhyth- 
 mical forms and tempos, are also indications 
 of the aesthetic sense of the child. 
 
 .Esthetic feeling can be put to test in several 
 ways. The simplest experiments are made 
 upon color preferences. Small squares of vari- 
 ous colors, in paper, can be used as test ma- 
 terial. The series should contain various tints, 
 shades, and tones. For a detailed account of 
 the method of making these experiments one 
 may consult Seashore's " Elementary Experi- 
 ments in Psychology, ' ■ Chapter XV. Appre- 
 ciation of form may be tested by asking for the 
 child's preferences among geometrical forms 
 and irregular figures carefully drawn upon 
 cardboard. More complex stimuli can be used, 
 such as a series of pictures, including portraits, 
 landscapes, and color schemes. The composi- 
 tion method can be used to advantage: the 
 child can be asked to write his preferences for 
 colors, pictures, music, poetry, and to state the 
 reasons for his preferences. Such questions 
 as " What is the best song you know? " 
 11 What is the prettiest color for a dress! " 
 can be asked. 
 
 The child should be studied with reference to 
 all those descriptive terms that apply to the 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 125 
 
 aesthetic life in any way: such as neat, fastidi- 
 ous, orderly, exact, musical, artistic, and the 
 like. 
 
 Social feelings and interests. These terms 
 cover a wide range of activities of the child, 
 some of which have already been investigated ; 
 for in a sense all conduct of the individual is 
 social in its implications. More particularly it 
 is desired to know about the child's attitudes 
 toward people. In general is it one of con- 
 fidence, or fear and shyness! Especially in 
 the presence of strangers is the child bold, re- 
 served, timid? Does he associate freely with 
 other children, or is he in any way anti-social 
 or solitary? Is he liked by his companions? 
 Is he inclined toward over-sociability, or too 
 great dependence upon companionship for his 
 interests and happiness? Is he envious or 
 jealous of his fellows? Is his competitive 
 spirit keen or weak? What is his attitude 
 when he is beaten in games or surpassed in 
 school work? 
 
 The method of school composition can be used 
 in ascertaining the child's attitude toward so- 
 cial games, his preferences among these games, 
 his ideas about chums and the like. All descrip- 
 tive terms that apply to such social traits and 
 activities as have been mentioned should be 
 carefully examined, and the traits of the chil- 
 dren under observation studied with reference 
 to them. 
 
126 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Many other aspects and details of the emo- 
 tional life could be made the subject of observa- 
 tion and experiment, and a much greater degree 
 of psychological analysis could be brought to 
 bear upon the problem; but such lines of in- 
 vestigation as have been suggested will show 
 the various methods of observing the emo- 
 tional life, and will also indicate the complexity 
 and the difficulty of the problem. Emotional 
 qualities of the individual must be studied with 
 reference to physical condition, to heredity, and 
 to environment. Especially in cases in which 
 there are marked moral defects or great eccen- 
 tricity in the fundamental emotions the need 
 of far-reaching examination of the physical life 
 of the child must be recognized : for it is in the 
 interest both of the child and of society that 
 these conditions be understood as early in the 
 child's life as possible. Many children, obvi- 
 ously defective, pass through the schools at- 
 tracting little serious attention to their condi- 
 tion if they happen to have normal capacity 
 for doing the work of the school — and it 
 should be remembered that most of our insane 
 and criminals have passed through the public 
 schools, and also that their defects have had 
 their origin largely in aberrations of the emo- 
 tional life, and the physical conditions that are 
 correlated with them. 
 
EMOTIONAL LIFE 127 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Many books and articles could be given as refer- 
 ences in connection with the subject of study of the 
 emotions. If one wishes to read the general psychol- 
 ogy of the subject, Ribot's Psychology of the Emo- 
 tions is probably still the best introduction. James' 
 Principles of Psychology can be consulted. Articles 
 by G. S. Hall in the American Journal of Psychology 
 should be read, especially A Study of Fears, 1897, pp. 
 147-249, and A Study of Anger, 1899, pp. 516-590. 
 For references to many articles on topics connected 
 with this chapter the Bibliographies of Child Study 
 by L. N. "Wilson should be consulted. Barnes' Stud- 
 ies in Education contains most of the articles from 
 which the composition methods of studying moral 
 ideas are taken. A few scattered references can be 
 given to articles that will show how this method has 
 been applied. 
 
 E. H. Darrah: Children's Attitude Toward Law. 
 Studies in Education, 213-216. 
 
 E. Barnes: Punishment as Seen by Children. 
 Pedagogical Seminary, III, 235-245. 
 
 E. Barnes: Theological Life of a California Child. 
 Pedagogical Seminary, II, 442-448. 
 
 F. B. Gates: Musical Interests of Children. Jour- 
 nal of Pedagogy, 1898, 265-284. 
 
 W. S. Monroe: Development of the Social Con- 
 sciousness of Children. Proceedings of the N. E. A., 
 1898, 921-928. 
 
128 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 IX 
 
 INTEKESTS AND INSTINCTS 
 
 In adult society individuals obviously differ 
 greatly in their interests. In part this seems 
 to be the result of environment or circumstance. 
 But there appear to be also inherited or innate 
 differences in adaptability of the organism to 
 particular tasks or habits. These deep-seated 
 tendencies act selectively upon the environment, 
 and the environment reacts in a way to confirm 
 and modify the original differences. 
 
 The free activity of the child must be studied 
 in order to detect those fundamental traits of 
 interest that will later determine his practical 
 conduct. The routine work of the school, which 
 tends to conventionalize and make children 
 similar to each other, conceals rather than dis- 
 closes the traits that it is desirable to observe. 
 
 The greatest of the interests of childhood is 
 play, and in a sense it includes all others. One 
 must avoid the error of thinking that the play 
 interests often give definite indications of per- 
 manent life-interests or abilities. It is the 
 more general characteristic of play that is to 
 be observed; the actual interests of the child 
 often change with the season or the neighbor- 
 hood. An account of the child's play interests 
 obtained from the home will sometimes be 
 illuminating. In general are his play interests 
 
INTERESTS AND INSTINCTS 129 
 
 merely active or are they constructive? Is 
 the free activity of the child relatively great or 
 small? Are there strong play tendencies to- 
 ward the aesthetic, the informational, or experi- 
 mental? Is there interest in animals, in nature, 
 in indoor life? Marked interests of any kind 
 that are different from the ordinary should be 
 closely observed and recorded. Imaginative 
 fertility in games should be noticed, and capac- 
 ity for leadership. Written accounts by chil- 
 dren of their preferences for games may throw 
 light upon their individual differences. The 
 child should be asked to name the best outdoor 
 games, the best indoor games, and to give rea- 
 sons for each choice. 
 
 Interest in sex is one of the most important 
 topics in considering the instincts of the child, 
 though less so in younger children than in the 
 case of those approaching adolescence. Atti- 
 tudes toward those of the opposite sex should 
 be observed and especially precocity or unusual 
 shyness or aversion should be noticed. Senti- 
 mentality, especially on the part of boys, should 
 be studied with reference to other traits of 
 character. The whole subject of the develop- 
 ment of sexual feeling, though so important for 
 the understanding of an individual, belongs 
 rather to the expert than to the preliminary 
 examination. It should be understood, how- 
 ever, that the subject is of central importance, 
 that no study of an individual is complete with- 
 
130 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 out full knowledge of the subject, that eccen- 
 tricities and aberrations in the sexual sphere 
 are causes of much unsatisfactory conduct on 
 the part of children that usually remains un- 
 explained, or is attributed to the wrong cause. 
 
 Property interest. This is a fundamental 
 interest in the race, and its early manifesta- 
 tions in the child should be observed. What is 
 the child's reaction when his possessions are 
 lost or taken! Does he show a strong sense 
 of values? Is he generous or selfish with his 
 possessions ? Is he careless of them, or does he 
 tend toward the opposite habit? Are there any 
 indications of the hoarding and hiding habits 
 of the miser ? Is the child interested in earning 
 and in saving money? 
 
 Interest in collecting. Although interest in 
 making collections is almost universal among 
 children, and the kind of object that is collected 
 at any time is largely determined by imitation, 
 attitudes of children toward collecting vary 
 much, and in his collecting interests the child 
 evinces characteristics that will be likely to be 
 permanent. Cases of unusually enthusiastic 
 collecting should be noticed and also cases of 
 apathy in the midst of a collecting epidemic. 
 Natural propensities toward system and order, 
 and perception of classification, can be seen in 
 the child's disposition of his collections. A 
 written exercise on the subject of collections 
 can be assigned. The children should be asked 
 
INTERESTS AND INSTINCTS 131 
 
 to name all the collections they have ever made ; 
 which they have found the most interesting, 
 and why; what has been done with them, why 
 they were begun, and how far developed. 
 
 Migration interests. Another interest that is 
 manifested early in life, and which has a bear- 
 ing upon permanent characteristics of the indi- 
 vidual is the interest in wandering; related, it 
 is believed, to the migratory instincts of the 
 race. Is the child a stay-at-home child, or does 
 he like to wander to new scenes? Does he take 
 interest in a wide or narrow environment? Is 
 he fond of exploration, discovery, excitement 
 and danger f Does he show any morbid tenden- 
 cies toward fear of the new or unknown? 
 Something can be discovered about the child's 
 migratory instincts by his reactions to such 
 questions as: Where would you like best to 
 spend a vacation? Where would you like best 
 to travel? Why? How long would you like to 
 live at home? When you leave home where 
 would you like to go to live ? — and other similar 
 questions. 
 
 Ambitions. The child's actual ambitions at an 
 early stage may be but a reflection of environ- 
 ment, or expression of a stage of development, 
 and yet they are, to a certain extent, prognostic 
 in some of their characteristics. Ambitions that 
 are expressed in strong play habits, especially 
 interests in mechanical occupations, literary 
 pursuits, and artistic work are probably indica- 
 
132 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 tive of permanent interest and natural adapta- 
 tion in many cases. Compositions on the 
 subject of adult occupations may give valuable 
 information about a child's ambitions. Such 
 questions as these can be asked : What do you 
 wish to do when you are grown up? Why? Of 
 all the people you have read about whom would 
 you like most to be or to imitate? Why? 
 
 Interests in school subjects indicate, in a 
 measure, special abilities and types of mind. 
 The child should be asked to write about his 
 preferences for school subjects, and to give 
 reasons for them. The interest expressed is to 
 be studied in relation to the ability the child 
 shows in the preferred subjects. The child with 
 a marked interest in mathematical work should 
 be studied with reference to indications of spe- 
 cial interest, ability, or deficiency in other lines ; 
 especially in such subjects as history, nature 
 study, music and drawing ; and in memory work 
 generally. Correlations among interests may 
 be discovered that are based upon deep-seated 
 psychological laws. 
 
 Interests in literature. These interests are 
 partly diagnostic of temperament and partly 
 indications of stage of development. Excessive 
 interest in books should be noticed as a sign of 
 lack of motor interests ; in rare cases it certainly 
 indicates exceptional ability in literary or scien- 
 tific pursuits. Interests different from those of 
 children of the same age should be studied in 
 
INTERESTS AND INSTINCTS 133 
 
 cases in which they appear ; such as early inter- 
 ests in fiction, and interests on the part of older 
 children that show infantile traits. Children 
 may be asked to write about their interests in 
 books, to tell what book of all they have ever 
 read they like best, and the reasons - for the 
 preference. Names of ten books that they like 
 can be called for; or names of all the books 
 they have read, that they can remember. 
 
 Other interests common to childhood should 
 be examined and all indications of special inter- 
 ests and ability should be noticed in connection 
 with other traits of the child. Especially to be 
 sought is information about that which is pecu- 
 liar to the inner forces of the individual rather 
 than to the effects of the educational process 
 through which he has been put. It is difficult 
 to distinguish between the two factors in in- 
 terest, and it is still more difficult to distin- 
 guish between developmental stage and perma- 
 nent individual characteristic. The importance 
 of interests in the life of an individual depends, 
 moreover, not entirely upon the strength of the 
 interests considered singly, but in their balance 
 and interaction. Strong interest, and even 
 great special ability, may exist side by side with 
 other interests or tendencies that antagonize 
 them, and perhaps in the end completely nullify 
 them. 
 
 It is particularly in studying the interests of 
 the child that the relation of developmental 
 
134 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 stage to individual difference can be studied. A 
 child may differ from the average of his own 
 age because in some trait or many he has ad- 
 vanced beyond the stage of that age or has 
 lagged behind it; later these inequalities may 
 be eradicated by the effect of environment or 
 by accelerations or retardations of the growth 
 processes. Or these departures from the av- 
 erage rate of development may be permanent, 
 and the departure may increase with age. The 
 child may become a defective from actual defi- 
 ciency or lack of balance among his functions — 
 or in rare cases he may become a genius. Not 
 all differences among individuals can thus be 
 interpreted in terms of development of func- 
 tions, but it can readily be seen that one cannot 
 profoundly understand an individual without 
 understanding the whole process of development 
 of the child. 
 
 The complexity of the individual comes 
 clearly to light in observing interests, and their 
 meaning. It can be seen that the purposive life 
 can be conceived of as a sum of interests, and 
 that these interests are balanced in the individ- 
 ual, and so interrelated and checked one by the 
 other, that a normal life, coordinated with the 
 life of other individuals in mutually helpful 
 ways usually results. But the development of 
 interests is no mere unfolding of instincts ; for 
 at the very beginning of life an intricate process 
 of interaction commences between these innate 
 
INTERESTS AND INSTINCTS 135 
 
 will elements on the one hand, and on the other 
 the environmental forces, themselves highly 
 complex, variable to a great degree, and increas- 
 ingly so as civilization advances. Interests are 
 the means of selecting environment, and the 
 mind of the child being plastic, interests are 
 produced and modified by the environment. 
 Gradually these interacting forces of tempera- 
 ment and environment come to balance, mental 
 content and habit accumulate about definite in- 
 terests, and the individual comes to that final 
 differentiation that marks him off in adult life 
 as a person performing a particular function in 
 the intricate mesh of society. We understand 
 an adult fairly well for practical purposes when 
 we know the main content-groups of his mind, 
 and something about the relative force of these 
 groups in determining conduct. In the child 
 these content-groups have not become formed, 
 and the interests are still in a state of flux, 
 revealing only here and there indications of per- 
 manent form. 
 
 Having now examined the life of the child 
 from the standpoint of observation of his natu- 
 ral interests, the attention can be turned to the 
 effect of environment; to understand what it 
 has contributed to the interests, and what, in 
 fact, the actual cojitent of the child's mind is. 
 From this point of view an interest arises in 
 what the child had actually said, done, made, 
 read ; what his experiences have been, where he 
 
136 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 had lived, what he has learned in addition to 
 the content furnished him by the school. 
 
 If the child's school experience has been in 
 any way exceptional the circumstances should 
 be known. The home conditions should be 
 understood. Are they favorable to the develop- 
 ment of many interests? Has the child lived 
 in an atmosphere of interest in the large themes 
 of current affairs? Has he been much influ- 
 enced directly or indirectly by books? By oc- 
 cupational interests? In general, is he well- 
 informed, and in what topics does he seem to 
 be most, and in what least, informed? 
 
 The content of mind can be examined further 
 by definite written or oral test. Such questions 
 as the following can be used to test general in- 
 formation; they can be modified to suit par- 
 ticular conditions of the group to be tested : 
 
 From what is cotton obtained? Linen, gas, 
 kerosene oil, beer, brandy ? How is cloth made ? 
 A nail, a tack, a shoe? What does a lawyer 
 do? A broker, a banker? How does a manu- 
 facturer make money? A railroad, a bank? 
 How does an automobile go? A locomotive, a 
 telephone, a telegraph instrument, wireless tele- 
 graph, a phonograph, a piano, an organ? 
 What is the cost of coal per ton? Sugar per 
 pound, shoes, a house, a horse? Who is now 
 King of England? Of Germany, Russia? 
 Where is there war now? Who is Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the United States? The Senators from 
 
INTERESTS AND INSTINCTS 137 
 
 the State? ^Representative from the District? 
 Name rive physicians, five lawyers, five business 
 men, and five clergymen in the city. How far 
 is it from here to (name five large cities) ? 
 What is the railroad fare to each? Name five 
 people who have written books. Other ques- 
 tions about current events, general and local, 
 can be asked. The answers can be marked and 
 graded in the manner of the ordinary examina- 
 tion paper. 
 
 Other questions enquiring about the experi- 
 ence of the child can be asked, such as: Tell 
 all you can about some city you have visited. 
 What others could you tell about? What do 
 you know about an ocean that you have seen 
 for yourself? A river, a lake? Tell all you 
 can about a steamboat, a sailing vessel, a hotel, 
 a theater, a circus. What kind of factories 
 have you visited? Tell all you can about each. 
 What books have you read? What newspapers 
 do you read? Tell about something you have 
 read in a newspaper this week. Tell about 
 some good way for a boy (or girl) to earn 
 money. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 For additional reading in the subject of children's 
 interests, instincts, and experiences, the Bibliography 
 of Child Study by L. N. Wilson should be consulted. 
 Many articles will be found under the headings of 
 ambitions, interests, amusements, play, that will throw 
 sidelights upon these topics of individuality. Most 
 
138 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 of the articles bearing most directly upon this chap- 
 ter will be found in the Pedagogical Seminary, 
 Barnes' Studies in Education, Proceedings of the 
 N. E. A. An article by L. W. Kline, The Migratory 
 Impulse vs. the Love of Home (Am. Jour, of Psychol- 
 ogy, Vol. 10, pp. 1-81), can be mentioned especially 
 as an excellent attempt to interpret interests in child- 
 hood in relation to an evolutionary conception of their 
 origin. Books on Child Development such as those 
 of Chamberlain, Tanner, Kirkpatrick, should be read. 
 
 SOME GEaSTEEAL. CHABACTEEISTICS OF INTEEEST 
 
 In addition to those traits of the life of emo- 
 tion, instinct, and interest that have been de- 
 scribed there are certain others that are related 
 in a special way to the development of intelli- 
 gence. They can perhaps best be designated 
 as qualities or factors of interest. Included 
 under this topic would be an investigation of 
 qualities of attention, habits of imitation, curi- 
 osity, interests in experimentation and in men- 
 tal activity for its own sake, susceptiblity to 
 suggestion. To investigate all the traits that 
 are brought to view in taking this attitude in 
 observing the individual would require access 
 to the exact methods of the laboratory, and an 
 intimate knowledge of the methods of psycho- 
 logical analysis, for some of the most central 
 themes of psychology are here approached. 
 
TRAITS OF INTEREST 139 
 
 But enough can be accomplished in a prelim- 
 inary study to show the bearing of these quali- 
 ties of the individual upon his intellectual 
 development, and to indicate differences among 
 individuals and the methods of observing them. 
 
 Attention. Facts about the attention of the 
 child under observation should be ascertained; 
 whether his attention is generally easy to gain 
 and hold ; whether, when he is working at tasks 
 that do not appeal to his natural interests, he 
 is strongly attentive and persistent, or whether 
 the attention is fluctuating, easily interrupted, 
 and lacking in persistence. Deficiency of atten- 
 tion may be due to lack of effort, or to lack of 
 ability to concentrate, or to both. Comparison 
 of the child's habits of attention and interest 
 when working at tasks that are intrinsically 
 uninteresting with his attitudes in preferred 
 work or play, will throw some light upon the re- 
 lation of effort to capacity for concentration. 
 
 The child's spontaneous interests in acquir- 
 ing knowledge should be noticed; as expressed 
 in curiosity, habits of enquiry, experimentation, 
 habits of observation. Curiosity can be defined 
 as the desire to know, without special reference 
 to need or use. Does the child under observa- 
 tion possess this quality in a marked degree? 
 Does he show a desire to gain information for 
 a purpose, and is he persistent in his efforts 
 to gain it? Does he seem to have spontaneous 
 interests in learning, or does he merely absorb 
 
140 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 what is assigned him to learn? Does he ask 
 questions frequently, and does he take interest 
 in learning by testing or experimenting? Does 
 the child seem to have a keen sense of truth, 
 and to desire to get to the bottom of a question? 
 Is he critical, or is he readily satisfied with the 
 answer that is given him? Does he try to prove 
 statements for himself, to seek authority for his 
 opinions, to demand it of others? Does the 
 child seem to enjoy mental work for its own 
 sake? Does he like to do hard problems, and 
 to get the answer for himself? Or does he 
 readily give up, and ask for help? Does he 
 enjoy solving puzzles, and what kind of puzzles 
 interest him most ? Is he patient and persistent 
 in solving them, or is he impatient and irritable ? 
 Does he enjoy exercises in which the mind is 
 allowed free play, as in imaginative construc- 
 tion in planning stories, plays and the like? Is 
 he often in a " brown study " or subject to 
 states of absorption or reverie (which must be 
 distinguished from " just looking ")? Does 
 he generally seem mentally active when not 
 working at definite tasks? Is the child imi- 
 tative, as in preferences, dress, manner, in 
 games? Or is he independent in his views, 
 habits and the like? Is he suggestible, and does 
 he readily accept advice ? 
 
 Many of the characteristics mentioned above 
 are accessible to experimental methods, and 
 some of the most interesting problems of ex- 
 
TRAITS OF INTEREST 141 
 
 perimental psychology center in these topics. 
 Experiments upon attention can be performed 
 upon a class. Sheets of paper containing sixty 
 problems in multiplication should be prepared, 
 two places in the multiplicand and one in the 
 multiplier. The children are directed to multi- 
 ply as rapidly as possible for two minutes. 
 The point that is then reached is marked. 
 Then an interesting story is read aloud to the 
 children until their attention is well aroused. 
 Then, while the story is continued, two minutes 
 more of the mathematical work, done as before 
 at greatest speed, are required. The amount 
 and quality of the work done with distraction 
 is to be compared with the amount and quality 
 done without it. The numerical result is a 
 measure, in a way, of a quality that appears 
 in much of the child's work, but one that is 
 psychologically complex. Both willingness and 
 ability to concentrate are involved. One child 
 may with less effort turn the attention away 
 from the story because he is less interested in 
 the story, or because the mathematical work 
 appeals more strongly to him. Some are in- 
 cited to greater effort than others by the ele- 
 ment of competition that is involved. A sense 
 of duty and literal obedience influences others. 
 Numerical results, therefore, need analysis and 
 interpretation. By varying the conditions and 
 material of the experiment one or another fac- 
 tor can be emphasized. For a second test, 
 
142 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 words can be copied from a book and such dis- 
 tractions as music or loud noise can be used. 
 But the result is always a measure of a com- 
 plex made up of both ability and willingness 
 to work under certain conditions. The factor 
 of effort can be made more uniform by strongly 
 exciting competition, by giving rewards for the 
 best work and other means, and so an approxi- 
 mately pure power of concentration for a 
 particular form of work may be tested. The 
 most interesting result of class experiments 
 upon attention is likely to be the exceptional 
 record. Experiments that take the child away 
 from the routine ways of applying the mind 
 such as are common in the schoolroom, al- 
 though they test the same abilities, are likely 
 to reveal aspects of the mental organization 
 that have not before been observed. The re- 
 sults may throw light upon abilities and disabili- 
 ties of the child that underlie qualities of his 
 school work. 
 
 Habits of observation can be tested in several 
 ways. Written exercises can be assigned call- 
 ing for description from memory of familiar 
 objects. Such questions as these can be used: 
 Tell all you can remember about the appear- 
 ance of the front entrance of the schoolhouse. 
 Tell all you can about the back of the school- 
 room. Which way do the seeds of an apple 
 run? Of a pear? How does a cat come down 
 a tree? How many legs and how many wings 
 
TRAITS OF INTEREST 143 
 
 has a fly? Additions to such questions can 
 readily be made, and the results can be graded 
 and marked like the ordinary examination 
 paper. 
 
 An interesting experiment that will test the 
 same trait of children can be performed upon 
 a class. Time should be chosen when there is 
 a short intermission in the school work. Some- 
 one enters the room by prearrangement, goes 
 to the desk and speaks to the teacher in low 
 tones, meantime performing some apparently 
 unintentional act, such as taking a flower from 
 the desk and smelling it, and then replacing it. 
 He may then start to leave the room, return to 
 the desk, and get a book as though he had for- 
 gotten it, and then leave the room. The test 
 action can be simplified or complicated in any 
 way to suit the needs of the experimenter. 
 The children are then asked to describe in writ- 
 ing what happened in the room, to give details 
 of the appearance of the visitor, and to tell 
 precisely what he did. Children should be al- 
 lowed time for the writing until they are satis- 
 fied that they have told all they can remember. 
 
 Many experiments upon suggestibility have 
 been devised. One that will show something 
 about the characteristics that are to be studied, 
 but which will not be suitable to bring out de- 
 grees of difference sufficient for a study of indi- 
 viduality, can be made as follows : An atomizer 
 is prepared containing pure water. After a few 
 
144 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 minutes ' talk about flowers or perfumes, in 
 which some familiar odors are mentioned, the 
 children are told that something is to be sprayed 
 about the room, and they are to write after- 
 wards whether they have smelled anything and 
 what it was ; whether it was very strong, or just 
 ordinary, or barely strong enough to be noticed. 
 The water is then sprayed in several parts of 
 the room. The questions are repeated and the 
 children are then allowed to write their answers. 
 Among younger children, nearly all will re- 
 spond to the suggestion in some degree, but 
 some unusual cases are likely to be discovered 
 in which there is a high degree of suggesti- 
 bility. 
 
 Another instructive experiment upon sug- 
 gestibility which can be performed without 
 apparatus, and which will admit of numerical 
 calculation, is the following: Twelve cards, 
 80 mm. by 40 mm., are prepared. In the cen- 
 ter of the cards lines are to be drawn, one 
 on each card. The lines should be drawn 
 lengthwise of the cards with equal margin at 
 each end. Eight of the lines are to be drawn 
 60 mm. in length and one each 48, 36, 24, 12 mm. 
 Sheets of paper (ruled) of foolscap size are to 
 be provided. The method of experimenting is 
 as follows: The cards are shown to the child 
 one at a time and in this order — 12, 24, 36, 
 48, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60. After the first 
 line is shown, and before the next appears, the 
 
TRAITS OF INTEREST 145 
 
 child is requested to draw the length of the line 
 (the line still remaining before him) upon the 
 top line of the ruled sheet, beginning at the left 
 margin of the paper. The next line is shown 
 and reproduced in the same manner ; and so on 
 until all are drawn. Nearly all children will be 
 influenced by the increasing steps to continue to 
 make them in reproducing the lines of 60 mm. 
 length. Various degrees of suggestibility will 
 be observed. Some will continue to make the 
 lines longer to the end of the series. Others 
 will make a correction when the last line drawn 
 is obviously longer than the new copy, and will 
 commence another increasing series. The 
 amount and character of suggestibility shown 
 can be estimated by inspection of the papers 
 and the children can be graded or grouped ac- 
 cording to the degree of suggestibility. Or the 
 amount by which lines after the fifth exceed the 
 length of the fifth line can be used as a rough 
 index of suggestibility. 
 
 A similar experiment can be made with cart- 
 ridge shells loaded with shot. A series of 
 weights can be arranged weighing 20, 40, 60, 
 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 grams. The 
 weights are to be lifted in succession with the 
 thumb and forefinger of the right hand. When 
 the first weight is lifted the child is told that it 
 weighs 20 grams, and he is asked to estimate 
 the weight of each of the others as it is lifted. 
 The experimenter records the weights that are 
 
146 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 announced and the amount of suggestibility is 
 estimated as in the preceding experiment. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Wilson's Bibliography may be consulted for titles 
 of articles on attention, imitation, suggestion, and the 
 like. For further reading in methods of psychological 
 experimentation Seashore's Elementary Experiments 
 in Psychology can be read, or Sanford's Course in 
 Experimental Psychology. The most complete trea- 
 tise on the psychological laboratory and its methods 
 is Titchener 's Experimental Psychology, in 4 volumes. 
 A few special articles can be mentioned such as: — 
 
 E. H. Haskell : Imitation in school children. Peda- 
 gogical Seminary, III, 30-47. 
 
 C. Frear: Imitation. Pedagogical Seminary, IV, 
 382-396. 
 
 M. H. Small: The Suggestibility of Children. 
 Pedagogical Seminary, IV, 176-220. 
 
 J. A. Gilbert : Mental and Physical Development of 
 School Children. Studies from the Yale Psycholog- 
 ical Laboratory. 
 
 XI 
 
 SENSES AND PEECEPTION 
 
 In general psychology, the experimental study 
 of the simplest mental processes such as sen- 
 sation and perception is much further ad- 
 vanced than the study of the more complex 
 processes. In the study of individuals, on the 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 147 
 
 other hand, attention seems rightly to have been 
 most directed to those larger functions that are 
 most characteristic of individuality. The study 
 of the elementary processes by the exact meth- 
 ods of the laboratory, although an important 
 part of the study of differences among individ- 
 uals, is a part that as yet bears less directly 
 upon practical problems. It is possible that in 
 a more advanced stage of development of the 
 subject relations between sensory processes 
 that can be measured simply and exactly and 
 the complex processes that cannot thus be esti- 
 mated may be so well made out that differences 
 in the former may be used as a measure of dif- 
 ferences in the latter — and thus make it pos- 
 sible to perform a simple series of experiments 
 that will test the individual. But at present, as 
 we have seen, no such testing of the individual 
 is possible. The extended experimental study 
 of the senses belongs rather to general psychol- 
 ogy than to the study of individuals, at least 
 for the purposes of obtaining a practical knowl- 
 edge of them. Yet it is both interesting and 
 important to discover some of the differences 
 among individuals in the elementary processes 
 that general psychology aims to isolate for 
 study. 
 
 Vision. The functions of the eye are com- 
 plex, and the differential study of vision could 
 be made the subject of a long course of experi- 
 mentation. Such functions as sensitivity of the 
 
148 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 eye to light, acuity of vision, sensations of color, 
 extent of the field of vision, muscular functions 
 of the eye can be measured with precision. 
 The methods used are, for the most part, those 
 used in general psychology and are the same for 
 adult and child. They can be studied at length 
 in the standard works on experimental psy- 
 chology. 
 
 Discriminative sensibility for brightness can 
 be examined by means of a series of grays 
 according to the method described below. For 
 other methods of testing that require some 
 form of color mixer, one can consult Sanford's 
 " Course in Experimental Psychology, ■ ' p. 128. 
 
 Color discrimination. For studying color 
 discrimination, Gilbert used a series of spe- 
 cially prepared shades of red cloth, so dyed that 
 the difference between two successive shades 
 could not be detected by anyone. The test can 
 be performed by means of a series of shades of 
 red in paper, or test material can easily be pre- 
 pared that will do well for practice purposes. 
 A solution of potassium permanganate can be 
 prepared, making a bright red. Fill a two- 
 ounce vial with the liquid and mark it on the 
 bottom (1). Add two ounces of clear water to 
 the solution and fill another bottle, marking it 
 (2) ; and so on until there are twenty-five or 
 thirty bottles filled. The colors should appear 
 so graded that no successive ones can be distin- 
 guished. The bottles are then arranged in an 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 149 
 
 irregular order and the child is asked to sort 
 them into groups, putting together those that 
 appear alike to him. The number of groups 
 that are made will be a measure, inversely, of 
 his color discrimination. 
 
 More accurate methods of using a color series 
 for testing discrimination can be practiced ; the 
 methods are such as are employed in many 
 forms of psychological experiment. One of 
 the medium shades is chosen as a standard. 
 This and the shade next above or below are 
 shown to the child together, and he is requested 
 to say which is the lighter. If he cannot tell, 
 the standard is then to be compared with the 
 next but one in the series, and so on until two 
 are found about which the child gives correct 
 judgments in about three-fourths of the trials. 
 In testing, the two shades to be judged should 
 always be shown together, sometimes the lighter 
 and sometimes the darker on the left. The dis- 
 tance apart in the series of the two shades that 
 the child* thus decides to be different is the meas- 
 ure of his discrimination for this particular 
 series of shades. 
 
 Such tests, it must be understood, are but in 
 part tests of sensory keenness of the individual. 
 They are, to a certain extent, also tests of atten- 
 tion and general intelligence. Several traits 
 should be observed in making any test of dis- 
 crimination; the fineness of the judgment as is 
 indicated by the numerical expression de- 
 
150 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 scribed above, and the variability of the judg- 
 ment as indicated by errors or by the results of 
 tests at intervals. The manner in which the 
 child delivers the judgment should be noticed; 
 also, the degree of confidence expressed, and the 
 extent to which he looks to the experimenter for 
 confirmation of his judgments. 
 
 Discrimination for visual lengths can be 
 tested by having the child mark the center of 
 strips of paper of equal length. Many trials 
 should be made, the average error found, and 
 also the average deviation as a measure of 
 variability. 
 
 Eapidity of perceptive processes can be tested 
 without complicated apparatus. For test ma- 
 terial a printed page can be used, or better, 
 specially printed slips, containing lines of capi- 
 tal letters, set in haphazard order. Ten lines, 
 fifty letters in each line, including ten A's, will 
 be found convenient. The lines should be set 
 solid, that is, without spacing between the let- 
 ters. At a signal the child begins to cross out 
 all the A's as rapidly as possible. Work is 
 continued for two minutes. Both quality and 
 quantity of the work should be taken into ac- 
 count. Several types of children will be found, 
 such as the rapid-accurate, slow-accurate, rapid- 
 inaccurate, slow-inaccurate. The test should 
 be repeated on several occasions and the aver- 
 age taken. Irregularity in the work from day 
 to day is to be noticed as well as the amount 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 151 
 
 done. The process can be complicated by hav- 
 ing the child cross out more than one letter. 
 
 This method can be used also as a test of 
 mental fatigue. Cards containing twenty lines 
 should be used and the work continued until 
 all are marked. A signal is given at the end 
 of each thirty seconds, and the point then 
 reached marked. The quantity and quality of 
 the work for each period are then to be esti- 
 mated. 
 
 Eapidity of perceptive processes can be tested 
 in other ways. Cards can be prepared con- 
 taining geometrical figures cut from black pa- 
 per, ten on each card in an irregular order. 
 Other series can be prepared consisting of 
 squares of colored paper or capital letters. In 
 testing, the cards are exposed for a period of 
 two seconds, and the child is asked to tell all 
 he saw during the exposure. With some prac- 
 tice with a split second watch the timing can 
 be done sufficiently accurately ; or if there is no 
 watch, a pendulum can be made from a piece of 
 twine and a weight adjusted to beat one or two 
 second periods. 
 
 A still more complicated process involving 
 choice made as rapidly as possible can be tested. 
 It is a process that is typical of many practical 
 acts, and experiments have shown that it stands 
 in close relation to the general intelligence of 
 the child. An ordinary pack of playing cards 
 can be used. Some preliminary practice may be 
 
152 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 necessary in order to make the children famil- 
 iar with the four kinds of cards. In testing, 
 the child is requested to sort the cards as rap- 
 idly as possible into four packs. The pack is 
 held face downward. Better material for mak- 
 ing this test is a pack of specially printed cards 
 bearing large capital letters, A's, B's, C's, D's, 
 in equal numbers. The letters should be large 
 and distinct, and glazed cards used. 
 
 A series of experiments should be made in 
 connection with the test just described, in which 
 the child deals the cards into four piles without 
 sorting. If this time is subtracted from the 
 time of sorting with choice, the time of the 
 choice processes is roughly measured. 
 
 Experiments made with similar tests upon 
 children in New York City show a close corre- 
 lation between ability in the test and the gen- 
 eral intelligence of the child as shown by the 
 relation of his age to grade in school. The 
 sorting time was also found to be closely corre- 
 lated with ability to deal cards without choice, 
 with rate of tapping, marking out A's, and with 
 memory for digits, the amount of correlation 
 varying in the different tests. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 The works on Experimental Psychology by Tit- 
 chener, Sanford, Seashore, and Witmer can be con- 
 sulted for additional experiments. See also Gilbert, 
 article previously mentioned, for methods of testing 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 153 
 
 color discrimination. Many references will be found 
 in Wilson's Bibliography under headings: — vision, 
 color perception, judgment, discrimination. 
 
 XII 
 
 SENSES AND PERCEPTION 
 
 (Continued) 
 
 For testing discriminative sensibility for 
 sounds, apparatus is needed, but the method 
 of experimenting can be illustrated and esti- 
 mates made sufficiently exact for present pur- 
 poses by means of a devise that can readily 
 be arranged. A board a few inches square 
 should be provided and covered with thick cloth 
 or felt glued smoothly to the surface. A scale 
 marked in fractions of an inch is attached ver- 
 tically to the side, and should be two feet in 
 length. For testing, marbles of equal size and 
 weight can be used. Starting from a given 
 height a sound is made by dropping the marble 
 upon the board ; this is the standard sound with 
 which a louder sound is to be compared. The 
 standard sound should be made and immedi- 
 ately afterward a sound a little louder, made by 
 dropping a marble from a greater height. If 
 no difference is detected, a greater distance is 
 tried, the standard and the test sound being 
 made in close succession. The distance is to be 
 increased gradually, sometimes the louder sound 
 
154 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 being made first and sometimes the standard, 
 until a point is reached at which about three- 
 fourths of the answers are correct. The dis- 
 tance between the height of the standard and 
 the height thus found can be used as a measure 
 of discriminative ability for this particular 
 series of sounds. 
 
 Discrimination for pitch of musical tones can 
 be tested satisfactorily only with apparatus and 
 laboratory methods. Gilbert devised a pitch 
 pipe with a movable piston and a scale show- 
 ing changes to ^ of a tone. For exact tests, 
 tuning forks are usually used. For practice 
 purposes a simple sonometer can be devised 
 by stretching two brass wires across the top of 
 a table an inch from the surface. The wires are 
 attached at one end and weighted at the other. 
 The weights are adjusted so that the two strings 
 when sounded together appear to be in perfect 
 unison as judged by an acute ear. The child is 
 then told to listen to the sounds as they are 
 made in succession, the first being dampened 
 before the second is produced, and to tell which 
 is the higher in pitch. If no difference is de- 
 tected weight should be added, and another 
 judgment taken, and so on by the gradation 
 method that has already been described, until 
 a point is found at which there is an observable 
 difference. The amount of weight that has 
 been added is used as a measure of the dis- 
 crimination for this particular experiment. 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 155 
 
 Other experiments upon sound perception 
 may bring to light interesting differences among 
 children. Perception of rhythm can be tested 
 by having the child tap with the end of a pencil 
 in imitation of rhythms that are similarly 
 tapped by the experimenter. One should begin 
 with the simple musical rhythms and then try 
 more complex combinations. The tapping 
 should be slow and distinct. 
 
 Experiments upon other senses can be in- 
 cluded or not in this series according to the 
 amount of practice in psychological methods 
 that is desired. The practical results so far as 
 the numerical estimates are concerned will be 
 slight. But children are usually much inter- 
 ested in such experiments and their actions in 
 the tests are likely to be more illuminating to 
 the amateur observer than the numerical 
 records he will make. 
 
 Sensitiveness of the skin to pressure is tested 
 by means of very light weights called minimal 
 pressure weights. They can be made from 
 elder pith or cork if accurate scales such as 
 are used in a chemical laboratory are accessi- 
 ble. Eectangular prisms of the pith can be 
 made, 5 mm. square, and the weights cut from 
 these. Handles can be made by fastening a 
 loop of hair to them. A series of from 2 milli- 
 grams to 20 milligrams will be found suitable. 
 Considerable skill and patience will be required 
 to make an accurate set. In testing, the lightest 
 
156 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 weight is held by the loop on a pencil point or 
 long needle and is then let down gently npon 
 the back of the hand of the child to be tested, 
 the eyes of the child being closed. If nothing 
 is felt the next heavier weight is tried in the 
 same way, always nsing the same spot on the 
 hand. The testing is continned until pressure 
 is distinctly felt. Several trials will be neces- 
 sary, and care must be taken that the weight 
 is held steadily, and that the child is not in- 
 formed in any way by the movements of the 
 experimenter when the weight is about to touch 
 the skin. 
 
 Discriminative sensibility to pressure is 
 tested conveniently by cartridge shells loaded 
 with shot. A series should be prepared using 
 100 grams as a standard, or the experiment can 
 be made with two test weights, the weight of 
 the variable being changed by adding shot. 
 Have the child close his eyes and place the 
 standard weight upon the palm of his hand. 
 Eemove the weight and test with a weight 
 heavier by an imperceptible amount, and so 
 continue until a weight is found perceptibly 
 different from the standard weight. Care 
 should be used in testing to vary the order in 
 which standard and test weights are presented. 
 
 Discrimination for double pressure on the 
 skin has been tested for various purposes. It 
 has been widely used as a test of fatigue, but 
 is now somewhat discredited for that purpose. 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 157 
 
 Delicacy of discrimination is also supposed to 
 be correlated with intelligence. For testing 
 for double pressure sense, a special form of 
 apparatus, the aesthesiometer, is used, but in 
 want of that, a carpenter's compass will do 
 fairly well. The object of the experiment is to 
 determine how far apart the compass points 
 must be placed, when brought simultaneously 
 into contact with the skin, if they are to be felt 
 as two points rather than a single point. The 
 points should first be placed close together, and 
 the wrist of the child touched, care being taken 
 that the two points touch the skin exactly si- 
 multaneously. The front of the wrist can con- 
 veniently be used, and the points are to be 
 placed lengthwise of the arm. If the points 
 are not felt distinctly as two, the distance is to 
 be increased by small amounts until a point is 
 reached at which correct judgments are given in 
 about three-fourths of the trials. The distance 
 at which the points are then apart is carefully 
 measured upon a millimeter scale. The points 
 can then be placed at a distance apart at which 
 they are certainly felt as two, and the child 
 can be tested again, gradually decreasing the 
 distance until there begin to be errors in about 
 the proportion of one to three correct judg- 
 ments. The two records should nearly coincide, 
 and the average can be taken as a measure of 
 the function that is tested. 
 
 The accuracy with which a pressure point on 
 
158 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 the skin can be located can be measured thus : — 
 Have the child close the eyes and touch his 
 wrist firmly with the point of a pencil. Ask 
 him to touch the same point with a pencil held 
 in the other hand. Measure with a millimeter 
 scale the errors that are made. Twenty or 
 more trials should be made and the average 
 taken, and also the average deviation from this 
 distance in order to test the variability of the 
 judgment. In testing, if the child is not satis- 
 fied with the first point he touches he should be 
 allowed to move the pencil. 
 
 With a sharp point trace a line firmly on the 
 wrist of the child moving the point as slowly as 
 possible. Measure the distance the point must 
 be moved before the child can tell in what di- 
 rection the movement was made. Several trials 
 are to be made, always lengthwise of the arm, 
 but changing the direction frequently, now mov- 
 ing from elbow to wrist, now from wrist to 
 elbow. The palm of the hand and the tip of 
 the forefinger can also be tested. 
 
 With the large pressure weights and the same 
 method that was used in testing discrimination 
 for pressure, discriminative sensibility for 
 lifted weights can be tested. The child is to 
 lift now the standard now the test weight using 
 the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. 
 
 Temperature sense can be experimented upon 
 roughly as follows: Fill a jar with water 
 that feels neither warm nor cold. Put a ther- 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 159 
 
 mometer into it and read the temperature. 
 Fill another jar with water of the same temper- 
 ature. The first jar is to be kept at the stand- 
 ard temperature and the second is to be the 
 variable, being gradually increased in tempera- 
 ture by the addition of water of higher tempera- 
 ture or by heating. The subject is tested thus : 
 He first puts the hand into the standard jar 
 and then into the test jar, proceeding as in other 
 tests of discrimination until a perceptible dif- 
 ference is detected. The results can be checked 
 by proceeding from the clearly perceived dif- 
 ference to the less perceptible. 
 
 Pain sensation is usually tested by the algo- 
 meter, an instrument consisting of a blunt test- 
 ing point and a scale which registers amount 
 of pressure. The temple algometer is the best. 
 An algometer can easily be constructed by any- 
 one with a little mechanical skill. In testing, 
 the point is applied to the temple and pressure 
 is exerted until the subject declares that the 
 sensation just begins to be painful. If a num- 
 ber of trials are made at different times ac- 
 curacy can be attained in measuring individual 
 differences. Much attention has been given by 
 criminologists to the study of the pain sense, but 
 there is so much uncertainty in interpreting re- 
 sults that the conclusions from these studies 
 are not likely to be very helpful in studying 
 normal cases. Exceptional cases both of dull- 
 ness and acuteness of pain sense should be 
 
160 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 studied with regard to other indications of ex- 
 ceptional temperament or deficiency. 
 
 Taste sensations can be tested simply by 
 means of bitter, sour, salt, and sweet solutions. 
 The best substances from which to make the 
 test material appear to be saccharin for the 
 sweet, phosphoric acid for the sour, sodium 
 chloride for the salt, quinine sulphate for the 
 bitter. The best method when great accuracy 
 is not needed is to put into a burette a quantity 
 of a strong solution of known strength and to 
 drop this gradually into a glass containing a 
 considerable quantity of water. The child is 
 first to taste the water (which should be dis- 
 tilled) taking as much as can be held in a small 
 spoon, and putting it well onto the tongue. 
 Then a little of the solution is to be added, and 
 the water tasted again — and so on until the 
 taste is clearly recognized. The amount of the 
 solution that has been used can be read from 
 the burette. To prevent guessing, the child 
 can be tested with water and the test solution 
 alternately. If his judgments are not correct 
 in nearly all trials he must be tested again with 
 a stronger solution. Tests can be made with 
 each of the four materials, and the amount of 
 each required to stimulate taste recorded. The 
 numerical results are of course valuable only 
 for comparison of individuals tested in the 
 same way under exactly the same conditions. 
 
 Another method of testing taste is to prepare 
 
SENSES AND PERCEPTION 161 
 
 several glasses, each containing the same 
 amount of distilled water, and to add from a 
 solution of known strength to make dilutions of 
 different strengths, graduated from one that 
 cannot be detected by the keenest taste to one 
 that can clearly be recognized by all. Tests can 
 be made as in the previously described experi- 
 ment. 
 
 By using two burettes and two glasses the 
 least differences or differential sensibility for 
 taste can be measured. A standard solution 
 of medium strength should be used, and by the 
 method of gradation the increase in the strength 
 that is required before a difference can be no- 
 ticed must be found. The mouth should be 
 rinsed with water after each test. 
 
 Smell can be tested in several ways but re- 
 sults are not likely to be so clear as in experi- 
 ments upon taste. The least stimulus that can 
 be sensed and the least difference can be meas- 
 ured by means of the olfactometer, a simple 
 instrument that can be made or purchased. 
 
 A more convenient way of testing smell is by 
 means of solutions of graduated strengths. 
 Essence of clove is convenient to use and can 
 be made by adding one part of oil of cloves to 
 fifteen parts of alcohol (Sanford). The es- 
 sence, mixed in various proportions with water, 
 will make the proper test material. Several 
 bottles should be prepared, containing a graded 
 series of strengths of the solution. The sub- 
 
162 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ject is requested to smell these, removing the 
 stoppers one at a time and passing from the 
 weakest solution until one is reached that can 
 be recognized. Discriminative sensibility for 
 smell can be measured by the gradation method 
 by comparing a variable test solution with a 
 standard. 
 
 Though such experiments on the senses as 
 have been described in this chapter and the 
 preceding will not as a rule issue in practical 
 results, so far as numerical records are con- 
 cerned, exceptional cases of dullness or acute- 
 ness of senses may be discovered, and all such 
 cases should be studied carefully with regard 
 to other exceptional traits. Either acuteness 
 or dullness may accompany mental deficiency. 
 Defects that occur in one sensory sphere are 
 usually due to local causes sometimes insignifi- 
 cant in nature, and testing of the senses may 
 lead to their detection and removal. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Literature on experimental psychology previously 
 cited; and Wilson's Bibliography for references to 
 touch, pressure, hearing, rhythm, smell, taste, tem- 
 perature sense, and the like. 
 
MEMORY 163 
 
 XIII 
 
 MECHANISM OF THE MIND: MEMOEY 
 
 The senses being the avenues by which ex^ 
 perience is accumulated, some insight into in- 
 tellectual characteristics of individuals should 
 be obtained by studying them, especially in 
 their relation to each other. Other informa- 
 tion about the intellectual traits will have been 
 obtained by the study of those impulses toward 
 the development of intelligence that have been 
 called characteristics of interest; but these fac- 
 tors do not constitute all the variables in ele- 
 mentary functions that underlie intelligence; 
 for without certain other functions a " stream 
 of consciousness " could not be built up at all, 
 and experience could not be used in new sit- 
 uations. These essentially mechanical func- 
 tions of the mind can be studied under two 
 general topics : memory and association. Mem- 
 ory for present purposes can be denned as the 
 power of retaining and reproducing impres- 
 sions, and association as the power of connect- 
 ing experiences in consciousness. This is not 
 very satisfactory psychology, but will indicate 
 the traits that are to be studied. Memory, as 
 a matter of fact, is a very complex function or 
 rather several functions are involved, and to a 
 certain extent must be considered separately 
 in studying individual differences. Memory 
 
164 INDIVIDUAL STUDY v 
 
 power varies in the individual with the kind 
 of material that is presented to consciousness; 
 the memory may be good for one kind of mate- 
 rial and poor for another, apparently not very 
 different. 
 
 In studying memory, observations can first 
 be made of the qualities of the ordinary work 
 of the child in school, for in school the memory 
 functions are constantly brought into use, and 
 can easily be observed. In general is the child 's 
 memory good or poor? Is it better in some 
 subjects than in others, or for some kinds of 
 material or work in the same subject? Com- 
 pared with other aspects of the child's intelli- 
 gence does the memory appear to be good or 
 poor? Are there marked peculiarities in the 
 memory habits of the child, such as unusual 
 ability in rote memory, power of retention for 
 a long period, unusual rapidity of committing 
 to memory? 
 
 Some of the characteristics that can be no- 
 ticed in the ordinary work of the child can be 
 put to more exact test by simple experiments. 
 A beginning can be made by testing the so- 
 called pure or immediate memory for simple 
 auditory or visual series of stimuli. For test- 
 ing visual memory a series of cards should be 
 prepared containing digits in irregular order. 
 If large cards are used and care is taken to 
 present them in good light, experiments can 
 be made upon a class. Some of the cards 
 
MEMORY 165 
 
 should contain six, some seven, and up to twelve 
 digits in a line. In testing, a series of pre- 
 liminary experiments can be made in order to 
 discover the number of digits that can be re- 
 produced nearly but not entirely correctly by 
 the best in the class. A long series can then 
 be made with this number. In testing, the 
 cards are shown to the class one at a time, about 
 as much time being allowed as would be given 
 to a slow reading of the same number. Five- 
 second periods can be used for nine digits, 
 and time can be indicated by a pendulum or 
 a metronome. The card is then covered and 
 the children must write immediately what they 
 have seen, putting the digits in the order in 
 which they appeared on the card. The experi- 
 ment is of course but an approximate test of 
 pure visual memory; the child may repeat the 
 digits to himself, and thus motor and auditory 
 elements may be brought in. But it presents 
 a situation in which visual stimulation predom- 
 inates. 
 
 To examine the auditory memory a similar 
 method is used. The digits are read slowly 
 and distinctly, special pains being taken not to 
 group the sounds rhythmically. Immediately 
 after the reading, the children must write what 
 they have heard. In this case also the stimulus 
 is not pure; the child may visualize as he lis- 
 tens, and repeat to himself, thus bringing in 
 secondary motor and visual elements. 
 
166 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 Care should be taken in performing these 
 experiments to make conditions uniform for 
 all children that are tested, and for each series. 
 Besides accurate timing and uniformity in the 
 manner of presenting the stimulus, attention 
 should be called at a fixed time before the stim- 
 ulus is to be presented. In computing results 
 the number of digits that are correctly given 
 in the right order is counted. The papers 
 should be inspected also for the purpose of 
 detecting qualities of the work that are not 
 expressed in the numerical result, and for ex- 
 ceptional cases. Ability to memorize, tested in 
 this way, will be likely to show relation to the 
 general intelligence of the child, but possibly 
 not a very close relation, especially among 
 older children. Eelatively poor memorizers 
 may be found among bright children, and some 
 dull children will be likely to make good records 
 in the memory tests. 
 
 The amount of this relationship can be 
 studied by grading the pupils in a series with 
 regard to record in the memory tests, and also 
 grading them for their school work or averages 
 in examinations in several subjects. The posi- 
 tion of each child in the two series can be ob- 
 served, mathematical methods such as described 
 by Spearman can be applied to the records and 
 the degree of correlation between the two 
 records can be calculated. For this, more than 
 
MEMORY 167 
 
 one series of tests must be made, and if possible 
 two sets of school marks should be used. 
 
 Other studies of memory can be made by 
 using words, syllables, and letters for test ma- 
 terial. Lists of words can be selected repre- 
 senting various sense departments such as 
 words of color, sound, taste, smell, action. A 
 series of twenty words may be read to the chil- 
 dren and after a short interval the words are 
 to be written. The character of the errors and 
 omissions are then to be studied in order to 
 determine the relative excellence of memory for 
 the different kinds of material. 
 
 Individuals apparently differ with regard to 
 the aspect of any complicated situation to 
 which they attend, or which they best remem- 
 ber ; whether its content as such or its form or 
 relations. Stern thinks this difference one of 
 the most important in determining intellectual 
 types. He tests this habit by experiments in 
 memory and rhythm. Three series of tests are 
 made, one in which melodies without rhythm 
 are presented, another in which rhythm with- 
 out melody is used, and the third when the two 
 are combined. 
 
 Other methods of testing memory that have 
 been used for practical tests in school will be 
 likely to show a closer relation to the abilities 
 used in the ordinary school task than the records 
 for immediate memory, for they involve a test 
 
168 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 of the child's power to learn by repetition. A 
 series of fifty digits is prepared, either in du- 
 plicate on paper, or written on a blackboard 
 and kept covered nntil used. When the atten- 
 tion of the children is well aroused, the series of 
 digits is exposed for ten seconds. They are 
 then covered and the children must write all 
 they can remember, placing them in the proper 
 order. The digits are then exposed again un- 
 der the same conditions, after which the 
 children must again write all they can re- 
 member — and so on until the whole list is 
 reproduced. The number of exposures before 
 the list is completed is the measure that is re- 
 quired. Copying from a book can be substi- 
 tuted for reproducing the digits. The child 
 is allowed to copy as he pleases, and the number 
 of the references to the copy he makes is ob- 
 served. This test is supposed to show a close 
 relation to the mental ability of the child for 
 school tasks in general. 
 
 A modification of this experiment can be 
 made as follows : — A series of twenty-five 
 digits is exposed as before, and the child is 
 allowed time to read them twice. He is then 
 to try to reproduce the series. The series is 
 then again exposed as before, and another at- 
 tempt made to reproduce it. The tests are con- 
 tinued until the child has repeated the whole 
 series accurately. The number of the expo- 
 sures is recorded, and the papers are studied 
 
MEMORY 169 
 
 with reference to the characteristics of the 
 child 's learning habits that they exhibit. 
 
 The characteristics of the child's ability to 
 retain impressions can now be investigated. 
 Series of digits may be memorized by the child 
 by being repeated until they can be reproduced 
 without error. Later in the day or on the fol- 
 lowing day, the children are to write the series. 
 The number that are retained, and the nature 
 of the errors are to be recorded. The reten- 
 tiveness can also be measured by the number 
 of repetitions that are required to relearn ma- 
 terial after it has been partially or entirely 
 forgotten. Other kinds of material can be 
 used, such as paragraphs of reading matter, 
 single words, sentences. Different qualities of 
 retentiveness can be tested by varying the ma- 
 terial thus: matter can be used that demands 
 memorizing of separate words, or again, ma- 
 terial in which interest of one kind or another 
 assists in the memorizing. Exact numerical es- 
 timates of memory for connected matter are 
 somewhat difficult to make, but usually the ma- 
 terial can be divided into units in which each 
 unit contains a separate idea or phrase, and 
 the number of these units that are correctly 
 reproduced counted. 
 
 A study of the relation between immediate 
 memory and power of retentiveness can be 
 made by the method used by Sharp, which is as 
 follows : Seven disconnected words are read to 
 
170 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 the subjects at the rate of two each second. 
 Immediately after the reading the subjects are 
 to write the words. Seven series of seven 
 words each are given in this way. After the 
 last series is written the papers are removed, 
 and the children are then to write from mem- 
 ory all the words of the whole series they can 
 remember and in the order in which they were 
 given. 
 
 For examining retentiveness for still longer 
 periods questions can be asked about the school 
 work of the preceding year. The number of 
 titles from last year's reading books that can 
 be recalled will serve as an indication of reten- 
 tiveness for long periods. This method can 
 be used for determining memory for different 
 kinds of material; such as memory for dates, 
 for verse, for description, for scientific expla- 
 nation. These methods differ from the ordi- 
 nary examination of the school not so much in 
 their subject matter as in the point of view 
 taken. The school examination tests for the 
 memory of particular facts, but in the psycho- 
 logical examination the particular material that 
 is used for a test stands for a type of subject 
 matter, and the purpose is to examine the 
 child's general ability with regard to material 
 of this, class. Other differences in habit of 
 memory will be brought out in the study of 
 the mechanism of mind as an associative pro- 
 cess. 
 
ASSOCIATION 171 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Bibliography and works on experimental psychology 
 mentioned in previous chapters should, be consulted 
 for references to present topics. Chapters in some 
 textbook on general psychology should be read. Texts 
 by James, Royce, Baldwin, Angell, Thorndike, Judd, 
 can be recommended. 
 
 XIV 
 
 MECHANISM OF THE MIND: ASSOCIATION 
 
 Association of ideas like memory is a name 
 for a complicated process, one therefore which 
 is variable in many ways. Just what the fun- 
 damental variables of the process are is not 
 yet entirely clear. In studying differences in 
 association among individuals, we wish to ex- 
 amine the manner in which sequences take 
 place in the mind, under the simplest condi- 
 tions, for differences in the mechanical func- 
 tions of the mind must be supposed to underlie 
 types of intellectual ability. 
 
 For an introductory experiment upon associ- 
 ation a test can be made upon a class of chil- 
 dren. Lists of common words can be prepared, 
 25 in each list. The first should contain names 
 of objects frequently used or observed ; the sec- 
 ond may contain action words, and the third 
 adjectives in common use. The words are to 
 
172 INDIVIDUAL STUDY ' 
 
 be pronounced one at a time, and the children 
 are to write after each word is pronounced the 
 first word that comes to the mind. The reac- 
 tions are then to be studied comparatively. 
 Several types will probably be found, and many 
 interesting variations of several qualities of 
 the associative process if a sufficiently large 
 number of children are tested. The most char- 
 acteristic response will be with words that ex- 
 press frequent and commonplace experiences. 
 There will be pronounced differences in the kind 
 of reaction that is most frequent, whether by 
 words describing action, qualities, substances, 
 relations. In some cases there will be a rela- 
 tively large number of words describing recent 
 or present experiences, and in others vivid or 
 striking experiences or those of a personal or 
 emotional nature will be conspicuous. Varia- 
 tions in other traits of association will be ex- 
 hibited. In some cases there will be relatively 
 a greater number of reactions that show that 
 the thought first suggested by the word remains 
 clearly in the mind ; the reactions will be terms 
 describing the object, or parts of it, or its 
 qualities or use, or possibly naming some ob- 
 ject that belongs to the same class, or some 
 larger class to which the object itself belongs. 
 In other cases the tendency will be to pass from 
 the object given to some other different object 
 as a whole. In these cases the connection may 
 be obscure, showing looser association, or pos- 
 
ASSOCIATION 173 
 
 sibly a greater amount of content in the mind. 
 
 In studying the results of the association 
 test, although it may be difficult to make nu- 
 merical estimates of the characteristics that 
 are involved, some estimate should be made of 
 the amount of influence of recency, vividness, 
 and frequency in determining the association, 
 and also the prevailing form of connection: 
 whether by similarity, when there is usually a 
 passage from one object to another as a whole, 
 or by contiguity, in which the response is a 
 word that describes or refers to some other 
 part of the same scene or object. It is not 
 always possible to decide upon the nature of 
 the association from the word that is given, 
 but if a sufficiently large number of reactions 
 are taken one cannot fail to discover something 
 about the prevailing reaction habits of the 
 mind. 
 
 Other differences in associative habits can be 
 discovered by repeating the association tests 
 several times at intervals of several days, using 
 the same list of words each time. Care should 
 be taken not to suggest an effort to recall the 
 previous reactions. Children of the same age 
 will be found to differ greatly with regard to 
 the amount of repetition that will be found on 
 examining their successive reactions. Some 
 will respond with a majority of the old words ; 
 in other cases an almost entirely new list is 
 likely to be written. For a quantitative meas- 
 
174 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ure of the variability the number of words that 
 are different from the words of the first list can 
 be counted. 
 
 Another method of testing association that 
 will be found helpful in studying small children 
 is as follows : — About fifty small objects are 
 placed together on a table in a definite order. 
 Among them are round, spherical, cylindrical, 
 conical, circular, and irregularly round objects ; 
 there are several of the same general color but 
 of different shades or tones, and some of other 
 colors. Besides these, other groupings should 
 be provided for such as objects serving some 
 use : for example, toilet articles, articles belong- 
 ing to the table, or objects connected with a 
 Christmas scene. The following objects were 
 used in a series of experiments made by the 
 method : — Apple, red rose, peach, marble, card 
 with Christmas scene drawn on it, a small piece 
 of wood, plain white card, knife, blue paper, 
 red sealing wax, seal to stamp letters, ball, card 
 containing circle, picture of tea-kettle, round 
 piece of wood, spool of cotton, tinsel, piece of 
 pith, sandpaper, spool of red thread, red cloth, 
 red paper, some pieces of variously colored cloth 
 pinned together, a stone, small bottle contain- 
 ing vinegar, pencil, piece of candy, string of 
 popcorn, cubical block of wood, small doll 
 dressed in red, orange, picture card, button, 
 sachet powder, nut, skein of red silk, glass, 
 piece of lead, bottle of cologne, and the fol- 
 
ASSOCIATION 175 
 
 lowing words printed upon cards — cider, ice, 
 violet, earth, teaset, pansy, Santa Claus. 
 
 In testing, the children are brought one at a 
 time. The experimenter selects a round object, 
 for example an apple, from the table, and gives 
 it to the child with the direction to place it 
 aside on the table and then to put with the 
 apple all the objects that he sees on the table 
 which he thinks ought to go with it. He is al- 
 lowed to take all the time he needs to satisfy 
 himself that he has selected all that properly 
 go with the apple. 
 
 Several varieties of reaction will be found. 
 Some children will select only spherical objects ; 
 others will select round objects but according 
 to a broader concept, including objects that are 
 irregularly round. Others still will select ac- 
 cording to two or more concepts. Another 
 type of reaction is that in which the child tries 
 to construct a story or scene. Some will asso- 
 ciate by individual resemblances and find a 
 likeness in some particular between the test 
 object and all the other objects on the table. 
 The younger children tend to select according 
 to a single resemblance such as roundness, or 
 redness; those a little older more frequently 
 use two or more concepts, and the oldest chil- 
 dren in a group will be likely to react by in- 
 dividual comparison or several distinct resem- 
 blances will be kept in mind at once. Eeactions 
 appear to belong to two types, irrespective of 
 
176 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 age. The bright, nervous child of any age is 
 more likely to use the mixed reaction; another 
 mental type is more prone to the single con- 
 cept reaction. 
 
 Variations of the association experiment can 
 be made by having children write lists of words 
 as rapidly as possible. They can be asked to 
 write twenty-five nouns, or twenty-five adjec- 
 tives, putting down the first that come to the 
 mind. Or they may be asked to write senten- 
 ces, or to finish sentences half of which are read 
 to them. Another experiment is writing of re- 
 cent memories. The children can be asked to 
 write about ten events that have transpired 
 during the day. In all such products of the 
 child 's mind the same fundamental differences 
 that were observed in other association tests 
 are likely to be seen. 
 
 Association time, or the rapidity of the pass- 
 ing of the mind from one state to another, has 
 been studied minutely, especially in the early 
 period of experimental psychology. The usual 
 method of testing is to measure the time that 
 elapses between the pronouncing of a stimulus 
 word, and the reaction word that is given by 
 the subject. In testing children a word can 
 be given and the children allowed a minute in 
 which to write as rapidly as possible all the 
 words that the given word makes them think 
 of. Another method is to take the whole time 
 
ASSOCIATION 177 
 
 of association, using twenty words. The ex- 
 perimenter pronounces the words one at a time, 
 giving the new word immediately after the child 
 delivers his reaction. The time of the whole 
 series can be taken accurately enough with an 
 ordinary watch. Methods of measuring single 
 reactions require apparatus, and for experi- 
 ments upon differences will not be likely to 
 yield better results than the more simple meth- 
 ods that have been described. 
 
 Eapidity of other mental processes that are 
 largely mechanical in nature can be tested also. 
 Such a process as adding, after it has been well 
 practiced, is largely automatic in character, and 
 the rapidity with which it can be performed is 
 a good measure of the rapidity of mental pro- 
 cesses. Sheets of paper containing sixteen 
 columns of digits, twenty-five in each column, 
 can be prepared. Have the child add for three 
 minutes putting down the result at the foot of 
 each column. The method can be used also in 
 testing mental fatigue, and also for experiments 
 upon mental tempo, and the relation of maximal 
 to preferred rate of action. In testing for men- 
 tal tempo a series of preliminary experiments 
 should be made without suggesting speed, but 
 simply asking the children to add the columns 
 of digits. Later, experiments can be made for 
 comparison in which the greatest possible speed 
 is demanded. In all the tests quality as well 
 
178 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 as quantity must be observed. Types such as 
 rapid-accurate, rapid-inaccurate, slow-accurate, 
 and slow-inaccurate will be found. 
 
 In testing for fatigue by this method work at 
 greatest speed should be done for five minutes, 
 and the point that is reached at the end of each 
 minute indicated. The quantity and quality 
 for each period should then be estimated. Fa- 
 tigue as it is measured by such a method is the 
 result of several factors : warming up, effect of 
 practice, will attitudes, affect the result as well 
 as actual fatigue of the neural processes that 
 are engaged in the work. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Works on Experimental Psychology previously men- 
 tioned. 
 
 XV 
 
 FREE ACTIVITY OF THE MIND 
 
 In the preceding chapters some of the differ- 
 ences in the mechanism of the mind were studied. 
 The product of the functions of impression- 
 receiving, retention, combination, and repro- 
 duction, is a mental content that gradually 
 from infancy on becomes more complex, and 
 more and more an organized stream of con- 
 sciousness. Not only in actual experience do 
 individuals differ in their streams of conscious- 
 
FREE MENTAL ACTIVITY • 179 
 
 ness, but in many other characteristics, such 
 as volume, rapidity of movement, richness of 
 connection, clearness of imagery, predominance 
 of one or another form of imagery; and in many 
 other ways differentiation into types and va- 
 rieties appears. Some of the underlying fac- 
 tors of these differences have already been con- 
 sidered; now the results as they appear in the 
 actual content of mind are to be noticed. Mind 
 as we know it and use it in the practical business 
 of life is a result of disciplining the free activity 
 of consciousness, and choosing from an excess 
 of partially coordinated elements those combi- 
 nations that apply best to practical situations. 
 Children can be studied with special refer- 
 ence to the free activity of mind. In general 
 do the activities of the child under observation 
 indicate richness and variety of mental con- 
 tent, rapidity of mental action, flexibility of 
 connections, or the opposite characteristics ? A 
 simple test of mental content can be made by 
 asking children to think for two or three minutes 
 about some familiar interesting object or scenes 
 in which free play of the mind will be stimu- 
 lated; such as a walk home from school, or a 
 holiday. They are then asked to write all they 
 can remember of what has been in the mind. 
 More can be learned by questioning the child 
 but the written report will show something 
 about the individual differences in quantity and 
 flexibility of mental content. By questioning 
 
180 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 the child some information about the vividness 
 of his mental imagery can be obtained, the ex- 
 tent to which details enter into imagery, the 
 predominance of one or another of the sensory 
 forms, as visual, auditory, or motor images, 
 and emotional content. 
 
 Another experiment which will give similar 
 results can be tried. A story or bit of descrip- 
 tion can be read to the children, and imme- 
 diately afterward they are requested to describe 
 what was in the mind. If characters appear in 
 the story whose appearance is but suggested 
 or left to the imagination, the children may be 
 requested to describe in detail the appearance 
 of the persons as they saw them in mind. 
 
 Other information can be gained from re- 
 ports about the child's dreams. Description of 
 a few vivid dreams can be called for, and chil- 
 dren can be asked to tell the subjects of all 
 the dreams they can recall. Questions can be 
 included about what is seen just before going 
 to sleep. These experiences differ with age, 
 but differences among individuals will be found 
 that are due to differences in mental constitu- 
 tion. Differences in the emotional background 
 of imaginative activity should be noticed es- 
 pecially; sometimes in such tests the influence 
 of morbid emotion or shock can be detected, 
 and steps taken to remove it. 
 
 Experiments upon the traits under observa- 
 tion can be continued in several ways. Chil- 
 
FREE MENTAL ACTIVITY 181 
 
 dren can be asked to describe in writing an 
 imaginary animal, one they have never seen, 
 nor read about, nor heard of. The quantity of 
 the mental activity that results can be estimated 
 by counting the number of descriptive units 
 the child has used in his account. Many dif- 
 ferences will be found. Some children will be 
 unable to detach the mind from common experi- 
 ences. They may describe some common ani- 
 mal, or, if they are original at all, the originality 
 consists in duplication of parts, or enlargement 
 of the animal as a whole, or in selecting parts 
 from several animals. Some will show that the 
 creature has not been visualized as a whole by 
 making parts mutually contradictory, by de- 
 scribing in a haphazard order, or by mention- 
 ing but a few detached parts. Others will show 
 powers of imaginative construction, for they 
 will depart widely from common experience, 
 carrying out their descriptions consistently. 
 (See appendix to article on Reverie, Pedagog- 
 ical Seminary, Vol. 5.) 
 
 An experiment that has frequently been used 
 in testing imagination can be made to yield 
 interesting results in this connection, showing 
 differences among individuals in the use of sim- 
 ilarity association. A drop of ink is put onto 
 the center of a sheet of paper, and another 
 sheet is pressed down upon it, until the ink is 
 spread out irregularly. The child is then asked 
 to write the names of all the objects the ink- 
 
182 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 spot resembles, in the order in which they oc- 
 cur to him. A class experiment can be con- 
 ducted by making the test material on a larger 
 scale. 
 
 Other tests of the traits of mind that are 
 being observed can be made as follows : — Copy 
 upon the blackboard a page of a story that is 
 unknown to the children, omitting letters and 
 syllables, making what is called a mutilated 
 text. The children are then told to copy the 
 story and to fill in the missing parts. The copy- 
 ing is to be done as rapidly as possible. Both 
 the time required and the accuracy or sense 
 with which the work is done are to be noticed. 
 The mental activity required in this test can 
 vary from ability to notice the omissions to 
 constructive intelligence, according to the char- 
 acter of the materials used, and the amount 
 that is omitted. Some think that the ability 
 tested in filling in a passage in which there is 
 considerable mutilation is closely connected 
 with general intelligence for school work, and 
 that the differences displayed in such work are 
 central to differences in types of intelligence. 
 
 The same ability can be tested in another 
 way by announcing a series of substantives, and 
 having the children fill in connecting words to 
 make sense. Or words can be given and the 
 children required to make as many sentences 
 as possible in a given time using the words. 
 Three nouns or three verbs can be given, and 
 
FREE MENTAL ACTIVITY 183 
 
 the difficulty of the test depends upon the 
 breadth or abstractness of the thought that 
 must be constructed in order to contain the 
 ideas that are presented. 
 
 Other aspects of the free activity of the mind 
 can be tested in various ways. An interesting 
 experiment can be made upon the child's power 
 and habits of description. A picture is placed 
 before the children and they are asked to write 
 all they can think of to say about it. A picture 
 that is complex in detail and contains sugges- 
 tions for a story is best for the purpose. Sev- 
 eral types of reaction are likely to be obtained ; 
 such as the imaginative, in which there will 
 be a story; the observing, containing descrip- 
 tion of details ; the emotional, commenting upon 
 the artistic aspects of the picture or the emo- 
 tions aroused by it; the informational, which 
 gives information about the picture, or the 
 scenes that it represents. 
 
 Writing of an original story about some sug- 
 gested theme can be tried. A subject somewhat 
 unusual in character should be chosen : a story 
 about some object can be called for, as a book, 
 pocketbook, chair, coat. Eeactions can be made 
 more uniform and somewhat better adapted 
 to the purposes of comparative study if a part 
 of the story is told or read to the children, and 
 they are made to complete it in a way that 
 seems best to them. 
 
 Characteristics of the child 's use of language 
 
184 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 should be observed in investigating the quali- 
 ties of his stream of consciousness. Expres- 
 sions of the face in speaking, and gesticulation 
 should be observed as indications of the charac- 
 ter of the mental imagery, and other qualities 
 of consciousness. The word language can be 
 studied with regard to its fluency, the relative 
 proportion of words expressing action, quality, 
 substance, the presence of vivid and emotional 
 expression, rapidity of speech, richness of vo- 
 cabulary. For further study of the child's 
 language, typical specimens of his written word 
 can be studied in detail. Topics can be as- 
 signed, such as description of a well-known 
 object, or narration of some recent experience. 
 To test the use of adjectives, such topics as 
 1 ' The best time you ever had, ' ' or " The worst 
 time you ever had," can be used. Ability to 
 explain can be tested by written compositions 
 on " How to play baseball " — or some other 
 game. Many differences in characteristics will 
 be found; use of grammatical form, ability to 
 make distinctions in meaning, rhythmical quali- 
 ties of language all vary, and all in part indicate 
 differences in the mental characteristics that 
 are under observation. 
 
 For making a numerical study of the child's 
 vocabulary, Kirkpatrick's test can be used. It 
 is made as follows : — The first or last word of 
 each sixth page of a dictionary is selected (use 
 Webster's Academic Dictionary, 645 pages, 
 
FREE MENTAL ACTIVITY 185 
 
 containing about 28,000 words). Ask the child 
 to mark + each word of which he knows the 
 meaning, and to mark — each word of which he 
 does not know the meaning, and to mark I each 
 word about which he has doubt. By " under- 
 standing the meaning," it can be explained to 
 the child, is meant, ' ' If you should see the word 
 in a sentence would you be obliged to look in 
 the dictionary? " If, in addition, the child is 
 asked to make sentences containing the words, 
 the clearness of his concepts can be tested. 
 From tests made by the method, Kirkpatrick 
 estimated the size of vocabulary of children 
 to be as follows: — Grade II, 4480; Grade III, 
 6620; Grade IV, 7020; Grade V, 7860; Grade 
 VI, 8700; Grade VII, 10,660; Grade VIII, 12,- 
 000 ; Grade IX, 13,400. High School, first year, 
 15,640; second year, 16,020; third year, 17,600; 
 fourth year, 18,720. The average for Normal 
 School students was 19,000, and for college 
 students 20,120. There was no constant differ- 
 ence due to sex. (See E. A. Kirkpatrick, " A 
 Vocabulary Test," Popular Science Monthly, 
 Vol. 70.) 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Wilson 's Bibliography : topics Imagination, Reverie, 
 Dreams, Imagery. 
 
186 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 XVI 
 
 PUEPOSIVE THINKING 
 
 Although no fixed line can be drawn between 
 free activity and purposive thinking, for the 
 purposes of observation and experiment, the dis- 
 tinction can be made. In general, intelligence 
 can be defined as the power of the mind to adapt 
 itself to new conditions. Whether there is such 
 a function as general intelligence which can be 
 put to exact test is doubtful; rather it seems 
 that intelligence is the result of several com- 
 plex activities, and that different degrees of 
 intelligence may exist side by side in the same 
 individual. 
 
 For present purposes it is not necessary to 
 attempt a close analysis of the processes that 
 constitute intelligence, but rather to observe 
 the various kinds of action to which the terms 
 " intelligent " and " unintelligent " are ap- 
 plied, and to study differences among indi- 
 viduals with respect to these actions. The 
 ordinary exercises of the school do not test in- 
 telligence in a way to be satisfactory from the 
 psychological point of view, for erudition is, by 
 the nature of the case, a predominant result of 
 the school training, and memory is brought to 
 the front rather than original adaptation. 
 Methods of testing intelligence, therefore, are 
 best chosen that do not make use of the ordinary 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 187 
 
 school content. Several kinds of situation could 
 be singled out for- study. Intelligence of one 
 kind, somewhat different from other forms of 
 intelligence displayed in the school, seems to be 
 required for parts of the mathematical work. 
 Practical tasks that require modification of 
 previous conduct to meet a somewhat new situ- 
 ation appear to be different in character from 
 mathematical ability. When one makes rea- 
 sonable inferences from observations, or applies 
 analogy in drawing conclusions, still other fac- 
 tors of intelligence appear. Logical thinking 
 is still another form of intelligent mental ac- 
 tion, and the very opposite of another that is 
 usually described as intuition. 
 
 In ordinary practical life, and, indeed, in 
 most acts of thought, thinking is not of a pre- 
 cise or logical nature, but every individual has 
 certain type-experiences or conclusions that ap- 
 ply more or less satisfactorily to the situations 
 in which he finds himself usually placed. The 
 intelligent person, other things being equal, is 
 one who has a varied assortment of these type- 
 experiences from which to choose. Ability to 
 modify these reactions to fit particular condi- 
 tions is a second factor of intelligence. If acts 
 of intelligence are examined more closely, many 
 variable traits upon which the larger aspects 
 of the mental functions that have been described 
 are based, will be discovered. In some cases, 
 the power of holding steadily a complex mental 
 
188 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 image seems to be the basis of intelligent ac- 
 tion, and this is an ability that varies much 
 among individuals; in such work as the arith- 
 metical problems of the school, this ability 
 counts for much. Other variables are: com- 
 plexity of association, especially associations of 
 similarity, the rapidity with which associations 
 are aroused in the mind, the quantity of mental 
 content that is aroused when a new situation 
 appears. 
 
 To test the intelligence of an individual, then, 
 is no simple matter, for there are not only 
 several variables, but the intelligence is con- 
 nected with all other mental functions in an 
 intricate way. Before beginning experiment or 
 observation, all the descriptive terms that are 
 commonly applied to mental ability or intelli- 
 gence should be brought together and carefully 
 studied, to see what meanings are embedded 
 in them. Individuals can then be observed and 
 marked with reference to these terms. The 
 ability in each school subject, as shown by the 
 marks in examination and class work, should 
 be ascertained. The opinion of several ob- 
 servers will be valuable, and if each will arrange 
 a group of children in a series, with regard 
 to what seems to be their intelligence, the uni- 
 formity of the ordinary methods of judging 
 individuals can be determined. One may then 
 proceed to examine intelligence more closely in 
 some of its typical expressions. 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 189 
 
 Some of the characteristics of intelligence 
 can be observed in the child 's actions in the 
 presence of a practical problem. An experi- 
 ment adapted especially to young children will 
 test the child's method of search. Thirty-six 
 square blank cards are prepared and placed in a 
 solid square. A piece of colored paper is then 
 shown to the child, with the remark that it is to 
 be put under one of the squares, and that he is 
 to find it by taking up the squares one at a time, 
 putting them back exactly as they were. The 
 child's method of search is then observed, and 
 if a numbered arrangement of the cards is fixed 
 upon, the procedure can be precisely recorded. 
 Many individual differences will be found. In 
 some cases the search will be entirely a matter 
 of trial and error, the child apparently not 
 profiting at all by what he has done, but de- 
 pending entirely upon chance. Others will pro- 
 ceed with some reference to avoiding working 
 over the same ground twice, and some will adopt 
 a perfectly ordered search. A variation is 
 made by failing to put the paper under the card 
 (changing the form of statement to the child), 
 and then observing the process by which the 
 child arrives at the conclusion (if he does) that 
 the paper is not under any of the cards. 
 
 The same problem can be put in the form of 
 a question, to which all the children in a class 
 can write answers at once. A question like the 
 following can be used ; — 
 
190 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 " There is a large square field, covered with 
 tall grass, and your ball is lost in it. You did 
 not see it thrown, and you have no knowledge 
 as to what part of the field it is in. How would 
 you go about finding the ball? " 
 
 Some of the practical problems that pre- 
 sented themselves to primitive man can be 
 reproduced, with such modifications as are 
 necessary to bring them under experimental 
 conditions: for example, the problem of con- 
 structing a hammer from stone, thong, and 
 stick can be used. A smooth piece of green 
 wood, a long twine, and a thin stone of suitable 
 shape are provided, and a knife. Several de- 
 grees of skill will probably be observed. 
 
 For studying phases of the intelligence that 
 are brought to light in some kinds of mathemat- 
 ical work, such problems as the following can 
 be used. They can be presented as written 
 exercises, or can be arranged as experiments. 
 
 Two men come to a deep river, which they 
 wish to cross. They find two boys in a boat 
 that is just large enough to hold one man or 
 two boys. Neither men nor boys can swim. 
 How can the men get across in the boat? — If 
 the problem is to be used as an experiment, 
 river, boat, men, and boys can be represented 
 by objects, and the child is requested to show 
 how the men can be taken across. The ex- 
 perimenter should record exactly what the child 
 does. Children as young as nine will be found, 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 191 
 
 who will give clear written answers to this 
 problem. Although intelligent children will be 
 found who will be confused in attempting to 
 solve such a problem mentally, it is probable 
 that a child who can give a perfectly clear 
 answer has excellent intelligence of a kind that 
 is used in some phases of practical thinking. 
 Its essential factor seems to be the ability to 
 hold a situation in mind steadily while its de- 
 tails are changed. 
 
 Similar abilities are required in solving prob- 
 lems of a type represented by the following : — 
 
 A boy goes to the pump with two pails, one 
 holding three quarts and the other five quarts. 
 How can he measure exactly four quarts I — If 
 it is given in the form of an experiment, the 
 whole procedure of the child should be recorded. 
 Some will proceed by trial and error, not seem- 
 ing to profit in the least by what they have 
 already done, at last, perhaps, happening to 
 hit jipon the right method. At the other ex- 
 treme are those who think the whole process 
 through before they begin to act. 
 
 For further study of these traits of intelli- 
 gence many forms of puzzle are adapted. The 
 puzzle test made by Lindley (American Journal 
 of Psychology, 1897J can be used, or other puz- 
 zles of this type. Usually the number of trials, 
 or the time taken in the solution, is but a par- 
 tial indication of the intelligence displayed. 
 Everything the child does should be recorded, 
 
192 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 and his own description of the process that took 
 place in his mind should be taken. In cases 
 in which exact quantitative estimates cannot be 
 made, children can be grouped into three or 
 more classes, according to the degree of intel- 
 ligence displayed. If two or three observers 
 grade the children independently, the accuracy 
 of the method will be increased, or tested. 
 
 Some characteristics of the child's drawing 
 from objects indicate degree of mental develop- 
 ment or intelligence. An experiment per- 
 formed by Clark can be used as a class 
 experiment. An apple with a hat pin running 
 through it is placed in such a position that the 
 pin appears to enter the apple at a distance 
 from the edge. The children are directed to 
 draw the apple and pin just as they look. 
 Three types of reaction will be found, repre- 
 senting three stages of mental development. 
 The lowest form of reaction, usually predom- 
 inating among young children, is a circle with a 
 line passing entirely through it. The second 
 stage is that in which the line is shown inter- 
 rupted at each edge of the circle. The third 
 represents the figure as it actually appears, the 
 line entering the circle at one side, and meeting 
 it at the other. 
 
 The child's conception of cause and effect, 
 of proof, his use of inference and analogy can 
 be brought to test in many ways. Problems 
 like the following can be given as written exer- 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 193 
 
 cises: — Are you sure that the sun will rise 
 to-morrow? Why, or why not? Was there 
 ever a man named George Washington? How 
 do you know? What makes the wind blow? 
 How does powder make a shot go? What 
 makes the sky blue? How does your mind 
 make your legs go? What makes a top stop 
 when you spin it? Why do dogs dislike cats? 
 Of course, correct answers are not to be ex- 
 pected to such questions, but the manner in 
 which the child's mind attacks the problem 
 will reveal characteristics of his intelligence. 
 
 Passing now to processes that are commonly 
 regarded as essentially rational processes, some 
 simple tests can be made that will bring out 
 the traits of the child's reasoning. Close rea- 
 soning involves one or both of two processes : 
 (1) The discovery of similarity of behavior or 
 characteristic among a number of objects or 
 qualities; (2) application of a general prin- 
 ciple or statement to particular instances. 
 Most of the reasoning, both of child and adult, 
 is but incompletely logical, but these two proc- 
 esses will be found in the most rudimentary 
 form of reasoning. Test questions like the fol- 
 lowing can be used : — 
 
 In what way or ways are the following ob- 
 jects alike? Ball, apple, orange, marble, the 
 earth, a circle? A spoon, a cent, a piece of 
 glass, a wire, a watch? A pansy, rose, bluebird, 
 robin, sunflower, tree? A spool of cotton 
 
194 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 thread, needle, cloth, scissors, pins, thimble? 
 A pocketbook, bag of popcorn, apple, doll, 
 candy, orange? 
 
 Other similar lists can be prepared contain- 
 ing some common property or properties, vary- 
 ing in difficulty of detection. Both the quick- 
 ness with which children can discover the 
 common quality, and the correctness of the an- 
 swers are to be taken into account in estimating 
 the intelligence. If the questions are given as 
 a written test, marks can be assigned as in an 
 ordinary examination paper. 
 
 For testing ability to think deductively in 
 logical form, test questions such as the follow- 
 ing can be used. The child is to tell whether 
 the statements are correct or incorrect and why : 
 
 All minerals come from mines; coal comes 
 from a mine, so coal is a mineral. 
 
 A good teacher knows all about the subject 
 he teaches ; my teacher knows all about the sub- 
 ject he teaches, so he is a good teacher. 
 
 Almost all the organs of the body have some 
 known use; the spleen is one of the organs of 
 the body, so the spleen has some use. 
 
 Every city contains a cathedral; Liverpool 
 contains no cathedral, so Liverpool is not a 
 city. 
 
 All American silver coins are made by the 
 government ; a dollar is a silver coin, therefore 
 all silver dollars are made by the government. 
 
 All people that pay taxes can vote; Indians 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 195 
 
 do not pay taxes, therefore Indians cannot vote. 
 
 Ability to distinguish clearly between correct- 
 ness of statement and correctness of deduction 
 will be found lacking in young children, but the 
 manner in which the child approaches the logi- 
 cal problem will indicate something about the 
 stage of his mental development. Other ques- 
 tions similar in nature, more simple or more 
 difficult, as the case may demand, can readily 
 be devised by the experimenter. Intelligence, 
 it must be remembered, is shown quite as much 
 by the nature of the process that is used to 
 arrive at truth, as by the correctness of an 
 answer. At times a wrong answer may indicate 
 more intelligence than a correct one. 
 
 Although these tests do not afford means of 
 exact quantitative estimate of intelligence, they 
 will show several of the most fundamental 
 characteristics of it. Study of a large group of 
 children in such ways will show types of intelli- 
 gence. A variety of tests applied to cases of 
 eccentricity or deficiency of mind in school chil- 
 dren will often detect the particular function or 
 functions in which the deficiency lies. Children 
 may be poor in arithmetic, for example, from 
 one of several causes. If the exact nature of 
 the defect can be found, special training can be 
 applied at that point, or the work can be modi- 
 fied in such a way as to allow the child to use 
 other factors of intelligence which he may pos- 
 sess in greater degree. If, for example, there 
 
196 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 is mental confusion, as often occurs, on account 
 of inability to maintain images steadily in mind, 
 the use of objective aids in thinking may rem- 
 edy the difficulty. 
 
 Systematic study of the language of the child 
 should be made in studying the intelligence. 
 Usually, subjects for composition not calling 
 into play information gained in the school will 
 be found best. Themes for argumentative 
 writing will bring out some characteristics of 
 the child's intelligence. Such themes as these 
 can be assigned: Why is the United States 
 a better country in which to live than Spain? 
 Why is the United States the best country in 
 which to live? Or why is it not? What is the 
 most useful study in school? Should women 
 be allowed to vote? The manner in which the 
 child constructs arguments should be observed, 
 and also his method of forming sentences, use of 
 words and grammatical form. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 Experimental methods of studying intelligence will 
 be found in some of the treatises on Experimental 
 Psychology that have been mentioned. Under head- 
 ings, reasoning, intelligence, thought, language, men- 
 tal development, many titles will be found in Wilson 's 
 Bibliography. 
 
 Binet's Psychology of Reasoning can be read. 
 
 C. Spearman: General Intelligence. American 
 Journal of Psychology, April, 1904. 
 
PURPOSIVE THINKING 197 
 
 H. P. MacMillan : The Diagnosis of Capabilities of 
 School Children. Proceedings of the N. E. A., 1904, 
 pp. 738-744. 
 
 H. W. Brown : Some Records of the Thoughts and 
 Reasonings of Children. Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. 
 II, 358-396. 
 
 J. A. Hancock: Children's Ability to Reason. Ed- 
 ucational Review, Vol. XII, 261-268. 
 
APPLICATION AND RESULTS OF INDI- 
 VIDUAL STUDY 
 
A STUDY OF TWO CHILDREN 
 
 This chapter contains the results of a study 
 of two children, twins, by methods similar to 
 those described in the previous outline. Some- 
 thing about the nature of the questions that 
 arise and the solutions that are suggested in 
 the actual study of individuals can thus be 
 shown. Even when the factors that are in- 
 volved are as few and as simple as can be found, 
 the study of individuals, with regard to their dif- 
 ferences and likenesses, is full of difficulty, and 
 problems arise to which only tentative answers 
 can be given. As to the application of such im- 
 perfect knowledge to the education of the child, 
 it can be said that, in any case, children must 
 be educated, and in the way of understanding 
 them some knowledge is better than none at all. 
 
 The study was made during the summer of 
 1903. The subjects are two boys, Harold and 
 Earl, nine years old. Their home is in a little 
 fishing village on the coast of the Bay of 
 Fundy. Conditions were unusually favorable, 
 in some respects, for analyzing and describing 
 the traits of these children, and for obtaining 
 
 201 
 
202 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 an insight into the causes that produced the 
 traits. Environment was not only as simple as 
 could well be found, but it was identical for the 
 two children. They had never been separated 
 for a whole day at a time, and they had never 
 been further than a few miles from the village. 
 The settlement contained the simplest elements 
 of social life. The school was primitive, its 
 culture material consisting of a prescribed 
 course of texts. The children had read but lit- 
 tle, and the books to which they had access were 
 few. Heredity and environment, in a word, 
 were identical for the two children, at least in 
 all their gross aspects. Yet it is easy to see 
 how differentiation can creep in, even in these 
 simple surroundings. The factors that shape 
 the lives of children are subtle. Small events 
 sometimes seem to lead to large consequences. 
 Slight differences in interest or ability may 
 lead to selective action upon the environment 
 on the part of the organism, and the environ- 
 ment so differentiated reacts to multiply and 
 increase the original differences. 
 
 Though the lives of these two children had 
 run so nearly an identical course, there was 
 one divergence that may have had an important 
 influence upon their differences. Two years 
 previous to the time when the study was made, 
 Earl had an illness that was diagnosed by the 
 local physician as brain fever. He was ill four 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 203 
 
 weeks, made a good recovery, but had once 
 since had a slight return of the trouble, and 
 at times had been subject to headaches. Dur- 
 ing the illness he suffered greatly from sensi- 
 tiveness to light and sound, and it was neces- 
 sary to keep the house quiet and dark. The 
 cause of the illness, the mother thinks, was sun- 
 stroke or over-heating. Following this illness, 
 there was a loss of school for nearly a year, 
 largely on account of headache when reading or 
 studying, a difficulty that was still present at 
 the age of nine. But the loss of the time at 
 school, occurring, as it did, at the age of seven, 
 was probably of less significance than might at 
 first be thought, for the school house was next 
 door to the children's home, and the boys were 
 always together when out of school. The pau- 
 city of the school content must also be taken 
 into consideration. The fact, however, that 
 some of the differences of the children, plain 
 enough at the age of nine, were first noticed by 
 the mother after the illness of Earl must also 
 be recorded. 
 
 The children are so-called identical twins. 
 Their resemblance was so close that neighbors 
 who had known them all their lives could not 
 distinguish them. A teacher was troubled 
 after a year's acquaintance. Even the mother 
 could with difficulty identify them at a distance, 
 unless they were directly facing her. But there 
 
204 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 were minor marks, as, for example, in the distri- 
 bution of freckles, that made identification en- 
 tirely certain when it was necessary. 
 
 More careful and detailed observation showed 
 likenesses and differences that were striking. 
 The color of the hair, its degree of waviness, 
 the configuration of the forehead line were 
 alike in the two cases. Both children had the 
 same irregularly shaped pigmented spots about 
 the pupil of the eye, a characteristic believed 
 to be so variable that it is often recorded for 
 purposes of identification in police examina- 
 tions. The ears, of which the lobes were of 
 uncommon contour, were alike, so far as could 
 be detected by inspection. Similarly in other 
 marks there was great likeness. 
 
 When the children were observed directly in 
 full face there was close similarity and yet 
 plain difference. Earl's complexion appeared 
 a little more delicate. The cheeks seemed less 
 full, giving the appearance of greater length of 
 the face, and also of greater width, especially 
 between the eyes. The features seemed a little 
 more clear-cut, the eyes larger, and wider open. 
 Small as these differences were, they were dis- 
 tinct. 
 
 Seen in profile, there was the same general 
 similarity. Earl's features appeared a little 
 more sharply outlined, or better developed, 
 especially the nose. The head appeared longer, 
 and less. rectilinear in outline. 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 205 
 
 Earl was taller and seemed more slender, 
 especially in the arms and chest. The shoul- 
 ders were more sloping, and apparently nar- 
 rower. EarFs hand was thinner, narrower, 
 and less firm in texture. The lines of the palm 
 seemed identical in the two cases, so far as 
 could be determined by inspection. Measure- 
 ments confirmed these observations. Earl's 
 height was greater by three-eights of an inch. 
 The circumference of the upper arm, forearm, 
 and wrist were all less by about the same 
 amount. Head measurements showed the 
 greater length and less width of Earl's head, 
 the greater length of the face, and greater 
 width at the level of the eyes. Width between 
 the pupils of the eyes was also greater in Earl. 
 Differences in weight were insignificant. Earl 
 lost a little during the summer and Harold 
 gained. Under similar circumstances, Earl's 
 pulse was always slower than Harold's, and the 
 heart sounds were less distinct. Earl's pulse 
 was slow as compared with the usual rate for 
 his age; Harold's appeared more typical. 
 Earl's temperature was always lower than Har- 
 old's; all of these facts seeming to indicate the 
 greater vitality of Harold. But the mother's 
 opinion that Earl was the stronger child must 
 be taken into consideration. Earl appeared 
 older and better developed, but thus far less 
 hardy and less vigorous. 
 
 Both children belonged plainly to the type 
 
206 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 called the motor child. On casual observation, 
 they appeared alike in their activities, but closer 
 study began to disclose differences, some of 
 them striking. 
 
 An experiment was made to test motor ability. 
 It consisted of a series of trials, on alternate 
 days, of tossing a ball at a target. In this test 
 Earl was both inferior and also more variable 
 in his records. In rapidity of making a move- 
 ment Earl proved also to be inferior. A long 
 series of trials at making short marks at great- 
 est speed showed this, and the result was con- 
 firmed by other experiments, such as dealing 
 a pack of cards. The conclusion that was 
 drawn from the results of all the experiments 
 of this character that were made was that Earl 
 was inferior, both in speed and in control of 
 voluntary movement. Effort was made, by 
 giving rewards, to secure the best work of the 
 children, but there was no way of entirely elim- 
 inating fluctuations of effort. 
 
 So far, voluntary movements made under 
 experimental conditions have been observed. 
 But when we came to consider movements of 
 free activity, other differences were found. In 
 general, Earl's activity showed more rapid and 
 freer movement. This was well illustrated by 
 the handwriting. Earl's was more rapid, 
 more irregular, more like an adult's. Earl 
 talked more, and more rapidly, and with greater 
 flexibility of movement and tone. In many 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 207 
 
 other characteristics of movement traits ap- 
 peared that seemed to be related to or based 
 upon those that have been mentioned. For ex- 
 ample, in running, Earl was more likely to start 
 before the signal, as though there were greater 
 readiness for movement. 
 
 The characteristics that were thought to 
 underlie some of the traits that have just been 
 described were finally put to test by experiment- 
 ing upon the relation of maximal to preferred 
 rate of movement. The movement that was 
 chosen was flexing and extending the hand. A 
 series of trials was first made without suggest- 
 ing speed, and later tests were made to test the 
 maximal rate. Although no differences in the 
 latter were discovered that could not be due 
 to errors of observation, Earl's free movement 
 was decidedly more rapid. This seems to be 
 in correspondence with Earl's greater impul- 
 siveness and impatience. In running he was 
 more eager to get to the starting point, or at 
 least to be on the move in some direction, for 
 he was also more likely to take a devious way 
 in going, showing, as did other actions, a ten- 
 dency to greater amount of movement, less 
 definitely directed, less perfectly controlled, and 
 so performed with greater waste. 
 
 In school Earl made more unnecessary move- 
 ments. He more often changed his position, 
 and more often assumed awkward attitudes. 
 When talking or paying attention he made more 
 
208 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 movements of face and body. The expression 
 in speaking was more active; there was more 
 play of the features. There was a greater num- 
 ber of eye movements ; he looked more animated 
 and brighter, again showing the greater volume 
 of free movement, and the tendency to lack of 
 control. 
 
 These facts lead to the conclusion that though 
 Earl was more active he was really less a 
 motor child; for Harold's actions were more 
 definite and under better control. In other 
 words, they were more practical, more likely to 
 produce results. He was more industrious, and 
 when neighbors wished a boy to do errands, 
 Harold was almost always selected. He was 
 more helpful in the house, more often seen at 
 work in his father's shop, less given to idle 
 occupations. 
 
 In movements that required strength Earl 
 fatigued more rapidly. This was true of ac- 
 tivities like running, holding out a weight at 
 arm's length, and in smaller movements, as 
 making marks for periods of from three to five 
 minutes. Earl's fatigue curve in the last men- 
 tioned experiment showed greater variability, 
 and indicated greater fluctuations of effort 
 which, however, it was not possible to distin- 
 guish with certainty from other factors. In 
 larger movements physiological evidence of fa- 
 tigue was greater in Earl. After running the 
 heart recovered less quickly its normal rhythm, 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 209 
 
 and breathing was more affected. Earl's heart 
 was often slowed by running and the pnlse 
 slightly diminished in volume. This is not an 
 usual effect of such exercise as was experi- 
 mented upon, and although there was certainly 
 no organic disease, and no pronounced func- 
 tional disturbance of any kind, the nervous 
 control of the heart was less perfect in Earl. 
 
 There were occasions, however, when Earl 
 showed greater control of movement. At work 
 that he particularly liked, as work in the hay- 
 field, he was decidedly superior. The testi- 
 mony of those who had often observed the boys 
 together was that under such conditions Earl 
 could do twice as much work. He had, too, cor- 
 responding to these fits of activity, periods of 
 listiessness and apparent fatigue. He was de- 
 cidedly less regular in his expenditure of energy 
 than Harold. 
 
 Some of these facts may appear to give con- 
 flicting results, but when they are considered 
 all together these contradictions seem to dis- 
 appear. In the case of Earl there is a greater 
 quantity of natural movement, accompanied by 
 greater profusion of automatic or secondary 
 movement; a condition that makes for greater 
 fatigue. This movement was carried on habitu- 
 ally at greater tension, and at rates more nearly 
 the maximal than in the case of Harold. But 
 it was likely to be less effective, when judged 
 by actual results, because it was less definitely 
 
210 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 directed and applied, in part because of less 
 precise application of effort, and in part, it 
 seemed, because of actually less ability to con- 
 trol movement under ordinary stimulation. 
 But under the influence of unusual stimulus, 
 Earl's nervous system appeared to be aroused 
 to greater power than Harold's was capable of, 
 apparently both as to quantity and quality of 
 work. 
 
 Turning now to more purely mental qualities, 
 other differences of traits will be found, which 
 in part throw light upon the facts that have 
 already been discussed, and in part still 
 further complicate the problem. As to morals, 
 Earl impressed several observers as being not 
 so good a boy as Harold. Among these ob- 
 servers was a teacher who knew the children 
 well. But a difference of opinion on the part 
 of the mother must be taken into account. The 
 teacher said that Earl was less likable, not so 
 good-natured, nor so polite; that he cared less 
 about doing his work well. Earl was more 
 bold, inclined sometimes to impertinence and 
 argument. He was less obedient and less de- 
 pendable. The mother could find no differences 
 in such qualities as truthfulness and honesty, 
 but she declared that Earl was better tempered, 
 that he took things less seriously, was more 
 sunny and laughing, and was a tease; while 
 Harold was likely at times to be sulky, sensi- 
 tive, and morose. Some of these differences 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 211 
 
 were certainly striking. Especially as regards 
 teasing, there was a great difference between 
 the two children. 
 
 Earl's greater boldness in social relations was 
 expressed in many ways. He was more diffi- 
 cult to control in experiments; he more fre- 
 quently asked for favors or to be released from 
 obligations. He was more daring, and always 
 the leader when the children were away from 
 home together. Earl always acted as spokes- 
 man. He answered questions habitually that 
 were addressed to both. He frequently intro- 
 duced subjects of conversation. He seemed 
 always to be more confident of himself than 
 Harold, and Harold readily admitted the su- 
 periority of Earl, even in matters in which it 
 did not exist. 
 
 Earl appeared less sympathetic, and less af- 
 fectionate, less frank, both at home and in 
 school. He did generous acts less frequently, 
 and more often acted apparently to show off. 
 He was less saving of money, especially of any 
 considerable amount. Earl was more resource- 
 ful in mischief, more often being seen with one 
 or two boys apart, with evidence of planning 
 mischief. Harold was more likely to be seen in 
 a larger group. Earl was subject at times to 
 peculiar balky spells, in which he refused to 
 obey orders. This was noticed both in school 
 and in the experiments. What mental state 
 accompanied them was never determined. In 
 
212 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 general, in all the characteristics that have just 
 been mentioned, Earl seemed more mature and 
 more independent. 
 
 Harold seemed to be the more emotional 
 child. His relatively less activity, his bashful- 
 ness, his moodiness at home, his greater sensi- 
 tiveness, greater docility, his reactions to praise 
 and blame, all indicated this. 
 
 In qualities of interest there were some con- 
 spicuous differences in the midst of general 
 similarity. Harold was more patient and per- 
 sistent in performing tasks. In Earl the 
 competitive spirit seemed better developed. 
 Harold apparently tried harder to please, and 
 was more conscientious in his work. He 
 appeared to regard work more seriously, 
 and seemed genuinely pleased at praise, which 
 seemed to affect Earl less. Harold always 
 appeared willing to try, but he seemed never to 
 expect to do very well, and he was never very 
 persistent. Earl had the greater capacity for 
 acting with enthusiasm, and also the enthusi- 
 astic person's fault of soon exhausting the 
 momentum. The teacher found, in general, the 
 same traits in school work that were found in 
 other activities. Earl was more impatient, and 
 always in haste to get to the next step. Harold 
 was more willing to " rub out and try over." 
 These differences appeared on examining the 
 copy books of the children, made during the 
 previous year. Earl's careless, hasty, and ir- 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 213 
 
 regular work appeared in strong contrast to 
 Harold's neat and careful writing. Earl's 
 writing showed the swing and dash of an older 
 person's, and the inattention to the formation 
 of the single letter. In many ways Earl showed 
 his unwillingness or inability to follow the 
 letter of instruction. He was impatient of de- 
 tail, disliked dull or routine occupations, seemed 
 often to be in a hurry. Earl had more special 
 interests and enthusiasms, and was more sub- 
 ject to spurts in effort. In school he was inter- 
 ested in arithmetic and did well in it, much 
 better than Harold, but he did but indifferently 
 in other subjects. He worked well at anything 
 that was easy for him. Harold worked about 
 equally well at everything, but he liked best the 
 motor occupations, such as drawing and writing. 
 
 Experiments by such methods as reading to 
 the children while they tried to add columns of 
 figures, showed that Earl was more easily 
 distracted. In school he was more often in- 
 attentive, responded more readily to slight dis- 
 tractions, looked up more frequently from his 
 work without apparent cause, was more subject 
 to dreamy states. 
 
 Experimental study of the senses and percep- 
 tion yielded, for the most part, but doubtful 
 results. Earl was apparently superior in 
 rapidity of mental processes. He perceived 
 more rapidly, and could take in more at a glance. 
 
 Experiments upon literal memory, including 
 
214 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 repetition of both visual and auditory stimuli, 
 showed the unmistakable inferiority of Earl. 
 His ability to repeat rules and definitions 
 learned in school during the previous year was 
 much less; likewise his ability to reproduce a 
 paragraph after Hive minutes' study. 
 
 In rapidity of a complex mental process Earl 
 was superior. This was shown in work done 
 in several experiments made for other purposes, 
 and was also separately put to test, by the 
 method of adding columns of digits. In this 
 Earl was much superior. 
 
 Several methods of testing association were 
 tried. The experiment to which most impor- 
 tance was attached was one in which the same 
 series of twenty words, presented by the single 
 reaction method, was used on six occasions, at 
 irregular intervals. EarPs reactions were 
 much less uniform; that is, they contained fewer 
 repetitions, and indicated a more variable men- 
 tal process. EarPs associations were, as a 
 rule, more difficult to trace, as though more took 
 place between the stimulus and the reaction. 
 He more frequently passed from one object as a 
 whole to another. Harold more frequently re- 
 acted with a word describing some quality of the 
 object, as though the mental imagery were more 
 clear and more stable and perhaps less in quan- 
 tity. Attempts to follow up this clue by having 
 the children try to describe their mental imag- 
 ery confirmed this view; for, although EarPs 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 215 
 
 powers of description were decidedly greater 
 than Harold's, he could give a less clear account 
 of his images. It was concluded from these 
 introspections that Earl's mental content 
 changed more rapidly than Harold's, and that 
 images were more complex, but less clear. In 
 other words, the mind was richer in content and 
 more active. It was noticed, too, that recent 
 experiences and objects in the immediate en- 
 vironment were more frequent causes of the 
 reactions of Earl than of Harold. The results 
 of these experiments were corroborated by 
 others, such as writing, description of pictures, 
 the ink-spot test, drawing, and description of an 
 imaginary animal. The drawings especially 
 showed characteristic differences though they 
 belonged to the same type. Earl's drawings 
 were more complex, had more ornamentation, 
 were larger and freer, and less carefully drawn. 
 Many aspects of general intelligence were ob- 
 served and investigated. Intelligence, if we 
 mean by it adaptation to new conditions, was 
 greater in Earl — a conclusion that agrees with 
 the verdict both of teacher and parents. Ex- 
 periments upon practical intelligence gave clear 
 results. Primitive man's problem of construct- 
 ing a hammer from thong, stick, and stone was 
 presented. The result was much in favor of 
 Earl. He cut the stick to fit smoothly against 
 the side of the stone, made a loop in the twine, 
 put the stone and the stick together loosely 
 
216 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 through it and wound the remainder of the 
 twine coarsely about, making a fairly well- 
 jointed hammer. Harold cut a groove around 
 the stick, and tried to tie the stone to it at right 
 angles with it. Failing in this he tied it, letting 
 the stick run across the hammer head with the 
 result that he made a loose joining. Neither 
 of the children thought to split the stick, and 
 insert the stone. 
 
 Similar experiments were tried with similar 
 results. Earl was unmistakably more resource- 
 ful at such tasks. He suggested more, whether 
 rightly or wrongly, when neither could dis- 
 cover the correct solution. 
 
 In a test consisting of selecting similar ob- 
 jects from a collection in which there were sev- 
 eral possible classifications, both selected to 
 form a single group, round objects, but Earl's 
 concept was broader than Harold's. He in- 
 cluded objects of doubtful roundness such as a 
 match. Harold selected only spherical objects. 
 Attempts to carry further the study of the chil- 
 dren's use of concepts by experiments in which 
 they were asked to find similarity in objects, 
 and to name objects similar to those presented, 
 failed to bring out differences. The children 
 were not sufficiently developed mentally to re- 
 act fully in such experiments. Problems to test 
 their notion of proof, of cause and effect, ap- 
 preciation of logical form all failed, partly for 
 the same reason. At least no differences were 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 217 
 
 found that had not already been discovered by 
 other methods. 
 
 With the experiments upon the intelligence 
 the study was brought to a close. It is easy to 
 see how under different conditions a much more 
 thorough diagnosis of the characteristics of 
 these children could be made. Many more ex- 
 periments could be performed, made by more 
 refined methods, and with the application of 
 better psychological analysis than was at- 
 tempted. But even so rough a study as was 
 made brought to light many differences, and 
 seems to lead to several conclusions. The dif- 
 ferences that were discovered do not seem to 
 be entirely unrelated, but in many cases to be 
 dependent upon one another or to be offshoots 
 from the same stem. Other differences seem to 
 stand apart as independent. It would be very 
 interesting to know to what extent the illness of 
 Earl had affected his characteristics. It is pos- 
 sible that the sensitizing or exhaustion of the 
 nervous system incident to his illness has left 
 permanent traces that appear not only in physi- 
 cal characteristics but in the mental action as 
 well. This cannot be proved from the evidence, 
 and can merely be suggested as a possible so- 
 lution of some of the problems that are raised. 
 It is possible on the other hand that the germs 
 of all the differences existed from the beginning 
 and that they have merely been brought out by 
 the effect of environment. 
 
218 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 The question that must have arisen in the 
 mind of the practical reader, as to what peda- 
 gogical conclusions can be derived from such a 
 study of children, must be considered. Do the 
 differences that can plainly be distinguished in 
 the temperament and mental habits of these 
 children indicate a need of differentiation in the 
 manner of educating or controlling them? 
 Both these children belong to a normal type; 
 physically there are no pronounced defects or 
 tendencies to disease ; they are free from mental 
 defect; and they are morally good, as children 
 go. As to what the special fitness of such chil- 
 dren for life work may be the study certainly 
 furnishes but little if any evidence; nor would 
 a refinement of it do so. Such children are 
 probably plastic and under the right conditions 
 can be made efficient in any one of several per- 
 haps rather widely different occupations. 
 
 The most marked faults of these children ap- 
 pear to be quite opposite in the two cases. 
 Earl's haste and restlessness under routine 
 tasks amounts to a fault that appears deep- 
 seated, and to permeate many of his activities. 
 Children so constituted are likely to lay too 
 slight foundations, later in life, upon which to 
 build practical efficiency. They have natural 
 versatility, but are likely to be deficient in all 
 matters of technique. And they are more de- 
 pendent than the stable child upon circum- 
 stances placing them where their enthusiasms 
 
A STUDY OF TWINS 219 
 
 will be stimulated. Probably this fault cannot 
 entirely be eradicated from such a child ; it must 
 be watched, and controlled by providing oppor- 
 tunities for the child to follow out his natural 
 interests. 
 
 In the other case the fault lies in the opposite 
 direction. There is too little confidence and 
 perhaps too great inclination to follow the letter 
 of instruction. Such children do well in many 
 places but they sometimes lack initiative. 
 They need encouragement to depend upon their 
 own judgment, and to appreciate their own 
 work. That they can be changed into the type 
 possessing the characteristics which they lack 
 seems hopeless to expect, even if it were desira- 
 ble. One of the lessons to be learned from a 
 study of temperament is at least to know what 
 not to attempt. 
 
 These are the main lines upon which a differ- 
 ential pedagogy of such children would work. 
 Neither child is an extreme example of the 
 faults or virtues which he typifies. They fall 
 within the class of the normal safe average; 
 healthy, normal, bright children, rather strongly 
 motor in type with as yet neither marked abil- 
 ities nor great faults. 
 
 Galton 's study of twins made many years ago 
 led him to conclusions that are interesting and 
 important to quote in this connection. He made 
 a study of the likenesses and differences of 
 twins, and found that the most conspicuous dif- 
 
220 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 ferences are in such traits as sociability, desire 
 to attract attention, truthfulness, thoroughness, 
 and refinement. Most of the differences in 
 identical twins he thinks can be traced to dif- 
 ferences in energy in one or another of its 
 protean forms. One will be more energetic, 
 fearless, vigorous; the other gentle, clinging, 
 timid. One will be more ardent, the other calm 
 and placid ; one more independent, original, and 
 self-contained ; the other hasty, generous, viva- 
 cious. The native factors he thinks are the real 
 causes of the differences, not the intercurrent 
 causes, to which the differences are often as- 
 cribed by parents. 
 
 Binet's suggestion of possible correlation 
 among traits, resulting from a study of two 
 children, is also in point here. He finds that 
 the most conspicuous difference between the 
 children he studied can be expressed by saying 
 that one is variable and the other stable. With 
 the variable type go idealistic tendencies, a ten- 
 dency to be unpractical, mobile, original, inven- 
 tive, capricious. With the stable temperament 
 goes a tendency to be practical, reflective, well- 
 ordered, conservative, well-balanced, uniform, 
 regular, exact. He does not conclude however 
 that these traits are necessarily correlates. 
 
TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS 221 
 
 n 
 
 TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS 
 
 It must soon be apparent to an observer of 
 individuals that, though the factors that make 
 up individuality are so complex and so varia- 
 ble that no two individuals can be alike, yet 
 there are certain types and classes. Such stud- 
 ies of children as have been suggested in this 
 outline should have brought to light several 
 pronounced types, and several points of view 
 from which individuals can be classified. These 
 can now be discussed a little further. 
 
 For a certain practical purpose school chil- 
 dren can be separated into two groups ; normal 
 and abnormal. Some children, the great ma- 
 jority perhaps, impress one as being and are 
 proven by test to be essentially sound; in 
 morals, intellect, and physical constitution. 
 They may not be brilliant, nor massive physic- 
 ally, nor highly spiritual, but there is a nor- 
 mality that appears in every trait, a harmony, 
 it can be said, which appeals to the aesthetic 
 sense. These children are likely to do well 
 under all ordinary circumstances of life; their 
 success does not appear to depend upon chance, 
 or a happy selection of environment. 
 
 Into another class can be placed those chil- 
 dren, and we do not know how many there are, 
 that are abnormal or exceptional. Both the 
 
222 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 types that are included under this class seem 
 to depend more than the normal upon the con- 
 ditions in which they are placed, and the man- 
 ner in which they are trained, for their success 
 in life. 
 
 For practical purposes, again, the subnormal 
 children can be separated into classes accord- 
 ing as the defects are physical, intellectual, 
 moral, or any two or all of these. The most 
 prevalent type appears to be the child who, 
 though bright enough to make headway in the 
 school, and free from serious moral defects, is 
 feeble in constitution, or afflicted with some 
 diathesis or disease that limits his progress as 
 an individual, and perhaps endangers his off- 
 spring. 
 
 The second is the abnormally dull. There 
 are all degrees from the child who is stupid or 
 confused in some one branch of school work to 
 the actually feeble-minded. 
 
 The third type is the morally deficient. The 
 most hopeful of this class are the children who 
 are bad because of bad environment. Moral 
 badness can be produced in almost any child 
 by environment, and happily can be corrected 
 by improvement in the environment. 
 
 Among mixed types the neurotic bad child, 
 with alcoholic or other bad nervous heredity, 
 and with physical marks of degeneracy is the 
 worst school type considered personally, so- 
 cially, and biologically. 
 
TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS 223 
 
 The child above the usual in one or many 
 characteristics is another school type that is 
 frequently found. Excess of ability or eccen- 
 tricity of mental constitution may not be often 
 of the genius order but in many cases it is 
 sufficient to make the child ill-adapted to the 
 routine of the school. 
 
 Another type is the child who is conspicuous 
 for some peculiarity, excess, or defect in the 
 sphere of the emotional life. There may or 
 may not be physical defect.. 
 
 Other schemes of classification of children 
 for the practical purposes of the school could 
 be adopted, that should take into account qual- 
 ities like ambition, interests, special attainment 
 or ability, mental type and the like. Tempera- 
 ment, emotional characteristics, and various 
 other traits can be used for classification pur- 
 poses, according to the object in view. Many at- 
 tempts have been made, especially by French 
 psychologists to classify temperaments and 
 characters, and some of their schemes are 
 valuable as guides in observing children. 
 The most nearly complete of these seems 
 to be the classification plan adopted by Ei- 
 bot. He makes first a distinction between 
 real and amorphous characters. Amorphous 
 characters are those in which hereditary traits 
 are weak, and to a great extent determined by 
 environment. They have no distinctive fea- 
 tures nor permanence. The real characters are 
 
224 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 divided into two great classes ; the sensitive, and 
 the active. In the sensitive character feeling 
 predominates; in the active, movement. To 
 these two classes can be added a less numerous 
 but quite distinct class, the apathetic, in which 
 both feeling and action are less than normal, 
 or as they appear in the great majority of 
 people. This character is not plastic like the 
 amorphous. Possibly another character needs 
 a special designation, the balanced, or temper- 
 ate, that has no great distinguishing feature. 
 
 Each of the main divisions that have been 
 described Eibot divides into species. Thus 
 there are three divisions of the sensitive type; 
 the humble, the contemplative, the emotional. 
 The active temperament has two types; the 
 mediocre in which mental ability is small, and 
 the great active in which there is great mental 
 ability. The apathetic temperament also has 
 two types, divided according to mental ability; 
 first the pure apathetic, with slight sensibility, 
 slight activity, slight intelligence; second, the 
 apathetic with a powerful intellect. 
 
 Besides these pure types, as they might be 
 called, Eibot finds various mixed types ; among 
 them the sensitive-active and the apathetic- 
 sensitive. There must be distinguished too 
 what might be called substitutes for character, 
 or partial characters that result from some 
 mental aptitude or from some great and dom- 
 inating emotion. 
 
TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS 225 
 
 Many other classification schemes could be 
 mentioned; they are so common in the history 
 of character-study that it would be impossible 
 to describe them all, though each has some- 
 thing of value. 
 
 Perez classifies temperament on the basis of 
 movements; their rapidity and energy. His 
 types are the slow, the lively, the ardent ; then, 
 as mixed types, the lively-ardent, the slow-ar- 
 dent, the deliberate. 
 
 Fouillee attempts to classify temperaments 
 by describing them in terms of certain physi- 
 ological traits which he thinks underlie them; 
 that is, according to the manner in which ex- 
 penditure and restoration of energy take place 
 in the nervous system. Volition and muscular 
 action are predominantly of the nature of ex- 
 penditure; sensation and perception, the con- 
 trary. The two types are the sensitive and 
 the active, each with two varieties, for in the 
 response of the nerve cells there are two funda- 
 mental qualities, quickness and intensity. 
 Four principle classes of temperament result: 
 (1) sensitives with quick but not intense activ- 
 ity; (2) sensitives with slow but intense ac- 
 tivity; (3) actives with quick, intense action; 
 (4) actives with slow and moderate action. 
 
 Seeland, a Eussian writer makes still another 
 classification. He detects a hierarchy of char- 
 acters passing from the stronger and more 
 normal to the weaker and less normal. There 
 
226 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 are three classes: strong, medium, and weak, 
 and several varieties of each. Among the 
 strong are the gay, and the phlegmatic or calm ; 
 and under the gay again the strong-sanguine, 
 the weak-sanguine, and the serene, everything 
 depending upon the way in which the nervous 
 system responds to internal or external excita- 
 tion. 
 
 Two more recent suggestions for a classifica- 
 tion of temperaments and mental types can be 
 mentioned; both have already been referred to 
 in another connection. Binet finds in studying 
 intellectual processes, types that can be char- 
 acterized as stable and variable. Stern finds 
 a difference that he believes to be fundamental 
 and a basis for division into intellectual types ; 
 that is, a difference in habit of individuals that 
 allows them to be classified as objective and 
 subjective. This difference between objective 
 and subjective habit he finds running through 
 habits of perception, attention, apperception, 
 judgment, and even in simple motor reactions. 
 He concludes that this is the very center of 
 differences in mental constitution. 
 
 All such suggestions for classification of in- 
 dividuals are helpful for they at least give hints 
 for further study. Most of them are based 
 upon the study of adults; to what extent they 
 will serve also in the study of children is not 
 entirely clear. The character of the child ap- 
 pears in less sharp outline, and to a certain 
 
EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS 227 
 
 extent character is still in a state of flux in 
 the child, or as it can perhaps better be said, 
 exists in fundamental characteristics and has 
 not so clearly worked itself out into the traits 
 that are more easily observed. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 Ribot Psychology of the Emotions. 
 
 in 
 
 PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS 0E INDIVIDUALITY 
 
 Many practical questions arise when children 
 are considered as individuals rather than as a 
 class. However strongly entrenched one may 
 be in the group theory of education, in actual 
 practice the individual demands attention. 
 There is always the abnormal case with which 
 educational forces must deal, and every good 
 teacher is always profoundly conscious of the 
 individual and his special needs; and is aware 
 that the information dispensing function of the 
 school reaches but a part of the individuality 
 of the child, the one-tenth it can be said, that 
 appears above the surface. The emotional life 
 which contains the root of individuality is in a 
 large measure submerged. Yet the comprehen- 
 sion of the submerged nine-tenths on the part 
 of those who teach and control the child seems 
 vital and necessary. 
 
228 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 The question arises as to what extent the 
 school as such can be expected to view the child 
 as an individual, and to what extent training 
 in the study of individuals should form a part 
 of the preliminary education of the teacher. 
 The problem comes sharply to view in consider- 
 ing the health of the school child. What ought 
 to be expected of the school and the teacher in 
 the way of knowledge about the health of each 
 individual child, and in efforts to correct de- 
 ficiency in the health? How much knowledge 
 of physical defects should be expected of the 
 teacher? Should the school provide for expert 
 examination of the physical condition of each 
 child? 
 
 Again, what can the school be expected to 
 do for the exceptional child ; the child who never 
 can be made to fit into the routine of the school; 
 not only the subnormal and defective child but 
 the eccentric and exceptionally gifted. Must 
 effort constantly be made to bring these chil- 
 dren up or down to the average of the group, 
 or must they be regarded as different in kind 
 from other children, and separately taught ? If 
 so, from what source is the information to come 
 to guide in the practical treatment of them ? 
 
 Can the school take into account early in 
 childhood the strong interests and capacities 
 of children, and early provide differentiation 
 of training to meet the needs of different types 
 of efficiency? What, again, can the school do 
 
EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS 229 
 
 about those deep-seated differences in character 
 and temperament that are so little touched in 
 the ordinary routine life of the school? What 
 provision can be made for understanding and 
 assisting the child whose emotional life is un- 
 stable, and for warding off the dangers that 
 confront the moral delinquent, the timid, and 
 the anti-social child? 
 
 Can we reasonably expect of the school that 
 it be so informed about mental differences of 
 children as to enable it to treat the child as an 
 individual with reference to differences in men- 
 tal type, and so to teach him along lines of 
 least resistance, and to adopt methods of teach- 
 ing especially suited to his intellectual type! 
 What can be done for the child whose greatest 
 limitation is the poverty of cultural elements 
 in his home environment! 
 
 Whatever shall finally be the decision about 
 these matters and other questions that arise 
 when the needs of individuals are considered the 
 organizations for training of teachers and ad- 
 ministration of education find these questions 
 more and more pressing with the increasing 
 complexity of social life, and the differentiation 
 of individuals. The condition of the modern 
 school in the large city well shows the difficulty 
 that confronts education. These schools con- 
 tain individuals of many nationalities with 
 ideals and occupational tendencies widely differ- 
 ing. Compared, for example, with the teacher 
 
230 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 in a small country community where conditions 
 are more uniform, the city teacher stands in 
 ignorance about the personality of those she 
 teaches. Either, it seems, the school must con- 
 fine itself more and more to the training of 
 those superficial functions that individuals have 
 most nearly identical with one another, and 
 which can be understood by the casual ob- 
 server of the individual, or the school must 
 confess that it works more and more in the 
 dark; for that is surely the case if it pretends 
 to care for the whole child — unless forces are 
 at work that increase the knowledge about in- 
 dividuals on the part of teachers, or relieve 
 them of the necessity of possessing such knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 The deficiency is in part compensated by in- 
 creased specialization in the work of education 
 and care of the young; as by the development 
 of the department teacher and provision for 
 more subjects, better taught; by the appear- 
 ance in the school system of the medical ex- 
 pert, and the like; but, on the other hand, it is 
 in just such a partition of the person and the 
 distribution of him into the hands of specialists, 
 that the individual as a whole is lost from view. 
 But the correction does not lie in the direction 
 of retrenchment of specialization, but in accept- 
 ing the natural result of social development, 
 and making the study of individuals itself a 
 specialty. Already, as we have seen, that is 
 
EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS 231 
 
 what is beginning to happen. The methods of 
 studying variability in several sciences now be- 
 gin to unify the problem of individuality. In 
 the practical work of education also there is a 
 beginning of specialization of interest favor- 
 able to the application of the increasing knowl- 
 edge of individuality which is gathering in 
 scientific quarters. This differentiation is 
 shown in several ways; by such departments 
 as the medical office of the school system, the 
 department of physical culture, and anthro- 
 pometry, the psychological expert, the school 
 visitor whose duty it is to investigate the con- 
 dition of the school child at home, and to me- 
 diate between the child and the school ; by vari- 
 ous societies which have as a common aim to 
 secure the welfare of children, and which for 
 the better pursuit of their practical purposes 
 investigate more or less the individuality of 
 the person whom they try to help. All these 
 aid in the centralization of forces that makes 
 for a better knowledge of individuals. In those 
 favored cases in which teacher, physician, psy- 
 chological specialist, and intelligent parent co- 
 operafe in studying the interests of a child 
 almost ideal conditions are already obtained. 
 The purpose of a conscious interest in the prob- 
 lems of individuality on the part of the school 
 would be to make these conditions more gen- 
 eral. 
 Whether in the near future there will be de- 
 
232 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 velopment and centralization of the scientific as- 
 pects of the study of individuality such as 
 appears to be gathering on the practical side 
 remains to be seen. In Germany there is al- 
 ready a growing institute whose function is the 
 application of psychology to practical problems, 
 one of which, and in fact the leading problem, 
 is the study of individuality. Such a method 
 of approaching the problems is especially 
 needed in the study of individuality because of 
 the variety of special interests that must be 
 combined and concentrated upon a single pur- 
 pose. For not only must the methods of study- 
 ing individuals be derived from several sci- 
 ences, but contact must be made in a helpful way 
 with those who are to apply this knowledge to 
 the particular problems of the individual; this 
 from the very nature of the case is different 
 from other applications of science to practice, 
 in which the application can be derived from 
 a general rule. 
 
 What is needed is an institution in which 
 shall be concentrated all the methods applicable 
 to the study of the individual, and which shall 
 also serve as a central point for the dissemina- 
 tion of practical knowledge, the training of 
 experts, collection of literature, and even work 
 in examination of individuals, or assistance to 
 those who are practically engaged in such work. 
 This is speaking of ideals; yet the establish- 
 ment of such an ideal method of procedure 
 
EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS 233 
 
 would be but in line with what is being done in 
 other departments of science no more impor- 
 tant ; and in fact not different from what is be- 
 ing done elsewhere. 
 
 In conclusion, every one who deals practically 
 with individuals should be fully conscious of 
 what being an individual actually means. It 
 means, primarily, to be conscious of power of 
 will and free choice, of having the necessity and 
 the privilege of carving out one's own fortune. 
 But it means also isolation, to be shut up within 
 one's own experience, to have perhaps but small 
 insight into one's own nature and the forces 
 that shape it, to be incapable of expressing this 
 individuality fully to anyone; to be therefore 
 but half understood even by the most conscien- 
 tious helper. This inherent loneliness and iso- 
 lation of individuality may be to the individual 
 its most real meaning, and may become the 
 cause of the greatest tragedies of human life. 
 
 Not only therefore is the problem of the indi- 
 vidual one of the greatest both for science and 
 for the practical life but it is a problem that 
 increases in importance as life becomes more 
 complex and as individuals become differenti- 
 ated in character and experience. What could 
 be more unscientific and less in accord with 
 our present-day ideals of efficiency in all pur- 
 suits of life than to attempt to direct and con- 
 trol our fellows with but the most casual and 
 superficial knowledge of their real nature as 
 
234 INDIVIDUAL STUDY 
 
 individuals; of that which is not expressed in 
 any one function or part, and which therefore 
 no study of parts and functions by themselves 
 will disclose — the individuality. 
 
 And yet such a state of ignorance is prevalent 
 to-day not only among teachers but in all the 
 professions. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
 A 
 
 Abnormal children, 221. 
 
 Abnormalities, 69. 
 
 Abnormalities of movement, 88. 
 
 Accuracy of movement, 97. 
 
 Acquired coordination, 41. 
 
 ^Esthetic appreciation of body characteristics, 72. 
 
 ^Esthetic feeling, 123. 
 
 Ambitions, 131. 
 
 American psychology, 32. 
 
 Analogy, 192. 
 
 Anatomical differences, 18. 
 
 Anger, 116. 
 
 Animal cell, variation of, 38. 
 
 Anthropological methods, 23. 
 
 Apparatus, 82. 
 
 Association, 171. 
 
 Association time, 176. 
 
 Attention, 141. 
 
 Auditory memory, 165 
 
 Automatograph, 99. 
 
 B 
 
 Bertillon's system, 65. 
 Bihet, iv, 220, 226. 
 Biological hypothesis, 37. 
 Body characteristics, 64. 
 Brightness, discrimination for, 148. 
 
 Case method, ii. 
 Cause and effect, 192. 
 
 235 
 
236 INDEX 
 
 Chest measurements, 77. 
 Choice, rapidity of, 151. 
 Clark's experiment, 192. 
 Collecting, 130. 
 Color discrimination, 148. 
 Control of movement, 97. 
 Coordination, 39. 
 Curiosity, 139. 
 
 Descriptive problem, 12. 
 Diagnostic problem, 14. 
 Differentiation of individuals, 229. 
 Double pressure, 156. 
 Drawing, 192. 
 Dreams, 180. 
 Dynamic problem, 14. 
 
 E 
 
 Emotional defects, 126. 
 
 Emotional life, 113. 
 
 Emotional tone, 117. 
 
 Emotions, method of studying, 114. 
 
 English psychology, 31. 
 
 Estrangement of individuals, 9. 
 
 Ethics and religion, variational methods in, 21. 
 
 Ethnology, variational method in, 22. 
 
 Experience, 135. 
 
 Experimentation, 140. 
 
 Eyes, 57, 67. 
 
 Face, 66. 
 
 Facial expression, 90. 
 Facial movement, 88. 
 Fatigue, mental, 131. 
 Fatigue of movement, 100. 
 Fear, 114. 
 Figure, 68. 
 Fouillee, 225. 
 
INDEX 237 
 
 G 
 
 Free activity of mind, 178. 
 French psychology, 29. 
 
 Gait, 90. 
 
 Galton, 219. 
 
 German psychology, 27. 
 
 Hand balance test, 86. 
 
 Handclasp, 92. 
 
 Hair, 66. 
 
 Head, 65. 
 
 Head measurement, 77. 
 
 Health, examination of, 52. 
 
 Hearing, 59, 153. 
 
 Height, 74. 
 
 Heredity record, 54. 
 
 Imaginary animal, 180. 
 
 Individual-study, 11; as science, 11; future of, 35; within 
 
 psychology, 26; problems of, 11. 
 Individuality, factors of, 8; nature of, 77. 
 Intelligence, 186; tests of, 188. 
 Institute for Individual Study, 231. 
 Interest, characteristics of, 103; and environment, 134. 
 Interests and instincts, 128. 
 Irritability, 39. 
 
 Kellogg's system, 79. 
 Kirkpatrick's vocabulary test, 184. 
 Kraepelin, 27. 
 
 Language, 184, 196. 
 Literary interests, 132. 
 
238 INDEX 
 
 M 
 
 Manual work, 90. 
 
 Mathematical methods, 51. 
 
 Meaning of individuality, 233. 
 
 Measurement of the body, 73. 
 
 Mechanism of mind, 163. 
 
 Medical diagnosis, 23. 
 
 Medical examination, 55. 
 
 Memory, 163. 
 
 Mental traits, 103. 
 
 Migration interests, 131. 
 
 Mill, 32. 
 
 Moods, 117. 
 
 Moral life, 118. 
 
 Movements, experimental study of, 92. 
 
 Movements, observation of, 85. 
 
 Mutilated text experiment, 182. 
 
 N 
 
 Native coordinations, 40. 
 Need of individual study, 9. 
 Nervous and mental condition, 56. 
 Nervous system, 39. 
 
 
 
 Observation, habits of, 142. 
 Observational methods, 25. 
 (Ehrn, 27. 
 
 Optimum and maximum rate, 96. 
 Outline of observation, 111. 
 
 P 
 
 Pain, 159. 
 
 Palmistry, 71. 
 
 Pathological variation, 19. 
 
 Paulham, 29. 
 
 Pearson, 18. 
 
 Pedagogical aspects of individuality, 227. 
 
 Perception, rapidity of, 151. 
 
INDEX 239 
 
 Perez, 225. 
 
 Personal history, 54. 
 
 Phrenology, 31. 
 
 Physician's attitude, 48. 
 
 Physiological measurements, 82. 
 
 Physiological variation, 19. 
 
 Pitch discrimination, 154. 
 
 Play, 128. 
 
 Postures, 89. 
 
 Practical study of individuals, 47. 
 
 Practical problems, 16. 
 
 Pressure sense, 156. 
 
 Primitive man's problems, 190. 
 
 Proof, 189. 
 
 Property interests, 130. 
 
 Psychological methods, 24. 
 
 Psychological variation, 21. 
 
 Purposive thinking, 186. 
 
 Puzzles, 191. 
 
 R 
 
 Rapidity of mental processes, 131. 
 
 Rapidity of movement, 95. 
 
 Reasoning, 193. 
 
 Record of medical examination, 62. 
 
 Recording of data, 50. 
 
 Reflex arc concept, 42. 
 
 Reflex wink, 100. 
 
 Religious life, 121. 
 
 Retention, 170. 
 
 Rhythm, 155. 
 
 Ribot, 30, 223. 
 
 Rieger's system, 81. 
 
 School interests, 132. 
 
 Search, method of, 189. 
 
 Seeland, 225. 
 
 Senses, 146. 
 
 Sex interests, 129. 
 
240 INDEX 
 
 Skin, 66. 
 
 Smell, 161. 
 
 Social life, 125. 
 
 Sociology, variational method in, 22. 
 
 Sound discrimination, 153. 
 
 Spearman, 33. 
 
 Steadiness, 98. 
 
 Stern, 28, 226. 
 
 Story writing, 183. 
 
 Strength, 92. " 
 
 Suggestibility, 143. 
 
 Tapping, 95. 
 Taste, 160. 
 Temperaments, 223. 
 Temperature sense, 158. 
 Training of teachers, ii. 
 Twins, 201. 
 
 Types of individuals, 221. 
 Types of movement, 89. 
 
 Variability, 3. 
 Variational method, 17. 
 Vision, 109; tests of, 57. 
 Visual lengths, 150. 
 Visual memory, 164. 
 Voice, 90. 
 
 W 
 
 Warner's tests, 85. 
 Weight, 75. 
 Word method, 104. 
 
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