Ilii LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDQlTbDSSa? ■;N-J^:^ Aspect of Attention . 96 CHAPTER IV The Physiological Aspect of Attention . . 136 CHAPTER V Recapitulation . 176 PART II— INTEREST CHAPTER VI ► The Motor Aspect of Interest . . . . 183 CHAPTER Vll The Ideal Aspect of Interest .... 208 CHAPTER VIII Recapitulation 224! viii CONTENTS PART III— EDUCATIOlSr CHAPTER IX Attention in the Classroom . . . . , . 231 CHAPTER X Interest in the Classroom 254 INDEXES Index of Names 267 Index of Subjects 270 PART I ATTENTION Part I Attention CHAPTER I THE GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION § I. DESCRIPTION 1. The Subject-object Relation. In a loose and popular manner, the object, as differ- ent from the subject is readily recognised. The man who picks up a book to read, the woman who selects goods for a dress, the child who plays with the toy, each, in a vague way, distinguishes an object which exists apart from the self. There may be present no intensive analysis of the nature of such existence, or of the meaning of the relationship, but for the practical purposes of usage and experience, the object, as existing apart from the subject, has a more or less utili- tarian or esthetic value. In scientific research and laboratory experimentation a more rigid in- terpretation of 'object' is made. Close analysis is necessary sharply to define exactly what is 'subject' and what 'object' in a given situation, and every effort is made to eliminate the personal equation, emotional bias, illusion, or other per- 4 ATTENTION AND INTEEEST sonal factors. The astronomer limits his field to a portion of the heavens, the botanist busies him- self with a bud, a seed, a root fibre, the geologist restricts his activity during a given investigation to some strata, rock formation, or what not, and so with investigators in other lines. Some situa- tion is selected and treated as an object apart from the self. Many situations in the course of an investigation are so considered and made the object of close study. The psychologist differs in nowise from other scientific investigators. In his work he deals with specific situations, and examines, interprets, analyses, and reasons much like scientists in other fields. His point of attack may be diiFerent, his interpretation may deal with qualitative or with quantitative aspects differing from those se- lected by a botanist or a physicist, but his basis is much like theirs. If his work is to have any value, it must be based on situations which have a concrete filling of some kind, on objects which are more or less definite, on situations which, while they are under investigation, must be con- sidered apart from the self which is concerned with the experimentation. The scientific point of view is one which is recognised by the psycholo- gist, but which is seldom held by cultured work- GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 5 ers in other fields. The mind is usually considered by such as an ethereal will-o'-the-wisp, a spirit which appears, now here, now there, and which is so evanescent that one can speculate about it with safety, draw deductive conclusions, and construct hypotheses which can not be tested in concrete situations. That popular opinion is wrong in this connection will be readily under- stood by one who has seen the laboratory study of mental processes. Not the mind, but some situation is studied with special reference to con- sciousness. A given field is made the center of attention, tested according to some definite method, and studied in an inductive manner. In general, the subject-object relation is one, which, from long habit, is accepted as a matter of course in most fields. This dual relationship fits in with the nature of things, stands the test of experience, of application, of work, and is be- lieved in, regardless of metaphysical or other disquisitions to the contrary. From this point of view all else stands opposed to the self. Self and the rest of the universe constitute the whole. No doubt the rest of the universe exists for the self as an 'other' of related parts, as a whole which is affected by every act of the individual. In actual practice so extended an 'other' is nar- 6 ATTENTION AND INTEREST rowed down to some definite situation whicH can be manipulated and controlled. In a piece of work, a laboratory experiment, for example, the individual is not immediately concerned with the rest of the universe. He may affect it, his actions may result in a redistribution of relationships, but this is no direct concern of his. He is usually concerned with only what is under his immediate control. The rest of the universe is not so much 'object,' as 'objective' to him. The object is rather the point of junction between the indi- vidual and the rest of the system, between himself and all that is 'objective.' Some limited portion constitutes for the time the point of junction be- tween the individual and what is objective. The individual localises his efforts and restricts the extent of his control. 2. The Point of Junction. 'Point of junc- tion' corresponds loosely to what is called 'object,' as, for example, the material in an experiment, a place of business, a reading room in a library, a tool, or what not. Different kinds of such ob- jects, however, may be distinguished. (a) Real. As one looks before one and con- siders what one sees, the object in such a case is visual and somewhat extended. If touch and motor control enter in the determination of the GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 7 object, the field at once becomes extremely nar- rowed. If other senses are involved, the field receives a richer content and means more to the individual who is in control. The quality and the extent of the point of junction thus depend upon the senses which are involved in the experi- ences. Any sense may mediate a point of junc- tion. We may have a visual field, an auditory or a tactile field. So, too, a situation may be deter- mined by all together. Usually several of the senses are called into play. An object is seized, tested, taken apart, put under the microscope, and controlled in as many ways as possible. What is before one at any moment, what exists as a single pulse Of apprehension, therefore, can not always be said to constitute a situation given in full. To be given in toto^ to have the feel of reality, a situation must allow of reactive adjust- ment, must be under some kind of motor control. Only as one is before a situation which can be manipulated and reconstructed in a practical way, only as one can test the visual field by active selection and adjustment, can it be considered as basic and real. An essential aspect of a basic situation is this impelling and necessary character which it receives through touch and motor con- trol. It may be denied metaphysically, it may 8 ATTENTION AND INTEREST be doubted philosophically, but practically, doubt or denial means destruction. For ex- ample, tentative denial of a stone wall may result in a bruise or other injury. Scholastic disbelief must be swept aside when actual contact is effected. Contrariwise, belief is never so strong as when motor control reinforces visual appre- hension. The more direct and immediate control is pos- sible when the situation is beneath one's feet or under one's hands. The various junctions, visual, auditory, tactile, etc., can then be bound together by the motor. Such a limited field is further widened by means which will facilitate motor contact. The microscope enlarges the visual field without bringing it outside of direct motor control, the railroad and the telegraph enable one to make as many points of contact as possible within a given time, touch and motor control are aided by delicate instruments, machin- ery does work which the hands can not do, and so on. Where no means exist for the realisation of motor control, a situation must remain incom- plete, may, in fact, be considered a chimera. The pot of gold at the other end of the rainbow, for example, has still to be felt as a reality. (b) Ideal. In an ideal, schematic, and repre- GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 9 sentative sort of way a situation may assume a form somewhat removed from the original. An outhne, plan, picture, word, image, idea, thought, may take the place of the situation for the indi- vidual, may, in a number of ways, stand for the actual situation. One who wishes to buy a book, for example, needs but to utter the necessary words in order to realise his intention. 'Book' in such a case is all that is necessary for the purpose. If it is to be read, however, it must exist in more real form. When a situation is present in ideal form it receives the stamp of reality when it points to some foundation situation which can be directly controlled in a motor way. It receives a tinge of the impelling and necessary nature of founda- tion situations only by the feel of motor tenden- cies which impel realisation. A book which, when thought of, calls forth tendencies to open and touch it, is much more real than simply 'book' spelled out or seen only visually. So, too, the idea of a plaything has reality for the child when he feels tendencies to play with it. An ideal scheme can have reality only as affecting prac- tice, only as it leads to some basic situation. Until such realisation is possible it must be incomplete, it must exist much like a visual situ- 10 ATTENTION AND INTEREST ation which lies outside the field of direct motor control. Even as partial, as schematic and formal, ideas and images assume for the time a form deter- mined in part by foundation situations. As a formal object, the thought exists in the shape of a word, diagram, outline, or expression. The formal aspect of thought and ideation receives its stability by the same means which give sta- bility to basic situations. Motor control is called into service for the purpose of fixing the formal elements of ideal situations. Speech, writing, drawing, illustration, construction, etc., give to images and ideas a form which enables them to receive further verification in application and practice. In ideal situations we can not readily escape motor control. Images which are so flit- ting and transitory as to be outside the bounds of motor control and definite realisation of some sort, practical or esthetic, must stand outside the pale of belief. As ideal situations they can have little value. (c) Possible. Ideal situations which have arisen out of immediate experience and direct control naturally have the feel of reality to a greater degree than ideas or images which have been acquired in a more indirect way. If, for GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 11 example, one has seen snow, felt it, and handled it, one will have a greater belief in its existence, will read a reality into the word 'snow' more readily than the savage who has simply heard of it. Much of what is given in instruction, in reading, in conversation, etc., has a reality only in an indirect manner. Upon the basis of what- ever experience has been acquired, a number of ideal situations acquire a reality in terms of transferred control. One may not have seen an emu, but if one is told that it is a bird similar to the ostrich, one more readily gives the term a reality which can be tested in some immediate, concrete situation. So, too, one may never have been in China, but actual situations before one, ideal situations in the form of pictures, descrip- tions, and the like, give one a basis which may be transferred to the possible situation implied in the term 'China.' The situation is possible in that there is a certain belief in its existence, in possible control and reaction in a sensorimotor manner. One feels sure, for example, that China exists, that travel to it is possible, that certain reactions may take place in it, that control in it is much like that under present conditions. The possible, it is seen, is a form of the ideal, but it is a form in which transferred motor coefS- 12 ATTENTION AND INTEREST cients are called into service to give backing to belief in what is considered possible. Often one will believe in the reality of a possible situ- ation which to others is just as surely a chimera. The broader and deeper the foundation of ex- perience, the stronger will be the belief in situa- tions which, to the untrained mind, seem to have no reality. The situation, for example, which was a possible one for Columbus and the early navi- gators, did not excite the same belief in the people about him. It became, to some extent, a real situation, when actual control was realised. §11. ILLUSTRATION 1. Real. Real situations are best illustrated by laboratory and similar experimentation. Sev- eral examples will be given. Action of Chloroform and Ether. Excise two frogs' hearts and place each in a watch glass containing 5 cc. of Ringer's fluid. To one add one drop of pure chloroform and cover with another watch glass. The heart will become feeble, lose tone, and finally stop beat- ing. It will take about ten times as much ether to pro- duce the same effect. Chloroform is ten times more potent a drug than ether. ^ Strike the chord c-e-g strongly upon the piano key- board, directing the attention to the c. Is it intensified.'^ ^ Practical Physiology, by A. P. Beddard, L. Hill, J. S. Edkins, J. J. R. Mcleod, and M. S. Pembry, 75. GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 13 Strike the chord again, directing the attention to the e or g. Is the tone attended-to intensified?^ Take two pieces of the same green paper. Lay one on a red background, the other on a background of its own color. Cover as before (with very thin tissue paper) and compare the two greens. Do similarly with red on a green and on a red background.^ 2. Ideal. The two meanings of ideal should not be confused. In an ethical sense, 'ideal' re- fers to hope and aspiration, in a psychological sense, 'ideal' signifies simply what is representa- tive, cognitive, imaginative, and the like. 1. Think of a bunch of white rose-buds, lying among fern leaves in a florist's box. (a) Are the colours — the creamy white, the green, the shiny white — quite distinct and natural? (b) Do you see the flowers in a good light? Is the image as bright as the objects would be if they lay on the table before you? (c) Are the flowers and leaves and box well-defined and clear-cut? Can you see the whole group of objects together, or is one part distinctly outlined while the others are blurred?* Etc., etc., etc. As for the scheme I had in my head, it was not a bad one in itself. I was to go down the sandy spit that ^Titchener, Edward Bradford, Experimental Psychology, l:Pt. I, 111. ' Thorndike, Edward L., The Elements of Psychology, 232. *Titchener, E. B., Exp. Psych., l:Pt. I, 198. 14 ATTENTION AND INTEREST divides the anchorage on the east from the open sea, find the white rock I had observed last evening and ascertain whether it was there or not that Ben Gunn had hidden his boat; a thing quite worth doing as I still believe. — Treasure Island, Stevenson. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. — Leviticus, 19. 3. Possible. In a possible situation, realisation may be effected, or it may be simply hoped for. Both are illustrated in the following. Macbeth. My dearest love, Duncan comes here to-night. Lady Macbeth. And when goes hence.'' Macbeth. To-morrow, as he purposes. Lady Macbeth. O, never Shall sun that morrow see ! And there shall accompany them fair damsels having large black eyes ; resembling pearls hidden in their shells : as a reward for that which they shall have wrought. They shall not hear therein any vain discourse, or any charge of sin ; but only the salutation, Peace ! Peace ! And the companions of the right hand (how happy shall the companions of the right hand be!) shall have their abode among lote trees free from thorns, and trees of mauz loaded regularly with their produce from top to bottom ; under an extended shade, near a flowing water, GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 15 and amidst fruits in abundance. — The Koran, Sura LVI, Eng. tr. by G. Sale. The last passage is a good illustration of trans- ferred control. As Muir points out, Mohamet painted a Paradise which would appeal to the pleasure loving Arab, which 'would captivate the inhabitant of the thirsty and sterile Mecca.' In this case a basis of real experience was used in the reconstruction of an ideal Paradise which would be believed in by the Arab.^ 4. Illustration by Diagram. Fig. I. A, real. B, ideal. S, subject. O, real object. O', ideal object. O", situation to which, the ideal refers. F, focus. M, margin. C, center of control. = Muir, William, The Life of Mohamet, 75. 16 ATTENTION AND INTEREST § III. DEVELOPMENT 1. Stages. It is highly probable, that the newly-born child is not conscious of subject or object in the same manner as is the grown adult. One is so accustomed to look upon an object as having some kind of existence apart from the subject that one tends to overlook the fact that this twofold relationship is the result of consid- erable development, the end station, as it were, of a somewhat complicated series of movements on the part of the child. Even in the developed consciousness, it is somewhat difficult sharply to differentiate what is subject, and what is object. In philosophy, for example, one aspect is often taken as basic, and the attempt is made to ex- plain the other in terms of it. In psychology, too, one or the other aspect is unduly emphasised. As far as attention is concerned, from the objec- tive side, it is viewed as simply a state of clearness and distinctness. From the subjective side, it is sometimes considered as ideal reinforcement or arrest of incoming impressions, or, by the older writers, as a species of mental activity. It must be remembered, in the first place, that subject and object, though looked upon, in a developed state, as two distinct things, have ex- istence only in a dynamic relationship, and, in GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 17 the second place, that each in itself is an abstrac- tion. We do not have the subject, as such, and apart from some connection with an object. So, too, an object, by itself, means nothing, as far as the conscious subject is concerned. An object is an object, only as it affects a subject, only as there is action and reaction of some sort between the two. In a state of attention, for example, the subject attends to some situation, and some situation is in the focus of attention. We speak of each in a logical manner as having a separate existence, but such discussion does not affect the situation as it actually exists. Continual treat- ment of these two phases, subjective and objec- tive, as isolated units, leads one to look upon them as units which exist in independence of each other. In any conscious moment, however, the two wiU be found together. In the first pulse of life there is probably neither self nor object as a distinct phase of a situation. There is probably in the newly-born consciousness an undifferentiated whole, in which neither subject nor object stands out as a distinct existential fact. The nearest state in the adult consciousness is the dreamy condition usually present just before one goes to sleep, or when one is half asleep, and half awake. Out of this 18 ATTENTION AND INTEEEST raw material are developed notions of self and object. In early childhood self and object are often confused, and the gross division between the two is the result of considerable development. When the object is looked upon as more or less distinct from the self, attention, though existing from the very beginning, can be considered as a separate, conscious process. The three stages may be illustrated by the following diagrams, each of which represents a phase of a compli- cated process which at times combines the other phases : A, B C Pig. II. A, subject and object not differentiated. B, subject (S) and object (O). C, object in the focus of attention. 2. Process. The process by which the notions of 'self and 'object' are constructed is essentially a motor one. As soon as more or less definite motor reactions and movements begin, as in seizing and grasping, some portions of the field GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 19 of consciousness become outlined, cut out of their setting, and woven into the personal history of the individual concerned. A child which seizes a pencil, for example, plucks it out of its setting, gives it outline, uses it perhaps, and places it as a separate object among other objects. While the pencil may have had a more or less distinct visual outline, its control by the child would give greater vividness and strength to impressions of its separate existence. In fact, for grown people, manipulation and motor control is a test of the individual existence of an object. If one is not certain, for example, whether an object is fas- tened to some other, is part of it, or one separate from it, one wiU take it in hand, lift it, and try it in a number of ways. The changing nature of the objective field, too, tends to give it the stamp of existence apart from the self. A portion of the field comes and goes, suffers reconstruction or even destruction, and seems a flux opposed to a more or less stable background of individual feeling and conscious- ness. It is the same mass of feeling, for instance, which accompanies the act of throwing a toy out of the window, as that which goes with the activ- ity of looking out of the window, or of going down stairs to look for the toy. Feelings of 20 ATTENTION AND INTEREST motor activity, of satisfaction, pain, etc., are re-' f erred to the self in a more or less conscious manner. These give the self a value as a more or less unchanging, existential fact. In addition, visual elements, as of form of the body, remain much the same, and reinforce the feelings of motor activity, satisfaction, ease, quiescence, pleasure, and the like.® An aid in this process of differentiation is such control of others as enters into the child's^ field of experience. Conflict of control will bring out the 'other' as a separate factor in the total field. The difference in the conduct of others when entering in the same field of objects controlled by the child will also tend to stamp the 'other' as an existential fact apart from ob- jects within the child's field of activity. A grown person, for example, will take an object from the child, will take the child from the object, « See: Stout, G. F., 'The Genesis of the Cognition of Physical Reality,' Mind, 15, 1890. Baldwin, James Mark, Mental Develop- ment in the Child and the Race, 112-120, and Social and Ethical Interpretations in Mental Development, Ch. I. Preyer, W., The Development of the Intellect, Eng. tr. by H. W. Brown, Ch. XIX. Compayre, Gabriel, Development of the Child in Later Infancy, Eng. tr. by M. E. Wilson, Ch. VIII. Wundt, Wilhelm, Grundziige der Physiologischen Psychologie, 3:Ch. XVIII, §1, f. James, William, Principles of Psychology, Ch. X. and The Meaning of Truth, Marshall, H. R., Consciousness, Arnold, F., 'Conscious- ness and its Object,' Psych. Bev., 12, 1905. GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 21 will assist the child in the control of the object. Such conflict of control, even with adults, em- phasises the existence of another as a separate fact which is to be reckoned with in the manipula- tion of objects. Within the objective field many changes may take place because of the manipulation and con- trol attempted by the child. Development of the situation may proceed by increase in the number and kinds of the points of contact which are made. When a child sees an object, he usually tries to seize it, bite it, throw it about, take it apart, test it in every possible manner. Each point of junction is a new experience for the child and gives fuller meaning to the situation in hand. Development of a situation is also pos- sible through reconstruction or partial destruc- tion. To a beholder the activity of the child may not mean development, may, in fact, seem a waste of time, or a positive nuisance. But to the child such control as he exercises, whether de- structive or not, results in a widening of his own experiences, and in instructive changes in the field before him. Successive acts of control result in increased differentiation and development. Residual ef- fects accumulate both in the subject and in the 22 ATTENTION AND INTEREST objective field. In the individual such cumula- tive results are represented by habits, mental dispositions, memories, and the like. The child, in popular parlance, 'will know better next time.' In the objective field we have, in the more ad- vanced stages, material progress, tradition, moral law and order, custom, etc. The latter then re- acts on the former and tends to preserve control within the grooves of custom. The social back- ground is usually able to enforce its conventions and manners on the individual, who, in turn, may be able to effect changes in such conventions and traditions. Action and reaction go together, here as elsewhere. On the basis of cumulative residua, the individual is able 'to rise on his dead self to higher things.' Whatever he has accomplished can be used as a foundation for further control. The child, for example, who has mastered writ- ing and reading, is able to spend his energy on other things. Below is a schematic outline which illustrates progress and individual endeavour on a broad platform of habit. Development of a situation in the manner sug- gested above demands a narrowing of the field under manipulation, a fixation of the object, a closer and more refined series of adjustments, a more delicate interpretation, a finer feel or body GIVEN SITUATION IN ATTENTION 23 -1 IMPULSE Pig. III. Individual Development (after Baldwin, J. M., Ment. Dev.). attitude, in short, attention. The subject must select his object, examine aspects of it, try it in various ways, and control it in a more or less definite manner. Self and object exist together, each is influential in producing changes, each must be considered in relation to the other. The objective side of the situation gives us the field of attention. The subjective side gives us those motor adjustments, ideal elements, and reinforc- ing factors which are usually present in the more advanced stages of attention. Both aspects, the subjective and the objective, must be considered in the treatment of attention. §IV. EXPLANATION Certain biological considerations necessitate such differentiation and discrimination as are 84 ATTENTION AND INTEREST found in the subject-object relation, and in at- tention. Some restriction of the objective field is necessary for the continued existence of the organism. Discrimination and selection are nec- essary even in animal life, and in the more ele- mentary functions of eating and drinking. The savage who misses his aim may have to go hungry or starve. The hunter who can not find signs of water may perish. The child who is unable to control his knife will cut himself. The adult who does not hear the horn of the electric car may lose his life. Focalisation and definite reac- tion are necessary to ensure a modicum of ease and satisfaction. Strange and uncommon situa- tions which may result in pain or death must be focalised before further reaction of definite nature is possible. Moreover, focalisation with selection may be needed to ensure safe control. Where a situation is more or less known, fur- ther knowledge is possible only by analysis, dis- crimination, selection, and restricted control. Scientific workers are continually constructing mechanical aids by means of which given situa- tions can be cut up into smaller parts, restricted within a limited field, and intensively controlled. Specialisation is but another name for such fo- calisation and concentration. CHAPTER II THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT OF ATTENTION § I. DESCRIPTION 1. Clearness and Distinctness. A striking characteristic of the field of attention is the change in the clearness and distinctness which re- sults from the motor and ideal processes which are aroused. As control of a situation becomes restricted, as the field narrows and becomes cut out of its setting, it is said to become distinct. The situation is distinct in that it is more or less sharply defined, in that it stands out from its surroundings. The outline of a flying bird as seen against a clear sky, the blur on the horizon which is recognised as a ship, these are distinct, though they can not be said to be clear. When, in addition, the parts of the situation stand out within the whole, when the relations between the parts become evident, the situation is said to be clear. The flying bird is then seen to have cer- tain coloration, the ship is then recognised as a steamship, with two or more stacks, and so on. Distinctness refers to the totality as set off against a marginal background. Clearness re- 25 26 ATTENTION AND INTEREST fers to a further differentiation of the parts within the whole. Clearness and distinctness are terms which have historical connections. Descartes used clear- ness and distinctness as signs by which to judge of the truth of notions. I call that clear which is present and manifest to an attentive mind; . . . and distinct, that which is so sep- arate and distinguished from every thing else that it con- tains within itself only that which is clear.^ Clearness and distinctness have also been em- emphasized in connection with visual metaphors. The 'Blickpunkt'' view of attention has been prominently brought forward by Wundt and Titchener, but it was used long before them. Fortlage likens attention to the 'clear glance of observation'^ and Lotze compares it to the 'ret- ina of the eye.'^ Hamilton writes in a similar strain. Consciousness may be compared to a telescope, atten- tion to the pulling out or in of the tubes in accommodat- ing the focus to the object; and we might, with equal justice, distinguish in the eye, the adjustment of the pupil from the general organ of vision, as, in the mind, ^Princ, Pt. I, § XLV. ^ Fortlage, Karl, System der Psychologie, 1855, § 12. 'Lotze, Rudolph Hermann, Medicinische Psycliologie, 1852, §37. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 27 distinguish attention from consciousness as separate faculties/ This predominance of visual terminology is not strange when we consider, as Jevons points out, that at least 246 words in the English language have been derived from the root 'spec.'^ A third characteristic of the field of attention, emphasised by some, denied by others, is inten- sity, or rather, increase in intensity. Con- siderable discussion of the hair-splitting va- riety may be found defending one or the other view.^ Any contentions one way or the other in this connection disregard the basic function of such changes in the situation as take place. These changes are secondary and subordinate to the motor control and manipulation which is to be * Hamilton, Sir William, Lectures on Metaphysics, Lect. XIII. "See, Wundt, W., Grund. d. Phys. Psych., 3:333-339. Jodl, Friedrich, Lehrbuch der Psychologic, 2:74. Tichener, E. B., Exp. Psych., l:Pt. II, 89, and Lectures on the Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention. Eraser, Alexander, 'Visualisation as a Chief Source of the Psychology of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 4:230-247. 'See: Stumpf, Carl, Tonpsychologie, 1:§4, 2:§22. James, W., Princ, of Psych., 1:425. Kuelpe, Oswald, Outlines of Psychology, Eng. tr. by E. B. Titchener. Lough, James E., 'The Relations of Intensity to Duration of Stimulation in our Sensations of Sight,' Psych. Rev., 3:484-492. Miinsterberg, Hugo, and Kozaki, N., 'The Intensifying Effect of Attention,' Psych. Rev., 1:39-44. Pillsbury, W., Attention, Ch. I. Titchener, E. B., El Psych, of Feeling and Attention. 28 ATTENTION AND INTEREST effected. There is no inherent virtue in either increase or decrease in intensity. Such a change, in itself, means httle. It is the purpose which the change is to subserve which determines whether or not there is to be an increase in the intensity of incoming impressions. If increase of intensity will facilitate more perfect control, then the individual will secure such increase in intensity and illumination, by artificial means, if necessary. Usually, ideal and motor reinforce- ments are called into service to secure increase in the intensity of an impression. If one listens closely enough, one may hear a sound which has no real existence. If ideal elements can not be used, mechanical instruments are called into play. On the other hand, if a more modified atmosphere is necessary, a situation may be plucked out of a too intense and blinding illumination, and placed in one more subdued. An artist will examine a picture with half -closed eyes. One may, in fact, close one's eyes entirely to a too obtrusive situa- tion. Intensity may or may not be found ac- cording as control calls for it or not. Increase in intensity, when present, is possible only within narrow limits. One can, for example, follow a diminuendo with increasing attention. The re- sulting increase in intensity is only a relative one. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 29 and does not of necessity force the notes to their maximal strength. The diminuendo will remain a diminuendo, but with a less steep descent. 2. Persistence. In attention, the situation be- comes more or less distinct and clear. In addition, it may persist for a time in the focus of the given field. Such persistence depends in great measure upon the points of contact which can be made, and upon the ideal elements which can be excited. When an object allows of esthetic interpretation, motor control, etc., the probabilities are that it will hold attention longer than will a more barren object. So too, a field which revives numerous ideas and images, will stay in the focus for a considerable time. One who gazes long at a time-table does not do so solely because of any inherent interest in the printed matter before him. The three characteristics, clearness, distinct-, ness, and persistence, inhere in the objective field, in the situation under control. The tendency to treat consciousness as a special kind of activity has led some to speak of the clearness and dis- tinctness of the mental state, of consciousness in general. Without a content, however, a mental state has no meaning. In attention to an object. 30 ATTENTION AND INTEREST the clearness is present in the given field. The object becomes more clear and distinct. It is not a more highly illuminated consciousness which is poured over a situation to brighten it up, but a control which makes more distinct and clear selected portions of the given field. 3. Fluctuation. When minimal visual im- pressions are fixated steadily for a time the impressions do not continue at a uniform inten- sity but undulate, as it were, in a kind of rhythm. One who gazes steadily at a grey ring on a white background, for example, will find that the ring becomes less distinct, then more dis- tinct, then less distinct, and so on. The one ring will yield a fluctuating series of impression. Such moments of distinctness or indistinctness, i.e. J, from distinctness to indistinctness, or from indistinctness to distinctness, vary from 5 to 25 seconds. It is to be noted that such fluctuation is evident with only very weak impressions. Experimental investigation has shown a num- ber of concomitant phenomena. (1) Fluctuation is closely related to respira- tory and vasomotor changes. (2) Slight sensory stimulation increases the length of the periods in which the distinct waves THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 31 persist. More intense stimulation decreases them, i.e. J, when the visual impression is very weak the distinct period is longer than when the impression is stronger. (3) Fatigue decreases the length of the pe- riods in which the distinct waves persist. (4) The fluctuations correspond with the di- urnal periodicity of general vitality. The periods of greatest distinctness are usually longer in the morning than at evening. (5) Pathological conditions affect the fluctu- ations of attention. Thus 10 g. of alcohol decrease the length of the periods of fluctuation and induce a general fatigue, while 3 g. of brom. natr. increase the length of the periods. So, too, pathological conditions of depression or of ex- citation respectively decrease or increase effi- ciency in this connection.^ '^ Among others, see Eckener, Hugo, 'Untersuchungen uber die Schwankungen der Auifassung minimaler Sinnesreize,' Phil. 8tud., 8:343-387. Galloway, E. C, 'The Effect of Stimuli upon the Length of Traube-Hering Waves,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 15:499-512. Hammer, Bertil, 'Zur experimentellen Kritik der Theorie der Aufmerksamkeitsschwankungen,' Zeit. f. Psych., 37:363-376. Heinrich, W., und Chwistek, L., 'Ueber das periodische Ver- schwinden kleiner Punkte,' Zeit. f. Psych., 41:59-73. Hylan, J. P., 'Fluctuations of Attention,' Psych. Rev., 3:56-63. Lehmann, Alfred, 'Ueber die Beziehung zwischen Athmung und Aufmerk- samkeit,' Phil. Stud., 9:66-95. Marbe, Karl, 'Die Schwankungen der Gesichtsempfindungen,' Phil. Stud., 8:615-637. Pace, Edward, 'Zur Frage der Schwankungen der Aufmerksamkeit nach Ver- 32 ATTENTION AND INTEREST The following tables give in seconds the peri- ods of distinct vision and indistinct vision, under normal conditions, and with accompanying stim- ulation from different sources. The attention in each case was fixated on a revolving disc hav- ing on it a circle of grey (Masson disc) .^ SUBJECTS Normal Induction Current Smoking V NV T V 1 NV T V NV T Av. of 7 tests 6.0 4.9 10.9 4.5 4.5 9.0 7.1 4.2 11.3 Ether Balsam Single tests 6.7 6.7 1 13.4 5.0 1 5.4 1 10.4 3.3 1 4.1 1 7.44 F.= visible, N.V.=not visible, T.=:total. Induction current. A slight current was passed through the left hand while the subject was looking at the Masson disc. Smoking. Subject smoked during the process of fixation. Ether, balsam. Odors were smeUed during the experiment. Table I suchen mit der Masson'sschem Scheibe,' Phil. Stud., 8:388-402, Pillsbury, W. B., 'Attention Waves as a Means of Measuring Fatigue,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 14:277-288. Seashore, C. E., 'Die Aufmerksamkeitsschwankungen,' Zeit. f. Psych., 39:448-450. Slaughter, J. W., 'The Fluctuations of the Attention in some of their Psychological Relations,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 12:313-334. Taylor, R. W., 'The Effect of Certain Stimuli upon the Attention Wave,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 12:335-345. Wiersma, E., 'Unter- suchungen iiber die sogenannten Aufmerksamkeitsschwankungen,' Zeit. f. Psych., 26:168-200, 28:179-198, 31:110-126. For further references see Pillsbury, W. B., Attention, and Titchener, E. B., The Psych, of Feeling and Attention. •From, Taylor, R. W., Ibid., 337, 339. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT SUBJECT E 33 Normal Induction Current After Stimulation V NV T V NV T V NV T Av. of 4 tests 15.3 10.5 25.8 IT.l 12.8 30.0 Subject B Av. of 3 tests 5.6 2.5 1 8.1 6.6 2.5 9.1 5.4 2.8 8.2 Table II Fluctuation in the case of minimal visual im- pressions seems to be well established. In the case of minimal auditory and tactile impressions, however, it is highly probable that any fluctua- tion similar to visual fluctuation does not take place. It is extremely difficult to establish any definite waves of distinctness and indistinctness in such cases. One should go through a series of tests before accepting a few results of somewhat doubtful experimentation. If sound is used, the stimulation must be minimal and persistent as far as the mechanical arrangements are con- cerned. Simple tones seem to remain constant, and very light weights (cork) on the hand give no evidence of fluctuation. This can be tried by any one.^ *See Titchener, E. B., Feel, and Attent., 267, and Am. Jour, of Psych., 10:95. 3 34 ATTENTION AND INTEKEST 4. Unity. Before one discusses the unity of attention one should state exactly what one re- fers to by such unity and also what conditions hold when such unity is tested. For example, it is true that one can recognise a word as easily as one can a letter. The unity is then the word as a whole and not the separate letters which com- pose the word. So, too, one can glance at a page and give the number of words on the page as two or three hundred. What is then in the focus of attention is the single page which means or sig- nifies the number of words. It would hardly hold, however, that three hundred words, as sepa- rate words, were seen in the one act of apprehen- sion. It is usually held that in the visual field attention to four or five distinct and separate objects is possible.^^ If these objects are really seen as separate objects, then the statement is true, that attention 'is possible to five objects. But if through long association and habitual motor adjustments, certain groupings have come to mean 'five,' if contact and manipulation of ob- jects have shown such objects to be five, and to stand for 'five,' then the single act of attention to groupings of four or five w^ould result in the recall of 'five' as a number whole associated with *"See, for example, Pillsbury, W. B,, Attention, Ch. VI. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 35 the group. In such a case, even though 'five' means a series, a number of successive acts of counting, a succession of distinct and separate events, the act of attention at the given moment did not necessarily include such counts or series. We look, for example, at a series of lines and cognise five at a given moment. ISTow do we actually see five distinct and separate objects at a glance, or do we recognise a group which ex- perience has taught us is 'five,' and then interpret the 'five' another way, i.e.^ as a series? Two varying conditions lead one to believe that the latter is the case. When the length of time in which a group is exposed to an observer is shortened, fewer objects are seen in a single act of attention. So, too, the results differ when the ages of the observers differ. Griffing tested the pupils of the different school years with a series of letters. The observers looked at the fixation point, and at the signal, 'Ready,' the letters were shown for a given time. In the fol- lowing tables are given the results of two series of tests, the first with a time limit of 1 second, the second with a time limit of .1 second.^^ A study of the figures will show the variation due to decrease in the time of exposure. "Griffing, Harold, 'On the Development of Visual Perception and Attention,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 7:227-236. 36 ATTENTION AND INTEEEST Average Total Number Seen With 1 Secoxd Exposure For Different Classes N c S MV R MV Max. MiN. R S 19 I 20 7 17 5 36 7 .85 17 II 30 5 26 4 38 20 .87 10 III 37 5 33 5 49 20 .89 20 IV 35 5 28 6 48 14 .77 15 V 40 7 36 6 43 25 .90 22 VI 44 6 38 5 54 28 .82 13 VII 51 8 44 8 58 29 .86 11 VIII 50 8 47 7 59 31 .94 10 High 59 2 55 6 60 40 .93 In this and the following table, N.^number of pupils in the class. C.=class by year. S.=average of the total number of letters as seen in ten trials, six letters being given in each trial. The first, for example, 20, is the number seen in ten trials. This will give, for the first year, 2 seen in a single act of attention. M.V.=mean variation of S. R.z=average of the total number seen correctly during the ten trials. M.V.=:mean variation of R. MAx.^maximum of the total number seen by any individual during the ten trials. MiN.=minimum seen correctly by any individual Table III Average Total Number Seek With .1 Second Exposure N C S MV R MV Max. Min. R S 22 I 8 6 3 3 17 .4 16 II-III 13 8 6 4 19 .4 12 IV 16 6 7 3 13 1 .4 17 V 18 5 14 4 22 3 .8 17 VI 22 10 12 5 25 .5 23 VII 19 7 14 5 23 .7 23 VIII 25 7 21 6 37 8 .8 84 High 30 5 23 6 47 4 .8 75 Coll. 32 6 29 6 59 11 .9 Table IV THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 37 It is seen that when the time of exposure was reduced from one second to one tenth of a second, the number of letters seen in a single act of at- tention dropped considerably, in most cases to less than half as many. It is also seen that the younger pupils were able to grasp a much smaller number of letters in a single act of apprehension than were the older ones. One can not say, therefore, that attention to five objects is pos- sible, if one means five separate and distinct objects. All the pupils were shov^^n the same letters, but such letters did not signify the same number wholes to the different pupils. As a simple, mechanical act, the seeing and the atten- tion were the same in each case. The difference in the results was due to the difference in the development and training of the pupils, to the difference in the associations, and in the experi- ence with numbered or grouped objects. A series of experiments by Hylan show prac- tically the same thing, namely, that the elements of time and experience are conditioning factors in the apprehension of groups of objects. In these tests six letters on each of twenty cards were exposed in succession, one letter at a time. The series of six letters was exposed for 20 o-. or 3.6 o-. for each letter. In the first tests, the shutter 38 ATTENTION AND INTEREST passed from right to left, and in the second from left to right. A signal was given before the exposure of the series. Each of the twenty cards was shown five times, this making one hundred exposures for each subject. The subjects gave both the letters seen, and their order. The results in the following table give the totals for the hundred tests.^^ Subject A H R S V Av. No. seen correctly No. seen wrong No. misplaced 212 40 17 222 30 16 158 58 5 160 50 18 224 58 23 195 47 16 (Reversed) No. seen correctly No. seen wrong No. misplaced 208 32 6 225 22 13 151 53 10 151 53 10 229 9 196 45 9 Table V The first effect of the letters was that of a single com- plex impression, some characters appearing distinctly outlined, some confused, and some entirely unseen. This conscious impression followed the exposure in much the same way that a positive after image follows a stimula- tion of light. It was sometimes possible to hold this impression with all its details an appreciable length of time without recognising a single letter, until each char- acter was recognised one at a time. But it was more "Hylan, J. P., 'The Distribution of Attention,' Psych. Bev., 10:373-403, and 498-533. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 39 frequent that one or sometimes two letters were recog- nised without being preceded by an appreciable Interval, and these followed by one or two more, one at a time and in distinct succession/^ Hylan conducted a further series of experi- ments to test the distribution of attention and to find whether or not the groups are seen as groups of distinct objects, or as groups which are later analysed into their separate parts. Lines, nu- merals, letters, and words were shown on cards. Twelve cards were used five times each in each series. The smallest number of lines on a card was 4 (2 mm. apart), of numerals and letters, 3, and of words, 2. The observer was asked to give the arrangement of the single elements of an impression. The results in the following ta- ble are the totals of sixty tests. The per cent is that of the number of wrong cases seen. The time exposure was one tenth of a second. Objects Exposed Lines Figures Letters Words R W % R w % R W % R w % 2 48 32 6T 3 Qb 5 8 61 9 14 14 46 329 4 50 10 10 52 18 35 50 30 60 19 21 111 5 41 34 34 68 42 62 36 64 178 1 19 1900 6 41 34 34 31 59 190 14 46 329 Table VI "^Ibid., 398. 40 ATTENTION AND INTEREST It is seen that attention is not evenly distributed over the given field, that it does not grasp a totality as a group of distinct objects, that, in fact, the number, five, six, etc., is due, either to an association of the group with the number, or an interpretation of the group, an analysis which has no place in the original act of attention. One can not, therefore, say that visual attention to five or six objects is possible. It is highly probable that attention to more than one or two distinct and separate objects is impossible. In fact, in attention to a number of series of three letters each, Cron and Kraepelin found that the middle letter was read correctly the most, the last letter a less, and the first letter the least number of times.^^ This would hardly be if there were such a thing as a single pulse of attention which grasped in detail several distinct objects. Tests on attention to a succession of sounds show that as many as 8 can be apprehended as a group, and that when the sounds are so grouped, as many as from 2 to 5 groups can be "Cron, Ludwig, and Kraepelin, Emil, 'Ueber die Messung der Auffassungsfahigkeit,' Psych. Arbeit en, 2:219. See also, Finzi, Jacopo, 'Zur Untersuchung der Auffassungsfahigkeit und Merk- fahigkeit,' Psych. Arb. 3:289-384. Kleinknecht, H., 'The Inter- ference of Optical Stimuli,' Harvard Psychological Studies, 2:299-308. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 41 seized and retained. The most favorable time of succession in such cases seems to vary between 0.3 and 0.18 seconds.^ ^ As in visual impressions, so in auditory, it is highly probable that the sounds are not cognised as distinct and separate impressions, but rather as a group or rhythm which is connected with the number 'eight,' or which, as a rhythmic impression, comes to mean *eight.' There still remains to be made a series of experiments in which a number of simulta- neous auditory impressions are given with vary- ing periods of persistence, as in the case of visual impressions. In the field of touch Krohn gave simultaneous touch impressions to different parts of the body. He found that when the impressions were scat- tered, as many as six or seven could be appre- hended as distinct and separate.^ ^ But as Hylan remarks, "It should be said, however, that after- images of touch were very persistent, and were used to a considerable extent in locating the sen- sations."^^ What has been said in connection ^^Dietze, Georg, 'Untersuchung iiber den Umfang aes "Be- wusstseins bei regelmassig auf einander folgenden Schallein- drucken,' Phil. Stud., 2:362-393, 384. ^^ Krohn, W. O., 'An Experimental Study of Simultaneous Stimulations of the Sense of Touch,' Journ. of Nerv. and Ment. Diseases, 1893. "Hylan, Ibid., B78, 43 ATTENTION AND INTEEEST with visual impressions may therefore be consid- ered to hold in the case of touch sensations. In visual, auditory, and tactile attention, we may safely say that the number of objects to which one can attend is not more than one or two. Larger numbers must be considered as due to group associations, or to later analyses which interpret the group impression and read into it the different objects. The different experiments have been made in visual, auditory, and tactile fields. Attention in the visual field is something different from at- tention in the auditory field, and the same is true of attention in the tactile sphere. We can not be said to possess any distinct and separate power of attention. Each field is distinct and separate. Just how many fields can be attended to at once, depends in part upon the connection of such fields with some common situation, in part upon the unity of motor control, and in part upon the experience of the subject. There is still to be performed a series of experiments which will determine just to what extent these conditions affect the unity of attention. Tests on distrac- tion shed considerable light on the subject. As these will be considered under the topic of facili- tation and arrest, they need not be discussed THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 43 here. From the data thus far presented, however, it seems safe to infer that what we have is not a single pulse of consciousness, not a uniform field of attention, but rather a number of concomitant pulses of consciousness, a number of synchro- nous situations. In most cases the visual and the motor coalesce, but this need not always be so. When visual, motor, or other fields coin- cide in a single situation, unity is usually pos- sible in the field of attention. When such fields, however, inhere in different objects, when stimu- lation comes through different channels and from different objects, partial attention to each may be possible, depending upon the complexity of the situation and the intensity of the attempted control. In short, we have a number of at- tentions, and not a single power of attention. This, however, is anticipating later discussion. 5. Facilitation and Arrest. Under the name of 'distraction of attention' a number of experiments have been made with a view of de- termining the effects of extraneous stimulation on attention to some given fields. Some of these tests showed that at times the results were better when the so-called distraction was attempted. For example, when music was played on a piano while the observer lifted weights and discrimi- 44 ATTENTION AND INTEKEST nated them, the results were better than when there was no music/ ^ Such tests, however, are based on the assumption that error alone is the means of detecting distraction of attention. These tests, too, assume that extraneous stimulation is one of the few means of securing distraction. A great deal of experimentation in various fields, however, has shown that attention may be arrested or facil- itated in a number of ways, and that such facili- tation or arrest is made evident by means other than error in the results. One aspect which must be considered in detecting facilitation or arrest is time. If, under the new conditions, the results are secured in less time, attention may be said to be facilitated. If more time is required, attention may be said to be arrested. If the time remains constant, then facilitation is shown if there are less errors in the results, and arrest is shown if there are more errors in the results. A second as- pect of importance is the number of objects which can be attended to as objects within a given time, and under the new conditions. If more ob- jects can be cognised under the new conditions, then attention is facilitated, if less, attention is "Talbot, E. B., 'A Study of Certain Methods of Distracting the Attention,' Am. Jour, of Psych., 9:332-345, and 336, 344. See also Moyer, F. E., Ibid., 8:405-413, and Birch, L. G., Ibid., 9:44-55. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 45 arrested. When the time remains constant, then increase in the complexity of the given field will result in more errors if attention is arrested, and less, if attention is facilitated. The third means of showing facilitation or arrest is the number of errors which results. If the time remains con^ stant, and the given field remains constant, then arrest is shown if the new conditions produce more errors, and facilitation is shown if they give rise to less errors. The conditions under which facilitation or arrest may be produced will be considered in the following sections. It is seen that extraneous stimulation is only one of a number. (a) Simplicity versus complexity. Of the two given fields, the one which is more complex will hold attention a longer time. This is shown by the following test, in which, for each series of 100 fluctuations in attention to the simple figure. Fig. IV. 46 ATTENTION AND INTEREST there were less for the complex figure. The fol- lowing table gives the exact ratios.^® Observer A B C D E Figure I Figure II 100 50 100 70 100 35 100 35 100 20 Table VII In Hylan's tables, the same is shown by the test of error. When the time remained constant, and the observer was asked to give the arrangement of each of the parts of the given field, the wrong cases averaged 34 per cent when the field con- sisted of five lines, 62 per cent when it contained five numerals, 178 per cent for five letters, and 1900 per cent for five words. When the number of objects was four instead of five, the per cents were, for lines, 10 per cent, for numerals 35 per cent, for letters 60 per cent, and for words 111 per cent. The time exposure in these tests was one tenth of a second.^*^ Cattell found that it took much longer to recognise and name a color or a picture, than it did a letter or a word. The following table is of interest both for psy- ^* Gordon, Kate, 'Attention as Determined by the Complexity of the Presented Content,' Psych. Rev., 10:278-283. ^"See above, page 39, table VI. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 47 chological and pedagogical reasons. The time is given in thousandths of a second. 21 Letter Word Word Color Picture A 476 Bond 405 Baum 423 Blue 515 Anchor 535 B 413 Cause 428 Berg 417 Green 532 Eye 503 C 424 Chair 411 Bild 424 Red 559 Tree 517 D 411 Child 411 Brief 440 Black 505 Hatchet 513 E 424 Death 405 Buch 443 Yellow 575 Image 574 F 420 Earth 406 Ding 435 Rose 578 Leaf 567 G 426 Fact 385 Fluss 424 Violet 611 Flower 586 H 422 Faith 379 Form 409 Grey- 697 Fish 48 r I 451 Force 373 Gold 450 Brown 603 Bottle 561 J 415 Head 362 Haus 403 Orange 730 Glass 596 K 409 House 388 Jahr 454 Hand 490 L 423 King 408 Kind 450 Hat 446 M 422 Life 424 Kunst 461 Can 600 N 422 Light 414 Land 441 Cross 591 409 Love 404 Licht 441 Light 552 P 393 Mind 418 Mann 439 Moon 587 Q 418 Name 410 Nacht 447 Scissors 558 R 446 Plan 396 Recht 445 Boat 486 S 410 Ship 390 Stadt 449 Umbrella 556 T 409 Slave 402 Stern 432 Shoe 493 U 441 Song 389 Theil 424 Key 560 V 423 Style 442 Tisch 449 Star 498 w 432 Time 408 Traum 454 Chair 534 X 412 Truth 424 Volk 428 Table 547 Y 463 World 408 Welt 445 Watch 562 Z 421 424 17 Year 412 Zahl 469 Bird 566 Ave. 404 438 591 541 H.V. 14 14 38 25 Table VIII In the case of the colors an added factor in the arrest of attention was the difficulty in finding ^ Cattell, James McKeen, 'Ueber die Zeit der Erkennung und Benennung von Schriftzeichen, Bildern, und Farben,' Phil. Stud., 2:635-650, and 'Psychometrische Untersuchungen,' Ibid., 3:304- 335, and 452-492. The latter is the most Important and contains the table given. 48 ATTENTION AND INTEREST the right name for the color. It is to be noted that with the words, the totality as a whole was named. There was no attempt to discriminate or arrange the letters of the word. (b) Pleasure-pain. The general effects of pleasurable or painful situations are well known. A field which is pleasing to the individual tends to hold the attention, one which is painful, to repel the attention. In smelling odors, some pleasant, some unpleasant, 19 students reacted either by relaxing the hands and letting the head drop back (extension), or by contracting the hands and letting the head drop forward. The following table gives the number of cases : Reactions Unpleasant Pleasant Indifferent Cases Per Cent. Cases Per Cent. Cases Per Cent. Flexion Extension 240 120 66.6 33.3 118 248 32.2 67.8 15 16 49 51 Ratio 2 : 1 1 : 2+ 1 : 1 Table IX The experimenters make this additional note: Other tendencies are present, however, such for ex- ample as the tendency to move towards an object which attracts attention; the tendency to move away from a THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 49 disagreeable object; the tendency to make particular movements of adaptation to stimuli ; etc.^^ Lloyd Morgan's experiments with animals show the same thing. To some other chicks I threw cinnabar larvae, dis- tasteful caterpillars conspicuous by alternate rings of black and golden-yellow. They were seized at once, but dropped uninjured; the chicks wiped their bills — a sign of distaste — and seldom touched the caterpillars a second time. The cinnabar larvae were then removed, and thrown in again towards the close of the day. Some of the chicks tried them once, but they were soon left. The next day the birds were given brown loopers and green cabbage-moth caterpillars. These were approached with some suspicion, but presently one chick ran off with a looper, and was followed by others, one of which stole and ate it. In a few minutes all the caterpillars were cleared off.^^ Attention may be attracted by a situation which excites feeling, but the persistence of such attention is determined in part by the pleasure- pain elements which enter. One can, of course, attend to a situation in spite of the pain which exists, but, other things remaining the same, at- ^ Dearborn, G. V., and Spindler, F. N., 'Involuntary Motor Reaction to Pleasant and Unpleasant Stimuli,' Psych. Bev., 4:461, 462. ^^ Morgan, C. Lloyd, Habit and Instinct, 41. 4 50 ATTENTION AND INTEREST tention will tend to persist when the situation is j)leasurable, and to lag when it is painful. When pleasure-pain elements are present in a situation, they tend to impel attention. The strength of the shock is dependent upon the suddenness and the intensity of the impressions which impel consciousness. In order of their stimulating efficacy are situations which produce (1) profound emotions, (2) violent affective conditions, (3) transitory and superficial emo- tions, unexpected impressions, intense impres- sions, (4) continuous sensations, and (5) quiet mental application under favorable conditions. On the other hand, the stability and regularity of attention are conditioned by situations which produce the above changes in reverse order.^* (c) Quality of the impression. When an im- pression is more intense, it produces a greater shock and stimulates attention more than when it is weaker. Angell and Thompson found that of two noises, when both were unexpected, 'a loud noise produced a much more violent shift of attention than a slight one.'^^ A strong stimu- lus will produce the same effect as a weak one in ^Angell, James Rowland, and Thompson, Helen Bradford, 'A Study of the Relations between Certain Organic Processes and Consciousness,' Psych.. Rev., 6:32-69. "^Ibid., 62. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT 51 half the time, that is, attention is more readily aroused by the more intense impression. As Lough shows, A strong stimulus acting for half the time necessary to produce its maximum effect gives rise to a sensation of exactly the same intensity as that produced by half as strong a stimulus producing its maximum effect.^® Differences between black and white are much more quickly perceived when the sensations are more intense. As the differences between the shades become smaller, i.e.j, as the impressions become weaker, the time necessary to discrimi- nate them becomes longer. Intensity of impres- sion may therefore be considered as a facilitating influence as far as the impelling of attention is concerned.^^ An impression, too weak in itself to excite attention, will finally succeed in stimulating attention if repeated. This phenomenon is known as 'summation of stimuli.' A succession of weak impressions then has the force of one more intense stimulus. ^® Lough, James E., 'The Relations of Intensity to Duration of Stitnulation in our Sensations of Light,' Psych. Bev., 3:484-492. ^ Cattell, J. McKeen, 'The Time of Perception as a Measure of Differences in Intensity,' Phil. 8tud., 19:63-68, Henmon, V. A. C, 'The Time of Perception as a Measure of Diiferences in Sensa- tions,' Arch, of Phil., Psch., and 8ci. Meth., 8. 52 ATTENTION AND INTEREST (d) Time. When more time is allowed during an act of attention, facilitation results, when less time is given, arrest follows. In Griffing's tests, a decided fall was shown in the number of letters seen, when the exposure was reduced from one second to one tenth of a second, and a still greater fall was evident in the number seen cor- rectly. Arrest is here shown both by the de- crease in the number seen, and by the increase in the errors.^^ The tests of Cron and Kraepelin show a similar decrease in the number of right cases seen when the time of exposure is decreased. With apertures respectively 5 mm., 4 mm., and 3 mm., the corresponding time exposures were 290 > S -S S o J ffl [i, H H, El4 fr< H S CO rt -H 02 o 50 ^3 S fl aire's "S S34:> > ©■§ if >>iS-- o ® S-S S 1 ^ o 3 iz; 1 t-OOifflGOt^-^'-TCOO'yiCDXQD o 1—1 •"^ce-'^'=^