LIBRARY 
 
 Connecticut Agricultural College 
 
 Vol. 
 
 1 I ^ ? -Z 
 
 Class No. 
 
 1 ^ n J ) ^^- 
 
 Date 
 
 
 .CXa^- 
 
 
 BOOK 150. B63 c. 1 
 
 BOLTON # EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR 
 
 TEACHERS 
 
 3 T1S3 Q0D0333b 7 
 
J^ ^J^t.^ f^' H B^ ^"^^1^ 
 
EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY 
 FOR TEACHERS 
 
EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 FOR TEACHERS '^^^ 
 
 BY 
 
 FREDERICK ELMER BOLTON 
 
 DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "principles of education," "the secondary 
 
 SCHOOL system OF GERMANY" 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 
 
 ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO 
 
ISO . 
 
 Bt3 
 
 Copyright, 1923, by 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
 xi^n 
 
TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
 OLIVE FOSTER BOLTON 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS 
 AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
 
PREFACE 
 
 During the last decade a marked interest in the scientific 
 study of education has developed. One of the results of 
 this increased interest and more intensive study is the addi- 
 tional requirement of educational psychology in all teacher- 
 training courses. Many laymen, indeed, have become inter- 
 ested in educational processes to a degree greater than ever 
 before. Much that may be legitimately treated in a course 
 in general psychology is of purely academic interest and has 
 no value for education. Therefore some topics that appear 
 in works on general psychology are not included here. 
 
 This book has been written for this ever- widening public — 
 the young teachers who wish to get a right start in their pro- 
 fession by becoming acquainted with the principles of the 
 subject; the older teachers who wish to have the results of 
 experiment and research that have met with most favor; and 
 that great number of persons interested in the subject of edu- 
 cation who have faith in the boys and girls of to-day and 
 wish to have a part in making them the worthy citizens of 
 to-morrow. 
 
 A trio of great Americans, G. Stanley Hall, William James, 
 
 and John Dewey, who are destined to receive very generous 
 
 consideration in the history of education, have influenced the 
 
 writer more consciously than all others. His obligations to 
 
 them are apparent on every page. 
 
 r. iL,. r>. 
 
For permission to quote passages from their books, special ac- 
 knowledgment is due to the following authors and publishers: Harris, 
 Psychologic Foundations of Education; Jordan, Ani^ital Life; Search, 
 An Ideal School, D. Appleton & Co. Dewey, Schools of To-morrow, 
 E. P. Dutton & Company. Davis, Vocational and Moral Guidance, 
 Ginn & Co. Foster, Should Students Study? Ho wells, A Boy's Town, 
 Harper & Brothers. Adams, Herbartian Psychology Applied to Educa- 
 tion, D. C. Heath & Co. James, Principles of Psychology and Talks to 
 Teachers on Psychology; Woodworth, Psychology, Henry Holt & 
 Company. Monroe, DeVoss, & Kelly, Educational Tests and Mea- 
 surements; Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence, Houghton Mifflin 
 Co. Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Elements of Psychology, and 
 Principles of Teaching, Lemcke & Buechner. Schaeffer, Thinking and 
 Learning to Think, J. B. Lippincott Co. Book, Intelligence of High 
 School Seniors; Brewer, The Vocational Guidance Movement; Curtis, 
 Education through Play; Starch, Educational Psychology ; Titchener, 
 Primer of Psychology ; Walter, Genetics, Wilson and Hoke, How to 
 Measure, Macmillan Co. Seashore, The Psychology of Musical Talent, 
 SUver, Burdett & Co. Van' Wagenen, American History Scales; 
 Woody, Arithmetic Scales, Teachers College, Columbia University. 
 
CONTENTS 
 PART I. INTRODUCTION 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Successful Teaching Based on Scientific 
 
 Knowledge 3 
 
 II. Meaning and Purpose of Education . . 13 
 
 III. How TO Study Effectively 28 
 
 PART II. ENDOWMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL 
 
 IV. Individual Differences 39 
 
 V. Native Endowment: Heredity .... 59 
 
 VI. Native Endowment: Instinct .... 76 
 
 PART III. MODES OF LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR 
 
 VI I. Education Means Establishing Modes of 
 
 Behavior loi 
 
 VIII. Fundamental Acquisitions: Sense- Percep- 
 tions 113 
 
 IX. Learning and Expression Through Play 125 
 
 X. Education of the Emotions 140 
 
 XL Motivation and Initiative 156 
 
 XI I. Conservation of Experience: Memory . 182 
 
 k 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIII. Learning Through Imitation . . . .218 
 
 XIV. Imagination in Learning and Expression 240 
 XV. Thinking and Learning to Think . . . 268 
 
 XVI. Inductive and Deductive Thinking . . 285 
 
 XVII. The Direction of Behavior 305 
 
 XVII I. The Transfer of Training 323 
 
 PART IV. MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATIONAL 
 PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 XIX. Measuring Mental Ability 345 
 
 XX. Comparing Achievement 372 
 
 XXI. Prophesying Performance 398 
 
 XXII. Vocational Psychology 411 
 
 Index 437 
 
EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY 
 FOR TEACHERS 
 
PART I 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 SUCCESSFUL TEACHING BASED ON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE 
 
 Professional Training Recent. — Only within comparatively 
 recent times have teachers made any serious, special prepara- 
 tion for the most responsible work one could undertake. Even 
 after it came to be acknowledged that teachers should possess 
 good scholarship in the subjects to be taught, it was not urged 
 that they should possess that which is equally important — a 
 knowledge of the child and skill and technic in teaching. 
 Thanks to some of our great leaders, however, the time is 
 approaching when each teacher must have expert knowledge 
 of children's development and scientific methods of leading 
 and instructing them. No one will be permitted to teach 
 who merely copies blindly what other teachers do. They will 
 need to know why they do certain things and how to meet 
 the needs of each child under their care. 
 
 Science in Other Occupations. — No farmer would be con- 
 sidered intelligent and expert who continued to plant corn In 
 the way his father had done or who merely copied his neigh- 
 bors. The expert farmer must know, for example, the compo- 
 sition of varieties of soils, the kinds of plants adapted to each, 
 the effects of moisture, and the purpose of cultivation. In 
 short, he must understand the laws of growth and what will 
 promote best In a particular case. Similarly, in raising cattle, 
 horses, or hogs, the successful breeder cannot be a blind fol- 
 lower of tradition. He must know general laws of growth 
 and also know how to contribute to the needs of each particu- 
 lar animal. 
 
4 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Medicine has been elevated to a profession by substituting 
 scientific knowledge for tradition and guesswork. Manufac- 
 turing owes its phenomenal advance to the employment of 
 armies of technically trained scientific experts. The applica- 
 tion of scientific methods to transportation, commerce, and 
 employment management are changing their status to a pro- 
 fessional basis. 
 
 Unscientific Experience Costly. — In business and industry 
 to follow tradition blindly is exceedingly costly. In modern 
 economic enterprises the one who does not utilize scientific 
 methods finds himself distanced. Advantageous procedure 
 may be discovered through experience only, but to follow the 
 trial-and-error method often results in disaster. 
 
 The care and training of the precious lives of children should 
 not be considered any less important. The teacher should be 
 so impressed with the importance and responsibility of teach- 
 ing that he will not be satisfied until every possible means of 
 preparation is secured. Some one may say : " Can expertness 
 be gained in any way except through experience ? " Certainly 
 experience ought to make one a more efficient teacher, but 
 we should ask ourselves another question, viz.: "At whose 
 expense shall we gain experience?" A renowned physician 
 was once complimented upon his skill as an oculist. He said : 
 "It is true that I have some skill in treating defective eyes, 
 but in acquiring my skill, alas, I have spoiled a whole hatful 
 of eyes !" 
 
 Lessons from Scientific. Experiments. — If a farmer can get 
 twice as large a crop by scientific methods of planting and cul- 
 tivation as by traditional methods, he will certainly conclude 
 that it pays to understand scientific methods. It has been 
 demonstrated many times in recent years that the corn-crop 
 could be doubled by scientific agriculture. Even boys and 
 girls who have studied the subject scientifically have raised 
 twice as much corn per acre as their fathers who had raised 
 corn all their lives. The fathers possessed experience, but not 
 scientific knowledge. Hence, their experience was of little 
 value. 
 
SUCCESSFUL TEACHING 5 
 
 Experiments have proved that children can learn twice as 
 much as they usually do while going to school, or that they 
 can learn the same amount in half the time, or learn their 
 lessons twice as well. Should not the taxpayers become 
 aroused over the great waste of time and money ? Many ex- 
 periments have been conducted in which children omit all 
 formal study of arithmetic in the first two grades. By the 
 end of the fourth grade such children are as far advanced as 
 those who have had the subject four full years. Again, chil- 
 dren will acquire two or three foreign languages without diffi- 
 culty and speak them perfectly, while grown persons have 
 great difficulty in mastering a single foreign language. What 
 would we think of a circus manager who tried to train old 
 men to become trapeze performers ? Oftentimes there is more 
 scientific knowledge displayed in training circus animals than 
 in training children in public schools. Thousands of children 
 have become nervous wrecks because they began reading and 
 writing before their minds and muscles were fitted for the task. 
 
 Pupils used to attend school a year or two before being 
 able really to read. They were taught by the alphabet 
 method, a method which is absolutely unscientific for teaching 
 beginners to read. A study of the psychology of learning led 
 teachers to doubt the method, and to experiment with the 
 word and sentence methods. Now, skilful primary teachers 
 enable children to read intelligently stories, even as difficult as 
 "Hiawatha," within four months. The recent emphasis upon 
 ** silent reading," which is not a new method but was used by 
 the writer thirty years ago, is giving results that should easily 
 convince the most sceptical that scientific teaching yields re- 
 sults that save the taxpayer's money and save the precious 
 time of the children. That scientifically trained, skilful teach- 
 ers can produce more efficient results than the untrained and 
 unskilful has been demonstrated beyond the shadow of a 
 doubt. 
 
 Some Causes of Failures. — John may have failed to get 
 his arithmetic lesson, not because the teacher did not know 
 enough arithmetic, but because John was not in a condition 
 
6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 to receive what was imparted. A dinner of doughnuts, hard- 
 boiled eggs, and mince pie had drawn the blood from his brain 
 so that he was too sleepy to understand arithmetic. Mary- 
 may have lain awake the night before dreading the examina- 
 tion. Another child has come to school without breakfast, 
 another has had to get up at four o'clock to help his widowed 
 mother, another child has defective vision and has been left 
 on the back seat to strain his eyes, and even then to see things 
 in a distorted manner. No wonder that some of them find 
 trouble with their studies, fail in examinations, and finally 
 quit the struggle altogether. Then there are children who 
 are utterly incapable of doing the regular work of the school. 
 Intelligence testing has revealed in an unmistakable way that 
 there are great mental differences among children, and that 
 some in school should be in special institutions. How many 
 of the vast numbers of children who drop out of school might 
 be retained if teachers only understood children's minds bet- 
 ter ! How many boys and girls have been drawn from the 
 home, often to become outcasts in society, just because father, 
 mother, and teacher failed to understand them at the critical 
 age of youth ! 
 
 Importance of Knowledge of Children. — A knowledge of the 
 child is the most fundamental and important part of the 
 teacher's preparation. Many teachers with thorough knowl- 
 edge of their subjects fail because they do not understand the 
 boys and girls who are to be taught. Many assume that chil- 
 dren are like plastic clay and can be moulded at the will of the 
 teacher. Any observing parent or any intelligent teacher of 
 experience knows better. Boys and girls are not passive 
 lumps of clay; they are living, pulsating, developing, mysteri- 
 ous beings, who must be studied and understood before they 
 can be taught in the true sense. The boy who sits before the 
 teacher is in reality a very different being from what he ap- 
 pears to be, and only the teacher who can fathom those mys- 
 terious impulses which make up the life of every boy can ever 
 hope to be his true teacher. 
 
 Only recently have we come to realize that the most difficult 
 
SUCCESSFUL TEACHING 7 
 
 factor In education to understand Is the mind of the child to 
 be taught. We may know subjects, and we may know prob- 
 lems of Ufe and the relation between these two, but we must 
 also know how each of them appeals to the child before us and 
 how to use the school and environment so as to stimulate this 
 budding, pulsating personality and cause him to unfold his 
 higher potentialities and become a vital force in promoting 
 the welfare of the world. The way to do this? No better 
 answer has been given than the scriptural answer: "A little 
 child shall lead them." 
 
 Care for the Child^s Health. — The young person on begin- 
 ning the Important work of teaching is quite apt to think at 
 once of reading, writing, arithmetic, and other subjects of 
 instruction as the main things in connection with her work. 
 Too often the physical health and welfare of the pupils are 
 overlooked, or left to chance consideration. 
 
 AbiUty, experience, genius count for notning when health 
 fails. Business men are coming to recognize this and to give 
 more attention to their own health and that of their employ- 
 ees. They understand that poor health means inefficiency, 
 and inefficiency means decreased profits. School hygiene, 
 both of body and of mind, have come to have an important 
 place in the training of the teacher. 
 
 Child Psychology Determines Methods. — A knowledge of 
 children's minds and the way they work is certain to convince 
 one that in order to teach efficiently we must get the child's 
 point of view. Many well-conceived aims of education do 
 not bear fruit, simply because the teacher does not understand 
 the workings of children's minds. The teaching is done in 
 terms of adult thinking and means nothing to the child. The 
 child mind understands concrete things rather than abstrac- 
 tions. We must appeal to the child through his every-day 
 experiences and on the plane of his stage of development. 
 Instead of beginning with definitions, abstract principles, and 
 laws, the meaning of them should first be made clear. Other- 
 wise the statements are empty words. Every concept should 
 have Its concrete examples to which the mind can turn for 
 
8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 illustrations at any time. Any attempts to foist abstractions 
 upon the child will produce but a veneering that is sure to 
 scale off. Unless they can form concrete images which may 
 be used as measures of the thing talked about, the idea is hazy 
 and fades quickly. Those ideas which have been built up 
 either through sense-perceptions, bit by bit, or through im- 
 agery in much the same way are the ones that persist. 
 
 We constantly appeal to the child through our own experi- 
 ences instead of through his. We expect him to comprehend 
 the complex abstractions and the conventionalities of which 
 we speak to him in an almost unknown tongue. Christ as a 
 teacher was far wiser. Notice how he selected his illustra- 
 tions from the every-day life of his hearers. Though a car- 
 penter himself, he never used illustrations from that occupa- 
 tion, but he recalled his hearers' experiences as shepherds, as 
 husbandmen, as fishermen, etc. Illustrations leading up to 
 great truths were always selected from experiences near at 
 hand. He recalled the sparrow, the foxes, the lilies of the 
 field, the seed-time and harvest, the sower who went forth to 
 sow, the manna in the wilderness, the widow's mite, the 
 Pharisee and the publican — objects with which they were all 
 familiar. 
 
 Instruction of children should begin with experiences per- 
 sonally familiar to the particular children taught, and make 
 the teaching radiate from those. The point of contact for 
 the city child is of one kind and for the country child another. 
 Children appropriate words so easily that they frequently de- 
 ceive others into thinking they possess real knowledge when 
 they have absolutely no comprehension of what they are talk- 
 ing about. Doctor Dewey says: 
 
 While I was visiting in the city of Moline a few years ago, the super- 
 intendent told me they found many children every year who were sur- 
 prised to learn that the Mississippi River in the text-book had any- 
 thing to do with the stream of water flowing past their homes. 
 
 Teachers Must Be Masters of Subjects. — It should be self- 
 evident that the teacher should understand thoroughly the 
 
SUCCESSFUL TEACHING 9 
 
 subject to be taught. The teacher whose knowledge of arith- 
 metic, geography, or history is inaccurate or narrow must fail 
 utterly to inspire confidence in pupils. The teacher should 
 not only be able to comprehend the subject taught, but should 
 have such a thorough mastery of it and have it so pedagogi- 
 cally organized that he can present it clearly, concisely, and 
 forcefully. The teacher's knowledge should be so broad and 
 thorough that if the pupils cannot understand one illustration, 
 others can be given immediately. No two pupils learn in the 
 same way, and consequently the teacher must be so familiar 
 with the subject that he can see it from every angle. Not 
 only must there be thorough mastery before beginning to 
 teach the subject, but there should be daily preparation with 
 each particular class in mind to make the subject fresh and 
 stimulating. 
 
 Teachers Must Know Life Outside the Schoolroom. — Inas- 
 much as the school subjects are only means to an end — that of 
 understanding and mastering the problems outside of the 
 school — and since a large part of real education is derived 
 through life outside, it is necessary for the teacher to know 
 something besides the formal school subjects. 
 
 In order to connect the child's schoolroom experiences with 
 life experiences outside, the teacher must know life beyond 
 the four walls of the school. Too many teachers know little 
 of the great bustling world and its hum of industries. They 
 live a cloistered life, and what studying they do is confined 
 to the text-books from which they teach. Text-books and 
 formal lessons are but a means to an end, viz. : that of enabUng 
 pupils to acquire something through which they can interpret 
 life and solve some of its problems. If schoolroom education 
 is to do that, the pupils must see the significance of the things 
 they do in the school. That means that the teacher must 
 understand the relation of the formal subjects to life outside 
 and a knowledge of the workings of the child mind whereby 
 the child can be made to understand those relations. If a 
 boy once sees that geometry and spelling are important in 
 accomplishing the things which he wishes most of all to do, 
 
lo EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 there is little difficulty in getting him to study diligently. 
 Therefore the teacher of spelling and geometry needs not only 
 to know spelling and geometry, but how those are involved in 
 the boy's interests. The largest problem of the Latin teacher 
 to-day is not in imparting instruction to pupils in correct 
 Latin, but in getting boys and girls interested in studying 
 Latin. That can be done by making it significant in relation 
 to life's problems. 
 
 The teacher should know industrial life through contact 
 with it, geography through personal experiences, history 
 through observing it in the making, civics through being 
 a wide-awake, intelligent, participating citizen, literature 
 through watching its production in the magazines and books 
 of to-day. 
 
 The Teacher's Problem Summarized. — In view of the fore- 
 going it is obvious that the teacher who wishes to become a 
 master craftsman must make a careful and prolonged study 
 of his profession. He must understand that art and skill 
 in this noble profession are based upon scientific principles 
 the same as in other callings. While teachers "are born, 
 not made," the same is true of lawyers, doctors, and engi- 
 neers, and all, while born with the potentiaHties, must be de- 
 veloped through mastery of the fundamental laws of their 
 work. 
 
 The teacher should ever keep in mind that, in order to suc- 
 ceed, a trinity of ideals must ever be kept in the foreground, 
 viz.: 
 
 1 . A clearly defined aim of education in general and of the 
 
 particular problem under consideration. 
 
 2. A knowledge of the great world about the child and the 
 
 child's present and future place in it. 
 
 3. A knowledge of how to make the subjects of instruction 
 
 contribute to those aims. This will mean (a) mastery 
 of subjects of instruction, (b) a thorough knowledge 
 of the child mind and its workings, and (c) technic 
 and skill in guiding the child. 
 
SUCCESSFUL TEACHING ii 
 
 Results Already Apparent. — Not only has increased skill in 
 teaching secured greater efficiency in results, but the content 
 of the curriculum has been wonderfully improved. School- 
 books and schoolroom exercises connect with life in such a 
 vital way that school is an interesting place to most children* 
 The old-time picture of the whining schoolboy is absolutely 
 misleading. Children now really like to go to school. Also 
 the things learned in school do have a much more vital rela- 
 tion to later life than formerly. So interesting and vital have 
 the school activities become that the drawing and holding 
 power of the school is rather astonishing. In our city (Seattle, 
 Wash.), of the 2,000 children finishing the grammar grades 
 in June, 1 921, over 90 per cent were found in the high 
 schools in September of the same year; and of the 1,400 
 finishing the high school the same year, about 65 per cent 
 were found in college or normal school at the opening of the 
 fall terms. Fully 10 per cent more will enter higher institu- 
 tions of learning within three years after graduation from 
 high school. 
 
 The science of education may be credited with most of these 
 achievements. By studying the meaning of education in 
 terms of life, by selecting content to make vital these relations, 
 by studying the needs of society and of individual boys and 
 girls, and by developing a science and art of teaching, these 
 great changes in education have been brought about. The 
 public seldom thinks of the teacher as being responsible for 
 these changes. But were the professional training of teachers 
 to be abolished for a decade, the whole structure of education 
 would begin to totter. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Show the types of progress made in farming since your parents were 
 children. 2. To what extent has farming been made scientific? 3. Has. 
 farming been made more attractive and remunerative thereby ? 4. What; 
 are some of the evidences of a new science of education ? 5. Is education 
 more efficient now than in the "good old days"? 6. Suggest some types. 
 of educational procedure that are still carried on in traditional ways. 7.. 
 What countries have made their education most scientific? Reasons. 
 
12 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. I. 
 
 2. Dewey, The School and Society, chap, I. 
 
 3. Dewey, Schools of To-morrow, chap. I. 
 
 4. Judd, Introduction to the Scientific Study of Education, chap. I, XXH. 
 
 5. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. I, XVI. 
 
 6. Tyler, Growth and Education, chap. I. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 
 
 Popular Notion. — Usually, when the term "education" is 
 mentioned, people think of the formal work of the schoolroom. 
 There arise visions of reading-books, arithmetics, grammars, 
 and children gathered in classes reciting lessons, pictures of 
 classrooms, library, and laboratories. True, these are con- 
 nected with the formal educational process, but are they in- 
 dispensables or even essentials ? 
 
 In reality, men were educated long before the days of 
 schools such as we now know them. In the days of ancient 
 Greece men whose names we have cause to remember had 
 little or no formal schooling. Even reading and writing are 
 not absolutely necessary accomplishments. We are told that 
 the Homeric poems may have been composed and passed on 
 orally long before they were penned. In ancient times the 
 slaves learned reading and writing. The freemen, their mas- 
 ters, did not need to, as the slaves could do these things for 
 them. 
 
 Few of our ancestors but a half-dozen generations back 
 could read and write. But were they uneducated? Could 
 they not do well a great variety of things that we cannot do ? 
 They were highly trained and skilled in the arts and crafts 
 necessary in their environment. Their minds were as keen, 
 alert, and well trained in thinking as those of men to-day. 
 In what manner were their training and development secured ? 
 By the very types of things which educate men to-day, far 
 more than through books and schools. Some of the means 
 will be mentioned. 
 
 The Home as an Educator. — First consideration should be 
 given to the home. This is the first institution to touch the 
 life of the individual, and in many w^ays the most influential. 
 Though the school and one's business or profession give more 
 
 13 
 
14 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 definite mastery of technical accomplishments which come to 
 be regarded as the fruits of education, yet the use to which 
 these will be put Is largely determined by the ideals in the 
 home. Religious creeds are learned at the mother's knee, 
 political beliefs are acquired in the family circle, and social 
 ideals largely determined by family customs. Honesty, verac- 
 ity, politeness, good manners, clean living, and temperance 
 are most easily taught in the home. Likewise, on the other 
 hand, immorality and unrighteousness may be generally traced 
 to undesirable home Influences. In fact, the Ideals which 
 dominate life and character and give them significance owe 
 more to home Influences than to all others combined. So im- 
 portant is this early formative period that some of the churches 
 say: " Give me the child for the first seven vears, and the world 
 may have him the rest of his life." 
 
 Other Institutional Influences. — Besides the home, there are 
 many specific institutions and activities that educate as effec- 
 tively as do the schools. For the great mass they provide 
 the major portion of training. All forms of occupation fur- 
 nish training and extension of one's horizon. Various scien- 
 tific, historical, and literary societies, clubs, lodges, labor or- 
 ganizations, and guilds encourage the social instinct and give 
 intellectual and moral uplift. Then special means are em- 
 ployed to supplement the schools, such as lecture courses, 
 public libraries, reading circles, chautauquas, and reading- 
 rooms. The daily newspaper, the magazine, the telephone, 
 the telegraph, commercial Intercourse, furnish knowledge and 
 incentives for learning, and supply outlets for activities that 
 modify the thoughts, taste, and conduct of the individual. 
 Even plays, games, sports, and pastimes are of moment in 
 developing latent capabilities and In stimulating new ones. 
 In determining a boy's moral action the neighborhood environ- 
 ment and the neighbors' boys are more instrumental than the 
 school. 
 
 President Butler says {Meaning of Education, p. 13): 
 
 The doctrine of evolution teaches us to look upon the world around 
 us — our arts, our science, our literature, our institutions, and our reli- 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 15 
 
 gious life — as an integral part, indeed as the essential part, of our en- 
 vironment; and it teaches us to look upon education as the plastic 
 period of adapting and adjusting our self-active organism to this vast 
 series of hereditary acquisitions. 
 
 Doctor Harris {Psychologic Foundations of Education, p. 266) 
 emphasizes the importance of the state in education, and 
 maintains that indirectly it is the most influential of all. He 
 writes: 
 
 The influence of the constitution of the state, and of its transactions 
 with other states in peace and war, weaving the web of world history, 
 is known to be more powerful in educating the individual and forming 
 his character than any of the three phases of education mentioned 
 (home, school, church), for it underHes them and makes possible what- 
 ever perfection they may have. Without the protection of the state 
 no institution can flourish, nothing above savage or barbarous human 
 life can be realized. . . . The state is the essential condition for his- 
 tory. . . . History commences with the evolution of man's substan- 
 tial self and its realization or embodiment in a state. 
 
 Farm Life. — The duties and environment of the farm are 
 often thought to be directly opposed to education. But well- 
 ordered farm life offers the most advantageous sort of environ- 
 ment and discipline that childhood and youth can have. At 
 its best, when made significant through books, good schooling, 
 and the intelligent leadership of parents. It affords certain 
 educative means that money cannot purchase In crowded 
 cities. The outdoor exercise and healthful recreations de- 
 velop firm muscles and red blood, healthy brains, and vigorous 
 constitutions. Farm duties bring a sense of responsibility, so 
 often lacking In city-bred children, and also secure motor 
 training invaluable for all future accuracy of work and for 
 will development. President G. Stanley Hall said: 
 
 Of all work-schools, a good farm is probably the best for motor de- 
 velopment. This is due to its great variety of occupations, healthful 
 conditions, and the incalculable phyletic reinforcements from imme- 
 morial times. I have computed some threescore industries, as the 
 census now classifies them, that were more or less generally known and 
 practised sixty years ago in a little township which not only in this 
 but in other respects has many features of an ideal educational en- 
 
i6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 vironment for adolescent boys, combining as it does not only physical 
 and industrial but civil and religious elements in wise proportions and 
 with pedagogic objectivity, and representing the ideal of such a state 
 of intelligent citizen-voters as was contemplated by the framers of our 
 Constitution. 
 
 Because of its opportunities for immediate and prolonged 
 contact with nature there is offered the best possible prelimi- 
 nary nourishment for the understanding and appreciation of 
 science, literature, and art. Here is offered the chance to 
 find "tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons 
 in stones, and good in everything." 
 
 The Playground. — The function of play as an educative 
 factor is beginning to be realized. It is not long since play 
 was regarded by many serious-minded people as sinful. Its 
 biological and social significance were not understood. Now 
 play is regarded as a fundamental instinct whereby the child 
 secures necessary relaxation and invigoration and also the un- 
 foldment of manifold natural powers. To work properly in 
 adult life there must be natural and abundant play in child- 
 hood. Bagehot wrote: 
 
 Man made the school, God made the playground. Before letters 
 were invented or books or governesses discovered, the neighbor's chil- 
 dren, the outdoor life, the fists and the wrestling sinews, the old games 
 (the oldest things in the world), the bare hill, the clear river — these 
 were education; and now, though Xenophon and sums become obso- 
 lete, these are and remain. Horses and marbles, the knot of boys 
 beside the schoolboy fire, the hard blows given and harder ones re- 
 ceived — these educate mankind. 
 
 The great educative value of play will be discussed more 
 fully in a separate chapter. 
 
 Influence of Chance Environment. — Not only purposive in- 
 fluences educate, but also all chance environment. The slums 
 educate as forcibly as do Grand Avenue, the church, and the 
 school; a candidate for the penitentiary helps to educate our 
 boys no less than does the Sunday-school teacher. Sometimes 
 the chance and baneful education is more forceful than the 
 designed and elevating. According to Spencer's definition, 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 17 
 
 the purpose of education is to prepare for complete living. 
 This even is a conception of an ideal education. Dewey has 
 defined the term in a much more fundamental sense by declar- 
 ing that education is not solely a preparation for something 
 in the future. It may include that, but there is something 
 more basal. Education, he says, is life itself; and conversely 
 life is education. Here is the only conception which is broad 
 enough, even when we consider ideal education. According 
 to this conception every individual becomes educated ; in fact, 
 none can escape it. Even the lower animals, as well as man, 
 undergo education, for their experiences bias their future con- 
 duct. 
 
 Influence of Primitive Arts and Occupations. — The stride 
 from savagery to civilization was a part of race education. 
 Through the long struggle there were no schools except the 
 effective school of experience. In this struggle with the ele- 
 ments, w^ith wild beasts, and with each other, men were taught 
 many things. Whenever one is taught anything or learns 
 anything there is education. Primitive men for long ages 
 were learning how to make implements for warfare, for the 
 hunt and the chase; learning to make fire, how to cook, and 
 how to spin and weave; how to clothe themselves, provide 
 shelter and protection; how to plough, plant, and harvest; 
 how to cure disease and avoid pestilence; learning methods of 
 transportation, barter, and exchange; learning how to dig, 
 smelt, and fashion the ores; how to utilize the wind and water, 
 and employ the simplest mechanical principles. They have in- 
 fluenced profoundly the whole character of subsequent history. 
 
 We are prone to forget that the school of experience has 
 been in session since the world began, and there have been no 
 vacations. Nature has not missed assigning a single lesson. 
 The credits received for the training have been recorded with 
 absolute fidelity. The education which man has received in 
 this wise is incomparably greater and the results are much 
 more enduring than the results of a few centuries of formal 
 education since schools began. In cudgelling his brains for 
 some new school arts which might interest and profit the chil- 
 
i8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 dren it would be well for the schoolmaster to take a retrospec- 
 tive glance and pass in review the school arts which Mother 
 Nature has employed. If he can discern anything which is 
 related to getting a living, providing food, clothing, shelter, 
 amusement, or advantages, there he will find an interesting 
 and effective school instrument. Utility has been the watch- 
 word of nature; it should be the schoolmaster's. 
 
 School an Interpreter of Experience. — The school should be 
 the most effective educational institution. It should be, and 
 is coming to be, the institution which co-ordinates and inter- 
 prets all the experiences of life. The school studies principles 
 of life rather than mere mechanical modes of immediate use 
 in gaining a livelihood or deriving momentary pleasure and 
 happiness. It thus furnishes an interpretation of life and 
 gives significance to all other modifying influences. It looks 
 to the future more than to the immediate present. The school 
 is the standard-bearer of the highest ideals of the present and 
 of the past. Advanced forms of schools, also, seek to dis- 
 cover new truths and new ideals, and thus become not only 
 guidons of established forms of conduct, but heralds .of new 
 ideals. Through research the universities have been the 
 greatest factors in advancing civilization. 
 
 The Child the Centre. — But even after cataloguing all the 
 ideals of education and all the institutions and agencies that 
 influence the individual, we have considered education from 
 only one side. Such a procedure is Hke a study of "Hamlet" 
 with Hamlet left out. Modern educational inquiry has come 
 to study not only ideals and agencies of education, but the 
 central figure in the process — the child. Nature has been 
 proceeding slowly, steadily, for eons in the production of the 
 crowning product of evolution, and if we would educate wisely 
 we must spell out at least the fundamentals of the secret. 
 Though we may utilize artificial substitutes here and there, 
 yet all must be in harmony with the ways found efficient in 
 ages of experimentation. The modern educator is admon- 
 ished to go to nature, consider her ways, and be wise. The 
 latter part of the nineteenth century deserves lasting credit 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 19 
 
 for centring the attention of educators upon the child instead 
 of the curricula. Though not losing sight of ideals and means, 
 an effort is made to understand these in relation to the de- 
 veloping being. 
 
 Spencer's and Dewey's Interpretations. — At a time when 
 school education was very formal, bookish, and unrelated to 
 life activities after school-days, Herbert Spencer said: "Edu- 
 cation is a preparation for life." He brought about a new 
 evaluation of the purposes of school education and secured a 
 wider introduction of the sciences and practical studies. That 
 was of untold benefit, as the Middle Age type of education 
 was largely valueless for the masses. Universal education 
 could never have become a reality with the old curriculum. 
 
 Spencer's contribution was of immense benefit, but as mis- 
 interpreted by many it loses half its value. By many in this 
 money-making age of industrialism and materialism it has 
 been construed to mean "prepare only for the industrial and 
 commercial needs of society as seen by the adult." 
 
 A few years ago a questionnaire was submitted to a group 
 of business men and a group of teachers, asking what they 
 regarded as the most important subject in the elementary 
 school. The business men said "arithmetic." They were 
 thinking of education as a process of providing children with 
 knowledge and skill which the pupils might use later in the 
 service of the business men. They were thinking of education 
 from the traditional point of view. They were thinking of 
 providing tools for the use of society. They were thinking, 
 also, of providing special tools to use in their own particular 
 occupations. 
 
 According to the "bread-and-butter" or commercial idea 
 of education, we should study the industrial life about us and 
 then select those things that the child will be supposed to 
 need in later life, or that the industries may need to make 
 them efficient. This is exactly what has occurred and is oc- 
 curring. The business man thinks of something that will 
 promote business efficiency and then asks that it be placed in 
 the school curriculum. 
 
20 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Now, some arithmetic will be desirable, but the primary 
 child does not need to know much of the business man's arith- 
 metic. The business men were thinking of the great need 
 for good bookkeepers and accountants, and also of the fact 
 that many school graduates are wofully lacking in arithmetical 
 knowledge. Consequently they said : "Arithmetic is the most 
 important thing for the school to teach." By the same proc- 
 ess of thinking business men often decry the results of public- 
 school work in subjects like arithmetic, spelling, and hand- 
 writing. Alas ! the results are oftentimes very disappointing. 
 But do the schools exist only to prepare for business or trade 
 efficiency? Whenever the business man sees demands for 
 new lines of business efficiency he immediately urges that 
 courses be put into the schools to train for those demands. 
 Thus have arisen courses in typewriting, stenography, manual 
 training, journalism, engineering, fisheries, and agriculture. 
 These are all very commendable, but when all trade and com- 
 mercial subjects have been included and taught efficiently 
 education will not be perfect. There is another side to edu- 
 cation. Adult social needs are not the only ones to be con- 
 sidered. 
 
 The majority of teachers did not answer that arithmetic is 
 the most important elementary school subject. They an- 
 swered: "Reading and play." They did not specify reading 
 simply because it is a tool in the acquisition of knowledge. 
 They were thinking of reading as furnishing high ideals of 
 life, as a means of stimulating the higher and finer emotions, 
 and as a means of awakening the latent powers of the child 
 mind. They thought of play as an activity for which the 
 child has an instinctive craving, and when without an oppor- 
 tunity to cultivate it the child grows up malformed in mind 
 and spirit, often becoming the adult criminal. Those teachers 
 were contemplating education as a means of stimulating 
 and unfolding the innate powers and potentialities of the 
 child. 
 
 John Dewey improved Spencer's definition of education by 
 saying: "Education is not a preparation for life, but education 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 21 
 
 is life itself." Now what did he mean by that? He recog- 
 nized that each child is endowed with natural impulses to do 
 certain things at certain times, even though the activity may 
 not seem to have any use to adult society. For example, all 
 normal children, when left to themselves, begin to play. If a 
 child does not play we rightly suspect that the child is sick. 
 We notice also that children are not very old before they 
 show definite pleasure at being with others and distress if left 
 alone. They naturally congregate in groups to play. When 
 about a year and a half or two years of age the child begins 
 to talk without compulsion. They seem to delight in the 
 process, especially when they discover that they acquire per- 
 sonal advantage. Consequently we must recognize these nat- 
 ural tendencies, give them a chance to develop, and aid the 
 child to do what he then, as a child, wishes to do. 
 
 Dewey also says {Schools of Tomorrow, p. i) that Rousseau's 
 "insistence that education be based upon the native capacities 
 of those to be taught and upon the need of studying children 
 in order to discover what these native powers are, sounded 
 the key-note of all modern efforts for educational progress. It 
 meant that education is not something to be forced upon chil- 
 dren and youth from without, but is the growth of capacities 
 with which human beings are endowed at birth. From this 
 conception flow the various considerations which educational 
 reformers since his day have most emphasized. . . . Schools 
 are always proceeding in a direction opposed to this principle. 
 They take the accumulated learning of adults, material that 
 is quite unrelated to the exigencies of growth, and try to force 
 it upon children, instead of finding out what these children 
 need to know as they go along." The child should be doing 
 in school the type of thing that he would do spontaneously 
 outside the school. If we would select wisely the curriculum 
 for the child we should "go to the child, consider his ways, and 
 be wise." 
 
 The child gains outside of the schoolroom much of what is 
 most significant. He spends, for a few years only, about six 
 hours a day for 180 days yearly, in the school, while all the 
 
2 2 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 rest of his time Is spent in the home and other places than the 
 schoolroom. Inasmuch as the average child gets only a sixth- 
 grade education, it can readily be seen that the great mould- 
 ing influences in the child's life are predominantly outside of 
 the school. Therefore we need to recognize that the out-of- 
 school experiences color all that is done at school, and, in fact, 
 determine most largely what manner of men and women the 
 children shall be. 
 
 If vocational efficiency is the chief end to be secured through 
 formal school education, then on what basis can we justify 
 teaching music, drawing, painting, dramatics, history, litera- 
 ture, civics, most of geography, the elements of the sciences ? 
 Even most of algebra, geometry, foreign languages, never have 
 the slightest vocational value for more than 90 per cent of all 
 pupils who pursue them in the elementary school and the high 
 school. If this is true, some justification must be sought for 
 mortgaging so vast a proportion of the time of such armies of 
 children and youth. These subjects must also be taught 
 with a diff"erent ideal in mind. An examination of many 
 recent reading-books shows that a large proportion of the 
 selections are made up of poetry, prose fiction, psalms, prov- 
 erbs, speeches from Webster, Lincoln, Washington, and moral- 
 ity essays. Why should compilers of reading-books select 
 those instead of rules on business efficiency, business law, 
 office equipment, blacksmithing, automobile repairing, milli- 
 nery, or dressmaking? 
 
 If those are legitimate selections for school readers, surely 
 that Ideal should stand out clearly in the minds of the teachers. 
 Recently I asked a group of students In training for teaching 
 why those selections should be included, and the prevailing 
 answer was that the selections taught literary style ! What 
 a perversion of the Scriptures, Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech, 
 or Washington's Farewell Address, if the only outcome is an 
 accretion to literary style ! The hearts of boys and girls should 
 be thrilled by the Gettysburg Speech, high resolves stimulated 
 by the Proverbs of Solomon, their whole lives motivated and 
 poised by the great literature of all the ages. 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 23 
 
 Citizenship. — As the chlefest outcome of most of the studies 
 of the elementary school, the high school, yea, even the col- 
 lege, should not high ideals of citizenship be pre-eminent? 
 Good citizenship is primarily a matter of attitude— an attitude 
 of individuals toward each other, of individuals toward so- 
 ciety, toward their government, of governments toward indi- 
 viduals and toward other governments. Mere vocational effi- 
 ciency does not insure good citizenship. Sotne of the most 
 baneful and anti-social citizens are vocationally efficient to 
 the highest degree. 
 
 The good citizen has the welfare of others at heart and uses 
 liis skill in the interest of society as well as himself. Should 
 not the chief business of the school be to develop ideal citi- 
 zenship rather than individual or national skill ? This means 
 primarily the stimulation of the finer emotions and aspira- 
 tions of men so that their powers and skill shall be used in 
 the interest of humanity. Many talk as if men were in dan- 
 ger of starving to death because lacking in the skill to gain a 
 livelihood. There is far greater danger of moral and spiritual 
 starvation than of physical starvation. The main reason why 
 men starve physically is not that they are lacking in the knowl- 
 edge, training, and skill whereby they may earn a living, but 
 that either they will not work or the greed of others anti- 
 socially disposed will not allow them to work. 
 
 Germany has long used the schools primarily as a means of 
 developing citizenship. The vocational skill of her people has 
 been acquired outside of school through the apprenticeship 
 system. The result has been unrivalled vocational efficiency 
 and an intensely loyal people almost blindly faithful to the 
 citizenship ideals developed through the schools. Now, I can- 
 not subscribe to their ideals of citizenship, but no other ex- 
 ample illustrates to the same degree the efficiency of a school 
 system in reflecting the national ideals and in turn moulding 
 and creating those very national ideals. Let us discover the 
 meaning of ideal citizenship and then consciously use the 
 schools to develop those ideals in the minds of the growing 
 citizenry. Vocational efficiency will largely take care of itself. 
 
24 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 A friend of mine was engaged in work in the municipal gov- 
 ernment of New York City which caused him to see much 
 poverty and destitution. He attributed these conditions to 
 the fact that throngs of children drop out of school at an early 
 age and enter unskilled, blind-alley jobs. This led him to 
 say that all children should be taught only the rudiments of 
 reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. All the "fads 
 and frills" should be cut out, such as music, drawing, paint- 
 ing, history, and literature. Then at about the fifth grade all 
 should be taught a trade. He said they would then be able 
 to go out into the world and earn a living. I could not resist 
 asking: "Is that the kind of education you want for your 
 boy?" He immediately forgot all he had said and replied: 
 "Of course not, for my boy." No, it was for the other fellow' s 
 hoy. We may generally assume that the one who wishes all 
 enriching "fads and frills" cut out, is thinking of the other 
 fellow's boy. 
 
 The success of even lawyers, doctors, or engineers, follow- 
 ing supposedly very technical professions, is largely depen- 
 dent upon other qualities than the technic of their professions. 
 The Mayo brothers, Goethals, and Edison never would have 
 become world-famous for technic had they not developed 
 wonderful visions of service to humanity as their great moti- 
 vating impulses. Each one doubtless has in his laboratories 
 technicians with greater skill in manipulation than their mas- 
 ter, but they have never been heard of because it is the great 
 world ideal of human service that has revealed the master 
 minds. Philosophers will be remembered longer than tech- 
 nicians. The education of the workman is as vital a problem 
 as the education of the planner, but the workman must be 
 taught to plan as well as to take orders and follow specifica- 
 tions. 
 
 Our greatest task in all grades of school is to develop large, 
 broad-minded ideals of citizenship. It is a more difficult task 
 than to train to skill and technic. In the world of civiliza- 
 tion, one genuine leader with power to marshal the forces of 
 nature and human skill and direct them to efficient service in 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 25 
 
 the Interest of humanity, will mean more than a thousand 
 hands with skill alone. 
 
 Vocational training must become thoroughly established 
 and maintained. The man without a regular vocation in 
 which he is reasonably efficient is a dangerous man. The na- 
 tion without industrial vigor and efficiency is a decadent na- 
 tion. Every man ought to have a means of livelihood. Every 
 nation must encourage the handicrafts, trade, and commerce 
 and secure efficiency in all of them. But are these all and 
 are they most fundamental ? Is there not danger that the 
 ideal of efficiency in gainful occupations may crowd out all 
 other ideals and its dominance mean danger? Efficiency in 
 gainful occupations unmodified by higher ideals means sel- 
 fishness and sordidness. Mere efficiency may crowd out all 
 opportunity for fostering the development of altruism and of 
 the finer sentiments contributory to it. 
 
 National superiority should not mean that that country is 
 the greatest, the mightiest, which can achieve the most for 
 itself, can most completely dominate all others for its own 
 selfish ends. We should not alone ask how extensive its do- 
 mains, how strong its army, how efficient its navy, how rich 
 its mines, how fertile its fields, how shrewd its men. Should 
 we not also ask how fine are its schools, how justly governed 
 its cities, how empty its jails and poorhouses, how unneces- 
 sary its hospitals, how justly its laws administered, how free 
 from vice, graft, and corruption, how charitable and mag- 
 nanimous its people, how developed its ideals of freedom, 
 what its rank in the world's democracy? 
 
 In this education for larger citizenship every means in every 
 grade must be employed to instil worthy ideals of conduct 
 and character. Every possible attempt should be made to 
 awaken dormant consciences, to arouse the nobler sentiments, 
 and to inspire manly and womanly impulses. Emotions are 
 the mainsprings of life. Properly develop the nobler emotions 
 and all else will follow — even efficiency. 
 
 Instead of following Huxley's idea that education should 
 develop the mind into a clear, cold logic engine, should not we 
 
26 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 also follow Milton, who says that education "fits a man to per- 
 form justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the offices both 
 private and public of peace and war" ? 
 
 Education should be a means of awakening and minister- 
 ing to all the higher instincts, a means of refining the soul and 
 purging it of all that is base and Ignoble, the means of stim- 
 ulating to the highest forms of unselfish social service. The 
 great problems of the world which demand immediate solu- 
 tion if our civilization is to endure are not questions demand- 
 ing alone technical skill, but are great social and moral ques- 
 tions. There is skill enough, scientific knowledge enough 
 available, if there were only courage enough, honesty enough, 
 unselfishness enough in their application. No one of them 
 demands any special amount of shrewdness or technical skill. 
 A strict application of the Ten Commandments on the part 
 of all men, on the part of all nations, would solve every really 
 great question confronting the world. 
 
 Should another crisis come upon us or should new emergen- 
 cies confront us, may we have as a national asset the contri- 
 bution of the combined wisdom and insight of the home, in- 
 dustry, society, and political organization; emerging from the 
 highest grades of our public schools a grand army of youth 
 such as the world has never beheld, physically fit, strong of 
 brain, sound in mind, with scintillating eye, senses alert, hands 
 trained to a high degree of skill, with abounding patriotism, 
 brave of heart, tempered in judgment, broadened in ideals of 
 citizenship, ready to give all to the cause of human freedom, 
 fraternity, and justice. 
 
 This is the task of education in all grades of our schools. 
 The problem of education will become recognized as the prob- 
 lem fundamental to all others. Even that of war is less sig- 
 nificant than ultimate education, for all war is occasioned by 
 miseducation, and wars and rumors of wars shall not be ban- 
 ished from the earth till all men everywhere shall have become 
 educated to the highest degree in the principles of true democ- 
 racy, liberty, fraternity, equality, magnanimity, justice, and 
 good -will toward all men. 
 
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 27 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Ask the first five persons you talk with why children should study 
 arithmetic, music, literature, algebra. 2. Do their answers accord with 
 the point of view of the author? 3. Why should your parents pay taxes 
 to educate your neighbor's boys? 4. Are highly educated nations most 
 efficient? most honorable ? 5. Can a nation determine its destiny through 
 education? 6. Mention three nations that seem to have accomplished 
 that. 7. Should education be vocational? Meaning of vocational? 8. 
 Should foreign languages be studied ? 9. Why not teach trades to children 
 of 10 years? 10. Why not teach trades in apprenticeships instead of in 
 schools? II. Discuss: "The public school should keep pupils out of voca- 
 tions as long as possible and not hurry them into earning." 
 
 References for Reading 
 
 1. Butler, The Meaning of Education, chaps. I, II, III. 
 
 2. Dewey, Democracy and Education, chaps. I, II, III, IV. 
 
 3. Dewey, The School and Society. Entire book. 
 
 4. Hanus, Educational Aims and Educational Values, chap. I. 
 
 5. Judd, Introduction to the Scientific Study of Education, chaps. Ill, IV, IX. 
 
 6. Miller, Directing Study, chaps. V, IX. 
 
 7. Smith, An Introduction to Educational Sociology, chap. I. 
 
 8. Suzzallo, The School as a Social Institution. Entire book. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 HOW TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY 
 
 Importance of Efficiency in Study. — It may seem super- 
 fluous to give advice on how to study. Many think that all 
 they have to do is to "just study." Teachers, however, con- 
 tinually complain that pupils are inefficient in study. They 
 frequently lay it to indifference and indolence, but some rec- 
 ognize that pupils do not know how to study and have not 
 formed good habits of study. Several years' experience in 
 giving a course to university freshmen in "How to Study" 
 has convinced me that students do not know how to study 
 efficiently. Many of these students have expressed regret 
 that they had not had such a course in the high school. They 
 believe that it would have given them a higher efficiency as 
 students. They now economize their time, doing their work 
 more quickly, and getting more certain results. Consequently 
 this chapter is written with the hope that it may prove sug- 
 gestive to prospective teachers in improving their own meth- 
 ods of study and that they may help others to become effi- 
 cient. Undoubtedly the average student could secure 50 per 
 cent better results by improving his methods. 
 
 A Definite Programme. — Each one should lay out a definite 
 daily and weekly programme and adhere to it. Pupils in the 
 elementary and high schools have their schedules largely de- 
 termined for them. There are fixed hours for recitations, 
 laboratory, and shop periods, and even their play hours are 
 arranged and fixed. The study hours are also to a large ex- 
 tent fixed. This is especially true under supervised study 
 plans. 
 
 But when a student goes to college or the normal school 
 only the recitation, laboratory, and shop periods are arranged 
 by the faculties. The students are left to their own initiative 
 
 28 
 
HOW TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY 29 
 
 to make study schedules. The result is that many students 
 study irregularly and in an aimless manner. Sometimes they 
 prepare their lessons immediately after a recitation, sometimes 
 immediately before; sometimes the work is done carefully, 
 sometimes slighted — and sometimes not at all. If the classes 
 are large and students are not tested regularly on their work 
 they fall into habits of taking chances of being called upon 
 and assume that getting caught once in a while will not be 
 very serious anyway. Thus the most slovenly habits develop. 
 
 When to Prepare Lessons. — The best time to prepare the 
 next assignment is immediately after the day's discussion. 
 The questions to be considered are fresh in mind, the incen- 
 tive to inquiry is recent and stimulating, and the momentum 
 gained is worth capitalizing. To postpone the preparation 
 until just before the next recitation is wrong psychologically 
 because the student tacitly says: "I shall depend upon catch 
 words and recency of impression rather than upon thorough 
 comprehension." When studying just before recitation, in- 
 sufficient time is usually given, and the student is in a state 
 of undue nervous tension, fearing that the task will not be 
 completed. Work that does not depend upon a trip to the 
 library or the laboratory should usually be done in the eve- 
 ning. Then the work may be undertaken deliberately, with- 
 out hurry or worry, and as a rule it will be well done. If it 
 can be reviewed in the morning before class, that will be found 
 advantageous. 
 
 Adequate Time Necessary. — Most students are unwilling 
 to spend an adequate amount of time in preparing their work. 
 The average college student seems to think that an hour is 
 sufficient for any lesson. Most high-school pupils regard a 
 half-hour as sufficient. Though no amount can be prescribed, 
 because assignments and abilities vary, it is safe to say that 
 most students spend only half or two-thirds enough time to 
 master their assignments properly. Of course, they should 
 not be encouraged to spend more time in accomplishing the 
 usual results. Doubtless they already spend too much time 
 for the results secured. But more time properly spent would 
 
30 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 make the results more accurate, more extensive, and more 
 lasting. When inadequate time is given the result is careless, 
 superficial work. Consequently, when the teacher probes, 
 only shallowness and inaccuracies are discovered. Mere call- 
 ing of words or skimming of head-lines does not allow time for 
 reflection and analysis. 
 
 Undivided Attention Necessary. — Concentration of atten- 
 tion is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency in study. The 
 "wits that go wool-gathering," the body that is at school while 
 the mind is at home or on last night's party, all spell failure 
 in study. To stimulate and gain the attention to the work in 
 hand one must put himself in the right situation and right 
 attitude. Sit down at the desk in the position of study, turn 
 away from the window; do not have the newspaper, the let- 
 ters from home, or the football trophies within reach; open 
 the book and, if necessary, begin to mark the book (if your 
 own), jot down notes, and ask yourself searching questions. 
 Half the battle is in starting. The tempter says you need a 
 drink of water, an errand needs to be done, you must figure 
 up your accounts, you have forgotten a telephone call, your 
 finger-nails need trimming, or your shoes must be polished. 
 Sit down, take your pencil, and begin to write. If impossible 
 to hold the attention easily, require yourself to write out 
 exactly some definite point in the lesson. The habit of attend- 
 ing will grow, and likewise the habit of dawdling grows even 
 more rapidly. Some one has said: "There is one safe, ser- 
 viceable, indispensable, attainable quality, that of attention; 
 it will grow in the poorest soil and in its own time bear abun- 
 dant fruit." 
 
 Have Proper Stirroundings. — It is very important to have 
 suitable conditions under which to study. For example, there 
 should be a proper desk, appropriate light, a quiet, properly 
 heated and ventilated room, the right pencils, paper, and 
 books. Such details determine more than most people recog- 
 nize the degree of success in study. It is true that the major- 
 ity of students in our high schools and colleges do not have 
 satisfactory conditions under which to study. In a scale of 
 
HOW TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY 31 
 
 efficiency rating undoubtedly many would be rated as low- 
 as 50 per cent. 
 
 Analyze the Problem. — At the outset, in preparation of a 
 lesson, analyze the problem in order to determine the vital 
 things to be accomplished, the point of view, the order of im- 
 portance of the things to be learned, and the method of learn- 
 ing required. A spelling lesson or the multiplication table 
 needs to be learned in a mechanical order, and drill is the 
 secret of success. They are things that need to be repro- 
 duced mechanically through life, and consequently require to 
 be memorized exactly. 
 
 But a history lesson, for example, does not need to be fre- 
 quently reproduced in some definite form. Its effects should 
 be like the good counsel of friends, the knowledge we get 
 through every-day contacts with our acquaintances, the facts 
 gleaned from the newspapers, the interpretations of life made 
 in magazine essays and every-day conversations, or sermons 
 from the pulpits. Which of us adults would think of mem- 
 orizing those verbatim or any other way? But we learn 
 through all of them. History gives a point of view. Its 
 orderly unfolding by the historian should aid in getting that 
 point of view and give a critical attitude toward social experi- 
 ences. In a similar way a beautiful poem should give a thrill 
 of emotion and not mere intellectual facts. Hence history 
 and literature should be studied largely for appreciation and 
 not to secure tool facts. This will determine the method of 
 studying them. In studying a lesson In quadratics, electric- 
 ity, the chemistry of combustion, or a psychological theory, 
 the end should be genuine comprehension and understanding. 
 Mere verbally memorized statements will be of slight value. 
 To retain the idea they must first be really known and once 
 comprehended they will never be forgotten. 
 
 It Is well to read hastily the entire lesson to determine the 
 general problem, to note the large sub-topics, and to decide on 
 the method of attack. After the first hasty reading, close the 
 book and see if the main points can be jotted down from 
 memory. To assist in securing accuracy it is well to select 
 
32 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 some of the most difficult points and write them out carefully. 
 Go over what is written and criticise it mercilessly, and revise 
 and rewrite. Often it is well to try to explain a point to some 
 one else. It is also valuable to have others criticise what one 
 has written. Frequent reviews of what has been gone over 
 are absolutely necessary. Teachers should require some re- 
 viewing, but the real student initiates most of his own re- 
 viewing. 
 
 Topical Study. — In making a study of a topic for a paper, 
 a debate, or an oral class report, the first thing is to analyze 
 the topic to know clearly what is to be done. Ordinarily the 
 beginner selects altogether too comprehensive a topic. In- 
 stead of taking a topic like ''Suffrage," it would be better to 
 take a minute and definite one like ''The Beginning of Woman 
 Suffrage in Washington," or "Should there be a Property 
 Qualification for Voting?" 
 
 Before reading a word or consulting any one, jot down an 
 outline of the points recalled. State briefly your views and 
 conclusions, then begin to read, make card references, brief 
 analyses of the articles, confer with others, and gather quota- 
 tions. Then revise the outline, and begin to write on the 
 subtopics. 
 
 Taking Notes. — Note- taking by college students has become 
 a prevailing custom, and occupies much time. Students and 
 instructors generally believe it is very necessary. Many stu- 
 dents write voluminous notes in class; some rewrite them after 
 class. Many instructors require notes on their lectures to be 
 handed in by the students. The notes have small value, but 
 are required largely because of tradition. Long ago I gave 
 up requiring students to hand in note-books on the lectures. 
 Students soon discover where well-arranged note-books may 
 be secured and copied. Even if they were absolutely inde- 
 pendent the values are questionable. The student who takes 
 full notes usually does so with the idea that by getting the 
 words of the lecturer he will later be able to review the notes 
 just before examination and thus pass successfully. In such 
 cases the final examination plays an undue role in the course 
 
HOW TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY 33 
 
 and the Instructor requires very little reading. He assumes 
 that he is supplying all the necessary information. There is 
 also usually very little recitation or discussion where the "lec- 
 ture-note-book method" is followed. It is a delusion to ex- 
 pect that the ideas will be really comprehended and digested 
 when so much dependence is placed upon the instructor's 
 words alone. While taking the notes the attention must of 
 necessity be divided between listening and taking the notes. 
 There is also a subconscious feeling that understanding is to 
 come about when reviewing the notes. Usually they are re- 
 viewed so long after being taken that the words fail to sug- 
 gest the ideas intended. 
 
 There are some kinds of notes that have a high value. 
 Laboratory notes on experiments and observations made in- 
 dependently should be required regularly. The problems set 
 should be written up during the laboratory period, and the 
 conditions made such that independence of observation and 
 expression are secured. Note-books that are copied or con- 
 structed by another are not only valueless as an intellectual 
 method, but are absolutely vicious morally. 
 
 Occasionally it is well to have the students write a resume 
 of a lecture topic or a reading topic for the practice in organiz- 
 ing material and formulating expression. Then, also, there 
 should be opportunity to write themes in connection with 
 each subject. In taking the lecture notes the student is 
 merely writing the teachers' ideas in their words. There 
 should be opportunity to organize his own thoughts, according 
 to his own arrangement and in his own words. Notes of that 
 kind have real value. 
 
 Card-Catalogue Notes. — Students should form early the 
 habit of making a card catalogue of books, articles, and refer- 
 ences that bear upon their studies or upon things that are of 
 special interest to them. The card reference should contain 
 (i) the name of the author, (2) the exact title of the book or 
 author, (3) the number of pages, (4) the exact volume and 
 year of publication, if in a magazine, (5) a brief digest of the 
 contents — just enough to characterize the material. The 
 
34 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 cards have a manifest advantage over the note-book because 
 they can be sorted and rearranged as necessary. 
 
 The Lecture Method. — There is absolutely no justification 
 of the traditional, formal lecture in elementary courses for the 
 purpose of imparting information. There are no high-school 
 or elementary college courses for which the information is not 
 more systematically and accurately arranged in some good 
 text-book than in the lecture. Informal talks pointing the 
 way, indicating the significant points to seek, raising ques- 
 tions, defining them, and stimulating motivation undoubtedly 
 serve a valuable purpose in learning, but as a purveyor of 
 definite Information they are of slight value. The formal lec- 
 ture method teaches students to avoid reading and to be su- 
 perficial students. In pioneer fields such lectures might be 
 valuable, but there the seminar method is used, which means 
 individual research. The "socIaHzed recitation," where re- 
 sults of "project study" are pooled for the benefit of all Is 
 also more efficient. Why not more of the real seminar method 
 with college freshmen and high-school pupils? 
 
 Student Initiative. — Students who study merely to pass 
 examinations or to satisfy the teacher never make much real 
 progress. In order to study efficiently there must be a feeling 
 of worth-whileness on the part of the learner. The moment 
 that a student develops a real personal Interest in improve- 
 ment and takes himself In hand, that moment he is on the 
 highroad to real scholarship and his achievements are broader, 
 more accurate, and more lasting. 
 
 It is unfortunate that so much study is done merely as a 
 matter of prescription. There are so many units In the 
 course, so many credits to be made, so many days to be In 
 attendance, and all the Ingredients put into the hopper are 
 supposed to make an educated individual. But the number 
 of pages covered or the credits gained do not make an educa- 
 tion. How vitally has the boy been stimulated, how great 
 are his resolves, how grippingly has the subject laid hold of 
 him, are vastly more significant. His Intensity of effort, his 
 tenacity of purpose, candor and honesty with himself, his de- 
 
HOW TO STUDY EFFECTIVELY 35 
 
 votion are far better indexes of progress than the teacher's 
 grade-book. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Jot down a brief statement of your usual habits of study. 2. Be 
 honest with yourself and tell wherein your habits of study have been 
 faulty. 3. Characterize the habits of study that your chum follows. 4. 
 What are the usual plans? 5. Do you believe that habits of study as sug- 
 gested in the text would improve (a) the exactness of your work, (b) the 
 amount learned? 6. Point out three of the principles that seem to you 
 most worth while. 7. Are you willing to try those three faithfully for a 
 term? 8. Have you come across any good statements regarding study 
 elsewhere? 9. Point out the characteristics of your ideal student. 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Dearborn, How to Learn Easily, chaps. I, II, VI. 
 
 2. Earhart, Teaching Children How to Study, chaps. I. II. 
 
 3. Kitson, How To Use Your Mind. Entire book. 
 
 4. McMurry, How to Study and Teaching How to Study, chaps. II, IV, V, 
 VII. 
 
 5. Miller, Directing Study, chaps. Ill, V, VII. 
 
 6. Sandwick, How to Study and What to Study, chaps. I, II, III, IV, IX. 
 
 7. Whipple, How to Study Effectively, Entire book. 
 
PART II 
 ENDOWMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 
 
 General Consideration. — One of the most important lessons 
 of modern psychology is that no two human beings are alike. 
 They differ in size, health, knowledge, wealth, race, social 
 position, and innumerable other characteristics. The differ- 
 ences are due to heredity, environment, training, or individual 
 effort. But whatever the causes of the differences, the fact 
 of diversity forms one of the teacher's most pressing and con- 
 stant problems. 
 
 It is not surprising that there are individual differences 
 among human beings. All through the organic world there 
 are great differences among individuals of the same species. 
 In the plant world, for example, it would be impossible to 
 find two leaves, two blades of grass, or two plants exactly 
 alike. Some slight differences, often microscopic, serve to 
 give them individuality. 
 
 Doctor Gesell, of Yale University, writes: 
 
 Take an ordinary kindergarten and first grade, with a combined 
 enrolnent of one hundred pupils, and among this number we may 
 expect to find at least one child feeble-minded; one child who stutters; 
 two or three who seriously lisp; another extremely anaemic; a badly 
 spoilt child; another babyish — a year or two retarded in mental or 
 moral growth; and still another morally weak. There will be one 
 ** negative" child — passive, colorless; one oversensitive, nervous child; 
 one superficially precocious child; another distinctly super — eager, 
 ardent, imaginative, sociable. The diversity of the ungraded class 
 membership is often pathetically picturesque. Here is the roll-call 
 for one such class in a large Eastern city: Twenty-four boys, sixteen 
 girls; nationahties Norwegian, French, Irish, Armenian, Italian, Aus- 
 trian, American, Chinese; names range from James Moriarity and Ong 
 Yung to Arcangelo Christiano and Nishan Kalehadoarian ; ages range 
 from 6 to i8; mentality, from giggling imbecility to ambitious intelli- 
 gence; morality, from truancy, cigarette smoking, and thieving to good 
 behavior; parentage, noted in special cases, includes a drunken mother, 
 
 39 
 
40 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 an insane father, and in three instances gypsies; physical condition, 
 from partial blindness and deafness, and spinal trouble and anaemia to 
 vigorous physical health. Think of the problem before this teacher, 
 who may not even have a working definition of feeble-mindedness in 
 her consciousness to aid her in classification and instruction ! 
 
 It is not difficult to discover abundant cases of individual 
 variations. There are the giants and dwarfs, the tall and the 
 short, the blondes and brunettes; the beautiful and ugly, 
 black and white, good and bad, choleric and phlegmatic, bril- 
 liant and stupid, blue-eyed and brown-eyed, and other ex- 
 tremes too numerous to chronicle. Between these extremes 
 there are all grades and shades of apparent difference. Be- 
 sides these obvious differences there are innumerable varia- 
 tions which are not so apparent and hence thought not to 
 exist. Some persons burst forth into song with the most 
 meagre training, while others, with the best masters, can never 
 carry a tune or discover discord; some are ready spellers, while 
 many others are hopeless; some are born mathematicians, 
 while others never can progress beyond the merest rudiments. 
 One child early exhibits mechanical genius, devising appli- 
 ances for every sort of work, while another can never learn to 
 put together the simplest contrivance; one can memorize ver- 
 batim with the greatest ease, while another can never repeat a 
 quotation; one person picks up the pen and, without training, 
 begins to produce literature, while another cannot chronicle 
 accurately the simplest event; one mounts the platform and 
 charms the multitude with his eloquence, while another is 
 made mute in the presence of an audience. Although all 
 human beings possess the same general faculties, there are 
 wonderful differences of development among individuals and 
 also between the lowest and the highest as a class. Even 
 zoologically there are notable developmental differences. 
 Fiske remarks {Destiny of Man, p. 48) that: 
 
 The cranial capacity of the European exceeds that of the Australian 
 by forty cubic inches, or nearly four times as much as that by which 
 the Australian exceeds the gorilla ; and the expansion is almost entirely 
 in the upper and anterior portions. 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 41 
 
 Mental Variations. — There are few who would not admit 
 that among people there are many obvious differences of 
 physical structure, and that these differences are natural. 
 But when mental qualities are considered, it is at once assumed 
 that all are alike, or would be if educated alike. Teachers 
 even are apt to think that all the intellectual differences among 
 children can be accounted for by differences of diligence, will- 
 ingness to work, or application. They will even admit that 
 temperamental differences account for differences of applica- 
 tion, but tacitly assume that intellectually "all men are 
 created equal." No greater fallacy ever existed. No two 
 individuals were ever exactly alike, physically, mentally, or 
 morally. Occasionally a pair of twins seem almost indistin- 
 guishable, but careful study of them always reveals large 
 differences. 
 
 The mental processes of different individuals have their 
 special characteristics, although this is scarcely suspected by 
 the popular mind. Some are ear-minded, some eye-minded, 
 others motor-minded. Some persons think in abstract terms 
 very early, while others never get to the point of doing ab- 
 stract thinking, but must have everything in the concrete. 
 Darwin tells us that he does not believe he ever would have 
 made a mathematician or a lawyer, because he found it diffi- 
 cult to carry on a long train of abstractions. He had a mar- 
 vellous mind for the concrete. Some pupils succeed famously 
 with arithmetic and algebra, but fail utterly in geometry. A 
 diagnosis of their types of imagery would doubtless reveal in- 
 ability to visualize. Such persons would never make archi- 
 tects or inventors. Some children begin to walk at six or 
 seven months, others not until three times that age. Some 
 can talk readily at twelve months, while I have known a 
 bright boy to defer this process until four years of age. One 
 record chronicles a list of 1,200 words at two years of age. 
 Many do very little talking before two years. There are 
 adult manual laborers of ordinary intelligence who do not 
 have a usable vocabulary exceeding 2,000 or 3,000 words. 
 Many scholars use from 30,000 to 35,000 and recognize as 
 many more. 
 
42 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 INTELLIGENCE SCORES MADE BY HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS 
 ON ARMY ALPHA TESTS * 
 
 ALPHA SCORE 
 
 Freshmen 
 
 NUMBER 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 PER 
 
 CENT 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 Sophomores 
 
 NUMBER 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 PER 
 
 CENT 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 Juniors 
 
 NUMBER 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 PER 
 
 CENT 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 Seniors 
 
 NUMBER 
 
 MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 SCORE 
 
 205 
 
 200 
 
 195 
 
 190 
 
 185 
 
 180 
 
 175 
 
 170 
 
 165 
 
 160 
 
 155 
 
 150 
 
 145 
 
 140 
 
 135 
 
 130 
 
 125 
 
 120 
 
 115 
 
 IIO 
 
 105 
 
 100 
 
 95 
 
 90 
 
 85 
 
 80 
 
 75 
 
 70 
 
 65 
 
 60 
 
 55 
 
 50 
 
 45 
 
 40 
 
 35 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 No. of cases . 
 
 Median 
 
 Median 
 
 mental age 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 58 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 94 
 
 95 
 
 120 
 
 113 
 157 
 130 
 
 156 
 119 
 109 
 99 
 71 
 50 
 29 
 28 
 
 14 
 I 
 6 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 1,721 
 96.48 
 
 15-3 
 
 0.12 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 17 
 22 
 
 39 
 51 
 38 
 75 
 82 
 
 91 
 
 93 
 
 no 
 
 93 
 100 
 
 85 
 95 
 68 
 
 47 
 44 
 28 
 21 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 1,253 
 
 110.84 
 16-2 
 
 0.16 
 
 0.08 
 0.48 
 0.79 
 0.79 
 
 36 
 76 
 
 II 
 
 07 
 
 03 
 90 
 
 54 
 26 
 
 42 
 
 78 
 42 
 
 7- 
 
 7.98 
 
 6.78 
 
 7.58 
 
 5-42 
 
 3-75 
 
 351 
 
 2.23 
 
 1.68 
 
 1.04 
 
 0.40 
 
 0.40 
 
 0.16 
 
 0.08 
 
 0.08 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 II 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 39 
 
 42 
 
 41 
 61 
 68 
 68 
 76 
 
 84 
 92 
 
 79 
 60 
 
 58 
 53 
 29 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 II 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 2 
 
 3 
 o 
 I 
 
 977 
 122.89 
 
 17-0 
 
 0.20 
 0.41 
 0.72 
 
 113 
 1.84 
 1.64 
 
 3 99 
 430 
 4.20 
 6.24 
 6.96 
 6.96 
 7.78 
 8.60 
 9.41 
 8.09 
 6.14 
 5-94 
 5-42 
 2.97 
 2.56 
 1.74 
 
 113 
 0.61 
 0.41 
 0.20 
 0.31 
 
 O.IO 
 
 I 
 o 
 
 2 
 O 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 14 
 18 
 21 
 38 
 33 
 41 
 60 
 
 47 
 50 
 67 
 60 
 61 
 60 
 
 51 
 42 
 22 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 20 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 766 
 126.42 
 
 17-4 
 
 ♦ Cobb, Margaret V., "The Limits Set to Educational Achievement by Limited Intelligence,' 
 The Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. XIII. November, 1922. 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 43 
 
 Recent "intelligence tests" given to large groups have re- 
 vealed in an unmistakable way enormous variations in ability 
 in given classes. These were first made definitely manifest in 
 the army examinations. The same and similar tests have 
 been given to school pupils in large numbers. Miss Cobb 
 gathered the results of tests given to 4,717 high-school pupils 
 in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, and Illinois. The accompany- 
 ing table is made from these results. The test given was 
 the "Army Alpha." The table shows the intelligence scores 
 of the pupils for each of the four high-school years. The high- 
 est score possible is 212 points. The highest score made by 
 a freshman was 180 points, three pupils, or 7 per cent of all 
 freshmen, making that score. The lowest score made by any 
 was 15 points, that being made by one sophomore. The 
 highest score made by any pupil was 200 points, made by 
 one senior. The rest of the scores are quite uniformly dis- 
 tributed between the extremes mentioned. 
 
 Another exhaustive study was made by Doctor Book {The 
 Intelligence of High School Seniors, pp. 10, 21), of the Univer- 
 sity of Indiana, in a state-wide survey of the intelligence of 
 high-school seniors in Indiana: 
 
 This mental examination consisted of ten separate tests of twenty 
 items each: for (i) rote memory, (2) logical selection, (3) general arith- 
 metical ability, (4) opposites, (5) logical memory, (6) word completion, 
 (7) moral classification, (8) dissected sentences, (9) practical informa- 
 tion, and (10) analogies. This scale had been previously verified both 
 as to its reliability for the measurement of intelligence and its validity 
 as a practical instrument for making such a mental survey as is pro- 
 posed in the present study. Previous to this investigation it had been 
 used in a survey of the school population of an entire Indiana county, 
 and had been given to all grade and high-school pupils in three Indiana 
 cities. Earlier still it had been tried out with more than 25,000 high- 
 school and grade pupils in Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Dakota, and 
 New York. 
 
 The accompanying table, based upon that study, indi- 
 cates the wide variation of intelligence scores among high- 
 school seniors. Doctor Book says: "As may be seen from 
 
44 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 an inspection of this distribution curve, the range in score 
 extends farther helow than above the median." 
 
 PERCENTAGE OF HIGH-SCHOOL SENIORS POSSESSING 
 EACH GRADE OF INTELLIGENCE 
 
 Intelligence grades. . 
 
 A+ 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C+ 
 
 C 
 
 C- 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 E- 
 
 1 
 F 
 
 Per cent of total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 group who made 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 each grade on tests 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 22 
 
 II 
 
 19 
 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 Variations in Achievements. — In a set of examination papers 
 in a large high school there is always exhibited a great range 
 of attainments. \i the highest is marked lOO per cent, the 
 lowest doubtless will be less than 6o per cent, and often not 
 higher than 25 per cent. Often there will be pupils who 
 merit more than 100 per cent, that is, they surpass consider- 
 ably any excellence which we may rightfully expect. In 
 marking a set of papers of average difficulty, some individual 
 papers ought to be above 100 per cent. The marks of 100 
 per cent, or A, or Excellent, ought to mean not absolute 
 marks, but that point in our scale which represents the best 
 that may be expected on the basis of standards determined 
 for the given grade of pupils or kind of work. For example, a 
 first-grade pupil might be marked 100 per cent in penmanship, 
 but an eighth-grade pupil doing the same kind of crude writ- 
 ing ought to be marked about 25 per cent. In large classes 
 several will accomplish more than 100 per cent, the maximum 
 required, by outside reading, by more vigorous thinking, and 
 because of natural capacities. 
 
 Thorndike says {The Principles of Teaching, p. 71): 
 
 The amount of difference actually found in children of the same age 
 or in children in the same school grade is greater than teachers perhaps 
 realize. The range of ability in school children of the same age is such 
 that in a majority of capacities the most gifted child will, in compari- 
 son with the least gifted child of the same age, do over six times as 
 much in the same time or do the same amount with less than a sixth 
 as many errors. ... If the best speller of the class can spell correctly 
 such words as fatiguing, appreciate, delicious, guarantee, triumph, and 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 45 
 
 accident, the worst speller will barely spell such words as house, dollar, 
 potato, present, severe, and praise. 
 
 Thorndike appends the examination papers of two pupils of 
 the same class. A spelled correctly all except one word out 
 of twenty, while B missed all except one. 
 
 If the weakest pupil of a class in computation can do five examples 
 in ten minutes, the best pupil will probably do at least twenty. Roughly 
 speaking, the teacher of a class, even in a school graded as closely as is 
 possible in large cities where two classes are provided in each building 
 for each grade and where promotion occurs every six months, will find 
 in the case of any kind of work some pupil who can do from two to five 
 times as much in the same time or do the same amount from two to 
 five times as well as some other pupil. The highest tenth of her class 
 will in any one trait have an average ability from one and three-fourths 
 to four times that of the lowest tenth. 
 
 And we readily see that there must be a constantly varying 
 deviation from normal conditions and averages. 
 
 The variations in achievement of pupils in a school Is strik- 
 ingly illustrated In an "age-grade" table. Accompanying Is 
 such a table showing the distribution in Grand Rapids, Mich., 
 in 1920. The table may be read as follows: There were in 
 the first grade 55 children 5 years of age, 1,272 children 6 
 years, 691 were 7 years, 199 were 8 years, etc. Note that 
 there were 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds In ten different 
 grades, and cliildren of 14 and 15 In nine different grades ! 
 In the first year of the high school there were 19 who were 
 12 years old and 2 who were 21 years or over. 
 
 Revelations of a School Survey. — On the basis of a recent 
 school survey the following striking variations were discov- 
 ered: 
 
 (i) There is a range of at least six years between the young- 
 est pupil and the oldest pupil In any grade from the first to 
 the eighth, In the second grade the range of ages being great- 
 est — nine years. 
 
 (2) In each grade from the first to the eighth the median 
 age Is at least one year above the national standard for that 
 grade. 
 
46 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 (3) On the basis of a two-year span for each grade {e. g., 6 
 to 7 for the first grade, 7 to 8 for the second grade, etc.), 40 
 per cent of all pupils in grades one to eight are older than 
 they should be for the grades in which they are located, the 
 lowest percentage being 31 per cent in grade four and the 
 highest percentage being found in grade eight, 54 per cent. 
 In grades six and eight there are actually more pupils over- 
 age than of normal age. 
 
 (4) In grades one to eight only a little more than one-half 
 of the pupils are of normal age for the grades in which they 
 are located. 
 
 (5) In the first grade are found pupils of ages all the way 
 from 6 to 12; in the second grade from 7 to 16; in the sixth 
 grade from 9>^ to 18. 
 
 (6) Pupils 12 years of age are found in every grade from 
 the first to the eighth, and in general pupils of any year-age 
 from 8 to 16 are scattered over at least five grades of the 
 schools. (From Psychological and Educational Tests in Pub- 
 lic Schools of Winchester, Va., January, 1922.) 
 
 Causes of Individual Differences. — The individual differ- 
 ences in any given group are always due to many causes. In 
 the first place there are the sex differences. Boys and girls 
 are different in many physical characteristics. Through life 
 their bodies become increasingly different in size and propor- 
 tions, as well as in various entirely different structural condi- 
 tions. Girls mature physically a year or two earlier than 
 boys, and there is a similar difference in mental maturity. 
 While quantitative measurements of such intellectual powers 
 as perception, memory, or reasoning do not reveal marked 
 differences, undoubtedly the mental lives as a whole of the sexes 
 are very different. This is especially true of the emotional 
 aspects. Differences do not mean superiority or inferiority, 
 simply differences. Psychology and literature have always 
 recognized these differences. 
 
 There are also race and family traits of heredity which dif- 
 ferentiate individuals. These hereditary differences may be 
 either physical or mental. There are the giants and the dwarfs 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 
 
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48 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 physically of all ages. There are likewise the brilliant and 
 the idiotic, with all gradations between. The exact measure- 
 ment of the intelligence of school children in recent years has 
 emphasized these mental variations. 
 
 CAUSES OF NON-PROMOTIONS AND NUMBER OF 
 EACH 
 
 1920-192] 
 
 Irregular attendance 
 
 Ill health _ 
 
 Mental incapacity 
 
 Lack of application 
 
 Lack of concentration 
 
 Inattention 
 
 Change of school 
 
 Immaturity 
 
 Unfavorable home conditions 
 
 Physical defects (eye, ear, nose, throat) 
 
 Foreign to English 
 
 Unwise previous promotion 
 
 Unskilful previous teaching 
 
 Unskilful current teaching 
 
 Not properly graded 
 
 No knowledge of how to study 
 
 Lack of nourishing food 
 
 Too many pupils in a class 
 
 Outside social activities 
 
 Rapid physical growth 
 
 Entering late in semester 
 
 Discouragement, owing to lack of co-operation at home. . . 
 
 Adolescence 
 
 Special mental type for which course of study is not adapted 
 Lack of interest in the work 
 
 Total 
 
 190 
 165 
 579 
 267 
 
 148 
 
 65 
 
 81 
 
 236 
 
 17 
 
 56 
 
 45 
 
 41 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 50 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 81 
 
 None 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 15 
 
 2,085 
 
 Taken from Board of Education, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1921, Forty-ninth Annual Report, p. 61. 
 
 Differences in achievements as well as differences of capac- 
 ity must be taken into account in all scientific school adjust- 
 ment. These differences are quite as apt to be due to en- 
 vironing conditions as to native endowment. Many pupils 
 in the schools have undesirable home conditions under which 
 to do their work. Probably few have a room properly heated, 
 ventilated, and lighted, adequate desk room or freedom from 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 49 
 
 disturbance. Many are under special emotional tension be- 
 cause of straitened pecuniary circumstances, sorrow in the 
 family, ill treatment, premature love-affairs, undue social life, 
 real or imagined ill health, and a great variety of other causes. 
 All of these factors affect the working capacity of the pupil 
 and materially influence the amount and quality of work 
 accomplished. The wise teacher will recognize that there are 
 influences constantly operative in affecting results. Before 
 passing judgment, causes and motives will be investigated. 
 Fewer cases will be measured by inflexible rules, and more 
 and more will Individual cases be evaluated on their merits. 
 
 Various studies have been made to diagnose the causes of 
 variations among the pupils in given schools. The results of 
 such a study are Indicated in the accompanying table, taken 
 from a recent Grand Rapids school report. 
 
 Adolescent Variations. — While differences in powers and in- 
 terests manifest themselves from the beginnings of life, they 
 are not so pronounced up to the age of 12 to 14 as they become 
 from that time on. During the period in the elementary- 
 school grades the work for all may be fairly uniform In con- 
 tent. Up to that time vocational interests have not been 
 very prominent. With the onset of adolescence, however, the 
 racial, family, and sex differences begin to manifest them- 
 selves more strongly than before. The occupational interests 
 also begin to be prominent, probably largely due to social 
 environment. Because of all these conditions much more 
 definite recognition of individual differences and needs should 
 be accorded. To assist in this process the junior high school 
 has been established in many places. 
 
 How Discover Individual Differences ? — Even very ordi- 
 nary everyday observation on the part of the teacher will 
 serve to discover many obvious differences among pupils. It 
 will be noted that some are keen, alert, and attentive, while 
 others are slow, plodding, and allow their attention to wander 
 easily. Differences in the amount of general Information and 
 in the accuracy of information are quite easily apparent to 
 the general observer. Slipshod speech, Including incorrect 
 
50 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 sentential structure, faulty pronunciation, and indistinct enun- 
 ciation are easily detected and generally suggestive of inaccu- 
 rate knowledge and low-grade scholarship. Defective eye- 
 sight and hearing are also generally easily noted. 
 
 The examinations and tests given pupils in their various 
 studies are the most usual means of discovering differences. 
 The great variations in examination papers noted elsewhere 
 reveal these differences in a striking and often most unex- 
 pected degree, li examinations are carefully arranged so as 
 to take account of time and conditions of preparation, condi- 
 tions in the manner of the examination itself, and types of 
 learning, they are very valuable in diagnosis. The daily oral 
 tests are also suggestive in discovering other types of differ- 
 ences. In addition to the usual tests in subject-matter, other 
 tests have been recently devised to test mental ability as dis- 
 tinguished from information. These tests are discussed under 
 ''Measuring Mental AbiHty." 
 
 Ministration to Individual Differences. — When we have 
 studied the pupils and discovered individual differences either 
 in native ability or in achievement, what should be done? 
 Certainly we should minister to the needs of all to the best 
 possible advantage. The following are a few of the ways in 
 which rather easy adjustment can be made. 
 
 All pupils should not be expected to carry the same amount 
 of work. Even though they were all of equal ability, the 
 conditions under which they work and have worked are so 
 different that the accomplishments will vary greatly. One 
 boy in a given class may come from a good home where he is 
 provided with a properly heated, lighted, and ventilated room. 
 He may have access to a good library of books, have parents 
 who are intelligent and interested in his work, and who give 
 him proper stimulus and encouragement. We should expect 
 such a boy to have his work prepared. Another boy in the 
 same class may come from a home of poverty; he has no room 
 to himself, his studying must be done, if at all, around the 
 kitchen table where all the family are gathered. He may have 
 to get up at four o'clock in the morning to carry papers in 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 51 
 
 order to be one of the wage-earners for family maintenance. 
 His parents may lack schooling or even sympathy with edu- 
 cation and with his work. May we rightly expect adequate 
 results from such a boy ? 
 
 Doubtless the majority of pupils in a given grade can do 
 the regular amount of work in that grade in a given year. 
 Some, however, can do from a quarter to a third more than 
 the average, and should be given an opportunity to do so. 
 If they take only the same amount as the average pupils, they 
 will waste much valuable time. Others, from lack of ability 
 or because of unfavorable conditions, cannot do nearly as 
 much as the average pupils. They should be allowed to go 
 as slow as necessary. No stigma should be placed upon them 
 for their slower pace. It is entirely possible that they may 
 outstrip their fellows at a later time. 
 
 Again we should not expect the same standards of quality 
 of all. The uses to which knowledge is to be put should often 
 allow of varying standards of proficiency. To illustrate, a 
 boy who is certain to go to an engineering school should be 
 held for more mathematics and for a more exacting quality in 
 it than a boy or girl who is certain to have little need for it 
 in their later studies or in everyday life. 
 
 Apart from the knowledge of the fundamentals of reading 
 and writing, the exact knowledge needed in later study or in 
 business is exceedingly variable for different individuals. 
 Should it transpire that a given person may need more knowl- 
 edge of a given subject for purpose of higher study or for 
 business uses, the particular knowledge can be acquired 
 quickly at the time needed, if the individual has adequate 
 ability. 
 
 The school should give opportunities not only for dull and 
 delinquent children, but equally for precocious and earnest 
 ones. Not only are there many subnormal children in every 
 school, but there are many hypernormal — those with poten- 
 tial qualities which only await development to make them 
 the illustrious of their time. As a matter of fact, undue pro- 
 portions of energy and time are given to the lame and the lazy. 
 
52 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Much solicitude is given to finding ways and means of help- 
 ing the slow, while little thought is given to special ways of 
 providing for those who can easily forge ahead. It is usually 
 the slow pupil who is given most of the time in recitation (ex- 
 cept when visitors are present) ; the slow one who is kept after 
 school to be helped; the slow one over whose papers the 
 teacher burns the midnight oil. The bright one recites 
 quickly, asks few time-consuming questions, easily finds occu- 
 pation for himself, is seldom selected for extra work, and is a 
 joy forever to his teacher. But how frequently he becomes 
 restive because of the lock-step which he must keep, the time 
 consumed with the slower, and the consequent narrowing of 
 instruction. The result is that frequently such pupils become 
 dissatisfied — they know not why — and either make a dash for 
 liberty, become chronic sources of annoyance, or learn to 
 meekly submit and become dawdlers. Doctor Search has 
 shown {An Ideal School, p. 21) that children often drop behind 
 a grade, but seldom skip one. 
 
 The opportunity to get ahead is almost always limited by class 
 environment. Between these two kinds of opportunity there is an 
 abysmal difference. As schools usually go, it is ten times harder for 
 a pupil to gain a grade than to lose one; ten times harder to rise than 
 to fall. Never until the school is built fundamentally for the individ- 
 ual will this element of loss disappear. 
 
 Doctor Groszmann urges that public attention be directed 
 to all types of exceptional children, not merely to the feeble- 
 minded and degenerate, who, no matter how undesirable a 
 factor they may be in society, are by no means the whole 
 problem. He points out that the problem of the exceptional 
 :hild is by no means merely the problem of the defective, or 
 the subnormal, or the abnormal child. Often it is a case of 
 misdirected ability on the part of a gifted mind ; or the prob- 
 lem of child growth and development as affecting criminal 
 tendencies. Sometimes it is vocational failure, due to im- 
 proper vocational education; or it may be a problem arising 
 from racial differences, together with the difficulties of social 
 adjustment in a nation which has grown through immigration. 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 53 
 
 Doctor Whipple demonstrated through a very carefully- 
 conducted experiment that it is possible to select pupils from 
 the grades who are able to do two years' work in one year. 
 He maintains that the especially gifted who might attempt a 
 double rate of progress should be selected through expert men- 
 tal tests rather than through the examination grades or 
 through the general estimates of teachers or superintendents. 
 Classes for especially highly gifted are not maintained in many 
 places. It is often reported that they are, but Whipple found 
 on close investigation of scores of cities reported to be main- 
 taining them that not one really had one. He found "that 
 one of them only occasionally promoted individual pupils; 
 one had a room for dull but never for bright children; one 
 had a * mixed ' room for both dull and gifted ( !) ; and two gave 
 individual coaching to pupils who were trying for special 
 promotions." {Classes for Gifted Children^ p. 114.) 
 
 Courtis says that "the supreme thing in education is the 
 fact of the very great variation in the abilities and needs of 
 individuals. It is true that the writer urges the necessity for 
 the measurement of . . . the entire school, but it is also true 
 that in no other way will the facts of individual variation and 
 of present gross inefficiency be revealed. ... At the present 
 time the school is able to teach only those fitted by nature to 
 respond readily to its teaching, but if it were organized to de- 
 tect and minister to the special need of the individual, vastly 
 more could be accomplished. Definite aims, i. e., to render 
 every child in the eighth grade able by June to add in 
 four minutes thirty-five examples, each a single column of 
 nine figures — and diagnostic tests — i. e., tests that will enable 
 a teacher to determine exactly why a child can work but 
 twenty-three such examples in the time allowed — and the 
 experimental determination of efficient methods, are the 
 lines along which progress will be made. The basic factor in 
 education is thus the fact of individual differences in natural 
 ability, and the supreme problem of the future is the working 
 out of administrative methods of dealing with large masses of 
 children, yet at the same time giving to each child the special 
 
54 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 attention and the special courses it needs, without sacrificing 
 the benefits of class work and group instruction." (Courtis, 
 S. A., "The ReHabiHty of Single Measurements with Standard 
 Tests," Elem. Sch. Teacher, 13, pp. 486-504.) 
 
 Burbank, the botanical wizard, considers differentiation as 
 absolutely necessary and unavoidable. He says ("The Train- 
 ing of the Human Plant," Century, 72, pp. 127-138): 
 
 Right here let me lay special stress upon the absurdity, not to call 
 it by a harsher term, of running children through the same mill in a 
 lot, with absolutely no real reference to their individuality. No two 
 children are alike. You cannot expect them to develop alike. They 
 are different in temperament, in tastes, in disposition, in capabilities, 
 and yet we take them in this precious early age, when they ought to be 
 living a life of preparation near to the heart of nature, and we stuff 
 them, cram them, and overwork them until their poor little brains are 
 crowded up to and beyond the danger-line. The work of breaking 
 down the nervous systems of the children of the United States is now 
 well under way, ... It is imperative that we consider individuality 
 in children in their training precisely as we do in cultivating plants. 
 Some children, for example, are absolutely unfit by nature and tem- 
 perament for carrying on certain studies. Take certain young girls, 
 for example, bright in many ways, but unfitted by nature and bent, 
 at this early age at least, for the study of arithmetic. Very early — ■ 
 before the age of ten, in fact — they are packed into a room along with 
 from thirty to fifty others and compelled to study a branch which, at 
 best, they should not undertake until they have reached maturer years. 
 Can one by any possible cultivation and selection and crossing com- 
 pel figs to grow on thistles or apples on a banana- tree ? 
 
 School Promotions. — In the primary grades a large portion 
 of the time should be devoted to studying the exact status of 
 each individual in the class. In every group of forty first- 
 grade pupils entering in September there are ordinarily 10 per 
 cent who do not need to remain in that grade a month. An- 
 other 25 per cent could be promoted or at least should be 
 separated from the rest by the middle of the year. Another 
 group will need special attention and will not be ready to go 
 on even at the end of the year. But how often the Septem- 
 ber consignment is bunched together, once for all, labelled, 
 put through the same process, pressed, pushed, pulled, ground, 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 55 
 
 and stretched, until they appear uniform, and are ready to be 
 ticketed and passed on to the next grade or department. 
 Thus they stay together except as death or disgust separates 
 them. No fact of modern psychology is more important than 
 that there are countless individual differences which must be 
 recognized in all good teaching. These differences must be 
 sought and individuals ministered to accordingly. 
 
 If individual differences are to be adequately recognized, 
 the plan of promotion must be flexible. The annual promo- 
 tion does not provide a sufficient frequency of opportunity 
 for reclassification. This is especially true if pupils are pro- 
 moted only when they pass in all of the subjects of the grade. 
 There should be at least semiannual occasions for the redis- 
 tribution of pupils. If the quarter plan of organization should 
 come into vogue in the public schools as it has in a good many 
 universities, it would afford desirable opportunities for needed 
 readjustments. 
 
 In addition to the periodical opportunities for promotions, 
 it should always be possible to promote a given pupil at any 
 time when it is discovered that the pupil could profit by being 
 moved ahead. It should not be necessary for a pupil to pass 
 in all subjects in order to be promoted in a given subject. He 
 should be allowed to move ahead in any subject as fast as 
 possible or as slowly as necessary. The subject unit system 
 instead of the entire grade should prevail. Of course it may 
 be inconvenient sometimes to promote a pupil in a single sub- 
 ject only because of administrative difficulties. But what if 
 the school machinery does squeak ? The school should fit the 
 needs of the child and not the child the school. 
 
 Differentiation of Curricula. — We no longer require all pu- 
 pils to take the same curriculum. In the high school some 
 take the classical course, some the modern-language course, 
 some the scientific course, some a business course, some a 
 manual-arts course, and some the domestic-science course. 
 Even within these courses there are many variations so that 
 all sorts of individual differences can be recognized and min- 
 istered to. Then there are schools for the blind, the deaf 
 
56 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 and dumb, for cripples and for feeble-minded. Ideally the 
 curriculum for a given pupil becomes a question of individual 
 adjustment for that particular pupil. Pupils cannot be suc- 
 cessfully educated if they are all treated alike in the mass. 
 Each one must be singled out, studied, and then educated 
 according to his particular capacities and needs. 
 
 University education is a much more complex problem than 
 it used to be. Formerly all in a given college took the same 
 course, the course. Now there are colleges within the uni- 
 versity and schools within the colleges. There are not only 
 opportunities to differentiate so one may study law, medicine, 
 engineering, forestry, journalism, fine arts, teaching, agricul- 
 ture, or mining, but there are manifold special lines within 
 each. For example, there are criminal law and corporation 
 law, electrical and chemical engineering, horticulture and 
 stock-breeding in agriculture, painting and music in fine arts, 
 high-school teaching and kindergarten work in teaching. 
 When the particular line is selected, even then there are mani- 
 fold paths for attaining successful goals in the given field. 
 
 Dewey says {Schools of Tomorrow, p. 137): 
 
 A truly scientific education can never develop so long as children are 
 treated in the lump, merely as a class. Each child has a strong indi- 
 viduality, and any science must take stock of all the facts in its mate- 
 rial. Every pupil must have a chance to show what he truly is, so 
 that the teacher can find out what he needs to make him a complete 
 human being. Only as a teacher becomes acquainted with each one 
 of her pupils can she hope to understand childhood, and it is only as 
 she understands it that she can hope to evolve any scheme of educa- 
 tion which shall approach either the scientific or the artistic standard. 
 As long as educators do not know their individual facts, they can 
 never know whether their hypotheses are of value. But how are they 
 to know their material if they impose themselves upon it to such an 
 extent that each portion is made to act just like every other portion? 
 If the pupils are marched into line, information presented to them which 
 they are then expected to give back in uniform fashion, nothing will 
 ever be found out about any of them. But if every pupil has an op- 
 portunity to express himself, to show what are his particular qualities, 
 the teacher will have material on which to base her plans of instruction. 
 
 Since a child lives in a social world, where even the simplest act or 
 
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 57 
 
 word is bound up with the words and acts of his neighbors, there is no 
 danger that this liberty will sacrifice the interest of others to caprice. 
 Liberty does not mean the removal of the checks which nature and 
 man impose on the life of every individual in the community, so that 
 one individual may indulge impulses which go against his own welfare 
 as a member of society. But liberty for the child is the chance to test 
 all impulses and tendencies on the world of things and people in which 
 he finds himself, sufficiently to discover their character so that he may 
 get rid of those which are harmful, and develop those which are useful 
 to himseK and others. Education which treats all children as if their 
 impulses were those of the average of an adult society (whose weak- 
 nesses and failures are moreover constantly deplored) is sure to go on 
 reproducing that same average society without even finding out whether 
 and how it might be better. Education which finds out what children 
 really are may be able to shape itself by this knowledge, so that the 
 best can be kept and the bad eliminated. Meantime much is lost by 
 a mere external suppression of the bad which equally prevents the 
 expression of the better. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Compare in age, height, and weight the different children in a first 
 grade. 2. Compare in the same characteristics the seniors in a high school. 
 3. Compare the interests of a group of first-grade pupils. 4. Compare the 
 range of grades given in some class in high school. 5. Have a set of ex- 
 amination papers marked by several teachers. Note the variations in the 
 grades assigned. 6. Call to mind some pupil who is strong in certain sub- 
 jects but weak in others. 7. If a pupil is strong in one subject, what prob- 
 ability is there that he will be strong in others? 8. Should all pupils pur- 
 sue the same course of study? 9. What special schools are there in your 
 state to care for the various special classes of children? 10. Are pupils 
 more apt to skip grades or to repeat them? 11. What is an "opportunity 
 school" ? 12. If certain pupils are sure to know their lessons, what should 
 they do while others are reciting? 13. What work could be omitted safely 
 in arithmetic for the least-gifted pupils? 14. To what extent should elec- 
 tives be allowed in (a) the grammar-school, (b) the high school, (c) in an 
 engineering college? 15. Should specially gifted children be educated in 
 separate schools? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XII. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. XIV. 
 
 3. Judd, Introduction to the Scientific Study of Education, chap. XII. 
 
 4. Meriam, Child Life and the Curriculum, chap. X. 
 
 5. Starch, Educational Psychology, chaps. Ill, IV, V. 
 
58 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 6. Terman, The Intelligence of School Children, chaps. HI, IV, V, VI. 
 
 7. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. VI. 
 
 8. Thorndike, Individuality. Entire book. 
 
 9. Strong, Introductory Psychology for Teachers, lesson 24. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 
 
 All have heard the metaphor comparing the child to a piece 
 of clay in the potter's hands to be moulded at the will of the 
 teacher. Sometimes the figure is changed, and the child is 
 compared to a block of marble and the teacher to the artist 
 who is to chisel out whatever likeness he may conceive. Now, 
 in reality are either of these comparisons psychologically true ? 
 Is the child a piece of inert material that can be moulded or 
 chiselled as we will ? Suppose we should decide that the 
 blond child should be brunette, that the short child should be 
 tall, or that the feeble-minded should be normal. Could we 
 effect these changes regardless of the inner powers and poten- 
 tialities of the real child ? There are enthusiasts who seem to 
 believe that the modifications which environment may pro- 
 duce are practically unlimited. But, when such questions as 
 the foregoing are raised, such claims at once appear absurd. 
 It is recognized at once that there are norms toward which 
 each one develops simply because of inner tendencies strug- 
 gling to assert themselves. This is not to minimize the influ- 
 ence of environment, but to show some of its limitations. 
 Education is in part a process of unfoldment or development 
 of the native powers, capacities, and potentialities of a child. 
 In order to understand just what these inner forces mean and 
 what power they possess, it will be desirable to study some- 
 thing of the subjects of heredity and instinct. 
 
 Thorndike says ("Eugenics, with Special Reference to In- 
 tellect and Character," Pop.Sci. Mo., 83, pp. 125-138, August, 
 1913): 
 
 Long before a child begins his schooling, or a man his work at trade 
 or profession, or a woman her management of a home — long indeed 
 before they are born — their superiority or inferiority to others of the 
 
 59 
 
6o 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 same environmental advantages is determined by the constitution of 
 the germs and ova whence they spring, and which, at the start of their 
 individual lives, they are. 
 
 All will agree that what any individual becomes depends (i) 
 upon his initial endowment, and (2) upon the use that is made 
 
 HERITAGE 
 THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE 
 
 of these powers or potentialities. This last depends to a con- 
 siderable extent upon the environment by which the individ- 
 ual is surrounded. 
 
 Doctor Walter has stated the matter very aptly by saying 
 (Genetics: An Introduction to the Study of Heredity, p. 13): 
 
 Three factors determine the characteristics of an individual, namely, 
 environment, training, and heritage, as expressed diagrammatically in 
 Fig. I. It may indeed be said that an individual is the result of the 
 interaction of these three factors, since he may be modified by chang- 
 ing any one of them. Although no one factor can possibly be omitted, 
 the student of genetics places the emphasis upon heritage as the factor 
 of greatest importance. Heritage, or "blood," expresses the innate 
 equipment of the individual. It is what he actually is even before 
 birth. It is his nature. It is what determines whether he shall be a 
 beast or a man. Consequently in the diagram above the triangle of 
 life is represented as resting solidly upon the side marked "heritage" 
 for its foundation. 
 
 "Environment and training, although indispensable, are 
 both factors which are subsequent and secondary. Environ- 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 6i 
 
 ment is what the individual has, for example, housing, food, 
 friends, and enemies, surrounding aids which may help him 
 and obstacles which he must overcome. It is the particular 
 world into which he comes, the measure of opportunity given 
 to his particular heritage. 
 
 "Training, or education, on the other hand, represents what 
 the individual does with his heritage and environment. Lack- 
 ing a suitable environment, a good heritage may come to 
 naught, like good seed sown upon stony ground, but it is 
 nevertheless true that the best environment cannot make up 
 for defective heritage or develop wheat from tares. 
 
 " The absence of sufficient training or exercise even when the 
 environment is suitable and the endowment ... is ample 
 will result in an individual who falls short of his possibilities, 
 while no amount of education can develop a man out of the 
 heritage of a beast. Consequently the biologist holds that, 
 although what an individual has and does is unquestionably 
 of great importance, particularly to the individual himself, 
 what he is is far more important in the long run. Improved 
 environment and education may better the generation already 
 born. Improved blood will better every generation to come." 
 
 Meaning of Heredity. — It is a law of nature that the de- 
 scendants of individuals tend to be like their ancestors. 
 Every one knows that children are apt to look like their 
 parents or near relatives, to have similar dispositions, and to 
 have many characteristics common to the family group. This 
 law of transmission and reproduction of ancestral traits in 
 descendants is termed heredity. President David Starr Jor- 
 dan says {Animal Life, p. 88): 
 
 There is something inherent in each developing animal that gives 
 it an identity of its own. Although in its young stages it may be in- 
 distinguishable from some other kind of animal in similar stages, it is 
 sure to come out, when fully developed, an individual of the same kind 
 as its parents were or are. The young fish and the young salamander 
 . . . are indistinguishably alike, but one embryo is sure to develop into 
 a fish and the other into a salamander. This certainty of an embryo to 
 become an individual of a certain kind is called the law of heredity. 
 
62 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 This is the great conservative force in nature. Through 
 heredity evolution is made possible, since variations once 
 established tend to be transmitted to posterity. 
 
 Physical Heredity. — Heredity of physical structure is every- 
 where apparent among human beings. It may manifest itself 
 in stature, weight, length of limbs, color of eyes or hair, facial 
 features, or expression. Children are often said to be exact 
 images of father, mother, or grandparents. Among animals 
 resemblances of young to parents are equally striking. The 
 same laws are observable in plants. It may be safely pre- 
 dicted that a grain of corn or any other plant seed will pro- 
 duce under ordinary conditions a new plant of the same kind 
 and of similar size, form, and color as that which bore the 
 seed. The facts are all too obvious to need more than sug- 
 gestion. Internal structures as well as external are governed 
 by the laws of heredity. The various proportions of the 
 cranium, thorax, vertebrae, teeth, the peculiarities of the cir- 
 culatory system and the nervous system, which are manifest 
 in a given individual, will probably be found upon investiga- 
 tion to be characteristics common to his ancestry and his 
 posterity. Ribot tells us that "there are some families in 
 which the heart and principal blood-vessels are naturally 
 very large; others which present identical faults of conforma- 
 tion." The nervous system, especially the brain, seems to 
 follow a certain type in a given family or "line of ascent." 
 Length of natural life is doubtless an ancestral bequest. In a 
 family where there is a centenarian there is almost sure to be 
 a number who live to a very old age, exceeding their allotted 
 "threescore and ten." Ribot writes that "longevity depends 
 far less on race, climate, profession, mode of life, or food than 
 on hereditary transmission." (Ribot, Heredity, pp. 3 and 5.) 
 
 Thomson says that "not less striking than the long per- 
 sistence of specific and stock characters is the fact that off- 
 spring frequently reproduce the individual peculiarities — 
 both normal and abnormal — of their parents or ancestors. A 
 slight structural peculiarity, such as a lock of white hair or 
 an extra digit, may persist for several generations. A slight 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 63 
 
 functional peculiarity, such as left-handedness, has been re- 
 corded for at least four generations, and color-blindness for 
 five." (J. Arthur Thomson, Heredity, p. 70.) 
 
 Conklin says ("Phenomena of Inheritance," Popular Science 
 Monthly, October, 1914, p. 314): 
 
 All peculiarities which are characteristic of a race, species, genus, 
 order, class, and phylum are of course inherited, otherwise there would 
 be no constant characteristics of these groups and no possibility of 
 classifying organisms. The chief characters of every living thing are 
 unalterably fixed by heredity. Men do not gather grapes of thorns 
 nor figs of thistles. Every living thing produces offspring after its own 
 kind. Men, horses, cattle; birds, reptiles, fishes; insects, moUusks, 
 worms; polyps, sponges, micro-organisms — all of the million known 
 species of animals and plants differ from one another because of in- 
 herited peculiarities — because they have come from different kinds of 
 germ-cells. 
 
 Mental Heredity. — Ribot makes an Interesting and exhaus- 
 tive study of the heredity of various psychological powers, in- 
 cluding memory, Imagination, the will, Instinct, the senti- 
 ments and passions. He shows that memory is Indeed merely 
 a disposition of nervous tissue on the one hand, and of the 
 mind on the other, to act again in a way In which they once 
 have acted. Memory is a dynamic relation existing among 
 various types of dynamic possibilities. A given type, he be- 
 lieves, is apt to be characteristic of the various members of a 
 family. He mentions several cases to support his view: 
 
 The two Senecas were famed for their memory . . . Marcus Annaeus 
 could repeat 2,000 words in the order in which he heard them; the son, 
 Lucius Annaeus, was also, though less highly, gifted in this respect. 
 According to Galton, in the family of Richard Porson, one of the Eng- 
 lishmen most distinguished as a Greek scholar, this faculty was so 
 extraordinary as to become proverbial — the Porson memory. (Ribot, 
 Heredity, p. 53.) 
 
 Families are often renowned for their special types of 
 imagination. Among painters It Is not at all uncommon to 
 find several generations of especially gifted artists. In the 
 family of Titian were nine painters of great merit. Cagliari 
 
64 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 had several relatives who were nearly as illustrious as him- 
 self. A catalogue of names of painters who have belonged to 
 families celebrated for their artistic genius must contain such 
 names as Rafael, Van Dyck, Murillo, and Claude Lorrain. 
 Ribot says: 
 
 A glance at any history of painting, or a visit to a few museums, will 
 show that families of painters are not rare. In England you have the 
 Landseers; in France the Bonheurs. Every one has heard of the 
 Bellinis, Caraccios, Teniers, Van Ostades, Mieris, Van der Veldes. In 
 a list of forty-two painters — Italian, Spanish, and Flemish — held to be 
 of the highest rank, Galton found twenty-one that had illustrious 
 relatives. {Ibid., p. 60.) 
 
 Another type of imagination which can be easily studied for 
 hereditary tendencies is the musical type. Sebastian Bach 
 was the greatest of an extraordinarily gifted family of musi- 
 cians. The family began in 1550, and was illustrious through 
 at least eight generations. Beginning with Weit Bach, the 
 Presburg baker, we have a record of an ''unbroken line of 
 musicians of the same name that for nearly two centuries over- 
 ran Thuringia, Saxony, and Franconia." In the family there 
 were twenty-nine eminent musicians. The names of Beetho- 
 ven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Haydn all represent families 
 famed for their musical abilities. 
 
 Conklin writes (loc. cit.) that: 
 
 Psychological characters appear to be inherited in the same way that 
 anatomical and physiological traits are; indeed all that has been said 
 regarding the correlation of morphological and physiological characters 
 applies also to psychological ones. No one doubts that particular in- 
 stincts, aptitudes, and capacities are inherited among both animals 
 and men nor that different races and species differ hereditarily in psy- 
 chological characteristics. Certain breeds of dogs, such as the mastiff, 
 the bulldog, the terrier, the collie, and many others, are characterized 
 by peculiarities of temperament, affection, intelligence, and disposi- 
 tion. No one who has much studied the subject can doubt that differ- 
 ent human races and families show characteristic differences in these 
 same respects. It is quite futile to argue that exceptional individuals 
 may be found in one race with the mental characteristics of another 
 race; the same could be said of different races of dogs, or of the sizes 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 65 
 
 of different races of beans or of paramecia. The fact is that racial 
 characteristics are not determined by exceptional and extreme individ- 
 uals but by the average or mean qualities of the race; and measured in 
 this way there is no doubt that certain types of mind and disposition 
 are characteristic of certain families. 
 
 Conklin bears further testimony on this point when he says : 
 
 There is no longer any question that some kinds of feeble-minded- 
 ness, epilepsy, and insanity are inherited, and that there is often a 
 hereditary basis for nervous and phlegmatic temperaments, for emo- 
 tional, judicial, and calculating dispositions. Nor can it be denied 
 that strength or weakness of will, a tendency to moral obliquity or 
 rectitude, capacity or incapacity for the highest intellectual pursuits, 
 occur frequently in certain families and appear to be inherited. In 
 spite of certain noteworthy exceptions, which may perhaps be due to 
 remarkable variations, statistics collected by Galton show that genius 
 is hereditary; while the work of certain recent investigators, particu- 
 larly Goddard, Davenport, and Weeks, proves that feeble-mindedness 
 and epilepsy are also inherited; and the careful work of Mott and of 
 Rosanoff leaves no room for doubt that certain types of insanity are 
 hereditary. It frequently happens that families in which hereditary 
 insanity occurs also have other members afflicted with epilepsy, hys- 
 teria, alcoholism, etc., which would indicate that the thing inherited 
 is an unstable condition of the nervous system which may take various 
 forms under slightly different conditions. Woods has collected data 
 concerning "Heredity in Royalty" which seem to show that very high 
 or low grades of intellect and virtues may be traced through the royal 
 families of Europe for several generations. 
 
 History of the Juke Family. — In 1877 R. Dugdale published 
 in the Thirtieth Annual Report of the New York Prison Com- 
 mission a study of the so-called Juke family. Juke is a name 
 given to a large family of degenerates. It is not the real name 
 of the family, but a general term applied to forty-two differ- 
 ent families whose ancestry could be traced to one particular 
 man. The father of the Juke family, Dugdale termed Max. 
 He was of Dutch stock, born about 1720. He was shiftless, 
 played truant, and was a general vagabond. He married a 
 woman as worthless as himself. They reared a family of 
 vagabonds, and these children in due time Intermarried with 
 other vagabonds. In 1877, in five generations, there were 540 
 
66 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 direct descendants and about 700 of more distant relation; 
 300 of the 1,200 were professional paupers, 7 were murderers, 
 60 were habitual thieves, 130 were criminals who were fre- 
 quently convicted of crime, 300 died in infancy, while 400 
 were physically degenerate. Only 20 of the 1,200 learned a 
 trade, and 10 of those learned it in a state prison. They had 
 cost the State of New York $1,000 apiece, including all men, 
 women, and children; a total of $1,250,000. 
 
 History of Jonathan Edwards's Family. — In 1898 Doctor 
 A. E. Winship, who had made a study of the Jukes, deter- 
 mined to make a study of some desirable family to offset 
 the appalling record of the Jukes. He selected for his study 
 Jonathan Edwards, who was born October 5, 1703. While 
 Max Juke was the founder of a family of 1,200, mostly 
 paupers and criminals, he found that Jonathan Edwards was 
 the founder of a family of 1,400 of the world's noblemen, 
 most of whom have left the world better for having lived in 
 it. It is possible here to cite only a few of the illustrious de- 
 scendants of Jonathan Edwards. In Yale alone there have 
 been more than 120 graduates who were direct descendants; 
 among these are nearly 20 Dwights, as many by the name of 
 Edwards, 7 Woolseys, 8 Porters, 5 Johnsons, and several of 
 most of the following names: Chapin, Winthrop, Shoemaker, 
 Hadley, Lewis, Mather, Reeve, Rowland, Carmalt, Dev- 
 ereaux, Weston, Heermance, Whitney, Blake, Collier, Scar- 
 borough, Yardley, Gilman, Raymond, Wood, Morgan, Bacon, 
 Ward, Foote, Cornelius, Shepard, Bristow, Wickersham, 
 Doubleday, Van Valkenberg, Robbins, Tyler, Miller, Lyman, 
 Pierpont. Mr. Churchill, author of Richard Carvel, is a recent 
 graduate. In Amherst there were at one time of this family, 
 President Gates and Professors Mather, Tyler, and Todd. 
 There is not a leading college in the country in which their 
 names are not to be found recorded. They have not only fur- 
 nished thirteen college presidents and one hundred or more 
 professors, but they have founded many important academies 
 and seminaries in New Haven and Brooklyn, all through 
 the New England States, and in the Middle, Western, and 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 67 
 
 Southern States. Not only have they furnished scholars, but 
 statesmen, lawyers, financiers, and other men and women of 
 high rank in practically every walk of life. One hundred 
 and thirty-five books of merit have been written by the 
 family, eighteen journals and periodicals of large importance 
 have been edited by them, and several of them founded by 
 members of the family. Several descendants have been 
 among the most illustrious men of their time. Examples of 
 these are President Timothy Dwight, President Theodore 
 Dwight Woolsey, Doctor Theodore W. Dwight, president of 
 Columbia College Law School, and Daniel Colt Gilman. The 
 only notable black sheep in the family was Aaron Burr, Ed- 
 wards's grandson, and there is no question that he possessed 
 great mental acumen. But for a single unfortunate charac- 
 teristic and the custom of the time, which allowed this trait 
 to go unchecked, Burr might have been one of the great in- 
 stead of being numbered among the dishonored. At forty- 
 nine he was one of the most brilliant, most admired, and most 
 beloved men in the United States. For thirty years his career 
 had few American parallels. 
 
 Perhaps some one may contend that the foregoing shows 
 the result of environment rather than hereditary tendencies. 
 The rejoinder should be made that the environment in a large 
 way was practically the same for the Juke family as for the 
 Edwards. The periods are synchronous and there was no 
 great difference between New York and Massachusetts. It 
 could have been no chance condition of environment which 
 made nearly all of one family differ from all of the other. If 
 environment were really so potent as many claim, the same- 
 ness of environment should have brought the two families as 
 a whole to the same level. 
 
 "The Kallikak Family." — Of still greater significance is a 
 more recent study by Goddard, The Kallikak Family. Martin 
 "Kallikak" having been married twice and having reared two 
 families with different mothers makes it possible to check 
 more definitely the role of heredity and of environment. The 
 family descended from the first wife, a feeble-minded woman, 
 
68 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 is a duplicate of the Juke family. The descendants by the 
 second wife, a woman of normal intelligence, included few de- 
 generates or criminals. The majority were respectable citi- 
 zens, among them doctors, lawyers, judges, educators, and 
 business men. 
 
 It is not argued that environment has no effect in deter- 
 mining the ultimate development of individuals. The effects 
 are very consequential. One who disbelieves in them should 
 not remain in the ranks of educators. But there are very 
 definite limits beyond which environment exercises no con- 
 trol. No amount of feeding could make a mastiff of a poodle. 
 No amount of underfeeding could limit the growth of a mastiff 
 to the size of the poodle. Similarly no amount of training 
 could make a Shakespeare of an idiot. Shakespeare, even 
 though untrained, would have been a marked man. We must 
 keep in mind a distinction between great mental power and 
 reputation; between ability and success. Obscurity is not a 
 necessary correlate of weakness. Many intellectual giants 
 have been obscure. A distinction must also be made between 
 biological and social heredity; between intellectual power and 
 the use to which one puts this power. Biological heredity de- 
 termines largely what mental capacity shall be, but social 
 heredity and environment determine what use shall be made 
 of physical and intellectual powers. Morality is much more 
 influenced by environment than is intellectual strength. 
 Whether one makes locks or picks them depends largely on 
 one's environment, but the capacity to do either is a matter 
 of native endowment. 
 
 Hereditary Disease Tendencies. — While specific diseases as 
 such are probably not directly inheritable, it is none the less 
 true that tendencies to disease are very definitely inherited. 
 **The process," says Thomson, "is not transmitted, but the 
 potentiality of it is involved in some peculiarity in the organi- 
 zation of the germ-plasm." The same authority writes that 
 ** there are endless illustrations of the fact that a pathological 
 diathecis — rheumatic, gouty, neurotic, or the like — may per- 
 sist and express itself similarly, even in spite of altered con- 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 69 
 
 ditions of life, throughout many generations." {Op. cit., p. 
 70.) While germ diseases are not directly heritable, it should 
 not be supposed for a moment that children of parents af- 
 flicted with such diseases as tuberculosis are no more liable 
 to it than are children of parents entirely free from it. In a 
 strict biological sense the disease is not transmitted, but 
 the devitalized constitution giving a predisposition is herit- 
 able. 
 
 Good and poor eyesight are family characteristics. Con- 
 genital blindness sometimes occurs in several generations of 
 the same family. In one family thirty-seven children and 
 grandchildren became blind between their seventeenth and 
 eighteenth years. Of another family, a father and his four 
 children all became blind at the age of 21. ''Color-blind- 
 ness," says Ribot, "is notoriously hereditary. The distin- 
 guished English chemist, Dal ton, was so affected, as were 
 also two of his brothers. Sedgwick discovered that color- 
 bUndness occurs oftener in men than in women." Darwin 
 wrote {Variation of Plants, II, p. 70): "Myopia is said to 
 be becoming hereditary among certain civilized nations, espe- 
 cially the Germans." Particular types of hearing are doubt- 
 less hereditary. Although the offspring of a deaf-mute and a 
 person of sound hearing are seldom deaf, yet where both 
 parents are mute their children are apt to be deaf or to be 
 afflicted with some kindred disease. In the Deaf and Dumb 
 Institution in London: "Among 148 pupils in the institution 
 at one time, there was one in whose family were 5 deaf-mutes; 
 another in whose family were 4. In the families of 1 1 of the 
 pupils there were 3 each; and in the families of 19, 2 each." 
 (Ribot, op. cit., p. 42.) "The brothers and sisters of the deaf 
 are deaf in 245 cases in 1,000. The child of deaf parents is 
 259 times as likely to be deaf as if its parents were normal." 
 (Fay, Marriage of the Deaf in America, p. 49.) "Out of 901 
 admissions to an asylum, 477 had insane relatives; out of 321 
 cases of epilepsy, 105 had a family taint (about 35 per cent); 
 out of 208 cases of hysteria, 165 had a family taint (about 80 
 per cent). Various specialists on mental disorders have found 
 
70 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 reason to believe in hereditary transmission in from 25 to 85 
 per cent of their patients, the diversity being doubtless in 
 part due to the great variety of nervous diseases." (Thomson, 
 Heredity, p. 294.) 
 
 Because a specific disease afflicting a parent does not reap- 
 pear in the children, the belief in heredity is often weakened. 
 But as the lowered vitality rather than the specific disease is 
 inherited, a variety of kindred diseases may appear in succes- 
 sive generations of the same family. There are many diseases 
 which are closely related because they develop as a result of 
 a devitalized system. Among such are tuberculosis, scrofula, 
 and many glandular and skin diseases. The specific disease 
 may be pulmonary consumption, scrofulous tumor, or cancer. 
 There is a whole train of afflictions akin to deaf-mutism. 
 Congenital deaf-mutes are usually defective in mind and body. 
 Ordinary deaf-mutism is closely allied to idiocy, and is one of 
 the hereditary neuroses. "In the family of the deaf-mute, 
 inquiry will frequently discover idiotic, epileptic, blind, or 
 scrofulous brothers and sisters; dipsomania, insanity, epilepsy, 
 phthisis, or imbecility in the parents or earlier ancestors, and 
 like conditions in collateral branches of the family. . . . 
 Occasionally a whole family is found deaf and dumb." In- 
 sanity is almost inseparably connected with neurotic degen- 
 eracy, and, according to Sachs, "Heredity is the potent fac- 
 tor in the causation of juvenile and adult insanity." {Ner- 
 vous Diseases of Children, p. 610.) 
 
 Life-insurance companies place the utmost confidence in 
 heredity. They make the most searching inquiries concern- 
 ing the health of ancestry and relatives. Many a person is 
 rejected solely on grounds of hereditary taints, even though 
 he may be apparently a perfect risk. Insanity and suicidal 
 tendencies are regarded with extreme suspicion. Diseases fre- 
 quently and degeneracy always have a family history. In 
 discussing the question frequently only the immediate parents 
 are considered, when the whole complex of ancestral bequests 
 must be taken into account. 
 
 Conklin says {loc. cit.) : 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 71 
 
 If a disease is due to some defect in the hereditary constitution, it is 
 inherited; otherwise, according to our definition of heredity, it is not. 
 Of course no disease develops without extrinsic causes, but when one 
 individual takes a disease while another under the same conditions 
 does not, the differential cause may be an inherited one, or it may be 
 due to differences in the previous conditions of life. There is no doubt 
 that certain diseases run in families and have the appearance of being 
 inherited, but in this case, as in many others, it is extremely difficult 
 in the absence of experiments to distinguish between effects due to 
 intrinsic causes and those due to extrinsic ones 
 
 Recent Experimental Evidence. — Professor Vernon Kellogg, 
 of Stanford University, experimented with silkworms to study 
 the influence of heredity and of environment. By giving three 
 groups of silkworms of the same qualities as nearly as possible 
 different rations of mulberry leaves, there resulted "big moths, 
 middle-sized moths, and dwarf moths." By feeding three 
 other groups of different ancestry exactly the same rations it 
 was impossible to make them develop similarly. The experi- 
 ments show that environment may exert a tremendous influ- 
 ence, developing inherent potentialities, yet no possible com- 
 bination of environmental circumstances can overcome the 
 profound influences of heredity. 
 
 "The facts of Mendelian inheritance and their explana- 
 tion have carried us a long way in our attempts to reach the 
 goal of being able to prophesy, with a high degree of confi- 
 dence, what will be the specific hereditary outcomes of mat- 
 ings of plants and animals and men in which contrasting 
 specific traits are involved. The principles and the mech- 
 anism of Mendelian inheritance are well determined. But the 
 behavior of each trait has to be worked out for each species 
 of plant or animal, or for man." (Vernon Kellogg, "The New 
 Heredity," Atlantic Monthly, November, 1922, p. 584.) 
 
 Relation to ** Intelligence Quotient." — The recent world- 
 wide movement in intelligence testing started by Binet about 
 1905 Is really a study in hereditary individual differences in 
 children. It is an attempt to find out in a definite quantita- 
 tive way just how children differ in native ability from given 
 standards of intelligence. So much progress has been made 
 
72 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 that students can be and are much better classified than be- 
 fore methods of measuring were estabHshed. A Httle progress 
 has also been made in measuring definitely the different types 
 of hereditary ability. Schools for backward children lacking 
 in a normal amount of hereditary ability have been established 
 for some time. More recently schools for especially gifted 
 children have been established here and there. 
 
 Thus, while teachers should say little about hereditary dif- 
 ferences in school children, they need to know the laws of 
 heredity and the means of discovering hereditary aptitudes 
 and limitations. The science of classification in schools is 
 based mainly upon such knowledge. Society needs to realize 
 the great laws of heredity and also how to utilize environment 
 to develop hereditary potentialities to the greatest possible 
 maximum. 
 
 Summarized Conclusion. — "The general trend of all recent 
 work on heredity is unmistakable, whether it concerns man or 
 lower animals. The entire organism, consisting of structures 
 and functions, body and mind, develops out of the germ, and 
 the organization of the germ determines all the possibilities of 
 development of the mind no less than of the body, though the 
 actual realization of any possibility is dependent also upon 
 environmental stimuli." (Conkhn, Joe. cit., p. 319.) 
 
 "However one may choose to take sides on the question as 
 to whether heredity or environment is the more important, it 
 must be agreed that the fundamental basis of all human effi- 
 ciency is to be found In the physical and mental constitution 
 which is given to one as a legacy by his ancestors. We start 
 with an inheritance good or bad, and upon this basis our suc- 
 cess or failure must be established." (HoUingworth and Pof- 
 fenberger. Applied Psychology, 1917, p. 21.) 
 
 To set forth the influence of heredity is not an attempt to 
 minimize the effects of environment. Each plays a part in 
 the development of every individual. To ask which is the 
 more important is like asking "Which is more important in 
 sustaining life, oxygen or nitrogen?" Life could not exist 
 without both. This chapter is simply an attempt to analyze 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 73 
 
 properly the influence of heredity. Sometimes the superficial 
 sociologist asserts that simply by making the environment of 
 all people alike would eradicate all individual differences. He 
 overlooks the fact that some people create their own environ- 
 ment to a much more marked degree than others. On the 
 other hand, the superficial believer in the all-powerful force of 
 heredity preaches a doctrine of fatalism. 
 
 Educational Bearings. — A knowledge of heredity is of great 
 value in education. It does not mean that the teacher must 
 necessarily study the ancestors of the pupil, but it does mean 
 that the teacher should study with the greatest possible care 
 the potentialities of each pupil. The main thing the teacher 
 can do is to develop the capabilities which the pupi<l possesses. 
 Too often the teacher spends most of the time in trying to 
 get the pupil to do things in directions in which he possesses 
 little or no capability, and in so doing overlooks wonderful 
 latent abilities. A study of heredity must impress one with 
 the fact that great individual differences exist among pupils. 
 No two are alike and can never be made alike, no matter what 
 influences are brought to bear. Applications of some of the 
 foregoing facts are considered in the chapters on "Instinct," 
 "Individual Differences," "Measuring Intelligence," "Pre- 
 dicting Performance," and "Psychology in Vocational Gui- 
 dance." 
 
 One of the most fundamental problems of education is 
 to determine what the child knows or has at command as 
 capital. This capital may have been bequeathed him by his 
 ancestors as an hereditary endowment or it may be due to 
 postnatal acquisition. In either case the teacher should know 
 what — if she can know the whence so much the better. But 
 to save precious time she must know what funds of knowledge 
 given children have; and any studies which point out tenden- 
 cies in groups will enable the teacher the better to deal in 
 probabilities concerning individuals. This is scientific, for 
 science is that which enables us to interpret facts through all 
 other facts of a kindred nature. Science endows one with the 
 gift of prophecy; the scientist is a prophet. 
 
74 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Lest there might be some misapprehension, it is distinctly 
 asserted here that there is no thought of assuming that hered- 
 ity gives any poHtical rights. It is absolutely contrary to all 
 principles of democracy that any rights to govern are handed 
 down as heredity prerogatives. Election by one's peers is the 
 only possible just method of being given the right to govern. 
 By popular suffrage only can any people ever expect to secure 
 rulers of the highest ability. Hereditary monarchs are as apt 
 to be mediocre as geniuses, knaves as righteous men, insane 
 egotists as wise humanitarians. 
 
 There are many more very important questions connected 
 with this fascinating subject but which it will not be possible 
 to discuss in this elementary book. Among the most interest- 
 ing and important of these questions is that known as the 
 transmission of acquired characters. That question stated 
 briefly is: "Are the effects of modifications of structure and 
 function produced in a given individual transmitted to off- 
 spring born subsequent to the modification?" One school 
 of thinkers, the La Marckians, maintains that whatever affects 
 a given individual is most certainly repeated in posterity. 
 The Weismannian school, on the other hand, asserts that such 
 is a scientific impossibility. The arguments have been ex- 
 tended and heated, and there is much to be said on each side. 
 Before a final solution is possible, there must be much more 
 observation and experimentation. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Mention some physical trait among animals that you know is present 
 in several successive generations of the same family. 2. The same con- 
 cerning some hereditary human feature. 3. In a similar way consider 
 some apparently hereditary mental quality in some family. 4. Is it easy 
 to determine whether mental characters are hereditary? 5. Have you 
 read anything on eugenics, euthenics, Mendelism, transmission of acquired 
 characters? 6, What is meant by social heredity? 7. Of what practical 
 value is a knowledge of heredity? 8. Find out the cost in your state to 
 maintain the (a) feeble-minded, (b) insane, (c) criminals. 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. IX. 
 
 2. Conklin, The Phenomena of Inheritance. 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: HEREDITY 75 
 
 3. Davenport, Eugenics : The Science of Human Improvement. Entire book. 
 
 4. Guyer, Being Well Born. Entire book. 
 
 5. Jennings (Watson, Meyer, and Thomas), Suggestions of Modern Science 
 
 Concerning Education, chap. I. 
 
 6. Thomson, Heredity. Entire book. 
 
 7. Tyler, Growth and Education, chaps. II, III. 
 
 8. Waddle, An Introduction to Child Psychology, chap. IV. 
 
 9. Walter, Genetics: An Introduction to the Study of Heredity, chaps. I, II, 
 
 V. 
 10. Watson, Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist, chaps. VI, VII. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 
 
 Instincts Not Confined to Lower Animals. — Instincts are 
 ascribed by the uneducated only to lower animals. Because 
 man comes into the world a helpless creature and remains so 
 for such a long period, it is thought that human beings possess 
 no instincts. These traits are thought to be special provisions 
 for the guidance of the animals lower than man. But although 
 man is not limited to habitual reactions, either racial or indi- 
 vidually acquired, he possesses even more instincts than other 
 animals. The reason we do not recognize instinctive traits in 
 man is because they are exceedingly complex, rendered so 
 through modification by each other, by habits, and by edu- 
 cation. 
 
 James has said that man possesses all the instincts of the 
 lower animals and many more. This is not literally true. 
 Even though man were a direct descendant of all the lower 
 animals, we should remember that recapitulation is not com- 
 plete. Many organs and functions have been excised in the 
 course of evolution. Old instincts have died out and new 
 ones have been born. It would, however, be correct to say 
 that man possesses as many instincts as the lower animals and 
 vastly more. Instincts are simply inherited potencies or im- 
 pulses which cause the individual to act in particular direc- 
 tions. AbiUties in music or mathematics are just as truly in- 
 stincts as the phenomena of nest-building by birds or the 
 spinning of webs by spiders. 
 
 Illustrations and Meaning of Instinct. — It is a matter of 
 common observation that the lower animals perform many 
 activities without previous training on the part of the indi- 
 vidual. These activities apparently are performed in a defi- 
 nite and uniform manner by all members of the species. 
 
 76 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 77 
 
 Among typical illustrations we may cite the beaver building 
 its dam when of a certain age, at a certain time of the year, 
 and in a tolerably definite manner. The wild goose migrates 
 southward every year, and again in the spring its well-known 
 honk may be heard as the flock seeks northern latitudes. 
 Honey-bees build their comb in an apparently invariable way 
 from year to year; wasps, bumblebees, yellow-jackets, hornets, 
 each have characteristic ways of constructing their nests and 
 of gathering food. Birds of a given species build nests pecu- 
 liar to themselves; dogs bury bones; hyenas are ever vigilant; 
 and cats play with captured mice; cattle, deer, and other ani- 
 mals are afraid of red objects. Many animals possess at birth, 
 or almost immediately after, fully developed reactions for 
 food-getting, and many exhibit very early attempts at self- 
 protection from supposed foes. The foregoing activities are 
 denominated as instinctive, and instinct may be defined in a 
 preliminary way as follows: Instinct is an inborn tendency on 
 the part of a given individual to act in a certain way under given 
 stimuli without any foresight {necessarily) of the end to be ac- 
 complished, and without any previous education on the part of 
 the individual. 
 
 Among human instincts which are most readily apparent 
 the following are typical: Sucking, biting, clasping with fin- 
 gers and toes, carrying objects to the mouth in infancy, crying, 
 smiling, protruding the lips, frowning, gesturing, holding the 
 head erect, sitting, standing, creeping, walking, climbing, 
 fighting, fear, hunting, parental feelings. 
 
 The writer uses the term instinct with a somewhat wider 
 significance. It is considered as synonymous with hereditary 
 capacity, potentiality, or innate power. Some .writers define 
 "instinct as an hereditary pattern reaction, the separate ele- 
 ments of which are movements principally of the striped mus- 
 cles." (Watson, Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behavior- 
 isty p. 231,) The wider significance as employed by Marshall 
 {Instinct and Reason) seems more correct. In all probability 
 the main difference is in the terminology. What is intended 
 is a consideration of the inborn power, ability, or capacity 
 
78 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 which enables some individuals to accomplish what is impos- 
 sible to other individuals not so equipped innately. We have 
 come to consider the differences of the I. Q. of different in- 
 dividuals and the constancy of the I. Q. of an individual 
 through life. The I. Q. represents an inherent potentiality 
 or capacity of the individual and is exactly what is meant by 
 instinct in the following discussion. We might almost say 
 that the "I. Q." is one's "innate quahty" for learning. 
 
 With this interpretation such qualities as speech, play, so- 
 ciability, curiosity, constructiveness, and abilities in music, 
 mathematics, languages, philosophy would be classed as in- 
 stinctive. Some would object that these are not instincts, 
 but that they represent individual acquisitions. That is true, 
 but why can some individuals (human beings) learn them and 
 other individuals (e. g., dogs) not? If language, for example, 
 were wholly a matter of imitation why does not Fido learn to 
 speak when he has so much better opportunity than some 
 poor waifs? The answer is that the human child possesses 
 some inherent capacity (instinct) that the dog does not. 
 
 Lewis {Democracy's High School, p. 52) gives an apt char- 
 acterization of some instinctive tendencies of the high-school 
 girl. He says: 
 
 When the girl comes to the high school, she is a tall, lank, awkward, 
 rompish, bashful, self-conscious, freakish, lovable youngster, the idol 
 of her father's heart. When she leaves the high school after four 
 years, she is a neat, trim, graceful, self-possessed, responsive, sweet 
 girl-graduate, soon to be the idol of somebody else's heart. This trans- 
 figuration, however, was not the work of the high school; it must be 
 credited to Nature. 
 
 Modifiability of Instincts. — It has been a popular notion 
 that instincts are fixed and invariable. Nothing could be 
 further from the truth. It is true that the appearance of an 
 instinct depends mainly upon the maturity or ripeness of the 
 organism. For example, the beaver generally begins to build 
 its dam, the bird to build its nest, and the child to walk and 
 talk, when their bodily structures have reached a certain ma- 
 turity and inner impulse prompts to certain activities. 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 79 
 
 But instincts may be hastened or retarded by various con- 
 ditions. The kind of weather, altitude, latitude, and condi- 
 tions of the soil all affect the time of flowering and fruiting in 
 plants. Wheat and corn taken north ripen later than usual 
 until acclimated, but if moved southward they are hastened 
 in their development. People living under the equator ma- 
 ture, grow old, and die sooner than those in temperate zones. 
 
 House-martens now build their nests beneath the eaves of 
 houses while formerly they lived in rocky haunts. Barn- 
 swallows also build their mud abodes beneath the eaves of 
 barns. This they cannot have done long, because barns are 
 a modern invention. Chimney-swallows must have had a 
 different method of nest-building before the invention of 
 chimneys. Domestic ducks in Ceylon have lost their former 
 natural love for water, and are entirely terrestrial in their 
 habits, while some other ducks have been known to forsake 
 their marshy haunts and build their nests in trees, bringing 
 their young to the water on their backs. Certain species of 
 Australian parrots that were honey feeders have become fat 
 feeders since the development of the sheep industry, which 
 enables them to prey upon the carcasses of dead sheep. They 
 have learned to select unerringly certain portions of the car- 
 cass which affords the choicest morsels. The polar bear has 
 learned to bite its prey instead of hugging as other bears do. 
 Many transformations in progress, such as in whales, seals, 
 and dolphins will come to mind. 
 
 The domestication of wild animals affords a vast array of 
 most important illustrations of the transformation of habits, 
 instincts, and even of structure. The testimony should be 
 very suggestive of the possibilities of race transformation in 
 the human species. Domestic horses have lost most of their 
 primitive wildness, and the new instinct of docility renders 
 them of inestimable service to man. The cat in its wild state 
 is one of the fiercest and most untamable of creatures, but 
 once domesticated it is one of the gentlest, and most attached 
 to man. It is a far cry from the fierceness and restlessness of 
 the wolf and the jackal to the domestic dog, but the ancestry 
 
8o EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 of the latter can easily be traced to the former. Contrast the 
 sneaking, ferocious denizens of the forest with well-bred shep- 
 herd or Newfoundland dogs, which display such affection, 
 fidelity, and sagacity in protecting the interests of their mas- 
 ters. Even among domestic dogs we find great plasticity and 
 variability of instincts and structure — all the result of definite 
 attempts to produce and conserve desirable characteristics. 
 Think of the special instincts of the Newfoundland as com- 
 pared with the greyhound; those of the collie with pointers 
 and setters; and each of these as compared with pugs, poodles, 
 and terriers. Each shows the results of generations of edu- 
 cation, conservation, and selection. 
 
 Maturing Periods. — It used to be thought that all instincts 
 manifested themselves at birth, but this is now known to be 
 untrue. Even in the lower animals many instincts are de- 
 ferred for a considerable time after birth. For example, we 
 may cite the instincts of nest-building in birds, comb-con- 
 structing in bees, dam-building in beavers, or pointing in dogs. 
 The instinct appears when the organism is mature in develop- 
 ment. When the physical structure of the bird, for example, 
 becomes properly developed, the instincts for egg-laying and 
 nest-building will appear. When the child's brain-centres 
 controlling walking, talking, or using the right hand become 
 sufificiently mature, those activities will begin to manifest 
 themselves. 
 
 Thorndike says {Elements of Psychology, p. 187): 
 
 That an instinctive tendency is born in a human being as a result of 
 the structure of his nervous system need not mean that it is present at 
 birth. Creeping, standing erect, and laughing are surely instinctive, 
 but appear only after months of life. The new feelings and desires 
 which characterize the change from childhood to adult life in the years 
 from thirteen to sixteen are as truly instinctive as the infant's fears. 
 The date of appearance of each instinct is a separate problem. 
 
 It is a very interesting and important fact that if instincts 
 are not exercised when they appear they do not develop, but 
 die out. For example, all ducks possess the instinct for swim- 
 ming, but if they are not allowed to be near water during the 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 8i 
 
 first few weeks of life, they have to be driven into the water. 
 Dogs have an instinct for burying bones, old shoes, food, but 
 if they are kept away from the earth for the first few months 
 of life, although they try to bury things on the floor, they find 
 it useless and cease to try, and the instinct dies out. 
 Thorndike further comments: 
 
 That a tendency is due to inborn nervous make-up need not mean 
 that it will remain all through life. On the contrary, all instincts tend 
 to die out if not given exercise, and may be killed off — or, to use the 
 technical term, inhibited — when circumstances are so arranged that 
 their manifestation leads to discomfort. Thus chicks brought up in 
 isolation from the parent hen do not show, after ten or twelve days, the 
 tendency to follow her; and children are taught by punishment to 
 abandon their original tendency to grab every new and attractive ob- 
 ject which they see. 
 
 James {Talks to Teachers on Psychology and Life's Ideals ^ 
 p. 6i) emphasized the same idea in the following words: 
 
 In children we observe a ripening of impulses and interests in a cer- 
 tain determinate order. Creeping, walking, climbing, imitating vocal 
 sounds, constructing, drawing, calculating, possess the child in succes- 
 sion; and in some children the possession, while it lasts, may be of a 
 semifrantic and exclusive sort. Later, the interest in any one of these 
 things may wholly fade away. Of course, the proper pedagogic mo- 
 ment to work skill in, and to clench the useful habit, is when the native 
 impulse is most acutely present. Crowd on the athletic opportunities, 
 the mental arithmetic, the verse-learning, the drawing, the botany, or 
 what not, the moment you have reason to think the hour is ripe. The 
 hour may not last long, and while it continues you may safely let all 
 the child's other occupations take a second place. In this way you 
 economize time and deepen skill; for many an infant prodigy, artistic 
 or mathematical, has a flowering epoch of but a few months. 
 
 In order that the child may develop naturally, it is necessary 
 that each stage of growth be passed through normally before 
 passing on to the next higher. For example, it is well known 
 that the tadpole's tail does not drop off, but is absorbed in 
 some way during the period of the growth of the hind legs. 
 It has been demonstrated by experiment that if the tail is cut 
 ofT, the frog grows up deformed. Hence Doctor Hall has 
 
 al^HI 
 
S^ EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 coined the expression "In education don't cut off the tad- 
 pole's tail." A little girl was watching with great interest 
 the process of the incubation of hen's eggs. As the chicks 
 neared the time for emerging from the eggs, some were several 
 hours in pecking their way out of the shell. The little girl felt 
 sorry for them and concluded to help them out. She broke 
 some of the shells. The result you know. Those chicks 
 either died or were deformed. 
 
 Every farmer knows full well that cultivation of his corn at 
 the right time means more than at any other time. Suppose 
 he allows the weeds to grow up around the corn and the stalks 
 become yellow and sere; no amount of cultivation can restore 
 the corn to its original possibilities. The nascent period is 
 past, never to return again. But have we learned the appli- 
 cation of such lessons to the process of education ? 
 
 Educational Applications: General. — All effective education 
 must take into consideration the latent possibilities of the 
 child. What he becomes depends upon his inborn capacities 
 as well as upon his training. To educate wisely we must 
 know (i) what inborn capacities the child possesses, (2) the 
 time of their appearance, and (3) what will bring these powers 
 to fullest development. If a child possesses a high degree of 
 latent ability in a given direction, e. g., in mathematics or in 
 music, it will be easy to make a mathematician or a musician 
 out of him by right training. But if he possesses a low degree 
 of ability in either of these, no amount of training will be of 
 much effect, and the efforts of all the teachers in the world 
 would not accomplish much. 
 
 Thorndike says (Education, p. 91): 
 
 The task of education is to make the best use of this original fund of 
 tendencies, eradicating its vicious elements, wasting the least possible 
 of value that nature gives, and supplying at the most useful time the 
 additions that are needed to improve and satisfy human wants. This 
 task is complicated by the fact that original tendencies are often 
 "delayed" — that is, appear only when a certain stage of mental growth 
 is reached — so that education has to wait perhaps longer than it 
 wishes before it can count upon them. It is further complicated by 
 their transitoriness. Many tendencies appear for a time, but wane if 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 83 
 
 not given exercise and reward; so that education has to strike while 
 the iron is hot. If the response is sought too early, effort is wasted; if 
 it is sought too late, the effort may fail altogether. 
 
 He comments further {Principles of Teaching, pp. 22, 32-34) : 
 
 Education may also be made more and more economical in propor- 
 tion as it utilizes the forces of natural tendencies to attain its ideal ends. 
 Whenever we work with rather than against nature, the task becomes 
 easy and the burden light. Fractions become easy with the help of 
 apples and blocks and knives and jig-saw, because the instinctive ten- 
 dencies to attend to concrete objects and to enjoy physical action and 
 manipulation are called into service. 
 
 Teaching may be wasteful or even harmful by neglect of the fact of 
 delayed instincts and capacities. Theology for the ten-year-old in 
 Sunday-schools and Jane Austen's novels for high-school boys are 
 much the same as cabbage for babies. Cabbage is a good food only 
 when the capacity to digest it exists. Teaching little girls to be atten- 
 tive to their dress and appearance is much the same as trying to teach 
 an infant of six months to walk. The interest in clothes and looks will 
 come of itself with adolescence, just as the walking instinct will come 
 of itself at the beginning of the second year. 
 
 Just as the delayed appearance of inborn tendencies makes too early 
 teaching wasteful, so their transitoriness makes too tardy teaching 
 fruitless. The manual dexterity of the pianist, for instance, must be 
 acquired early in life, if at all. The instincts and capacities important 
 in education are, however, for the most part long-lived, and, if not 
 suppressed by actual ill treatment, persist through the years of school 
 life without special stimulation from teachers. So with the instincts of 
 action, curiosity, the love of outdoor life and sport, emulation, and 
 many others. 
 
 Application in Some Special Instincts: (A) Expression. — 
 Children often invent gesture language. Deaf-mutes also do 
 so, even when isolated from speaking people. Ribot quotes 
 Gerando as saying that: "Children of about 7 years old who 
 have not yet been educated make use of an astonishing num- 
 ber of gestures ... in communication with each other." As 
 a further illustration of this spontaneous, natural language, he 
 says that: "Gerando and others after him remarked that deaf- 
 mutes in their native state communicate easily with one 
 another. He enumerates a long series of ideas which they ex- 
 
84 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 press in their mimicry and gestures, and many of these ex- 
 pressions are identical in all countries." {Evolution of General 
 Ideas, p. 40.) 
 
 This instinct for expression should receive proper attention. 
 As soon as the child manifests a desire to communicate his 
 ideas in speech, his crude, spontaneous, and more deliberative 
 attempts should be encouraged. Instead of mimicking the 
 child in his baby expressions and helping to fix the wrong form 
 in his mind, one should repeat for him the correct form dis- 
 tinctly and encourage the child (not nag him) to imitate. The 
 vocal organs are now ripe for utterance and should be exer- 
 cised. If the child does not develop the speech organs during 
 this nascent period, he will ever be slow, halting, or deficient 
 in the use of words. Certain it is that new words are ac- 
 cumulated with amazing rapidity during this budding period. 
 The two-year-old child has amassed, within a year, from 300 
 to 1,200 words, representing ideas, and may have as many 
 more parrot-words, i. e., sounds imitated without an under- 
 standing of the meanings. These latter have been gathered 
 from rhymes, jingles, and from conversation not understood, 
 and from chance association of sounds with objects or actions. 
 Now even these parrot-words are important, for they gradually 
 acquire fulness of meaning. Words are, as Doctor Harris has 
 said, like bags; once acquired, they hold all the perceptions 
 and reflections that relate to the idea symbolized by the word. 
 
 Not only should the child be assisted in enunciation, but 
 his environment should be such as to lead to the production 
 of ideas. Although I do not coincide with the renowned Max 
 Miiller that there can be no thinking without words, yet it is 
 doubtless true that the best thinking utilizes words as instru- 
 ments. The child that is properly environed, who gratifies 
 his appetite for seeing, hearing, and touching things, who is 
 led to think about these things (for thinking does not hurt 
 children), and who is not overs timulated, will surely acquire 
 words as mature people acquire tools to accomplish their 
 mechanical work. 
 
 The instinct of curiosity, the constructive instinct, and the 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 85 
 
 inborn tendency to play, all co-operate in the acquisition of 
 language. The child must see and examine things for him- 
 self; he should not stumble upon them all by chance; design- 
 edly he should be led to where things are; he must be helped 
 to see them aright; he must have facts told about them; he 
 must be questioned about them; and, above all, he must have 
 questions answered that he will surely ask. In this way he 
 will pick up much language; he will have given to him many 
 new words; he will ask terms from you, and he will even coin 
 them for himself. 
 
 (B) Curiosity. — Curiosity is a fundamental instinct, ob- 
 servable far down in the scale of animal life. It is apt to be 
 coupled with fear in the presence of strange objects. Who 
 has not seen horses, cattle, sheep, and swine hovering around 
 a newly discovered and strange object, oftentimes walking 
 round and round, hovering in its vicinity, but ever with nerves 
 tense, ready to make off with the greatest speed on the dis- 
 covery of apparently harmful or undesirable signs ? Any one 
 who has tried to catch a horse in a pasture by luring him with 
 a pretense of food has received a lasting remembrance of this 
 blending of curiosity and fear. Small children, and even 
 adults, often manifest similar states. I have seen a child of 
 one year cry with fear on seeing an umbrella, but no amount 
 of persuasion could bring her away from its vicinity, so fas- 
 cinating it seemed. Many adults often flirt with the dan- 
 gerous and uncanny in the same way. Who has not gone 
 through a dark wood, a dark room, all quaking with fear, but 
 curious to ferret out some mystery? Every one would fain 
 take a turn at hunting for spooks in a haunted house. 
 
 Spencer says: 
 
 Whoever has watched with any discernment, the wide-eyed gaze of 
 the infant at surrounding objects, knows very well that education does 
 begin thus early, whether we intend it or not; and that these fingerings 
 and suckings of everything it can lay hold of, these open-mouthed lis- 
 tenings to every sound, are the first steps in the series which ends in 
 the discovery of unseen planets, the invention of calculating engines, 
 the production of great paintings, or the composition of symphonies 
 and operas. This activity of the faculties from the very first being 
 
86 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 spontaneous and inevitable, the question is whether we shall supply in 
 due variety the materials on which they may exercise themselves ; and 
 to the question so put, none but an afi&rmative answer can be given. 
 {Education, p. 128.) 
 
 Lloyd Morgan gives expression to a coincident opinion 
 where he says: 
 
 Herein, then, lies the utility of the restlessness, the exuberant activ- 
 ity, the varied playfulness, the prying curiosity, the inquisitiveness, 
 the meddlesome mischievousness, the vigorous and healthy experimen- 
 talism of the young. {Habit and Instinct, p. 162.) 
 
 The child, through his instinctive curiosity, is a born in- 
 vestigator. Normally he pulls things to pieces to see how 
 they are made and how they go. His unwise elders often con- 
 demn what they believe to be innate destructiveness, but he 
 is simply trying to satisfy his craving for knowledge. To keep 
 alive this instinct and further its normal development is high 
 teaching art. Too often before the end of school life the in- 
 stinct has completely atrophied. To get the college student 
 to desire to know is the most difficult task before the college 
 instructor. Not infrequently before the college is reached all 
 knowledge is taken in prescribed doses, and largely because ill 
 consequences are feared if directions are not followed. 
 
 (C) Activity and Constructiveness. — A child of six months 
 accidentally knocks two tin cans together, and discovers that 
 he has done something. He immediately strives to continue 
 this experiment, and his beaming countenance gives ample 
 evidence of the satisfaction gained. At eight months a child 
 accidentally dropped a teaspoon upon the floor. When the 
 teaspoon was given to the child again, he at once began to 
 exert himself to repeat the dropping process. After that, 
 whenever the spoon was given to him, the dropping recurred. 
 Evidently the child's desire to repeat the action was prompted 
 not so much by the pleasurable noise as the satisfaction of 
 doing something. From the time children can walk I have 
 found them anxious to do things that grown-up people do. 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 87 
 
 They are anxious to dust, sweep, wash, iron, bake, make beds, 
 carry things, read, write, and go on errands. They are called 
 lazy a little later on, but I believe that a normal, healthy child 
 has not a lazy fibre in its make-up. Its muscles, nerves, and 
 senses are hungry for exercise, and every effort is made by 
 the child to satisfy these cravings. The child may be lazy in 
 the sense that your particular kind of occupation may be 
 repugnant to him, but if you watch the little feet trot all day 
 you can hardly have the heart to call him lazy. 
 
 Constructiveness is a fundamental instinct of so much im- 
 portance as to merit special consideration. All children early 
 exhibit tendencies toward making things. I have noticed a 
 child of seven months trying to place one block upon another 
 in imitation of other children. Miss Shinn tells us that her 
 niece, as early as seven months, would not listen contentedly 
 to older persons playing the piano, but that she was satisfied 
 only when trying it herself. {Nates on the Development of a 
 Child, p. 116.) 
 
 In these inborn tendencies to activity and constructiveness 
 are the teacher's and parent's golden opportunities. The 
 parent should encourage the little ones to help. In this way 
 the work hahit will be instilled, and by the time the child is 
 five years of age it may save its mother many steps every 
 day. It can pick up and put away its own playthings, and 
 run on errands. (I have known four-year-olds to go half a 
 mile and purchase correctly things from a store, and to go 
 daily for little grocery orders in the neighborhood.) Most 
 children want to hammer, and saw, and make. A child can 
 have no more useful educative appliances than a hammer, 
 some nails, and boards into which he may have full liberty 
 to drive the nails. I have noticed children of two years amuse 
 themselves in this way for hours at a time. They may not 
 develop into carpenters when grown up, but they have gained 
 an education through the process. It is a pity that children 
 cannot have sets of tools and, instead of having all their toys, 
 sleds, and carts made for them, be encouraged to construct 
 them for themselves. 
 
SS EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 James has put the matter very aptly in the following para- 
 graph: 
 
 Constructiveness is the instinct most active; and by the incessant 
 hammering and sawing, and dressing and undressing dolls, putting of 
 things together and taking them apart, the child not only trains the 
 muscles to co-ordinate action, but accumulates a store of physical con- 
 ceptions which are the basis of his knowledge of the material world 
 through life. Object-teaching and manual training wisely extend the 
 sphere of this order of acquisition. Clay, wood, metals, and the vari- 
 ous kinds of tools are made to contribute to the store. ... To have 
 grown up on a farm, to have haunted a carpenter's and blacksmith's 
 shop, to have handled horses and cows and boats and guns, and to 
 have ideas and abilities connected with such objects are an inestimable 
 part of youthful acquisition. After adolescence it is rare to be able 
 to get into familiar touch with any of these primitive things. The in- 
 stinctive propensions have faded, and the habits are hard to acquire. 
 
 Accordingly, one of the best fruits of the ''child-study" movement 
 has been to reinstate all these activities to their proper place in a 
 sound system of education. Feed the growing human being, feed him 
 with the sort of experience for which from year to year he shows a 
 natural craving, and he will develop in adult life a sounder sort of men- 
 tal tissue, even though he may seem to be "wasting" a great deal of 
 his growing time, in the eyes of those for whom the only channels of 
 learning are books and verbally communicated information. (James, 
 Talks to Teachers on Psychology and Life's Ideals, p. 146.) 
 
 (D) Play. — The educative value of the play instinct has 
 been recognized by kindergartners since the time of Froebel. 
 It has recently received much study by others, and undoubt- 
 edly it is a means of intellectual and moral discipline. Both 
 free play and regulated play whose ends are certain discipline 
 are valuable. In the first five or six years the play should be 
 almost entirely free play, without adult restrictions imposed 
 upon it. In the first place, the tonic effects of play upon the 
 nervous system are of great moment. To remove temporary 
 fatigue there is absolutely no substitute for the good old- 
 fashioned recess, with its laugh and shout and capering wildly 
 about. 
 
 Play, then, during the early stage of childhood, before the 
 child has gained control over the accessory muscles, should be 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 89 
 
 largely spontaneous and unrestricted. Even then something 
 may be done to regulate and direct play which does not In- 
 volve fine co-ordinations. The kindergarten games which In- 
 clude movements Involving the larger muscles of the trunk, 
 those controlling the head, arms, and legs, may be engaged 
 in to great advantage. These should have in view the exer- 
 cise of the social instincts. Many little social duties and 
 amenities may be thoroughly inculcated In children through 
 play which is organized and directed by the teacher. Some 
 children recently had a birthday party. The whole direction 
 of the affair was given by the mother. They were helped to 
 arrange the little table, were assigned places, given a few direc- 
 tions, and through imitation of others they carried out the 
 rest of the programme. The little games which the klnder- 
 gartner directs (though she may seem to be asking their ad- 
 vice) are of immense value in helping children, through imita- 
 tion and obedience, to learn the fundamental laws of society. 
 These plays should certainly be well adapted to the capacity 
 of the children, never predominantly Inhibltlve or restraining, 
 rather the reverse. But enough of control should be sought 
 to lead the child to form habits of self-control. Many boys' 
 organizations {e. g., baseball teams) do not hang together well 
 but go to pieces on slight provocation. Bryan concludes from 
 this that therefore play up to about twelve years ''should be 
 unhampered, spontaneous, and careless of ends." This may 
 be attributed to the fact that childhood cannot produce lead- 
 ership. President Bryan concludes that: "Unquestioned obe- 
 dience to rational, intelligent authority should be the principle 
 in the management of young children, and freedom from this 
 principle w411 increase with the development of the child." 
 {Fed. Sem., vol. VII, p. 380.) 
 
 (E) The Social Instinct is one that exhibits itself early. 
 The babe of a few weeks old shows signs of lonesomeness when 
 left alone, especially if It has been much tended. By the time 
 the child is five or six months old absence of accustomed mem- 
 bers of the family, especially children, causes no little irrita- 
 bility. 
 
90 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 The social instinct furnishes a starting-point for the com- 
 plete training of the individual for his place in society. The 
 laws of society can be learned only by being in social organi- 
 zations. A child isolated from the world grows up a social 
 monster, because of the abnormal development of his selfish 
 nature. Rousseau taught that man is by nature a pure being, 
 becoming corrupt by contact with artificial society. There- 
 fore he isolates Emile from his fellows from birth to manhood. 
 But such an individual could not live in society, because he 
 has found no place in it. Law and order, the basis of our 
 social fabric, are meaningless to him. Hence the child must 
 learn the fundamentals of social organizations by subjecting 
 himself to the restrictions imposed by society for the benefit 
 of the whole and the individuals composing the whole. 
 
 The family is the first to impose restrictions and extend 
 privileges. Instinctively the child learns about the family 
 organization and also imitates their reactions toward one 
 another. By this undesigned process the child unconsciously 
 forms numberless habits, which will be priceless to him all 
 his life. He should learn, for example, how to treat his par- 
 ents, brothers and sisters, strangers, how to behave at the 
 table, not to disturb the family or neighborhood peace. But 
 even this would leave him undisciplined in many essential re- 
 lationships imposed by society at large. There is the school 
 which the child early yearns to attend. I believe all children 
 want to go to school not because it is school, but because 
 many children are there. Now, too early formal school work 
 is injurious, but there is the kindergarten, and if properly con- 
 ducted it is a blessing to the children. There the children 
 can assemble under pure, wholesome influences, through exer- 
 cises appealing to the instincts of sociability, expression, and 
 constructiveness learn through play some of the most valu- 
 able lessons of their lives. Children of the most disagreeably 
 selfish dispositions may there, with little or no coercion, de- 
 velop the control and proper emotional attitude for most 
 amiable actions. Through imitation of their fellows they 
 learn to do many things which could never have been beaten 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 91 
 
 into them, and they drop many habits which could never 
 have been beaten out of them. 
 
 One of the most important recent movements in education 
 is the studied attempt to use the school as a means of develop- 
 ing social consciousness in the pupils. This is accomphshed, 
 first through the encouragement of organizations like the glee- 
 club, the literary society, and the athletic organizations; sec- 
 ond, through the introduction of the social studies in the 
 grammar-school and high school. Through the former the 
 pupils get practice in co-operative enterprises, and through 
 the latter interpretation of social organizations. They are in 
 a nascent stage for the development of the social instinct. If 
 cultivated, the school may become a most effective means for 
 promoting good citizenship. 
 
 Application in Learning Arithmetic. — Very great mistakes 
 are often made in the arrangement of courses of study. Cer- 
 tain subjects are required long before the child has developed 
 so as to comprehend them. Other subjects are postponed 
 until after the time they can be acquired to advantage. In 
 other words, some are presented before the budding period, 
 while others are deferred until long after it is past. Arithme- 
 tic is one of the subjects which has been badly adjusted to the 
 powers of the child. A great deal of arithmetic is so abstract 
 that no child can master it until near the period of youth, 
 when the brain development makes the mind ripe for abstract 
 thinking. In an earlier chapter attention was called to the 
 waste of time from placing too much formal arithmetic in the 
 primary grades of school. By omitting all arithmetic work 
 from the first two grades it has been found that children are 
 as far advanced in arithmetic by the end of the fourth year 
 as if they had taken it four years. 
 
 On the other hand, those parts of arithmetic like the addi- 
 tion, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables can be 
 learned by mechanical memory, which is well developed by 
 8 or 9 years of age. These processes can be mastered better 
 before 12 than ever afterward. But frequently when the 
 pupil enters the high school his knowledge of these elements 
 
92 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 of arithmetic is very inaccurate. Consequently he has hard 
 work to learn processes that could have been mastered so 
 easily before; and he is also deprived of the time for learning 
 more abstract things. 
 
 Application in Learning Language. — There is a special period 
 in the life of the child when he can learn to speak language 
 to the best advantage. At the beginning of the period the 
 child continually chatters and shows a desire to talk. It has 
 been called the "la-la" period. If the child has an oppor- 
 tunity to hear speech at that time he acquires language with 
 amazing rapidity. In a few months he acquires a vocabulary 
 that would take an adult many years to gain. Children who 
 come from foreign countries learn to speak our language flu- 
 ently and with great accuracy in a few months. But their 
 parents usually have great difficulty in trying to learn the 
 language, and they seldom master it. The parents try much 
 harder than the children. They cannot learn to speak the 
 language so readily because the budding period is past. The 
 muscles of the vocal organs have become fixed, and the brain- 
 centres which control speech no longer adapt themselves to 
 new ways of acting as they once did. The case is exactly 
 parallel to that of the adult man who can no longer learn to 
 play new athletic games or gymnasium tricks the same as he 
 could when a boy. 
 
 The study of language and grammar are often interchanged 
 in time. Abstract grammar is given at a time when the child 
 could easily learn oral language, and as a consequence he 
 never masters either. Spelling should be completely mastered 
 before the high school is reached, and could be if given by 
 methods adapted to child life and not displaced by so much 
 abstract grammar and arithmetic. 
 
 Adjustment in the Grammar-School Age. — A knowledge of 
 instincts is of very great importance in adjusting grammar- 
 school and high-school work. In these stages of school work 
 there is an appalling amount of dropping out of school, as will 
 be seen from the accompanying diagram. It has been gener- 
 ally assumed that poverty is the reason why pupils drop out 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 
 
 93 
 
 of school in such large numbers from the ages of 12 to 16. 
 Undoubtedly there are altogether too many cases that should 
 be explained in that way, but recent studies show clearly that 
 the great majority drop out of school during that period not 
 
 rz 
 
 12,0 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 09,7S 
 
 A 
 
 M 
 
 4,76( 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "i 
 
 403, 
 
 i3 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 >37 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 M9,- 
 
 39 
 
 3,36! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ,258 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N 
 
 ■4" 
 
 680 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 389 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SCHOOL ENROLMENT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 1920 
 
 Statistics of State School Systems, 1919-1920; Bulletin, 1922, No. 29, U. S. Bureau of Education. 
 
 from economic pressure but because they do not wish to go. 
 The work does not appeal to them and they think that they 
 would like to be out in the big, busy world. 
 
 They are wrong when they think that the school has nothing 
 worth while for them, but is it not probable that we should 
 heed the suggestion that the school is not well enough ad- 
 justed to the particular instincts and inclinations of that pecu- 
 liar and critical age ? The majority of healthy boys and girls 
 are much more interested in physical activities, in doing things, 
 than in conning books and merely learning about things. Has 
 the school not been too bookish ? To be sure, the shops, lab- 
 oratories, field trips, and play fields are correcting the defects, 
 
94 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 but there is much more to be done. The boys and girls are 
 not averse to using books, if the books deal with subjects that 
 come near to their interests. 
 
 Adjustment in Learning Literature. — The study of literature 
 affords an opportunity to observe the importance of adapting 
 the material to the stage of development of the pupils. In 
 childhood, rhymes, jingles, myths, and fairy-tales are eagerly 
 read by most children. Students of childhood have succeeded 
 fairly well in selecting types of literature that appeal. The 
 selections for grammar-school pupils have not been so for- 
 tunate. While the pupils respond eagerly to hero tales, stories 
 of boy-and-girl life and adventure, too much that is found in 
 the grammar-school reading-books consists of morality essays, 
 dry facts of history, and political philosophy. This mal- 
 adaptation is being gradually corrected in our better schools. 
 
 The high-school course in literature needs drastic revision 
 on the basis of pupils' interests. The literary masterpieces 
 studied in many of our high schools have been chosen by col- 
 lege professors, from their point of view. For example, 
 Burke's "Speech on ConciHation," while a masterpiece of lit- 
 erary diction and political philosophy, seldom awakens any 
 responsive chord in high-school pupils. I have inquired of 
 thousands of university students regarding this, and the 
 above verdict is almost universal. Similar attitudes are ex- 
 pressed toward "Paradise Lost," "L'Allegro," "II Penseroso," 
 and others suited to adult minds. They are all excellent 
 pieces of literature and would be enjoyed by the majority of 
 adults, if presented in the right way. But by no method of 
 presentation can much interest in them be aroused in the 
 minds of most immature adolescents. If literature in the 
 grammar-school and the high school is to appeal and motivate 
 the future lives of pupils, the types must be chosen by the 
 pupils. The particular selections exemplifying the types can 
 be determined largely by the teachers. 
 
 Arrested Development. — It is well known that plants not 
 cultivated at the proper time, or which fail to receive sunlight 
 and moisture at certain stages, become stunted and remain 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT: INSTINCT 95 
 
 dwarfed and sickly. Similarly children that are not properly 
 nourished during the growing periods are checked or arrested 
 in their development. Even if they recover in size at a later 
 time, their development is not natural and they are liable to 
 disease. 
 
 Mental powers, no less than physical, are liable to arrest if 
 uncultivated at the opportune moment. Subjects which 
 might be learned with ease at certain times are acquired with 
 the utmost difficulty if postponed until after the nascent 
 period. I have often had occasion to teach algebra to mature 
 persons who had never studied the subject previously. I have 
 also taught it to boys and girls of a dozen years, and have 
 found that the children grasp the subject much more easily 
 and better than the adults. The minds of the latter had be- 
 come so habituated to the elementary processes that a tran- 
 sition to higher processes was difficult. While we should fix, 
 In the form of habits, all activities that must be continually 
 repeated in the same way, yet we should guard against too 
 definite crystallization of mental processes. Every habit 
 tends to enslave its possessor. Pupils frequently make a mis- 
 take in going over subjects again and again simply to get them 
 thoroughly. It is usually better for pupils to take new sub- 
 jects of reasonable difficulty than to repeat subjects fairly well 
 learned. 
 
 Doctor Harris, former commissioner of education, was the 
 first to call attention in a striking way to arrests of develop- 
 ment caused through overtraining in certain processes and 
 the neglect of higher ones. He said: "Teachers should be 
 careful, especially with precocious children, not to continue 
 too long in the use of a process that is becoming mechanical." 
 
 Summary. — Dewey, though an educational sociologist, rec- 
 ognizes fully the significance of instincts in education. He 
 says {My Pedagogic Creed) : 
 
 I believe that this educational process has two sides — one psycho- 
 logical and one sociological; and that neither can be subordinated to 
 the other or neglected without evil results following. Of these two 
 sides, the psychological is the basis. The child's own instincts and 
 
96 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 powers furnish the material and give the starting-point for all educa- 
 tion. Save as the efforts of the educator connect with some activity 
 which the child is carrying on of his own initiative independent of the 
 educator, education becomes reduced to a pressure from without. It 
 may, indeed, give certain external results, but cannot truly be called 
 educative. Without insight into the psychological structure and ac- 
 tivities of the individual, the educative process will, therefore, be 
 haphazard and arbitrary. . . . 
 
 I believe that knowledge of social conditions, of the present state of 
 civilization is necessary in order properly to interpret the child's powers. 
 The child has his own instincts and tendencies, but we do not know 
 what these mean until we can translate them into their social equiva- 
 lents. We must be able to carry them back into a social past and see 
 them as the inheritance of previous race activities. We must also be 
 able to project them into the future to see what their outcome and end 
 will be. In the illustration just used, it is the ability to see in the child's 
 babblings the promise and potency of a future social intercourse and 
 conversation which enables one to deal in the proper way with that 
 instinct. 
 
 I believe that the psychological and social sides are organically re- 
 lated, and that education cannot be regarded as a compromise between 
 the two, or a superimposition of one upon the other. . . . The only 
 possible adjustment which we can give to the child under existing con- 
 ditions is that which arises through putting him in complete possession 
 of all his powers. It is impossible to prepare the child for any precise 
 set of conditions. To prepare him for the future life means to give 
 him command of himself; it means so to train him that he will have 
 the full and ready use of all his capacities, that his eye and ear and 
 hand may be tools ready to command, that his judgment may be capa- 
 ble of grasping the conditions under which it has to work, and the 
 executive forces be trained to act economically and efficiently. It is 
 impossible to reach this sort of adjustment save as constant regard is 
 had to the individual's own powers, tastes, and interests — save, that 
 is, as education is continually converted into psychological terms. 
 
 In sum, I believe that the individual who is to be educated is a 
 social individual, and that society is an organic union of individuals. 
 . . . Education, therefore, must begin with a psychological insight 
 into the child's capacities, interests, and habits. It must be controlled 
 at every point by reference to these same considerations. These pow- 
 ers, interests, and habits must be continually interpreted — we must 
 know what they mean. They must be translated into terms of their 
 social equivalents — into terms of what they are capable of in the way 
 of social service. 
 
NATIVE ENDOWMENT INSTINCT 97 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Would a kitten learn to catch mice if it never saw adult cats do so? 
 2. Would canaries learn to sing if they never heard adult birds sing? 3. 
 Mention some instinctive reactions you have observed in little children. 
 4. Would girls behave differently from boys in any particulars if conven- 
 tionalities did not teach them? 5. Is there any psychological correctness 
 in saying of some boy, "He's all boy" ? 6. Do some pupils seem to "take 
 naturally" to certain subjects? 7. Do some boys and girls learn to swim 
 much more rapidly than others? Why? 8. Why do youths fall in love? 
 
 9. How should the fighting instinct in boys be treated? 10, Is there any 
 relation between instincts and interests? 11. Name an instinct of special 
 help in nature study; in manual training; in high-school literature. 12. 
 On the basis of nascent periods what kinds of literature would be desirable 
 for first-grade pupils? for sixth-grade pupils? for high-school pupils? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. VIII. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. HI. 
 
 3. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. III, IV. 
 
 4. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chaps. VIII, IX, X. 
 
 5. Dewey, The School and Society, chap. II. 
 
 6. O'Shea, Mental Development and Education, chaps. I, II. 
 
 7. Starch, Educational Psychology, chap. II. 
 
 8. Thorndike, Education, chap. V. 
 
 9. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. HI. 
 
 10. Watson (Jennings, Meyer, and Thomas), Suggestions of Modern Science 
 
 Concerning Education, chap. II. 
 
PART III 
 MODES OF LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 EDUCATION MEANS ESTABLISHING MODES OF BEHAVIOR 
 
 Behavior the Goal of Education. — It has been well said that 
 education should not have for its end to teach men to know 
 what they do not know, but to teach men to behave as they 
 do not behave. Education has too often been considered a 
 passive process, a pouring in of Information in order that 
 pupils may know. It is rather a dynamic process, a process 
 of providing stimuli which are to awaken appropriate re- 
 sponses. All life is evaluated in terms of behavior. The sole 
 function of consciousness is to determine behavior. The 
 problem of education is to control and direct behavior. Wat- 
 son says: 
 
 Psychology, when all is said and done, is a study in behavior; the 
 problem of the schoohoom and of the laboratory is to find out what an 
 individual can instinctively do, and what he can be trained to do, and 
 the methods which will lead him most easily and quickly to do both 
 those things which society demands of him and the things which he 
 alone as an individual can do. {Suggestions of Modern Science Con- 
 cerning Education, p. 54.) 
 
 Expression an Index to Mind. — The only means we have of 
 studying the mind of another is through his various expres- 
 sions. Mind discloses itself to others only by expression, as 
 in talking, writing, drawing, painting, constructing machines 
 or controlling them. Efficiency of mind is judged wholly by 
 the outward expression revealed to the view of the world. A 
 student's knowledge of mathematics or psychology must be 
 judged by what he says or writes; one's knowledge of art by 
 what he can produce. We do not really know whether an- 
 other can sing or play the piano until he manifests it in ex- 
 pression. A poetic soul is unknown until it bursts into song; 
 
I02 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 an author's ability to write may properly be challenged until 
 he gives an actual demonstration. Similarly, an engineer must 
 exhibit his skill, an architect his plan, a general his general- 
 ship, a statesman his statecraft, in some objective results. In 
 fact, we know nothing of the perceptions, memories, emotions, 
 reasonings, choosings, willings, hopes, joys, and sorrows of 
 others except as they give expression to them through some 
 muscular activity. Another may love us ever so tenderly or 
 hate us ever so bitterly, but unless we detect some of his out- 
 ward expressions of it we are entirely oblivious of the fact. 
 To illustrate, a man is angry. How do others know it? 
 Solely by his expression. He may clench his fist, knit his 
 brows, gnash his teeth, raise his arm to strike, utter an oath 
 in a major key, if he believes himself stronger than his foe; if 
 inferior, he may whisper in impotent rage and skulk away, be- 
 cause incapable of defense or retaliation. Another angry man 
 might express himself in a more indirect but no less effective 
 manner by calling the police, waylaying his enemy, going to 
 war, writing articles of denunciation which would bring social 
 reprobation upon his enemy, or waging a war of ballots which 
 would express indignation and tend to secure retribution and 
 reform. The enemy might be an individual or a violation of 
 principle. Again, consider the various manifestations of fear. 
 The child may run with breathless haste, eyes dilated, tears 
 streaming, heart palpitating, face flushed, or it may be 
 blanched and palsied. A mother immersed in grief o^^er the 
 loss of her loved little ones may be hysterical, or speak with 
 voice trembling, quivering lips, have a pallid countenance, and 
 be depressed almost to complete paralysis. In any case, the 
 emotions are expressed in some form of action, sometimes de- 
 cidedly external; in others more internal, repressed, and per- 
 haps much diffused, but the only means we have of under- 
 standing them is through some form of motor expression. 
 
 James says {Talks to Teachers, p. 26): **The brain, so far as 
 we understand it, is given us for practical behavior. Every 
 current that runs into it from skin or eye or ear runs out again 
 into muscles, glands, or viscera, and helps to adapt the animal 
 
EDUCATION MEANS MODES OF BEHAVIOR 103 
 
 to the environment from which the current came. It there- 
 fore generahzes and simpHfies our view to treat the brain Hfe 
 and the mental Hfe as having one fundamental kind of pur- 
 pose." He says that even the "inessential, 'unpractical' ac- 
 tivities are themselves far more connected with our behavior 
 and our adaptation to the environment than at first sight 
 might appear. No truth, however abstract, is ever perceived, 
 that will not probably at some time influence our earthly ac- 
 tion. You must remember that, when I talk of action here, 
 I mean action in the widest sense. I mean speech, I mean 
 writing, I mean yeses and noes, and tendencies 'from' things 
 and tendencies ' toward' things, and emotional determinations; 
 and I mean them in the future as well as in the immediate 
 present. As I talk here, and you listen, it might seem as if 
 no action followed. You might call it a purely theoretic proc- 
 ess, with no practical result. But it must have a practical 
 result. It cannot take place at all and leave your conduct 
 unaffected. If not to-day, then on some far future day, you 
 will answer some question differently by reason of what you 
 are thinking now. Some of you will be led by my words into 
 new veins of inquiry, into reading special books. These will 
 develop your opinion, whether for or against. That opinion 
 will in turn be expressed, will receive criticism from others in 
 your environment, and will affect your standing in their eyes. 
 We cannot escape our destiny, which is practical; and even 
 our most theoretic faculties contribute to its working out." 
 
 Motor Activity in Relation to Health or Disease. — An abun- 
 dance of well-controlled movements, as exhibited in play or 
 interesting work, are a sure sign of healthfulness — physical and 
 mental. On the other hand, an excess of unco-ordinated 
 movements is a sure symptom of disease. We should always 
 be suspicious of twitchings of the eye or facial muscles, un- 
 steadiness of the body, head, hand, or fingers, or of stammer- 
 ing and stuttering. Likewise we should study closely the 
 child who drums incessantly with the fingers or the feet, who 
 is restless, constantly changing position to no purpose, rolling 
 the eyeballs, or drooping the head; whose arms hang limp by 
 
I04 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the side, who drags his feet and stumbles; who cannot throw 
 a ball, run, trundle a hoop. Such a child is either fatigued, 
 has not slept sufficiently, or is ill nourished. Children are 
 often excitable, passionate, melancholy, and fretful. During 
 sleep such children are seldom in repose; they grind the teeth, 
 are troubled by incessant twitching of the muscles, are dis- 
 turbed by dreams, frequently have night- terrors, and some- 
 times are troubled with somnambulism. A child in perfect 
 health is also full of movement, but the actions are controlled. 
 He runs about from dawn till dark, plays, capers, chatters, 
 laughs, and is constantly giving natural expression to states 
 of mind and body. A child who is ill or excessively fatigued 
 does not frisk about, ceases play, mopes or curls up in a cor- 
 ner and talks little, laughs less, or is quiet until normal con- 
 ditions are restored. A normal, healthy child is not quiet a 
 single moment of his waking life. 
 
 Inhibition. — Inhibition is really a form of activity, although 
 it does not issue in movement but in the stoppage of move- 
 ment. The child who learns to sit still in school at proper 
 times, to check the impulses to laugh, to whistle, to talk, and 
 to shout is exhibiting action — controlled action. Similarly the 
 one who refrains from saying malicious things about neigh- 
 bors who may deserve it, who spreads the mantle of charity 
 over real faults of others, who keeps his hand from his neigh- 
 bor's pocket, who is faithful to a trust confided to him, is 
 manifesting activity no less genuine and real than if he had 
 acted upon all possible impulses of the moment. The child in 
 training has to learn to master a multitude of impulses to for- 
 bidden actions. Naturally he would like to whisper, run, and 
 look out of the window, or play with his marbles, but a set of 
 developed, warring impulses restrains him. The child is con- 
 tinually beset with stimuli which allure him from the tasks 
 which we set him. Until he has developed a great many hab- 
 its of acting and doing, the chances are that the momentary 
 stimuli will succeed in bringing about corresponding reactions, 
 and the things we desire him to do are forgotten. Hence the 
 necessity of constant supervision of the child if we wish him 
 
EDUCATION MEANS MODES OF BEHAVIOR 105 
 
 to succeed in resisting undesirable stimuli which we select for 
 his training. If we can only make the desired stimuli as in- 
 teresting as the undesirable, alluring ones, we may secure 
 spontaneous responses. 
 
 The Purpose of Motor Activity in Education. — The child's 
 nervous system is ready to respond to a great variety of stim- 
 uli with equal readiness. One of the most important tasks of 
 the teacher is to select desirable stimuli and keep them beat- 
 ing upon the child until settled pathways of discharge have 
 been established and at the same time to shield him from un- 
 desirable environment. With age, developed habits of action, 
 and fixity instead of plasticity, there is much less possibility of 
 being influenced by new forces. Here is an opportunity of 
 education. A child can learn a new movement, say skating, 
 much more readily than the adult, because the child's nervous 
 system is so sensitive to many stimuli, while the adult has be- 
 come impervious to all that do not fit in with his modes of 
 action. Education deals largely with the problem of pro- 
 ducing modifications of the mind. As the mind and its modi- 
 fications can only be known through external expression, it 
 becomes highly important to consider how ideas are corre- 
 lated with expression, and how stimuli may be utilized to pro- 
 duce efficient reactions, and how in turn reactions may influ- 
 ence intellectual processes. Unfortunately the formalists have 
 overlooked the necessities and importance of expression in 
 education and have devoted all their attention to the absorp- 
 tive process. 
 
 It is an auspicious sign that present-day educators are seek- 
 ing earnestly for ways and means of incorporating into the 
 formal curriculum more and more work which involves motor 
 activity. We are beginning to realize that efficient education 
 is not a process of cramming words into the child's memory. 
 Ideas are incomplete until they are real-ized. The most dis- 
 tinctive feature of many ideas is this motor process. Most 
 ideas are of little consequence until they find application in 
 some form of outward expression or influence some activity, 
 at least indirectly. "We learn by doing" is a trite statement, 
 
io6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 but only half understood by many, and heeded in practice by 
 still fewer. However, the slogan ''From impression to ex- 
 pression" is becoming an important watchword of modern 
 teaching. It needs to be supplemented by the statement 
 "Through expression to clear impression." But it is only just 
 beginning to be realized that the subject of motor education 
 demands special consideration. Even many of the advocates 
 of motor training have in mind only the skill resulting from 
 handiwork. The stock arguments made in favor of manual 
 activities are somewhat as follows: "Manual training, handi- 
 crafts, and domestic science furnish activities which reveal 
 inaccuracies of execution; they give opportunity to make fin- 
 ished products; they furnish physical exercise; they develop 
 an appreciation of the dignity of labor; they enable the child 
 to follow his interests, etc." These are all valid, but they do 
 not touch the most fundamental reasons. 
 
 That every mental process has a motor accompaniment is a 
 singular and significant fact. Experiments go to show that 
 with every slightest thought delicate recording apparatus at- 
 tached to the body may reveal changes in thought through 
 the changes in the tracings made by the apparatus. Even our 
 aesthetic, emotional states in contemplating a work of art prob- 
 ably excite muscular adjustments which would be revealed 
 if properly adjusted instruments could be applied to the body. 
 Muscular adjustments are so closely interwoven with all men- 
 tal activities that we are justified in saying that they are a 
 part of the entire process which could not come to full fruition 
 without them. Our ideas of space have been gained by mus- 
 cular measurements, and when we think of space we cannot 
 dissociate the muscular correlates from the totality of the 
 idea-process. What would be our idea of skating without the 
 various muscular accompaniments? A lecture on skating, 
 even illustrated with pictorial representations, or, still better, 
 with demonstrations of the process, would never give one a 
 real idea of skating. Similarly, lectures on penmanship and 
 drawing unaccompanied by muscular co-ordinations on the 
 part of the child himself would never teach him how to write. 
 
EDUCATION MEANS MODES OF BEHAVIOR 107 
 
 The only way to learn to write, is to write; to learn to saw 
 boards, is to saw boards. 
 
 Some Fundamental Motor Concepts. — As the child learns 
 the use of its arms, accomplishes the art of creeping, and the 
 still more complex art of walking, his conceptions of space 
 grow wonderfully. A child not allowed to creep or to walk is 
 being deprived of a most fundamental birthright. Like all 
 individuals who never travel, he remains provincial. These 
 principles should receive abundant application in every-day 
 education and in schoolroom practice. When pupils are 
 learning the tables of denominate numbers, instead of going 
 through mere word mouthings, they should be required to 
 lift weights, and measure distances, areas, and volumes. An 
 inch, a foot, a yard, a mile, an acre, a cubic foot, a cord should 
 come to stand for definitely imaged realities. A boy who has 
 sawed wood will not forget what a cord is, nor will one who 
 has walked miles, and around and over acres, be dependent 
 upon verbal memories for his knowledge of these units. If 
 pupils are studying the table of wood measure they should 
 actually measure piles of wood. My own knowledge of a 
 cord of wood was made exceedingly tangible and vivid. Days 
 and weeks at the wood-pile and in the forest chopping cord- 
 wood, supplemented by loading and hauling the wood to mar- 
 ket over rough roads gave me such a personal knowledge of 
 every element in the problem that the ideas will be mine as 
 long as time shall permit my brain and muscles to function. 
 Not every boy, and still less every girl, has need of making 
 wood measure so clear, real, and vivid, but the method of real 
 learning therein illustrated is applicable to every subject. All 
 ideas studied should be gained, as far as possible, through 
 actual experience. The more nearly the experience grows out 
 of life's activities and interests, the better. 
 
 If an idea of "sixteen ounces make one pound" is to be 
 gained, the only real way is primarily by lifting or "hefting," 
 and secondarily by seeing the relations. A knowledge of an 
 inch, a rod, a mile, an acre can only be gained by actual per- 
 sonal measurement. I once visited a high-school class which 
 
io8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 was studying the United States system of land survey. They 
 were talking glibly about acres, sections, and square miles. 
 Suspecting that their knowledge consisted of mere words, I 
 asked: "How long would it take you to walk around a sec- 
 tion of land?" "Fifteen minutes," was the instant reply of 
 one pupil. My belief was confirmed, and I repHed: "You 
 must be a sprinter." The farmer boy's knowledge of acres is 
 gained by following the plough up and down the furrows, day 
 after day, fencing in an acre, ten acres, or fifty acres, mowing 
 the hay, cradling the grain, binding the sheaves, even by 
 grubbing out the trees and clearing the land. Of course acres 
 are not the only concepts worth while knowing. It is quite 
 probable that we might go through life ignorant of the con- 
 cepts and be highly respected and intelligent, but we should 
 have other concepts which are exactly as definite as the farmer 
 boy's of acres, rods, and sections. The example illustrates 
 the end and the means to be employed in gaining any kind of 
 real knowledge. 
 
 The task of education has been considered too largely as 
 one of instructing the child so that he may know about things. 
 But a great part of a child's education should be concerned 
 with teaching him to do things, to put into execution ideas 
 understood, sometimes even to utilize ideas and processes 
 which are vaguely or not at all understood. It is highly im- 
 portant that the child be able to stand well, to run easily, to 
 sit properly, to breathe correctly, to sleep adequately and 
 under hygienic conditions, to move gracefully, to close doors 
 quietly, to avoid awkwardness, to be at ease in company. He 
 cannot claim to be properly educated without having devel- 
 oped the habit of careful attention to health and personal 
 appearance; unless he habitually observes good manners, hab- 
 itually manifests politeness and all other signs of good breed- 
 ing; not without regularly using the mother tongue easily, 
 accurately, pleasantly, and forcefully. Along with these 
 should be thoroughly acquired the habits of right moral re- 
 sponses and a cheerful, happy, altruistic attitude toward life's 
 activities in general. All these come only after much prac- 
 
EDUCATION MEANS MODES OF BEHAVIOR 109 
 
 tice, and they are imperfect until they become largely auto- 
 matic. They must have become, not second nature, but pri- 
 mary nature. Along with his play the child should have the 
 ''work habit" thoroughly ingrained, and much of this work 
 should be manual. Manual training in the schools and foot- 
 ball and gymnasium exercises should supplement the motor 
 training afforded by useful occupations and not supplant it. 
 
 The Laboratory. — Not only do our modern laboratory meth- 
 ods furnish sensory experiences, but also opportunities for 
 motor accompaniments. Whole classes of ideas would be 
 vague and incomplete without the knowledge furnished 
 through the motor activities. The laboratory is not only a 
 place for observing things, but also a place for doing and mak- 
 ing, a place for labor — -a ^^lahor-atory.'" The engineering stu- 
 dent is obliged to make models, and to construct apparatus 
 and machines. He is continually engaged in making, map- 
 ping, and charting, and where actual constructive representa- 
 tion is not possible or feasible, plans are drawn to scale, and 
 in manifold ways, either primarily or secondarily, the muscles 
 are employed in gaining, vivifying, and fixing ideas of reali- 
 ties. The modern medical student employs eye, ear, touch, 
 and every sort of motor experience possible. Not only must 
 he see and touch, but he must train himself to delicacy of 
 measurement in locating various portions of the anatomy. 
 Touch is not of the highest use when passive. Active touch 
 refines exceedingly our passive tactile perceptions. Even the 
 delicacy of visual perceptions are largely due to eye-move- 
 ments. Students in all laboratory courses should be continu- 
 ally engaged in making, mapping, charting, and constructing. 
 
 Various Means of Motor Training. — In considering motor 
 education it must not be overlooked that there are manifold 
 forms of motor activity besides those connected with the 
 manual arts. All activities which give control of the body 
 and secure poise are important to cultivate. Even without 
 possessing manual-training departments as such, the school 
 possesses many opportunities for important motor training. 
 Walking, standing, sitting, silence, orderliness, good manners, 
 
no EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 politeness, all demand the development of motor habits. The 
 plays and games can be turned to good account. Writing, 
 drawing, map-making, constructing apparatus and setting it 
 up, conducting experiments, all demand a high type of manual 
 training. A musical education depends largely upon skill re- 
 sulting from motor education. Apart from the role performed 
 by the sensitized ear, musical skill is entirely a matter of train- 
 ing muscles to respond in delicate co-ordinations. Singing 
 and playing any musical instrument require motor training 
 of a high degree. 
 
 Motor Aspect of Language. — Every idea-process gets inter- 
 woven with a great variety of muscular co-ordinations, and 
 among the most prominent are those involved in our use of 
 language. The words and symbols are not only means of 
 mental economy, expression, and of understanding others, but 
 they become in reality a part of the ideational process. The 
 idea could never have attained the same clearness without 
 the use of words; in fact, full-fledged abstractions could not 
 have been gained at all without the use of language, and they 
 cannot be revived without employing language symbols. 
 Consequently, in considering motor training we must not 
 overlook these most refined of all motor relations between 
 thought and language. There must be adequate opportunity 
 for expressing ideas not only for the purpose of rendering the 
 ideas permanent, but — equally important and more funda- 
 mental — for the purpose of making the ideas themselves clear 
 and vivid. Real ideas are not something added to one's mind, 
 but a part of the mind itself. Halleck says to speak of "motor 
 ideas" is as tautological as to speak of ''wet water." One of 
 the scientific purposes of the recitation is to afford opportunity 
 for expression. The recitation may demand oral expression, 
 dramatization, written exercises, drawing, constructing appa- 
 ratus, moulding, or some form of manual training. The motor 
 activity serves not only to fix ideas, but also to clarify and 
 enlarge them, and even to furnish new ideas. To abolish the 
 recitation and depend entirely upon the absorptive process is 
 to fail to utilize one of the most important means of education. 
 
EDUCATION MEANS MODES OF BEHAVIOR iii 
 
 Vocal speech, for example, requires the nicest sort of motor 
 adjustments, and the ability to talk fluently, accurately, and 
 in a pleasing manner is no mean accomplishment. The pos- 
 session of this ability implies accuracy and clearness of ideas 
 as well as training in expression. Oral speech is often one's 
 most valuable asset. It Is usually the best Index of what we 
 know and what we are. No motor training is harder to ac- 
 quire, rarer to be observed, and worthier of cultivation than 
 perfect oral speech. Much time In the child's early life is 
 occupied with acquiring speech. The process Is largely one 
 of subconscious Imitation, but the results are no less certain 
 and valuable than when gained through painful, conscious 
 attention to the process. The child who hears correct lan- 
 guage in the home Is fortunate indeed. He Is saved many 
 painful hours of unlearning. The schools also are relieved of 
 the burden of undoing undesirable habits. Language train- 
 ing In the lower school grades should be largely oral, and is a 
 fundamental problem in motor adjustment. When teaching 
 written expression, of course, the problem is also one of motor 
 training, and even a most important kind of manual training. 
 Learning a foreign language demands the acquisition of many 
 motor adjustments. The memorizing of a vocabulary Is for 
 certain types of Individuals very largely a task of motor 
 memory. Acquiring accuracy and facility in speaking the 
 foreign language Is pre-eminently a motor task. To write It 
 demands still other muscular training. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. How can you tell when a pupil knows his lesson? 2. How do you 
 know the mental experiences of another person? 3. In what sense is edu- 
 cation a matter of training the nervous and muscular systems? 4. In 
 what sense is education a matter of selecting stimuli so as to secure certain 
 responses? 5. Give an illustration of "education by doing," in arithme- 
 tic, writing, history, civics, driving an automobile. 6, Suggest ways in 
 which the school could afford more opportunities for education by doing. 
 
 7. What relation is there between motor training and race intelligence? 
 
 8. Apply the idea of education by doing to the training of defectives. 9. 
 Distinguish between motor education and manual training. 10. Do farmer 
 boys need motor training? Why? 
 
112 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXI. 
 
 2. Colvin, The Educative Process, chap. IV, 
 
 3. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior. Entire book. 
 
 4. Dewey, Schools of To-morrow, chap. VI. 
 
 5. Parker, Methods of Teaching in High Schools, chap. VI, XI. 
 
 6. Watson, Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist, chaps. VIII, 
 
 IX, X. 
 
 7. Watson, Suggestions of Modern Science Concerning Education, chap. II. 
 
 8. Woodworth, Psychology: A Study of Mental Life, chaps. I, III, IV, V. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS: SENSE-PERCEPTIONS 
 
 ** All Knowledge Takes Its Rise in the Senses." — This ex- 
 pression was stated and emphasized by Comenlus long ago, 
 but even now we have hardly awakened to its importance. 
 There are many teachers still who proceed as if they believe 
 that all knowledge comes through words. There are those 
 who try to have pupils get meaning from reading words for 
 which the pupils have no background of sensory experience, 
 and then they wonder why pupils read so poorly and with so 
 little understanding. There are those also who teach geogra- 
 phy as a matter of definitions and book descriptions, who 
 teach physics without laboratory or experiments, who have 
 pupils read about chemical action instead of producing it and 
 observing it, who try to teach civics by requiring pupils to 
 memorize the constitution verbatim without ever witnessing a 
 concrete illustration of its workings. 
 
 Necessity of Direct Experience. — To show strikingly how 
 important the education of a sense is, we may refer to cases 
 where persons have been blind and have later received the 
 power of sight through an operation. A boy who had thus 
 been made to see was shown the pet cat with which he was so 
 famihar. He stared at it in amazement, without being able 
 to comprehend. Finally he took hold of the cat and felt her 
 all over while looking at her. He gained a new idea entirely, 
 and said: "Now, kitty, after this I shall be able to know you 
 when I see you." Ziehen gives an illustration which shows 
 that modes of perceiving become so persistent that it may 
 even be impossible to establish the mode ' * natural ' ' to normal 
 persons. He writes: 
 
 A certain individual, who had been born blind, was unable to form 
 any idea of a square, even upon seeing it after his sight had been 
 restored by an operation, until he began to perceive a sensation in the 
 
 113 
 
114 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 tips of his fingers, as though he were really engaged in touching the 
 object at which he was looking. The patient had constant recourse 
 to his sense of touch, just as the normal man resorts to his sense of 
 sight in the recognition of objects. {Introduction to Physiological Psy- 
 chology, p. 87.) ■ 
 
 A similar case was reported by Doctor Miner from the psy- 
 chological laboratory of the state University of Iowa. It is 
 probably the best study on record of such cases. The sub- 
 ject, Miss W., had complete cataracts in both eyes, and was 
 reported as blind from birth. At twenty-two both cataracts 
 were removed by Doctor L. W. Dean, professor of ophthal- 
 mology in the University of Iowa. She had received a high- 
 school education in the state School for the Blind. Doctor 
 Miner's investigations were conducted nearly three years after 
 sight was restored to the right eye, and nearly two years after 
 the operation on the left eye. Among other tests, Doctor 
 Miner made a careful study of her stock of visual knowledge, 
 and her mode of acquiring visual ideas. Even then she was 
 found very deficient in these respects. In Doctor Miner's 
 words : 
 
 Miss W. was still completely naive to many of the normal visual ex- 
 periences of an adult. She had never looked through a stereoscope, 
 opera-glass, field-glass, or telescope. She had never used both eyes 
 together enough to find out any differences between monocular and 
 binocular vision. She had not yet learned to translate her visual im- 
 ages into terms of movement with any degree of success, except in case 
 of the most simple forms and numbers, or with common objects of her 
 previous touch experience. She knew practically nothing about 
 drawings or pictures. She had not even learned to identify people by 
 their faces; those whom she thought she knew by their features were 
 her mother, father, sister, a teacher at the school, and the nurse who 
 was with her during the operation. Although I worked with her 
 every day for over a month, and she saw Doctor Dean often, I be- 
 lieve she cannot recognize either of us by sight. Miner, J. B., ''A 
 Case of Vision Acquired in Adult Life," Psychological Review, Mono- 
 graph Supplement, March, 1905. 
 
 She recognized persons mainly by the sound of the voice. 
 She possessed an "all-powerful impulse to explain anything 
 new by referring it at once to the language of her sightless 
 
FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS 115 
 
 experience." In counting the sides of a hexagon, for example, 
 she used some sort of muscular movement to register each 
 number. "She would tap with her fingers, or foot, press her 
 teeth together, or her tongue against her teeth, move her head, 
 regulate her breathing, or even slightly wink at each corner, 
 in order to register that as number one before passing to the 
 next." For a long time shadows seemed like real objects to 
 her, and she often walked around them. Because she could 
 not judge distances accurately, she frequently upset dishes on 
 the table. In learning through reading or hearing, she re- 
 peated everything to herself, translating everything into 
 motor terms. 
 
 If a child is blind from birth It is therefore deprived of a 
 class of experiences which can never be acquired through any 
 other means. Stop the ears of the same child and another 
 gateway of the soul Is closed. Suppose the same child is de- 
 prived of the senses of taste, of smell, of temperature, of 
 weight, of direction, of touch — and all the rest. All of the 
 gateways to the soul are closed and the child grows up mind- 
 less — an idiot. Each sense supplies the mind with informa- 
 tion of its own particular sort. The eye Is fitted to respond 
 to waves of light, the ear to waves of sound, and no other 
 part of the body can act as a substitute. The eye is dead to 
 waves of sound, the ear to light, and the sense of touch does 
 not respond to odors. One who is deprived of a single sense, 
 or who is defective in that sense, is caused to limp mentally 
 just as surely as one must limp when a leg is amputated. 
 Helen Keller has never really known color. She knows noth- 
 ing of the melodies of sounds in nature as we who hear know 
 of them. It should be remembered, also, that exercise of the 
 senses must be secured at the right time. If early life passes 
 without ample opportunity for sensory exercise, arrested de- 
 velopment ensues, almost as disastrous as if the centres had 
 been destroyed. 
 
 Earliest Sensory Experiences. — The moment the child is 
 ushered into the world its sensory experiences begin. By 
 force of circumstances the child receives innumerable stimu- 
 
ii6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 latlons through light, sound-waves, and physical contact. 
 Myriads of stimuli come to the child unsought, many unde- 
 sired and many undesirable. So James said: "The world 
 presents itself to the child as one big, buzzing, blooming 
 confusion !" 
 
 The percepts thus slowly gained are indispensable to fur- 
 ther higher attainments. The ear that is closed, the eye that 
 is bHnded, is not only lost as an avenue of knowledge, but the 
 mind of the possessor is circumscribed and dwarfed because 
 lacking certain fundamental kinds of knowledge. The con- 
 genitally blind can never know color, though they learn its 
 entire nomenclature; their knowledge of form, size, and per- 
 spective is circumscribed, while they can never know com- 
 plex things as wholes as the seeing do. The deaf have no 
 concept of sound — only word ideas about it. 
 
 As soon as a child creeps he begins to get ideas of an ex- 
 tended environment. With walking he is put in possession 
 of a means of exploring an enlarged world. During the early 
 years the child should come into direct personal contact with 
 a large range of objects. The field, forest, and mountain 
 should all be explored and examined. He should literally and 
 figuratively leave no stone unturned in his investigations and 
 explorations. What nonsense first to study steam-engines, 
 telegraphs, plants, animals, birds, and rocks from books ! The 
 only excuse for book study at all is that we may study things 
 not accessible and that we may be enabled in advanced stages 
 to study the object to advantage. Darwin's epoch-making 
 contributions could never have appeared had he not exam- 
 ined at first hand a large part of the material mentioned. No 
 progress in any line of science or art is ever made by those 
 who have not an observational knowledge of the objects of 
 their search. The astronomer sweeps the heavens with his 
 eye, bringing to the aid of his limited vision distance-annihilat- 
 ing telescopes, and the biologist searches in the laboratory 
 with eyes made a thousand times acuter by the microscope. 
 "Aristotle knew the importance of asking nature for facts, 
 and he induced his royal pupil, Alexander the Great, to em- 
 
FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS 117 
 
 ploy 2,000 persons in Europe, Asia, and Africa for the purpose 
 of gathering information concerning beasts, birds, and rep- 
 tiles, whereby he was enabled to write fifty volumes upon 
 animated nature. After teachers had forgotten his methods 
 they still turned to his books for the treasures which he 
 had gathered." (Schaeffer, Thinking and Learning to Think, 
 p. 61.) 
 
 Meaning of Training. — The main thing in early sensory 
 training is exposure to the big world of things and guidance 
 in what to observe. Training should not degenerate into 
 formal gymnastics. The conscious aim of the teacher should 
 be not to train the powers but to use them intelligently in 
 acquiring knowledge. To have just so much seeing, so much 
 hearing, so much smelling, so much tasting, and so much 
 finger-bending each day is the sheerest nonsense. 
 
 The training begun before school-days should not be aban- 
 doned on entering school. Increased opportunity for more 
 extended observations should be afforded. The training 
 should become more intentional, more definite things should 
 be seen, and descriptions, at first oral, of what is seen should 
 daily become more accurate; though indefiniteness, vagueness, 
 naivete must be expected through many years. A great 
 variety of things must be brought to the child, when impossi- 
 ble to take the child to them. That is, specimens, samples, 
 pictures of the great, busy world should be collected into mu- 
 seums, cabinets, and laboratories, where children may learn 
 of nature, art, industries, marts of trade, commerce, shipping, 
 mining, etc. A chance to see and examine the local region 
 under competent guidance should be afforded every child. 
 For, unfortunately, the pupil often first becomes acquainted 
 with his home locality through reading. The knowledge thus 
 acquired never possesses the vividness and interest that real 
 personal acquaintance gives its possessor. Field, forest, and 
 stream should be explored and importuned to yield their se- 
 crets. The children should, like Shakespeare's Duke, find 
 " tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones, 
 and good in everything." 
 
ii8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Objective Teaching. — Objective illustration is necessary be- 
 cause "all knowledge takes its rise in the senses." Objective 
 illustrations should be given whenever the elemental ideas in 
 any topic are not easily understood through imagination and re- 
 flection. Their necessity is as great in the university as in the 
 primary school. In the words of Doctor White, "the primary 
 ideas should be taught objectively in all grades of school." 
 The meaning of primary or elemental ideas needs to be under- 
 stood. The mind can image any material or any combination 
 of material things, provided the elements have been derived 
 through perception. Once transcend experience of the ele- 
 ments and blankness results. As the congenitally bHnd can- 
 not image a color, nor the congenitally deaf music, a normal 
 pupil cannot image a machine unless he has actually seen it. 
 Object-lessons are as much a part of reading lessons as of 
 chemistry. Whenever fundamentals are lacking through ex- 
 perience they should, if possible, be suppHed by objective illus- 
 tration or pictorial representation. 
 
 A caution needs to be offered against too prolonged continu- 
 ation of the objects. Just as soon as sensory experience has 
 been made clear, the object is no longer needed. In fact, its 
 continuance will be positively harmful. Sensory experience is 
 the lowest form of knowledge, and is only the raw material 
 for a finer web of thought. Dealing with sensory experience 
 when the child should be reflecting will surely produce arrested 
 development. As Doctor Hinsdale has so well said: 
 
 The Realists have deservedly emphasized the value of sense-percep- 
 tion and of sense-teaching in education; but they have not emphasized 
 the facts that the particular and the concrete mark an early and im- 
 perfect stage of mental advancement, and that there is no greater clog 
 upon mental progress than the habit of "thinging" it, and that a man's 
 thinking capacity is gauged by his power to think general and abstract 
 thoughts. Children and savages — all immature minds — Uve in their 
 senses ; cultivated men grow out of them. . . . The savage is as weak 
 in speculative reflection as he is strong in keenness of scent. . . . 
 
 In gaining ideas of number, the child must derive his first 
 notions through actual experiences with concrete things. He 
 
FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS 119 
 
 must learn through actual experiences the relative magnitude 
 of numbers, the magnitude of number series, and in the same 
 way secure a correct idea of the process involved in the various 
 computations. In teaching arithmetic it is so easy to con- 
 trive means of affording sensory experiences and of making 
 things concrete. All measures of length, area, volume, weight, 
 and capacity can be readily objectified. Unless gained con- 
 cretely, they never mean anything. Children may recite 
 glibly tables of denominate numbers and not have a single 
 definite notion of what they are mouthing. But it is peda- 
 gogically unwise to have the pupil learn every fact and every 
 subject objectively. For example, 3 + 2 or 3 X 2 may be 
 learned objectively, but 9 + 8 or 9X8 never should be. 
 These latter should be taken as authoritative statements, un- 
 questioningly. Who knows from objective experience that 
 9 X 8 = 72 ? Whoever first learned it that way is to be 
 pitied. The child knows from counting that eight 9's are 
 more than seven 9's, and also knows from counting the rela- 
 tive places of 63 and 72, so that when 9 X 8 = 72 is told him 
 it seems reasonable. If the table were built up rationally, 
 step by step, he would not believe that 9 X 8 = 14, but he 
 could easily be made to believe that it equals 73. Many 
 things that we never demonstrate nevertheless fit into our 
 rational thinking, so as to do no violence to the usual currents 
 of thought. 
 
 Doctor Schaeffer instances a school in which the principal 
 proposed concrete work in fractions. 
 
 The teachers and pupils began to divide things into halves, and 
 thirds, and fourths, and sixths. They added and subtracted by sub- 
 dividing these into fractions that denoted equal parts of a unit. Whilst 
 the charm of novelty still clung to the process, a stranger who visited 
 the school asked one of the teachers how the pupils and parents liked 
 the change. "Everybody is delighted," was the exclamation. A 
 year later the same teacher was asked by the visitor: ''How are you 
 succeeding with your concrete work in fractions?" With a dejected 
 air she replied: "We are disappointed with the results." "Just as I 
 expected," exclaimed the visitor, "for you were making the children 
 think <)n the level of barbarism, instead of teaching them to use the 
 
I20 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 tools of labor-saving machinery of modern civilization." {Thinking 
 and Learning to Think, p. 91.) 
 
 As far as possible, object-lessons should be given in their 
 natural setting. The object-lesson, apart from a life interest, 
 does not compare with one that grows out of a consideration 
 of things in their natural surroundings, and studied as a part 
 of everyday life. Dewey may be quoted apropos of this 
 point {The School and Society, p. 8): 
 
 No number of object-lessons, got up as object-lessons for the sake 
 of giving information, can afford even the shadow of a substitute for 
 acquaintance with the plants and animals of the farm and garden, 
 acquired through actual living among them and caring for them. No 
 training of sense-organs in school, introduced for the sake of training, 
 can begin to compete with the alertness and fulness of sense-life that 
 comes through daily intimacy and interest in familiar occupations. 
 
 The material sciences are not the only ones that demand 
 laboratory methods. The schoolroom with apparatus is not 
 the only real laboratory. The schoolroom laboratory, in fact, 
 is only a miniature, controllable representation of certain fun- 
 damental laws or facts of the great laboratories of nature and 
 of life. Teachers of science should vitalize their work by util- 
 izing these greater laboratories, by affording opportunities to 
 inspect them, and by continually showing the applications of 
 all laws and principles in everyday life. In fact, applications 
 are more apt to interest than are the detached illustrations. 
 
 Field Trips. — In Europe the school journey is a unique and 
 valuable means of making instruction real. Not only are 
 brief excursions made frequently into the immediate locality, 
 but many schools make periodical journeys lasting from three 
 to six days. In the former the pupils become thoroughly con- 
 versant with the points of geographic and historic interest and 
 with the life about them. This gives an apperceiving back- 
 ground for the things not accessible. How many of us have 
 studied the botany of rare plants and been ignorant of dozens 
 of common species within a stone's throw of our door, or have 
 studied rare rock formations from a book when an hour's 
 
FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS I2r 
 
 tramp would have made every point tangible ! The longer 
 journey may not be feasible in a sparsely settled region, but 
 in New England and in some other parts of the United States 
 it could be carried out to good advantage. 
 
 Relation of Books to Sensory Experiences. — One of the 
 commonest mistakes is to make teaching simply a matter of 
 words. From the very fact that schools have properly so 
 much to do with books, it is easy to regard teaching as a mere 
 matter of memorizing the words of books. It should be re- 
 membered that books do not deal directly with realities. 
 They only contain records about realities. The realities must 
 be acquired through personal examination of the realities 
 themselves. Text-books must be regarded as texts; the 
 sermons must come from outside sources. To be sure, books 
 should serve to reveal knowledge which one might not get so 
 readily or not at all by studying realities alone ; but they can 
 only do this when they constantly appeal to experiences re- 
 alized. This is true of the knowledge of a dynamo, a potato, 
 or a rock; it is also true of a psychological fact or a philosoph- 
 ical theory. The dynamo is only known when it has been 
 made real and is comprehended through experience; likewise 
 one knows nothing of a psychological law until he has realized 
 it through his own personal experience. "Not psychology 
 but to psychologize" should be the end sought in that study. 
 
 The teacher should scrutinize every step in every subject 
 and inquire: "How can I cause the boys and girls really to 
 know this step?" If this were done in every schoolroom in 
 the land, the educational millennium would soon appear on 
 the horizon. Dewey wrote: "What is primarily required is 
 first-hand experience. Until recently the school has literally 
 been dressed out with hand-me-down garments, with intellec- 
 tual suits which other people have worn." And we might add 
 that, like all borrowed garments, they are usually misfits. 
 
 When I was in high school we studied physics by the book 
 method. Not a single piece of apparatus did the school pos- 
 sess — much less a laboratory. Not a pupil in the class per- 
 formed an experiment, nor did the teacher. The nearest ap- 
 
122 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 proach to the study of realities was through the good diagrams 
 and pictures in the text and the diagram occasionally drawn 
 on the blackboard. Astronomy, zoology, and geology were 
 studied in the same school and by the same barren verbal 
 method. I think chemistry was also studied. Had there 
 been real chemicals and an occasional explosion I am sure 
 that I should remember the fumes and the explosions. Later 
 pursuit of this subject in a real laboratory left me a very 
 definite remembrance of the nature of chemistry. In the 
 study of botany we fortunately had a teacher fresh from a 
 university, and we studied real, live, growing plants. Un- 
 fortunately the main end seemed to be names and classifica- 
 tions, but in spite of that we handled plants, tramped through 
 swamps and over hills, tore our clothes in the thickets of brush, 
 and discovered where the plants grew, when they grew, and 
 how they grew. These impressions will always remain. Time 
 and distance and other impressions cannot efface them. They 
 were my own personal experiences, my own ideas and not 
 Gray's nor Apgar's nor my teacher's. They are mine still. 
 
 An acquaintance of mine relates that when a boy, back in 
 Ohio, one day when they were studying the animals of the 
 Rocky Mountains an itinerant bear-trainer, with three Rocky 
 Mountain bears, passed that way and stopped in front of the 
 old log schoolhouse. Here was a grand chance to let the 
 children see the real thing. What did that teacher do ? 
 True to her training and ambition as a strict disciplinarian, 
 and true to her ideal that book learning was the school, she 
 sternly ordered all to cease looking out of the windows, even 
 rapped some on the head, and commanded: "Study your 
 books!" Recently a teacher told me apologetically that 
 when Barnum and Bailey's circus and menagerie was in the 
 city she allowed the children a quarter-holiday, and added 
 still more apologetically: "I really think they learned almost 
 as much as if they had stayed in school." My answer was: 
 "Why, bless you, they learned more in that quarter-day 
 about animals and many wonders of the world than your 
 school could have given them in ten years ! In fact, the 
 
FUNDAMENTAL ACQUISITIONS 123 
 
 knowledge they gained there you could not give them at all. 
 By all means dismiss school every time a great circus and 
 hippodrome is within reach of the children. The menagerie 
 will furnish your boys and girls geography, natural history, 
 and language lessons, such as no school on earth can give." 
 
 The School of Life. — We must not assume that the child 
 secures all his education within the four walls of a schoolroom 
 and from his text-books. The whole of life is education. 
 The school should be the best interpreter of life and should 
 furnish more tools than any other source for the work of life, 
 yet many, if not the most important, educational lessons must 
 come from outside the school. The extent of the child's extra- 
 school experience determines the manner in which he shall 
 appreciate what we attempt to teach him. Years before the 
 child knocks at the schoolhouse door, and during his school 
 age for many more days and hours than he is conning his les- 
 sons, he is acquiring by nature's method more and better than 
 we usually teach him. In "The Barefoot Boy," Whittier has 
 beautifully expressed a profound educational idea and shown 
 us how independence of thought should be acquired, and that 
 life is the greatest school. He praises the boy for his 
 
 "Knowledge never learned of schools, 
 
 Of the wild bee's morning chase, 
 
 Of the wild flower's time and place, 
 
 Flight of fowl and habitude 
 
 Of the tenants of the wood; 
 
 How the tortoise bears his shell, 
 
 How the woodchuck digs his cell, 
 
 And the ground- mole sinks his well; 
 
 How the robin feeds her young, 
 
 How the oriole's nest is hung; 
 
 Where the whitest lilies blow, 
 
 Where the freshest berries grow, 
 
 Where the ground-nut trails its vine. 
 
 Where the wood-grape's clusters shine; 
 , Of the black wasp's cunning way, 
 
 Mason of his walls of clay, 
 
 And the architectural plans 
 
 Of gray hornet artisans ! 
 
124 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 For, eschewing books and tasks, 
 Nature answers all he asks; 
 Hand in hand with her he walks, 
 Face to face with her he talks." 
 
 Halleck remarks that **if the child's knowledge reaches to 
 a solid foundation of sense-training like this, the floods of time 
 will beat in vain upon that knowledge. Other things may 
 pass away, but that remains while the brain lasts." He 
 argues at great length that country environment has proven 
 most conducive to the development of great intellects. He 
 cites in proof of his contention the names of Shakespeare, Mil- 
 ton, Cromwell, Addison, Bunyan, Dryden, Johnson, Byron, 
 Longfellow; and many others who were illustrious and who 
 were profoundly influenced by rural environment. {Educa- 
 tion of the Central Nervous System^ p. 92.) Country environ- 
 ment is undoubtedly conducive to the child's best mental de- 
 velopment; first, because it furnishes stimuli which are simple 
 and comprehensible at that stage of development; second, be- 
 cause there is also greater opportunity for freedom, thus allow- 
 ing the child to follow lines of interest; and, third, because his 
 growth is not forced. The city is too complex, too intricate, 
 and too much like a hothouse. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. How did you get your ideas of the following terms: hard, sour, hydro- 
 gen sulphide, livid, lurid, translucent, sundae, pellucid? 2. Are the blind 
 good spellers on the typewriter? 3. What senses are most directly used 
 in learning to drive an automobile? 4, If children become expert in per- 
 ceiving colors, are they therefore keener in perceiving tones? 5, What 
 senses are of dominant use in learning music? spelling? 6. Should oral 
 spelling be encouraged? 7. Should the senses of taste and smell be 
 trained? 8. What relation is there between sensory experiences and alge- 
 bra? philosophy? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XVII. 
 
 2. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. V, VI. 
 
 3. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. V. 
 
 4. Dewey, The School and Society, chap. II. 
 
 5. Hall, Aspects of Child Life and Education, pp. 1-52. 
 
 6. James, Talks to Teachers on Psychology and Life's Ideals, chaps. XIII, 
 
 XIV. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 
 
 Play Reveals Child Nature. — If one wishes to understand 
 child nature there is no other means so illuminating as to 
 watch children at their spontaneous plays. The child at his 
 school tasks is apt to be artificial and reserved. This is espe- 
 cially true in the recitation, where he knows that everything 
 he says and does will be watched and probably marked. 
 Under such circumstances he refrains from expression as 
 much as possible. But at play he is himself, and his inmost 
 thoughts, feelings, and attitudes are expressed spontaneously 
 and unrestrained. 
 
 Every teacher should be obliged to spend some time on the 
 playground with the children, first because of the splendid 
 opportunity for knowing children as they are; second, because 
 of the unexampled chance to influence them; and third, be- 
 cause of the reflex effect upon the teacher. Participation in 
 the children's plays will be as a fountain of youth, will cheer 
 and sweeten the life of the teacher, help him to love children 
 and to delight in being their companion and guide. The 
 teacher who actually participates in the children's plays gains 
 a hold upon them that is not enjoyed by the mere taskmaster. 
 The teacher in the high school who wields the greatest influ- 
 ence of any in the entire school system is the athletic coach. 
 His influence is for weal or woe, according to his innermost 
 character. 
 
 In colonial times and much later, play was considered by 
 many as sinful, and it was the business of teachers to keep 
 the children from playing. My own early teachers apparently 
 believed it implicitly and obeyed it faithfully. Happily, now, 
 our whole interpretation of play life has changed. We know 
 that play is the most spontaneous and natural expression of 
 
 125 
 
126 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 child life. Not only is play now allowed, it is encouraged; 
 children are furnished playgrounds and gymnasiums, have 
 time set apart in the school programme for play, and are even 
 taught how to play. 
 
 Plato said: "The plays of children have the mightiest influ- 
 ence on the maintenance of laws — from the first years of child- 
 hood their plays ought to be subject to laws, for if they are 
 arbitrary and lawless, how can children ever become virtuous 
 men, abiding by law?" Aristotle advised that children be- 
 fore five years of age "should be taught nothing lest it hinder 
 growth, but should be accustomed to use much motion — and 
 this can be acquired by various means, among others by play, 
 which ought to be neither too illiberal, nor too laborious, nor 
 lazy." Luther tells us that "Solomon did not prohibit schol- 
 ars from play at the proper time. A young man shut up 
 (without recreation) is like a young tree which ought to bear 
 fruit but is planted in a pot." 
 
 Locke asserts that "the gamesome humor of childhood, 
 which is wisely adapted by nature to its age and temper, 
 should be encouraged, to keep up their spirits and improve 
 their health and strength. The chief art is to make all that 
 children have to do, sport and play." He invented games for 
 teaching reading, and suggested others. Richter in the 
 Levana says that "activity alone can bring and hold serenity 
 and happiness. Unlike our games, the plays of children are 
 the expressions of serious activity, although in light, airy 
 dress. Play is the first poetical (creative) utterance of man." 
 Schiller says: "Man is man only when he plays." 
 
 Finally Froebel, in the Education of Man^ says: 
 
 Play is the highest phase of the child development — for it is self- 
 attentive representation of the inner life from inner necessity and 
 impulse. Play is the purest, most spiritual activity of man, at this 
 stage, and at the same time typical of human Hfe as a whole — of the 
 inner, hidden, natural life in man and all things. It gives joy, free- 
 dom, contentment, inner and outer rest, peace with the world. It 
 holds the sources of all that is good. A child that plays thoroughly, 
 with self-active determination, will surely be a thorough, determined 
 man, capable of self-sacrifice for the promotion of the welfare of him- 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 127 
 
 self and others. The spontaneous play of the child discloses the future 
 inner life of the man. If the child is injured at this period, if the 
 germinal leaves of the future tree of his life are marred at this time, 
 he will only with the greatest difficulty and the utmost effort grow into 
 strong manhood. (Quoted from Tanner, The Child: His Thinking, 
 Feeling and Doing, p. 393.) 
 
 What Is Play ? — It is not easy to define play nor to dis- 
 tinguish absolutely between play and work. However, in 
 play there must be spontaneous expression prompted by a 
 feeling of vigor. Through play there must result a feeling of 
 satisfaction through the activity itself. In play there must 
 be a sense of relaxation. The significant factor in play is 
 the mental attitude, and not the physical activity connected 
 with it. 
 
 We are apt to think immediately of physical activity, a 
 gymnasium or a playground and a game. While all these 
 may be connected with play, yet play has a much broader 
 significance. While physical culture and physical health are 
 desirable outcomes of play, yet they are not the essential 
 features of it. Since exhilaration and spontaneity are the 
 chief characteristics of play, it is possible that a game involv- 
 ing a severe physical contest may be the hardest kind of 
 drudgery and be devoid of the play attitude. Games re- 
 quiring physical endurance and skill are to be encouraged, 
 but their purpose is the development of strength, skill, endur- 
 ance, or poise, and they do not fill the demand for play. The 
 hard-worked and oftentimes overtaxed athlete must find his 
 play in other forms of activity, which will afford spontaneous 
 recreation. 
 
 The great majority of play directors think of play only in 
 connection with games and physical contests. In their direc- 
 tion of play fields they think only of the organized games. 
 It is, of course, desirable that organized games should be pro- 
 moted, but much of the best play is unorganized and hap- 
 hazard. The children who throw a ball, then try the giant 
 stride, as quickly turn to climb a ladder, or change to chase a 
 butterfly, are really playing, and the ones in the prescribed 
 
128 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 games may be working. The player must be free to cease 
 playing or change the type the moment his interest flags. 
 The organized games are valuable and may be play, but are 
 not necessarily such. 
 
 Judged by the foregoing criteria, it will be seen readily that 
 real play must spring from inner impulses rather than to be 
 required from without. Oftentimes the game ceases to be 
 play because of external requirements and because it is car- 
 ried beyond the point of relaxation and rejuvenation. It is 
 well to have play guided, but not prescribed. 
 
 Play Is Instinctive. — All normal children play. The child 
 that does not play is undoubtedly mentally abnormal or ill. 
 Not only do children play but adults do also, if they have lived 
 naturally through the period of childhood. A great many 
 animals, especially the young, engage in play. Play seems to 
 be a natural means of relaxation. To assume that play is in- 
 stinctive does not mean that the particular form of play is 
 instinctive, although in some cases it may be. It has been 
 shown by some writers that the great majority of plays and 
 games are an outgrowth of and a modification of running, 
 throwing, hiding, caring for children (as in doll plays). 
 
 Patrick says the child "plays because he is a child, and to 
 the child's natural and active life we give the name 'play' to 
 distinguish it from the life of conscious self -direction, of strain 
 and effort and inhibition which evolution has imposed upon 
 the adult human being." (Patrick, G. T. W., Psychology of 
 Relaxation, p. 79.) Play in the case of adults, the same 
 writer holds, is a turning away, a relaxation from the serious 
 work of life, which means tension, strain, and inhibitions. 
 The forms of play of the adult follow in large part the same 
 essential directions as those of children. The main differ- 
 ences are in the numbers of rules and complexities. 
 
 Play Is Mental Relaxation. — With the foregoing idea of play 
 in mind it will be readily seen that there are many forms of 
 play. Games of checkers, chess, or cards, when engaged in 
 for pastime and recreation and not as a serious business, are 
 a means of play. Billiards and pool are in the same category. 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 129 
 
 Then there are theatres, concerts, and movies that are to be 
 included in play. In these the real players are not the actors 
 on the stage, but rather the ones who go to be entertained. 
 They go as a matter of enjoyment, do little or no serious 
 thinking while there, forget the cares and routine of the day, 
 and come away refreshed. At the football contest or at the 
 great American League games the real players are not the 
 contestants on the gridiron or the baseball diamond — they are 
 working furiously — but rather the ones who sit on the bleach- 
 ers and yell themselves hoarse. They are there to get away 
 from routine, to watch others struggle, to give way to their 
 moods and emotions, to secure relaxation. In the same atti- 
 tude we go to the circus. Those with the organization go 
 through their acrobatics and various stunts, not as relaxation, 
 but as a matter of earning their daily bread. We onlookers 
 give ourselves up to the enjoyment of the day and the change, 
 the excitement, and the keen pleasure that acts as an electric 
 charge from a battery, giving us rejuvenation and tonicity. 
 That is characteristic of all real play. Its value is peculiarly 
 enhanced if the play is mirthful, causing us to laugh. Every 
 one knows the tonic effect of the hearty laugh. "Laugh and 
 grow fat" is a world-old dictum. 
 
 The play aspect of reading has not been recognized suffi- 
 ciently. Very few writers have mentioned it. However, it is 
 one of the most important play activities of millions of people, 
 adults as well as children. Reading frequently for the pure 
 fun of it should be encouraged heartily. Serious reading 
 should have its place also. But people need to learn to find 
 the keenest pleasure in reading. They need to have the op- 
 portunity, and to acquire the habit of reading just for the 
 enjoyment that is to be got out of it. For the moment, they 
 allow some one else to do the thinking, and give themselves 
 up to the flights of fancy, to day-dreams, and to ideals which 
 attract, possibly amuse; at any rate, so compel attention that 
 they draw us entirely away from serious work and routine, 
 and possible drudgery. Such attitudes, occasionally inter- 
 spersed in the midst of work, are absolutely essential to a well- 
 
I30 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 balanced education. They produce a reflex effect upon all 
 the rest of life, promoting normal healthy development, sanity, 
 and poise of mind. The insane are generally persons who 
 have drifted entirely away from a normal play-life. Many 
 insane never had a play period in childhood and never learned 
 to play. 
 
 The Varied Values of Play. — The values of play are as 
 varied as the values of life. The physical, mental, social, 
 moral, and religious natures all owe their debt to play. It is 
 difficult to overestimate this debt. Play is the school of in- 
 fancy and childhood, without whose tutelage formal educa- 
 tion could accomplish little. Preyer, from his intensive study 
 of infancy, was convinced that a child learns as much in his 
 first three or four years as in his whole university course. 
 The time has passed when with our Puritan fathers we can 
 look upon play as a waste of time. Rather it is the child 
 who does not play whose time is wasted. Many books and 
 special articles have recently been written to demonstrate 
 the values of play. We can here barely indicate these 
 values. 
 
 The recuperative, diversional, and relaxational values of 
 play have already been suggested. U there were no other 
 values than these, play would deserve a large place in the life 
 of youth and of adults, and would find ample justification in 
 the scheme of life. The greater the stress and strain of work, 
 the greater the need of the relaxation which play most surely 
 furtiishes. Sorrow, depression, painful associations, and dis- 
 tressing circumstances are forgotten, and their detrimental 
 effects are at least diminished by play as by nothing else. 
 The fatigue incident to the deadening routine of many pres- 
 ent-day occupations finds here its safest antidote. Active 
 plays and games increase the vasomotor reactions, stir to 
 action the healthful emotions which always accompany spon- 
 taneous activity, rid the body of the accumulated toxins gen- 
 erated by drudgery, and so recuperate and revitalize the body 
 and mind. Play is an antidote to vice as well. Many a 
 worker at narrow, circumscribed, and distasteful tasks may 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 131 
 
 be saved from resort to alcohol, narcotics, drugs, and other 
 harmful stimulants by being taught to find relaxation, diver- 
 sion, and stimulation in proper physical play. 
 
 Plays and games form character and mould the soul in 
 varied and most effective ways. There is scarcely a virtue 
 that is not born and reared to sturdy strength through suit- 
 able and timely play. Self-control, self-reliance, self-subordi- 
 nation, co-operation, loyalty, self-assertion, self-direction, ca- 
 pacity to lead and willingness to follow, are necessary virtues 
 learned nowhere so readily and so surely. Justice, honesty, 
 respect for the rights of others, the necessity for and the bind- 
 ing nature of law, and all those principles, recognition of which 
 complex social and industrial life demands, come as by-prod- 
 ucts of rightly conducted play. Dramatization and imitation 
 of adult activities give the best insight into the duties and 
 responsibilities of citizenship and train them far better than 
 mere instruction. Hall's Story of a Sand Pile is an excellent 
 illustration of the varied and specific ways in which play under 
 favorable conditions may prepare for citizenship by giving 
 suitable practice to its essential activities. 
 
 Play in Physical Education. — There are two main reasons 
 why play should be encouraged as a means of physical educa- 
 tion. In the first place, since real play is so interesting, it is 
 easy to secure physical exercise without compulsion. To go 
 through physical exercise just as prescribed activity soon be- 
 comes monotonous, and few voluntarily keep up such exercise 
 for any length of time. To walk, to run, to row, or to lift 
 dumb-bells just as a periodic means of exercise requires more 
 than the ordinary amount of will-power even on the part of 
 adults. But if there is something of interest to be seen when 
 walking or rowing, if one has interesting companions, if one 
 goes through an interesting competition with the dumb-bells — 
 in short, if the end is interesting in itself, the means will be 
 followed. This games and sports may easily and naturally 
 provide. Therefore, there is no more simple and efficient 
 means of securing needful physical exercise than through 
 games and sports. Accomplishment of an end always has 
 
132 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 been and always should be the motive for action; exercise, 
 physical and mental, should be Incidental outcomes. 
 
 A second valid reason why play Is necessary to encourage 
 physical exercise Is that the old forms of physical exercise 
 through work are largely Impossible now. Curtis says {Edu- 
 cation through Play, p. 21): 
 
 When I was a boy, I got most of my physical strength that I have 
 to-day on the wood-pile. But we have no wood-pile in the modern 
 city. In preceding ages children, before their growth was completed, 
 have always helped in many of the activities of their parents. To-day 
 the factory system and our doctrine and laws concerning child labor 
 prohibit the work of children. But even so far as they participate in 
 the occupations that are available and in child labor, so called, these 
 do not mean physical development. A boy will never become an 
 athlete from standing at a loom in a cotton factory or from shucking 
 oysters, or delivering packages, or tying bundles, or picking berries. 
 On the farm, too, there has come an almost complete change. The 
 wheat is cut and bound with the binder; the hay is cut with the mower, 
 raked and loaded with the loader, and unloaded with the hay-fork. 
 Nearly all the work is done by horses and a machine which the boy 
 rides. There has not been so great a change in the work of the home, 
 but a girl cannot develop a perfect physique through washing dishes, 
 making beds, and sweeping. These activities are about the worst 
 exercise that there is in the whole calendar, are indoors, and tend to 
 fill the lungs with dust. Schmidt says that the death-rate from tuber- 
 culosis is 25 per cent higher among girls in the pubhc schools of Ger- 
 many than it is among the boys. This is just what we should expect. 
 The work of the girls in the home, while it is less in amount, is of 
 much the same kind as it always was, but the girls for the last fifty 
 years have been getting less and less of outdoor exercise, and it is this 
 that has always been the main source of their strength. 
 
 While there is little physical development to be found in the tasks 
 that are available for city children, up to about 14, almost none of 
 them are doing anything. Go where you will about our cities and 
 you will find that, outside of a few boys who are carrying papers or 
 shining shoes, the boys are loafing, not working. 
 
 The only means there is left whereby a child may become strong is 
 through his play. But if he is to get his physical development in this 
 way, he must have vigorous play; he cannot do it at ping-pong and 
 marbles. The children who are playing tag and similar games on the 
 street, and roller-skating, will develop their legs, and through them 
 their hearts and lungs to a considerable extent, but there is Httle in 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 133 
 
 street play, except fighting, to develop the muscles of the arms and 
 shoulders, and back and chest. 
 
 Social Value of Play. — Since character Is mainly determined 
 by actions which are a result of free choice on the part of an 
 individual, play is one of the most effective means of fashion- 
 ing character. If play is supervised so as to suggest and 
 stimulate organization, it furnishes a splendid natural oppor- 
 tunity for social development. If overdirected and pre- 
 scribed, the opportunity is largely lost. Merely being in 
 groups and following regulations is not necessarily social. It 
 is group activity, but does not represent group initiative and 
 planning. For an action to be truly social, it must be initiated 
 by the group, must represent group decision and group per- 
 sistence. The organization must be representative of the 
 group and for the group and be executed by the will of the 
 group. Too often play directors take away all these oppor- 
 tunities and possibilities by ready-made overorganization and 
 prescription. As far as possible, children themselves should 
 develop the rules of the games. 
 
 Of course it may require considerable stimulation and gui- 
 dance to get the pupils to organize games among themselves. 
 The younger children will constantly transgress the rules, if at 
 all complex. Even boys of a dozen years of age do not hang 
 together in organized groups for any length of time. They 
 often organize a baseball team early in the season, but they 
 do not hang together through the season. This is suggestive 
 that we should not expect too much in the way of organization 
 among children, nor should we prescribe organization that is 
 too complex or that requires long continuation of the same 
 game. 
 
 Organizations initiated and developed by the older pupils 
 themselves in promoting their various sports are a very ex- 
 cellent means of developing real social responsibility. While 
 there should be oversight and general supervision by teachers 
 of athletics and other sports, the high-school pupils them- 
 selves should be mainly responsible for the clean organization 
 
134 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 and conduct of all such activities. Whenever they do not 
 live up to their responsibilities, the privilege should be with- 
 drawn. Knowing this, they will usually respond manfully. 
 
 In- this chapter no attempt will be made to indicate any spe- 
 cific plays that are suitable for the various stages of develop- 
 ment. In this discussion only the psychology of play and the 
 fundamental educational principles growing out of it have 
 been considered. There are many excellent books and man- 
 uals on play which teachers and directors can follow. 
 
 Opportunity for Play. — The educational value of play is just 
 beginning to be realized. It already has a large place in the 
 school activities from the kindergarten through the univer- 
 sity. Unfortunately there are two serious defects in its use. 
 First there is not opportunity to play provided for all; second, 
 where play is secured it becomes overorganized and often too 
 strenuous. Play is quite generally a part of the kindergarten 
 programme, but it is too frequently so highly organized as to 
 lose much of the values that come from more simple and spon- 
 taneous play. In the elementary and intermediate school 
 play facilities are almost wholly lacking in most schools. 
 There the pupils are at the age when they need play most. 
 In the grammar-schools, where play is encouraged, it is apt 
 to be for the boys mainly, and for them it is apt to be pat- 
 terned after the strenuous games and contests of the high 
 school. 
 
 Many authorities seem to think that they have provided 
 quite adequately for play in the high school. They consider 
 that the gymnasiums for formal corrective exercises and the 
 permission to develop a football team accomplishes this end 
 completely. Much of the gymnasium exercise is not at all 
 in the nature of genuine play. Its purpose is to produce co- 
 ordination and control. The exercises are systematically ar- 
 ranged and look toward a definite end. The exercises usually 
 demand as specific, continuous, and sustained attention as 
 other work in mathematics, language, or science. Ask the 
 pupils if their gymnasium exercises are play or work, and they 
 almost universally answer * ' work ! " They were originally de- 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 135 
 
 signed to take the place of work which the farmer's boys and 
 girls secured through their regular duties, but which city life 
 made impossible. Now the farmer boy who works hard and 
 gets plenty of exercise needs play as well as the city boy, who 
 does not have the advantage of real physical work. 
 
 In the high schools and colleges, while games are numerous, 
 the very individuals who need the exercise do not secure it. 
 Only those who have the physique to be probable winners in 
 the games are given even an opportunity to participate. Al- 
 most no provision has been made for plays and games for all. 
 That should be one of the next steps in the new education. 
 
 It is very important for the public to provide opportunities 
 for recreation for all the people. This is especially necessary 
 since life has become so tense in carrying on business and in 
 the face of such complex social, industrial, and political con- 
 ditions. Municipalities are very properly establishing and 
 maintaining parks, pubHc play-fields, and various kinds of 
 amusement facilities. If people are to retain their poise, it 
 is absolutely necessary that they have adequate opportunity 
 for relaxation from the routine of everyday business cares 
 and worries. 
 
 The construction and proper maintenance of modern auto- 
 mobile roadways leading to all the farms and penetrating the 
 national forests, winding up the mountain canyons and skirt- 
 ing the lakes and ocean shores are not only a far-sighted finan- 
 cial investment but a contribution to the bettered health, 
 sanity, and education of our people. The automobile, usu- 
 ally thought of as a luxury, is a necessity for rich and poor 
 alike. It has broadened the mental horizon, quieted the fraz- 
 zled nerves, restored good humor, and educated millions of 
 the toiling masses. It is a natural play promoter as well as a 
 great business asset. 
 
 All our schools should be provided with adequate play- 
 ground space so that all pupils would have opportunity for 
 outdoor recreation. In addition to this, there should be a 
 gymnasium and swimming-pool in connection with every 
 school. Of course isolated one-room rural schools could not 
 
136 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 be thus equipped. But soon the one-room country school 
 will be largely displaced by the consolidated school having 
 several rooms and modern equipment and accessories. 
 
 Playtime should be as carefully set apart as study, recita- 
 tion, and laboratory periods. Some teacher in the corps 
 should have charge of the play activities, meeting different 
 groups at different times. In this way the play space will be 
 economized and opportunities will be provided for all children 
 to participate. As previously suggested, abundant oppor- 
 tunity must be provided for real free play. Some of the time 
 may be devoted to games and definite exercises, but these 
 must not monopolize all the time. They must not be so 
 strenuous and prolonged, either, that they frustrate the very 
 end for which they are maintained. For the special groups 
 who wish to be expert in various games, special opportunities 
 should be provided. But remember that the health and rec- 
 reation of all rather than the training of championship teams 
 should be the constantly observed ideal. 
 
 Work Through Play. — Two illustrations of ways of combin- 
 ing play with regular school activities are given here. The 
 first is an excerpt from a report by Doctor Theodate L. Smith, 
 then of Clark University, on some personal observations made 
 while visiting Madame Montessori in Rome. She wrote: 
 
 If one visits one of Doctor Montessori's schools the children all 
 seem to be occupied in interesting play. Some are lying on the floor 
 playing with blocks or strips of wood painted in different colors. 
 Some are playing blindfold games, finding out by the aid of their fin- 
 gers alone the shapes and sizes of objects and different textures of silk, 
 satin, wool, or linen. One child was absorbed in writing on the black- 
 board and did not even notice my entrance into the room. She was 
 writing in large vertical script and forming the letters beautifully, and 
 in answer to my question as to how long she had been writing, I 
 learned that she had begun the day before. Occasionally some child 
 , . . received either approval or suggestion that perhaps he would like 
 to do something else. But the interest and attention of the children are 
 never interfered with. If a child wishes to spend the entire school 
 period of two hours in doing one thing, he is allowed to do so, on the 
 principle that the spontaneous attention is a fundamental educative 
 principle that must not be interfered with. In spite of the fact that 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 137 
 
 this particular school in the convent on the Via Guisti draws its chil- 
 dren from an exceedingly poor section in Rome, their appearance was 
 neat, and although no discipline was apparent, the schoolroom was in 
 the truest sense controlled and orderly. 
 
 The second illustration is found in Doctor Dewey's Schools 
 of To-morrow, p. 119: 
 
 The natural desire of children to play can, of course, be made the 
 most of in the lowest grades, but there is one element of the play in- 
 stinct which schools are utilizing in the higher grades — that is, the 
 instinct for dramatization, for make-believe in action. All children 
 love to pretend that they are some body or thing other than themselves; 
 they love to make a situation real by going through the motions it 
 suggests. Abstract ideas are hard to understand; the child is never 
 quite sure whether he really understands or not. Allow him to act 
 out the idea and it becomes real to him, or the lack of understanding 
 is shown in what is done. Action is the test of comprehension. This 
 is simply another way of sa3dng that learning by doing is a better 
 way to learn than by listening — the difference of dramatization from 
 the work already described lies in the things the child is learning. He 
 is no longer dealing with material where things are needed to carry 
 out an act to a successful result, but with ideas which need action to 
 make them real. Schools are making use of dramatization in all sorts 
 of different ways to make teaching more concrete. For older children 
 dramatization is used principally in the strict sense of the word; that is, 
 by having pupils act in plays, either as a means of making the English 
 or history more real, or simply for the emotional and imaginative 
 value of the work. With the little children it is used as an aid in the 
 teaching of history, English, reading, or arithmetic, and is often com- 
 bined with other forms of activity. 
 
 Many schools use dramatization as a help in teaching the first steps 
 of any subject, especially in the lower grades. A first-year class, for 
 example, act the subject-matter of their regular reading-lesson, each 
 child having the part of one of the characters of the story, animal or 
 person. This insures an idea of the situation as a whole, so that read- 
 ing ceases to be simply an attempt to recognize and pronounce isolated 
 words and phrases. Moreover, the interest of the situation carries 
 children along, and enUsts attention to difficulties of phraseology 
 which might, if attacked as separate things, be discouraging. The 
 dramatic factor is a great assistance in the expressive side of reading. 
 Teachers are always having to urge children to read ''naturally," to 
 "read as they talk." But when a child has no motive for communi- 
 cation of what he sees in the text, knowing as he does that the teacher 
 
138 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 has the book and can tell it better than he can, even the naturalness 
 tends to be forced and artificial. Every observer knows how often 
 children who depart from humdrum droning learn to exhibit only a 
 superficial, breathless sort of liveUness and a make-believe animation. 
 Dramatization secures both attention to the thought of the text and 
 a spontaneous endeavor, free from pretense and self-consciousness, to 
 speak loudly enough to be heard and to enunciate distinctly. In the 
 same way, children tell stories much more effectively when they are 
 led to visualize for themselves the actions going on, than when they 
 are simply repeating something as a part of the school routine. When 
 children are drawing scenes involving action and posture, it is found 
 that prior action is a great assistance. In the case of a pose of the body, 
 the child who has done the posing is often found to draw better than 
 those who have merely looked on. He has got the ''feel" of the situ- 
 ation, which readily influences his hand and eye in the subsequent 
 reproduction. In the early grades when pupils fail in a concrete prob- 
 lem in arithmetic, it is frequently found that resort to "acting out" 
 the situation supplies all the assistance needed. The real difficulty 
 was not with the numbers but in failure to grasp the meaning of the 
 situation in which the numbers were to be used. 
 
 In the upper grades literature and history, as already indicated, are 
 often reinforced by dramatic activities. A sixth grade in Indianapolis 
 engaged in dramatizing Sleeping Beauty not merely composed the words 
 and the stage directions but also wrote the songs and the music for 
 them. Such concentration on a single purpose of studies usually pur- 
 sued independently stimulates work in each. Literary expression is 
 less monotonous, the phrasing of an idea more delicate and flexible, 
 than when composition is an end in itself; and while of course the music 
 is not likely to be remarkable, it almost always has a freshness and 
 charm exceeding that which could be attained from the same pupils if 
 they were merely writing music. 
 
 Meriam argues that play in school should not have for Its 
 purpose the making arithmetic and other studies more at- 
 tractive. He says {Child Life and the Curriculum, p. 315): 
 
 Play thus used as a means of instruction is a serious reflection upon 
 the subject-matter taught or the teacher teaching. Something is wrong 
 when so much ingenuity is required in adapting games as a means of 
 securing ends in certain traditional subject-matter. . , . The mere 
 fact that play is recognized as one phase of the normal life of children 
 justifies its place in the curriculum. . . . Real life, as an end, is of 
 more value than school studies as a means. Thus the place which 
 play has in the lives of children is its justification for recognition in 
 
LEARNING AND EXPRESSION THROUGH PLAY 139 
 
 school, where the purpose is to help hoys and girls do better in all those 
 wholesome activities in which they normally engage. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Do animals play? 2. Is there any relation between the intelligence 
 of animals and their ability to play? 3. Do children play when ill? 4. 
 List the various types of play activities of the children in your community. 
 5. Of the grown-ups. 6, Do teachers play sufficiently ? 7. Are there ade- 
 quate play facilities, including {a) space, {h) equipment, (c) time on the 
 programme, in your public schools? 8. Should play centres in the cities 
 be under the management of (a) the park commissioners or (6) the school 
 board? 9. What are the following theories of play: Spencer, Groos, Hall? 
 10. Do boys on the farm need play? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Curtis, Education Through Play, chaps. I, II, III, IV. 
 
 2. Curtis, The Play Movement and Its Significance. 
 
 3. Dewey, Schools of To-morrow, chap. V. 
 
 4. Johnson, Education by Plays and Games. Entire book. 
 
 5. Lee, Play in Education. 
 
 6. Meriam, Child Life and the Curriculum, chap. XIV. 
 
 7. Norsworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood, chap. XII. 
 
 8. Patrick, The Psychology of Relaxation, chap. II. 
 
 9. Waddle, Introduction to Child Psychology, chap. VI. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 
 
 Importance in Education. — On graduation from school it is 
 not merely what a boy knows that determines the value of 
 his education. What he likes and dislikes ; his attitude toward 
 society and its problems; his attitude toward religion and 
 morals; his attitude toward right and wrong; his attitude 
 toward his duties and obligations; these are vastly more im- 
 portant than the few items of knowledge that he has gained. 
 While in school the enthusiasm of the pupil for his work is 
 exceedingly important. With enthusiasm he can generally 
 accomplish his tasks with ease and efficiency; without it they 
 become drudgery and in the end are only half performed. 
 
 In everyday life the emotional reaction toward life's duties 
 .•and problems is the all-important thing. One man with facts 
 ;and logic may give absolute proof that certain things ought 
 to be done. But it takes the evangelistic type to fire the 
 people with zeal to take hold and bring things to pass. Until 
 the emotions of people are aroused they will allow the most 
 important things to remain undone and will tolerate the 
 gravest injustices in society. Some teachers are great living 
 forces and get their students to accomplish the very best kind 
 of work, while others succeed poorly and only through com- 
 pulsion. The former are able to stimulate and arouse en- 
 thusiasm, the latter inefficient because they cannot make the 
 right emotional appeal. 
 
 Consequently, in all education the understanding of and 
 right education of the feelings and emotions are fundamental. 
 Pestalozzi said: "Secure the love of the child and his intellec- 
 tual education is an easy matter." While an exhaustive dis- 
 cussion of the feelings and emotions will not be necessary in 
 
 140 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 141 
 
 this elementary book, enough of a description to enable us to 
 analyze these states in a general way will be desirable. 
 
 Meaning of Feeling. — The word feeling is used in a popular 
 sense and in a technical sense. We must distinguish carefully 
 between the two meanings. When one says "I feel cold," "I 
 feel the wind blowing upon me," " I feel the contact of my pen 
 upon my skin," '*I feel the weight pressing down upon me," 
 he does not use the term feeling in a strict psychological sense. 
 He means rather that he has experienced sensations of cold, 
 contact, touch, or weight. "I sense it" or "I perceive it" 
 would be more accurate expressions. But the expression "I 
 feel," much like the expression ''learning by heart," has come 
 to us traditionally, and like many traditions it is difficult of 
 dislodgment. When one says "It feels painful," ''It feels 
 pleasant," "I feel sad," "I feel happy," "His heart throbs 
 with patriotic feelings," the expressions are used to denote 
 different mental states from the ones first indicated in the 
 paragraph. The word in the former referred to perception, 
 to intellectual processes. That is, it was incorrectly used to 
 designate ideas gained through the sensation of touch. In the 
 latter cases it refers not to the sensations or perceptions, but 
 to our pleasure or repugnance connected with those intellec- 
 tual states. Hence we may define feeling as follows: A feel- 
 ing is the simple pleasurable or painful side of any simple men- 
 tal state; or, as Sully has expressed it, "feeling marks off the 
 pleasure-and-pain 'tone' or aspect of experience." 
 
 The lower forms of feeling are difficult to distinguish from 
 sensations. For example, in hunger just what is sensation 
 and what is feeling? The distinction must be experienced 
 personally, "felt," in order to be appreciated. No formal 
 word definition will make it clear. In the realm of the higher 
 feelings or emotions it is easy to distinguish between feelings 
 and sensations proper. For example, a feeling of patriotism 
 or even of fear or anger would never be confused with a sen- 
 sation. It is only when we come to the lower feelings or those 
 which are largely physical that they can scarcely be distin- 
 guished from sensations. But certain selected examples will 
 
142 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 probably bring out a distinction which may be appreciated. 
 Suppose we Hsten to a saw being filed, or that we draw a rusty 
 nail through our teeth, or allow a slimy snake or an insect to 
 crawl over the skin. We experience the sensation of contact, 
 but over and above and distinct from the sensation is a feeling 
 of disagreeableness. This something is more than knowledge 
 giving, it is affective, it is repugnant. I look at a beautiful pic- 
 ture, or witness a noble deed, and I experience something not 
 merely knowledge giving or intellectual — I am pleased. This 
 affective state is a complex feeling, really an emotion, which 
 is later defined. 
 
 Professor Titchener has given us one of the clearest dis- 
 cussions of the distinction between feelings and sensations, 
 and which I venture to reproduce. He writes: 
 
 Let us introspect a true feeling {A Primer of Psychology, p. 6i) — 
 say, the feeling of drowsiness — and convince ourselves that it is made 
 up of sensation and affection. Drowsiness begins, on the sensation 
 side, with a sensation of pressure on the upper eyelids, with a tickling 
 in the throat that leads to yawning and so brings a complex of muscu- 
 lar sensations, and with a sensation of pressure at the back of the neck 
 (the head droops). The lids grow constantly heavier; breathing gets 
 slower and deeper, so that its sensations change; the lower jaw becomes 
 heavy, so that the mouth opens and the chin falls forward on the 
 breast (pressure sensations) ; the neck sensations become stronger, the 
 head heavier; and lastly the limbs grow heavy, and arrange them- 
 selves by their own weight. Sensations of temperature come from 
 the surface of the skin, thrills of warmth running their course at differ- 
 ent parts of the limbs and trunk. Over all this mass of sensation is 
 spread an affection; an easy, comfortable pleasantness. And the affec- 
 tion outweighs the sensation; we know better that we "feel comforta- 
 ble" than that sensations are coming in from this or that organ. — The 
 total process, then, has all the marks of a true feeUng. 
 
 For these simple, elementary, affective states we will reserve 
 the name feelings, and to the more complex and seemingly 
 "more mental" ones we will apply the term emotions. This 
 does not imply that they are different in origin or kind ; only 
 different in degree. 
 
 Meaning of Emotion. — An emotion is the complex agreeable 
 or painful side of any mental state. This correctly implies that 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 143 
 
 emotions are not different in kind from feelings, but merely 
 different in degree. As sense-feelings are concomitants of 
 sensations and simple perceptions, likewise emotions arise in 
 connection with higher and more complex intellection. Mere 
 sensations or perceptions, such as looking at colors or symbols 
 or being cut by a knife, cannot arouse emotions. They may 
 arouse feelings of pain. When we apperceive the import of 
 symbols which convey some associational knowledge, such as 
 a telegram might bring, we may be aroused to the deepest 
 emotion of grief or the highest ecstasy of joy. A good dinner, 
 warm clothing, a good fire, produce sensations and pleasur- 
 able bodily feelings, but in themselves they cannot arouse 
 emotions. They may suggest higher thoughts and those in 
 turn be accompanied by emotions. 
 
 It should not be understood that there is an absolute line 
 of demarcation betsveen feelings and emotions. Sense-feel- 
 ings doubtless enter into the most highly developed emotions 
 much more than we realize. True emotions are very directly 
 related to the higher intellectual states. This relationship is 
 full of pedagogical significance. Only a well-developed intel- 
 lect can experience profound emotions. Sometimes there are 
 outward manifestations of deep emotion, e. g., love, fidelity, 
 or religious emotion, in persons of low intelligence, but they 
 are not real. Instead of being the accompaniment of pro- 
 found conviction deliberately arrived at, they are largely imi- 
 tative and often belong to egoistic sense-feelings. A boy can- 
 not be taught genuine patriotism merely by shooting fire- 
 crackers, being feasted upon peanuts and candy, by waving 
 a flag, tooting a tin horn, or shouting himself hoarse. Before 
 the genuine sentiment arises which makes him really live for 
 his country as well as to be willing to die for it, he must under- 
 stand the deep significance of the manifold duties and privi- 
 leges of citizenship. This the boy does not appreciate, and 
 the ignoramus cannot. 
 
 Similarly with love. The youth believes himself in love 
 when it is a mere sense-feeling, passion, and egoistic pleasure 
 which dominate him. Only with increased intelligence, 
 
144 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 broader experience, wider outlook, appreciation of its duties 
 and responsibilities, does the real sentiment develop. Unfor- 
 tunately, alas, too many never reach this stage ! The alarm- 
 ing number of divorces, the instances of broken friendships, 
 the rare cases of great sacrifices for others, all attest the fore- 
 going conclusion. There is much love in the world which is 
 genuinely altruistic, but there is much that passes under the 
 name of love that contains not a germ of altruism. Love is 
 indeed the greatest thing in the world, and many there are so 
 small and stunted as never to comprehend its real meaning 
 nor feel its impulses. 
 
 The Lange- James Theory of the Emotions. — There is a very 
 close relation between the expression of an emotion and the 
 emotion itself. If one could suppress all expression of fear 
 or grief, undoubtedly the fear and grief w^ould be much re- 
 duced. Likewise joy and gladness that are not expressed in 
 some way are certain to be much less than if they were given 
 customary expression. An interesting question was raised by 
 Professor James, of Harvard, and Professor Lange, a Scan- 
 dinavian psychologist, regarding the order of occurrence of 
 emotions and their expression. The popular theory is that 
 the sequence is as follows: (i) Knowledge, (2) The emotion, 
 (3) The expression. But Lange and James object, saying 
 that the real order is: (i) Knowledge, (2) The expression, (3) 
 The emotion. James's classical illustration in support of this 
 interpretation is: "We see a bear; we run; and then we are 
 afraid." "We feel sorry because we cry, angry because we 
 strike, afraid because we tremble." 
 
 While the interpretation of Lange and James is doubtless 
 extreme, is there not probably a reciprocal relation between 
 emotions and their expression? Does not the expression of 
 an emotion increase the emotion, and does not the inhibition 
 of its expression tend to suppress the emotion? It takes no 
 acute psychological observation to note that an emotion once 
 initiated is greatly increased by giving way to the outward 
 manifestations of it. To bow one's head when already suffer- 
 ing grief lowers one's vitality and increases the grief. To be 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 145 
 
 sure, nursing the grief through contemplation of its cause is 
 one source of its production, but undoubtedly the bowed head, 
 the curved spine, the lowered eyelids, the drawn lips, all are 
 causes as well as effects. Who could feel any enthusiasm in 
 giving the college yell when sitting down and with head 
 bowed low in reverential attitude? At the football-game 
 one's excitement increases largely in proportion to the amount 
 of noise and motion he makes. 
 
 It is bad pedagogy to try to secure enthusiasm by restricting 
 bodily movement. Soldiers hear the "Quick-step, march!" 
 their pace quickens and their courage rises simultaneously. 
 The influence of music in war is tremendous. Let the sol- 
 diers hear a funeral dirge. Their pace slackens and their 
 spirits fall. "Every one knows how panic is increased by 
 flight, and how the giving way to the symptoms of grief or 
 anger increases those passions themselves. Each fit of sob- 
 bing makes the sorrow more acute, and calls forth another fit 
 stronger still, until at last repose only ensues with lassitude 
 and with the apparent exhaustion of the machinery. In rage, 
 it is notorious how we 'work ourselves up' to a climax by 
 repeated outbreaks of expression. Refuse to express a pas- 
 sion, and it dies. Count ten before venting your anger, and 
 its occasion seems ridiculous. Whistling to keep up courage 
 is no mere figure of speech. On the other hand, sit all day in 
 a moping posture, sigh, and reply to everything in a dismal 
 voice, and your melancholy lingers. There is no more valu- 
 able precept in moral education than this, as all who have 
 experienced know: if we wish to conquer undesirable emo- 
 tional tendencies in ourselves, we must assiduously, and in the 
 first instance cold-bloodedly, go through the outward move- 
 ments of those contrary dispositions which we prefer to culti- 
 vate. The reward of persistency will infallibly come, in the 
 fading out of the sullenness or depression, and the advent of 
 real cheerfulness and kindliness in their stead. Smooth the 
 brow, brighten the eye, contract the dorsal rather than the 
 ventral aspect of the frame, and speak in a major key, pass 
 the genial compliment, and your heart must be frigid indeed 
 
146 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 if It do not gradually thaw!" {Principles of Psychology, II, 
 p. 462.) 
 
 Although I do not subscribe to the Lange-James theory in 
 its entirety, I recognize many facts which go to show that the 
 various bodily conditions have a very marked influence upon 
 the emotions. One with biliousness cannot easily feel in a 
 happy mood. Our general attitude toward life is strongly 
 colored by our state of health. With sound bodies and good 
 digestion all the world is apt to appear roseate. But a poor 
 night's rest or an unusual ache is most sure to give it a most 
 sombre tint. There is undoubtedly a very definite interrela- 
 tion among the three states — knowledge, emotion, action. 
 They are probably three inseparable phases of every complex 
 psychophysical state, and it is impossible for them to be 
 entirely isolated. Sometimes one phase may preponderate, 
 sometimes another. The exercise of any one undoubtedly in- 
 fluences each of the others. An exhaustive discussion of the 
 theoretical aspects of the question will not be attempted in 
 this connection. The reader who is interested may refer to 
 James,* Lange,t or Ribot.J A few illustrations will, how- 
 ever, be adduced to show the exceedingly close interdepen- 
 dence between the emotions and the physical expressions. An 
 attempt will also be made to indicate some of the many very 
 important educational bearings. 
 
 We know that in play-acting when we portray a given char- 
 acter we tend to feel the emotional states represented. For 
 this reason many believe it is dangerous to assume the role of 
 a rogue or a rascal. Taking the role of a noble character up- 
 lifts one and stirs lofty desires. Undoubtedly every one is 
 moved emotionally by assuming an attitude of prayer or de- 
 votion. A boy whistles on going through a lonely place at 
 night, and thereby feels less afraid. When he has been hurt 
 by a school fellow or worsted in an encounter, he laughs a 
 bravado laugh though ready to cry, and thereby dispels the 
 desire to cry and manages to feel courage, which was slipping 
 
 *0p. cit. t Ueher Gemiithsbewegungen, Leipsic, 1887. 
 
 J The Psychology of the Emotions. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 147 
 
 away. We tell a crying child, "Dry your eyes and you'll feel 
 better," rather than "Feel better and then your tears will 
 cease." 
 
 Educational Suggestions from the Lange- James Theory. — 
 The educational bearings of this theory are manifold and far- 
 reaching. Actions and states constantly repeated determine 
 what one is. What one is he comes to believe in and the cus- 
 tomary becomes pleasurable, at least in a negative way. Con- 
 sequently it is good pedagogy to teach children, for example, 
 to assume an attitude of cheerfulness, to sit up straight, to 
 expand the lungs, to walk sprightly, to have a good laugh 
 occasionally. It all reacts upon their moods. For a person 
 to go bent over, with his back humped up and his chest 
 drawn in, is sufficient reason for him to become low-spirited. 
 Plenty of oxygen, sufficient muscular exercise, and good bodily 
 postures and habits are not only conducive to but absolutely 
 necessary to the maintenance of cheerfulness. The one who 
 becomes anaemic and nerveless is the one who is irritable and 
 cross. Many external conditions contribute not a little to 
 one's emotional tone. The weather determines, more than 
 we think, the trend of one's conduct. Poor lighting is often 
 responsible for not only defective vision and bad headaches 
 but also for much peevishness. Because of the intimate rela- 
 tions between the emotions and the intellectual and volitional 
 states, it is important for the educator to bear in mind con- 
 stantly the necessity of securing bodily comfort and emotional 
 buoyancy. Heating, lighting, ventilation, all have their ef- 
 fects. Proper seating is a feature too httle considered. 
 Cramped position or dangling feet produce irritability, to say 
 nothing of bodily malformations. Recesses, alternation of 
 work and play, must also be considered in trying to secure 
 desirable emotional attitudes. 
 
 Through imitation one unconsciously assumes the attitudes 
 of those about him. Consequently imitation plays a most 
 important part in the determination of the emotions. A light- 
 hearted person diffuses his feelings among all whom he meets. 
 Similarly one who is low-spirited casts a spell of gloom over 
 
148 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 all his associates. Feelings are even more contagious than 
 disease. Children are very quick to be inoculated with the 
 moods affecting the teacher. On those days when children 
 are bad-natured, fretful, or especially trying, the cause can 
 usually be traced to some external influence — bad weather, an 
 irritable teacher, improper lighting, insufficient nutrition, or 
 physical discomfort. 
 
 The Emotion of Fear. — ^This emotion has played a very im- 
 portant role in civilization. It is fundamentally the basis of 
 self-preservation. Only through fear of personal pain does 
 the child learn to avoid harmful experiences. In the home, 
 in the school, and in society, fear is one of the great deterrents 
 to misconduct and crime. Even in religion its place has been 
 quite prominent, often even dominant. 
 
 The telling of sensational stories is one of the most frequent 
 causes of fear in children. Injudicious servants, playmates, 
 and even parents and teachers, frequently tell children of gob- 
 lins, ghosts, and bogies, sometimes just to interest children, 
 but even more often to scare them. The children are not sel- 
 dom frightened into obedience by threats of being taken by 
 the bogey man or the bears. Soon all dark and unexplored 
 places are through the imagination peopled with frightful 
 creatures. The child comes to dread a new situation and 
 becomes timid and hesitant in undertaking new things. If 
 the child is neurotic in addition to this psychical condition, 
 he is easily made a coward. Bashful children injudiciously 
 treated are frequently made to suffer untold agonies through 
 imagining ridicule or censure. 
 
 A bashfully inclined child, by being repressed and made to 
 fear being observed, and through imagination of unfavorable 
 comment, can be made a lifelong social coward. When we 
 are thinking of making Young America "mind" or "to be 
 seen and not heard," we should consider whether we may not 
 be repressing the very boldness which will make for social and 
 moral courage in manhood and womanhood. Better smile at 
 a little overconfidence or put up with egotism which smacks 
 of impudence than repress every manly and womanly instinct 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 149 
 
 of courage. There are doubtless thousands of weak-willed, 
 shamefaced, llmp-spined men in the world who owe their con- 
 dition to fears engendered by overstrict and injudicious par- 
 ents. To have made them valiant and courageous there 
 would have been necessary only a little protection from foolish 
 fears and a stimulating encouragement to have confidence in 
 their own powers. To be told continually that one will fail 
 in an undertaking is with the naturally timid almost fatal to 
 success. It is often unfortunate to have children in school 
 obtrusive in their boldness, but it is probably more unfortu- 
 nate to have a child utterly distrustful of his own powers. 
 Life is so full of real disappointments that no one needs to be 
 harassed with fears of any unnecessarily imagined ones. Self- 
 confidence is one of the greatest factors in success. 
 
 The results of the use or the abuse of fear may be suggested 
 in the following: 
 
 Timidity 
 Cowardice 
 Bashfulness 
 Self-consciousness 
 
 Fear 
 
 (Negative) (Positive) 
 
 Caution 
 Prudence 
 Foresight 
 Fear of wrong 
 
 It is apparent that to educate the child so that he shall 
 learn to fear wisely and effectively is a very important part of 
 education. The lowest form of fear is instinctive and directed 
 toward ^elf -preservation. Of the highest we may voice the 
 proverb that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis- 
 dom." Marden says: "Doubt, uncertainty, fear of failure, 
 are the greatest enemies of mankind. No man ever yet ac- 
 compHshed a great deed with a doubt clouding his mind. 
 The miracles of civilization have been performed by men and 
 women who believed in themselves. In spite of ridicule, in- 
 credulity, and abuse they maintained unwavering faith in 
 their power to accomplish the tasks to which they had set 
 themselves." 
 
 The following good suggestions are in entire harmony with 
 the teachings of the Lange-James theory of the emotions: 
 " 'Assume a virtue if you have it not' is sound advice. There 
 
I50 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 is a great deal in assuming the part or character you desire to 
 play in life's drama. H you wish to take the part of a suc- 
 cessful man you must assume the mental attitude, the out- 
 ward manner of one. It is not difficult to pick out a success- 
 ful man in the street. If he is a leader, a man who relies upon 
 himself, every step, every movement indicates it. There is 
 assurance in his very bearing. He walks as if he were master 
 of himself, as though he believed in his ability to do things, to 
 bring about results. People are impressed in spite of them- 
 selves by a confident bearing. They trust a man who believes 
 in himself; they take his ability for granted, but they have 
 only pity or contempt for the self-depreciating doubter. The 
 man without self-confidence and iron will is the plaything of 
 chance, the puppet of his environment, the slave of circum- 
 stances. With these he is king, ever master of the situation." 
 (Chicago Record-Herald.) 
 
 The Educational Control and Uses of Anger. — The child 
 should be taught early to restrain angry passions. A habit of 
 flying into a rage every time his wishes are thwarted is one 
 that will prove a source of great weakness in later life. The 
 individual who goes into a blustering rage is a weak opponent 
 for the man who keeps his head. In argument or in physical 
 contests the angry man dissipates his energy and becomes an 
 impotent antagonist. 
 
 However, the child should be taught that there is a just type 
 of anger. He should distinguish between personal grievances 
 and the wrongs inflicted upon society. He should be led early 
 to look with indignation upon that which is base, unjust, and 
 unworthy. He should be trained to look with disgust and 
 abhorrence upon conduct that is disgraceful not only where 
 personal injury has come to him but whenever justice and 
 right have been outraged. Children must be aroused out of 
 indifference to wrongs witnessed against others, into active 
 championship of the oppressed and the downtrodden. The 
 habit cannot be formed too early. There is something wrong 
 with the education of children of lo years of age if they de- 
 light in the persecution of animals, in seeing weak children 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 151 
 
 bullied and abused by the stronger. Often children tease 
 others in a thoughtless way, but no well-trained child delights 
 in witnessing or causing real injury to another. Abraham 
 Lincoln, in manhood the emancipator of the lowly slave, in 
 boyhood was laughed at as the friend and champion of the 
 poor inoffensive turtles which were stoned by the rude school- 
 boys. He was as ready to fight for the rights of a turtle as 
 for the oppressed black man. Though teasing and bullying 
 are instinctive in childhood and youth, they can be and should 
 be well under control before the child is 10 years of age. 
 
 It is only through the development of the emotion of indig- 
 nation against injustice that one becomes the real friend of 
 society. Not to injure others is well, but not enough; it is 
 only negative. One must be positive as well as negative. 
 Proper development of this feeling leads one to defend his 
 friends and neighbors, his state and his country, as well as 
 himself. It leads one country to defend another unjustly at- 
 tacked. It led the United States to defend Cuba and the 
 Philippines against an outrageous foe. It led the Union to 
 dismemberment when each section believed itself to be the 
 champion of certain inalienable rights apparently violated. 
 It led the people of the United States to send the flower of 
 her youth to stamp out the world-wide menace to democracy 
 and freedom. These feelings must actuate the philanthro- 
 pist, the minister, and the true statesman. The feeling is apt 
 to be ill nourished, because personal loss often follows attempts 
 to champion the rights of society. Were the emotions prop- 
 erly developed in all, our cities would be well governed, our 
 streets clean and well lighted, public sanitation perfect, our 
 children properly schooled, our laws better obeyed, justice 
 better administered, our taxes cut in half, our public parks 
 increased, public nuisances abated, the poverty-stricken pro- 
 vided with work, and municipal corruption eliminated. But 
 so long as the public conscience is apathetic and we do not 
 feel indignant at public wrongs unless we are affected indi- 
 vidually, just so long will public wrongs continue. We are too 
 apt to close our eyes to everything that does not strike home. 
 
152 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 The criminal knows this. Only the individuals wronged are 
 anxious to testify against the criminal, and they are easily 
 eluded. But when every individual in a community is ready 
 to champion the rights of every other individual in the com- 
 munity, then the criminal finds it dangerous to operate there. 
 We need a multitude of men such as one of our great cities 
 recently furnished us in the person of a young lawyer, who 
 tracked to their hiding-places and brought to the bar of jus- 
 tice a whole ring of corrupt city officials. So unselfish was 
 he that he rejected the offer of the grateful city of a house 
 and lot as a recognition of his meritorious altruism. His ser- 
 vices had been only in the cause of right and as an indignant 
 rebuke against the evils which the city suffered. It was only 
 such service as every ideal citizen ought to be willing to render. 
 
 The child should also be taught to stand up for his personal 
 rights. To be sure, he must learn not to assume those which 
 do not belong to him. But he must learn to know his rights 
 and to maintain them. This means that he must not allow 
 others to impose upon him or to bully him. We applaud the 
 nation which fights the foe that insults her colors, and why 
 not the individuals that maintain their personal dignity? 
 The boy or girl who is habitually teased and bulHed is usually 
 one with cowardly traits. The one who is cowardly in defense 
 of himself will seldom exhibit courage in protecting the rights 
 of others. Every one should have self-respect and should 
 maintain it. Righteous indignation is not only permissible 
 but commendable whenever injustice has been witnessed, 
 whether the offense is against oneself or against society. 
 
 Sympathy means a condition in which one enters into the 
 feelings of another, sharing the pleasures or pains. It is an 
 emotion of rather late appearance. Although we are told 
 that it exists among the lower animals, it is there of a very 
 low order. Except as a manifestation of maternal instinct 
 in the animals we find very Httle indication of it. Most ani- 
 mals leave wounded or disabled comrades to their hard fate. 
 Romanes believes that sympathy is first seen among the hy- 
 menoptera. He places its first appearance in the child at 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 153 
 
 about five months. Sigismund records that he noticed sym- 
 pathy at the end of three months. Sully and Tiedemann be- 
 lieve that they have noticed it as early as the end of the 
 second month. But these instances are all cases of imitation 
 and have very little of genuine sympathy in them. One child 
 will cry when another cries or sometimes when it hears music, 
 but it is questionable how far the feelings are shared, and still 
 more questionable whether there is a desire to enter into the 
 other's feelings, which is often true in higher stages of sym- 
 pathy. At 2 years and 10 months of age my boy was 
 looking at a picture of a boy crying, and said : '' Boy hain't got 
 no mudder." I answer, "No, the boy has no mother," think- 
 ing merely to coincide with his expression. He repeated the 
 same thing again, and burst into tears and sobbed bitterly. 
 I cannot think it was a deeper feeling than mere contagion 
 from the appearance of the crying child, for he had absolutely 
 no idea of the import of what he said. He knew nothing of 
 death or the meaning of bereavement. 
 
 To really sympathize, one must put himself in another's 
 place. This often requires imagination of the other's states. 
 To imagine anything, one must have had a previous experience 
 of that thing. One must at least understand the conditions 
 producing the affective states of another in order to sym- 
 pathize with them. Circumscribed experiences often make it 
 impossible for an individual to have broad sympathies. There 
 is nothing that gives one such powers for usefulness as breadth 
 and variety of sympathies. No person in public relations can 
 hope to succeed in drawing masses to him unless he can go 
 out to meet them in sympathy. To sympathize with them 
 means that he must understand their point of view. The 
 great man who, like Lincoln, can perform some act which all 
 the masses can understand and appreciate is the one who 
 can gain their sympathies. They understand the simple, 
 homely, every-day acts, and therefore their sympathies are 
 enlisted. The more philosophic acts of statesmanship are 
 not understood, but through the commonplace acts faith is 
 engendered. The great statesman who has only the philo- 
 
154 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 sophic view, and who can never come to the people's level, 
 will never raise the people to his level. In thinking of Queen 
 Victoria, all else is forgotten about her by the multitude ex- 
 cept that she was a tender mother, a devoted wife, and a duti- 
 ful daughter. Because of these characteristics she will go 
 down through all the ages beloved by the masses. 
 
 The teacher who cannot meet pupils on their own level, 
 though he may be ever so scholarly, wise, and philosophically 
 just, will never enlist their sympathies. Many teachers have 
 either forgotten childhood or else they never had a real child- 
 hood, for the pupil's actions are no longer comprehensible to 
 them. They do not and probably cannot sympathize with 
 child life. Such teachers should either cultivate an intelli- 
 gent acquaintance with child Hfe, so as to understand and 
 appreciate it, or quit the business of teaching. It is lamenta- 
 ble that in the teachers' preparation the main emphasis has 
 been placed upon the understanding of subject-matter and 
 so little to developing a deeper and more sympathetic under- 
 standing of child life. 
 
 It is highly important that pupils be in sympathy with the 
 school and its functions. This is often, too often, not the 
 case. Pupils feel that the teacher is an autocrat dictating 
 laws without reference to the wishes or even welfare of the 
 children themselves. Few openly rebel, though many secretly 
 long for freedom. Such need not be the case if pupils are 
 only led to see the meaning of school rules and regulations, 
 and if they have developed a feeling of personal ownership in 
 the school. Though I have no patience with the artificial 
 schemes of self-government, so called, in which the teacher 
 abandons all rights, privileges, and authority, yet pupil co- 
 operation must be secured. This can only come through 
 their understanding of the aims, purposes, and means of gov- 
 ernment. They should participate and co-operate to the full- 
 est extent possible, but, what is equally as important, they 
 should understand that their immaturity and their inexperi- 
 ence place limitations upon their powers of governing wisely, 
 and hence the necessity of acquiescing in those means em- 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EMOTIONS 155 
 
 ployed by teachers and school boards. They should be led 
 to see that the school is theirs, and that whatever affects the 
 individual affects the school, also that whatever affects the 
 school in turn affects the pupils in the school. As soon as a 
 correct understanding is gained, a sense of participation re- 
 sults. As soon as a sense of participation is developed, the 
 feeling of sympathy begins to grow. 
 
 From the standpoint of social needs it is greatly to be de- 
 sired that children become sympathetic with the various 
 forms of political and social organizations. This can only be 
 accomplished by obeying the laws of the development of sym- 
 pathy, viz., by giving a thorough knowledge of those things 
 with which the children ought to sympathize. The classes of 
 people who are out of sympathy with institutions are the 
 ones who do not understand them. Being in sympathy with 
 our institutions does not mean being satisfied with everything, 
 but it does mean intelligent appreciation of the conditions 
 under which they have been developed and are developing, 
 and also patience with the slow pace of development. It 
 should also reveal definitely that social development depends 
 upon the active co-operation of all the individuals composing 
 society. The doctrine of helpful service needs much empha- 
 sis in our homes, schools, and churches. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Distinguish between a feeling and an emotion. 2. State the Lange- 
 James theory of the emotions. 3. What relation is there between physical 
 states and emotions? 4. Is there a direct relation between intelligence 
 and the emotions? 5. Can a feeble-minded individual be honest, brave, 
 patriotic? 6. Are all intelligent persons necessarily honest, brave, patri- 
 otic? 7. How can the school help in making children honest, brave, pa- 
 triotic? 8. What is the educational significance of the Lange-James 
 theory? 9. Are fear, anger, and love instinctive? 10. What school sub- 
 jects contribute to the education of the emotions most ? least ? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXV. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. X. 
 
 3. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chaps. V, VI. 
 
 4. Norsworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood, chap. V. 
 
 5. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. XII. 
 
 6. Woodworth, Psychology : A Study of Mental Life, chaps. VIII, IX. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 
 
 What Is Interest? — Whenever we like anything, whenever 
 we pay attention to anything, we are interested in it. Things 
 which interest us are voluntarily and purposely attended to 
 without external compulsion. A majority of the stimulations 
 of the senses never receive attention because they have no 
 interest for us. James wrote {Principles of Psychology, I, pp. 
 402-403): 
 
 Millions of items of the outward order are present to my senses 
 which never properly enter into my experience. Why? Because they 
 have no interest for me. My experience is what I agree to attend to. 
 Only those items which I notice shape my mind. Without selective 
 interest, experience is an utter chaos. Interest alone gives accent and 
 emphasis, Hght and shade, background and foreground — intelligible 
 perspective, in a word. It varies in every creature, but without it the 
 consciousness of every creature would be a gray, chaotic indiscrimi- 
 nateness, impossible for us even to conceive. 
 
 Interest as a Means. — Many teachers seem to regard inter- 
 est merely as a means of getting pupils to do disagreeable 
 tasks; a sort of sugar coating which will render bitter pills 
 less objectionable. Some arithmetic is to be mastered, and 
 devices must be sought which will help accomplish that end. 
 Under the guise of one thing pupils are to get some other 
 thing. New words are to be mastered. Call them fishes in 
 a pond; call leaves fairies; call geography lessons journeys, 
 etc. These may be very good devices, but the interest is 
 not in the thing to be acquired. The young teacher is apt to 
 think that interest is largely a matter of manner of presenta- 
 tion of a subject. It is supposed that by proper skill, suffi- 
 cient smiles, a lively manner, and plenty of amusing stories 
 that any subject can be made interesting to any pupils. The 
 
 156 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 157 
 
 whole Interest is supposed to inhere in the teacher. To keep 
 the pupils good-natured, to keep them in school, to avoid 
 conflict, to cause them to like her, seem to be the dominating 
 influences. 
 
 Such a teacher seldom cares what kind of an interest is felt 
 in the subject after the task has been accomplished. Will 
 the pupil choose this subject later on? Does he apply it to 
 his daily life with pleasure, or does he drop it out of his exist- 
 ence when it ceases to be his lesson? These results do not 
 seem to be of concern. Interest to such means pleasure, 
 amusement, having a good time. They usually feel that 
 struggle, work, overcoming of obstacles are antagonistic to 
 interest. In planning to keep pupils interested they usually 
 try to amuse them, to relieve from difficulties, to smooth the 
 path. 
 
 Interest as an End. — But while it is desirable to produce 
 interest in order to secure study, interest as an end is desir- 
 able. One of the great aims of education should be to stimu- 
 late abiding interests in the studies themselves, and also to 
 make the studies lead to permanent and desirable life inter- 
 ests. Spencer tells us {Education, p. 127) that "As a final 
 test by which to judge any plan of culture, should come the 
 question, Does it create a pleasurable excitement in the 
 pupils ?" Again he says that if a given course of study ''pro- 
 duce no interest, or less interest than another course, we 
 should rehnquish it." McMurry says: 
 
 The common understanding has been that instruction is aiming at 
 knowledge, and that interest is one of the means by which that aim 
 can be best attained; in brief, knowledge is the end and interest the 
 means. But the new standpoint asserts interest to be the highest 
 aim of instruction, and ideas to be the means by which that object can 
 be reached; that is, interest is the end and knowledge is the means. 
 Thus the tables have been turned. There is now a strong inclination 
 on the part of many to measure the success of years of teaching not by 
 the quantity of information one possesses on Commencement Day, 
 but by the degree of interest engendered in the lines of study followed. 
 The attitude of mind toward study is, to them, the most important 
 point. {Educational Review, 11, p. 147.) 
 
158 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Interest and Effort. — Many make the mistake of regarding 
 interest and effort as directly opposed. Such is a very errone- 
 ous interpretation. Interest may, in fact, lead to the most 
 strenuous effort. The greater the enthusiasm in one's work 
 the better it will be accomplished. But there is no dodging 
 the stern reality that life is full of drudgery and detail work, 
 and interest will not attach to the thing itself or very strongly 
 to the details. The scientist has to deal with long, tedious 
 columns of figures, which must be added, averages must be 
 found, and averages of averages, maximum amounts, and 
 minimal differences, average errors, average deviations, and 
 the Hke; all of these processes requiring drudgery which few 
 can stand without feeling great fatigue. Now were his in- 
 terest not above and beyond in something more ultimate he 
 would never get through the task. 
 
 We do not wish to have the child do things unwillingly. 
 Things should not be done because they are disagreeable, but 
 neither should necessary things be omitted because disagree- 
 able. Every one has felt more self-respect many times when 
 he persisted in pursuing to the finish some task involving dis- 
 agreeable drudgery. I believe the farmer boy does when he 
 finishes well the field of corn among the stumps, binds the 
 bundles in the hot harvest sun, ploughs the stony field, or 
 repairs properly the battered fence. So, too, the child in 
 school feels satisfaction and pride when he has a good geogra- 
 phy lesson, a perfect spelling-list, or a model page of writing, 
 even though the mind would have feasted on marble-playing, 
 chasing butterflies, making rabbit-traps, or going swimming. 
 A university student once said to me: "I would like to take 
 a certain attractive course, but I have started this German; I 
 have no end of difficulty with it, and I feel that to give it up 
 would be like yielding to temptation. To fight it out will be 
 to strengthen my moral nature." Who that has any stamina 
 has not worked for hours to get the right answer to a problem 
 or a puzzle, even though the answer were of no consequence 
 and forgotten in a few minutes ? Certainly the drudgery was 
 not interesting. The interest lay in conquering, in mastery 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 159 
 
 of inclination to ease, in the end to be accomplished. The 
 loafer would have yielded to momentary ease. The future 
 would have been dismissed. 
 
 Interest the Prime Consideration in Education. — Learning 
 which is not the outcome and accompaniment of pleasurable 
 interest does not call forth genuine self-activity and does not 
 give training. The influence is not only negative but posi- 
 tively dangerous. It produced divided attention, and, as 
 Dewey remarks {Interest in Relation to the Training of 
 the Will, p. 11), ''the theory of effort, . . . means a virtual 
 division of attention and the corresponding disintegration of 
 character, intellectually and morally. ... A child may be 
 externally entirely occupied with mastering the multiplication 
 table, and be able to reproduce that table when asked to do 
 so by his teacher. The teacher may congratulate himself that 
 the child has been so exercising his will-power as to be forming 
 right intellectual and moral habits. Not so, unless moral 
 habit be identified with this ability to show certain results 
 when required. The question of moral training has not been 
 touched until we know what the child has been internally 
 occupied with, what the predominating direction of his atten- 
 tion, his feelings, his disposition has been while engaged upon 
 this task." 
 
 The greater the amount of Interest the better. No one 
 ever accomplished much in any direction until he gave him- 
 self to his task body and soul. The scriptural injunction, 
 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, 
 with all thy heart, with all thy mind and all thy strength," 
 contains the key to the secret of success. Work should not 
 be made disagreeable or irksome. But even if exhausting or 
 irksome, the end to be attained should be so alluring that no 
 amount of disagreeableness could drive us away. 
 
 A certain writer explained as follows the drive that urged 
 him to stick to his task: 
 
 As I write these pages the mercury is mounting daily to no degrees 
 in the shade. My room is stuffy and almost unbearable, perspiration 
 makes my garments sticky, my sweaty hands soil the paper, and the 
 
i6o EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 hot wind occasionally seizes my paper and takes it pirouetting across 
 the room. AU these are annoyances, sufficient to drive me from writ- 
 ing pedagogics to seek Lake Superior breezes. No one has set me the 
 task of writing. I am free to go to Lake Superior. Then why do I 
 persist? I answer, interest in the result. I may see the necessity of 
 formulating properly certain conclusions for my classes next year, or 
 I may be eager to measure my strength, to see what I can do. I may 
 be pleasantly dreaming of the converts to my doctrines, or of the 
 money that will seek my coflfers. Any of these may be possible ideas 
 that have become fixed in my consciousness. It is the imagined end, 
 possibly a will-o'-the-wisp, but nevertheless pleasing and soul-consum- 
 ing, that is impelling me on. While the phantom is bright I forget 
 the petty annoyances of heat, moisty hands, crying children, rumbUng 
 wagons, clouds of heated dust, etc. I am living in the result. I am 
 interested. 
 
 Instincts and Interests. — Interests are primarily a function 
 of instincts. Secondarily, they are determined by environ- 
 ment and education. Of course interest in a particular object 
 is not determined by instinct; but the type of interest is de- 
 termined in broad outlines by instinct and heredity. The 
 hound is interested in the chase, the lion in stalking its prey, 
 and the cat in stealthily creeping upon its victim. The boy 
 is naturally interested in warlike, savage plays, the girl in 
 dandling her dolls, the mother in sacrifice for her infant child. 
 The child's dominant interests are selfish. With the ap- 
 proach of manhood sex-interests, home-making, and the re- 
 ligious interests make their appearance. As instincts have 
 their periods of nascency, full bloom, and decay, likewise in- 
 terests growing out of the corresponding instincts have their 
 periods of birth, growth, and decay. The presence of deep, 
 abiding, general interests indicates the possession of corre- 
 sponding instincts. Conversely, the absence of a given type 
 of interest signifies the absence of concomitant instincts. No 
 one ever possesses a genuine interest in any line of action 
 without native power in that direction. Persons devoid of 
 musical ability never voluntarily manifest a persistent inter- 
 est in producing music. They may enjoy hearing others per- 
 form, but their interest will be too feeble to impel them to 
 actual participation. Those without athletic ability (poten- 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE i6i 
 
 tiality, instinct) never are deeply enough interested to partici- 
 pate to any extent. Those who sit on the bleachers and yell 
 themselves hoarse are not necessarily interested in athletics. 
 They are more likely to be interested in the sport because of 
 a sort of gambler's interest, or because of interest in the in- 
 stitution represented. Genuine interest in anything impels 
 one to active participation in it. 
 
 The foregoing facts have an important bearing upon teach- 
 ing. The boy who is not interested in his mathematics and, 
 though diligent, cannot become interested, probably has no 
 instinct — no ability for it. The one who is slow to develop 
 an interest in languages, in music, or in drawing, presumably 
 is deficient in power, ability — instinct — in those particular 
 directions. Lack of interest and corresponding ability at any 
 particular period do not necessarily mean permanent lack in 
 the given direction. Oftentimes a power is dormant, the 
 nascent period has not appeared. Unfortunately, sometimes 
 it may mean that a nascent period has passed without proper 
 stimulation. Frequently when the child is not interested in 
 his arithmetic, he has not arrived at the period when arith- 
 metical thinking is sufficiently developed. Successful accom- 
 plishment is necessary to the continuance of interest. The 
 child, as well as the adult, who continually fails through in- 
 ability soon displays distaste for that particular activity. At 
 a later time, when association fibres have matured, relational 
 thinking can be engaged in, and abstract mathematical think- 
 ing may be a delight. The fundamental cause of shifting 
 interests is the fact of changing powers — instincts — through 
 processes of development. To be sure, lack of interest may 
 not be due to lack of abihty, but no other cause is so largely 
 responsible. Consequently any lack of interest should excite 
 suspicion and cause investigation to determine whether there 
 is a deficiency of native power in the given direction or a de- 
 fect in the means or manner of approach to the activity. 
 
 Children's Egoism. — The child's early instincts are selfish. 
 He cares for naught except his own egoistic pleasures. They 
 are not mere animal pleasures, as of eating and drinking. 
 
i62 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Most of his egoistic pleasures are psychical and of a high order. 
 His delight and satisfaction in mental accomplishments are 
 attested in an infinitude of ways, from the repetition of strik- 
 ing a table with a spoon to hear the sound up to the acquisi- 
 tion of intricate language co-ordinations, making collections, 
 and amassing funds of information just for the satisfaction of 
 knowing and discovering. 
 
 The child's egoistic nature makes him easily interested in 
 competition with his fellows. This is perfectly healthy and, 
 in no wise dangerous unless carried to extremes. By degrees 
 the child may become interested in doing things from more 
 altruistic motives. The desire to please his teacher or parents 
 and to stand well in the eyes of his fellows plays a very im- 
 portant role in keeping the child industrious at proper ac- 
 tivities. 
 
 The child whose parents are interested in his accomplish- 
 ments has a much greater incentive to work than the one 
 whose parents are indifferent to his childish activities. Sym- 
 pathetic interest by the parent in hearing of the child's prog- 
 ress in reading, in praising his writing or his drawing, exer- 
 cise very important influences. Honest praise is very desir- 
 able in helping to maintain interest. Nobody, least of all a 
 child, wishes to do tasks unnoticed. He is naturally inter- 
 ested in winning favor, place, or other rewards. Then there 
 is a negative factor which stimulates and may even heighten 
 interest — namely, the fear of loss of position, loss of caste, 
 degradation, or even punishment. 
 
 Growth of Altruism. — Lastly come the altruistic interests 
 in which others form the centre of consideration. Although 
 germs of these interests appear early, it is only with approach- 
 ing adult life that egoistic interests are subordinated to altru- 
 istic ones. In many, even the majority, they never become 
 very strong. The evolution of the teacher or minister illus- 
 trates the characteristic development of interests from the 
 lower to the higher. Work and study are at first undertaken 
 for the purpose of self-improvement, and for the purpose of 
 gaining a certificate or license. This certificate is desired be- 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 163 
 
 cause it will bring personal reward in the way of position and 
 pecuniary remuneration. Later the work is pursued for the 
 sake of the pupils or the pastoral flock, and later still for the 
 sake of humanity in general. Finally the deepest religious 
 interest comes to full force. This is the highest altruistic 
 interest. True religious interest concerns itself with the high- 
 est welfare of others as well as of self. And it is ever the ideal, 
 largely unrealized, which forms the motivating interest. 
 
 We should not expect the young child to be especially altru- 
 istic. If he is, there is something abnormal about him. Of 
 course his egoism often makes it uncomfortable for his seniors, 
 but he is simply passing through a stage which he will soon 
 outgrow. With the oncoming of adolescence the budding of 
 altruism ought to become thoroughly apparent. This is the 
 time for ministration to such impulses if ever they are to be 
 developed. 
 
 The Child's Interest in the Concrete and Objective. — The 
 child is interested in w^hat stimulates his senses. He is at- 
 tracted by what he sees, hears, touches; not for what the 
 stimuli signify, but out of pure sense-gratification. Watch 
 the babe follow a light, turn toward sounds, express gratifica- 
 tion at tactile contact with things. External objects and 
 parts of his own body are handled, just for the pleasure of 
 touching. What is bright-colored, full of motion or sound 
 will attract. As his attention becomes directed toward and 
 centred upon things by these means, he gradually learns 
 about things, and then apperceptively he becomes interested 
 in new things which bear a relationship to what he has already 
 understood. At this early stage it is necessary to make things 
 attractive to the senses. Bright-colored pictures, various 
 colored letters, pleasing tones, rhythmical jingles, exercises 
 full of motion and muscular activity, as motion songs, doing 
 things, and making things, must be brought Into requisition. 
 The child mind deals with the concrete, and any education 
 that attempts to foist abstractions instead produces but a 
 veneering which is sure to scale off. 
 
 As much time as possible in the schoolroom should be 
 
1 64 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 occupied in doing — ''learning by doing." It not only fosters 
 interest but actually renders knowledge more clear and defi- 
 nite. In arithmetic much objective and constructive work 
 can be brought into requisition. In denominate numbers 
 every measure should be handled. The pupil can measure 
 the schoolroom, the wood-pile, the coal-bin, or the water- 
 pail. All the problems should be experienced, at least until 
 understood, before attempting a solution. For example, here 
 is a post whose height is known, and the length of a building 
 or height of a tree is desired. Have the shadows measured 
 or the triangles actually constructed until all conditions are 
 fully grasped. A half -hour spent out in the yard making 
 measurements and getting all the conditions, instead of hours 
 of aimless frittering with the symbolism of arithmetic inop- 
 portunely introduced, will make the task pleasant and profit- 
 able. 
 
 It is easy to enlist the interest of children in nature about 
 them. Here, as in all cases, apperception is the basis. The 
 farmer boy often goes through life seeing little of the wonder- 
 ful things about him, simply because he has never been taught 
 to see. Teach him that geological forces and botanical proc- 
 esses have a relation to all life about him and a new world is 
 opened up. Give country children a few of the obvious facts 
 concerning plant life, growth, circulation of sap, fertilization 
 of flowers, relation of bacterial life to plant growth, something 
 concerning food ingredients in soil, rain, and air, the action 
 of light on plant growth, some of the easy principles of horti- 
 culture, and fertilization, tactfully dispel some of the many 
 superstitions and saws relating to life and growth, and they 
 become new creatures; their eyes will be opened, they will be 
 born again. Such procedure will lead them easily to the peru- 
 sal of books like Darwin's study of vegetable mould and of 
 earthworms, of his Origin of Species — into science. The first 
 geological interest I ever acquired came through chance read- 
 ing about the action of frost upon ground ploughed in the fall. 
 My interest was immediate. I wanted to know what would 
 give better crops. The interest kindled has not died out. 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 165 
 
 The introduction of the study of elementary agriculture Into 
 the country schools would give a new worth to country-school 
 instruction. 
 
 Interest in Utility. — "What use can be made of this?" Is 
 one of the common questions asked by children. It Is not an 
 idle question with them. It represents a deep-seated inter- 
 est. I have noticed children very apathetic over lessons on 
 coal, iron, and other minerals, as long as the emphasis was put 
 upon classification and other, to them, abstract considera- 
 tions. But as soon as the idea of its utility in the economy 
 of civilization was introduced they were all aglow with en- 
 thusiasm. They care little for classification and scientific 
 principles. They have not reached the age for that, but 
 "What is it for? How is It used ? How does It affect them ? " 
 are all vital considerations. In this instinct lies a very strong 
 leverage for securing efficient work. A boy who hates arith- 
 metic but likes machinery can easily be led to see that mathe- 
 matics Is the key to its understanding and construction. After 
 early childhood, interests are very largely incited in this 
 fashion. The boy learns his lessons because by so doing he 
 can gain favor, rank, prestige; because they will enable him 
 to accomplish something else. His reading, he comes to be- 
 lieve, will reveal entertaining stories; through writing he may 
 communicate with his chums and his arithmetic will enable 
 him to make things. 
 
 Children's own stories and spontaneous drawings are full 
 of ideas of action, and especially actions related to use. Binet 
 records {Revue Philosophique, December, 1890) the results of 
 some tests made upon his two little girls, 2}^ and 4^2 years 
 old. He asked them what they meant by a number of words 
 they used, such as horse and clock, and wrote down their 
 answers. Their answers indicated that they were most in- 
 terested in the use, and next in order came the movements. 
 They seldom described things by color, form, or size, but told 
 what it could do or for what it was used. Barnes tried essen- 
 tially the same experiment with more than a thousand chil- 
 dren, and found that their definitions were in the following 
 
1 66 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 order: By far the larger number from 6 to 12 years explained 
 in terms of use. Next in order came definitions by placing 
 under a more generic term, as: *'A dog is an animal." Third 
 in order was action; fourth, quality; fifth, place; sixth, color; 
 seventh, form; eighth, structure; ninth, substance. With in- 
 creasing age the tendency to explain in other terms than use 
 increased. At all ages up to 15 use was very strong in all 
 their explanations. Barnes says that children of 7 "consider 
 that they have told you all about an object when they tell 
 you what it is for. 'A horse is to ride,' *A mama is to take 
 care of children, and a box is to put things in.' To the young 
 child all things exist to meet some of his own particular wants; 
 thus, 'A village is to buy candy in'; 'A bird is to make meat 
 with, or is good to lay little eggs'; 'A dog is good to catch 
 flies'; 'A mama is good to cook, or to whip little children.'" 
 {Studies in Education, I, p. 207. See also p. 227.) 
 An illustration borrowed from Adams is to the point: 
 
 John was a perfectly normal type — clever and very careless. Sud- 
 denly the mathematical master reported an amazing improvement in 
 John's marks. On investigation the improvement was found to 
 limit itself to mensuration. Still further inquiry narrowed down the 
 prodigy to segments of circles; but as those could not be understood 
 without previous work, John asked and obtained permission to work 
 from the beginning. In three weeks he had bored his way honestly 
 through half of Todhunter's Mensuration, and was very eager to be 
 promoted to the volumes of spheres. John was now the talk of the 
 master's room, where nobody had a good word to say for him except 
 the science master, who reported that John had developed a violent 
 interest in chemistry, and was showing leanings toward volumetric 
 analysis. The whole trouble was afterward traced to its primary 
 bacillus in a gigantic balloon that John was projecting. How to cut 
 the gores drove him to Todhunter; how to calculate how much zinc 
 and sulphuric acid were necessary to float his balloon with hydrogen 
 had urged him to chemistry. Balloon-making did not make mensura- 
 tion or chemistry easy; it made them interesting. {Herhartian Psy- 
 chology Applied to Education, p. 264.) 
 
 A business man desires to accomplish certain ends; it may 
 be the selling of sewing-machines in Europe, but a lack of 
 
^MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 167 
 
 knowledge of the languages stands in the way. He sets him- 
 self assiduously to mastering those languages. At first the 
 interest is not primarily in the German, the French, or the 
 Scandinavian; it is avowedly in selling sewing-machines, but 
 once they are learned, undoubtedly an interest is built up in 
 the languages for their own sakes. Much in the same way 
 one goes to college. A college education is a necessary quali- 
 fication for our ideal society, business, entertainment; it will 
 furnish us our passport through many desired portals. These 
 are utilitarian motives, but probably no study is voluntarily 
 taken without some such motive. It could not be otherwise. 
 Lack of apperceptive ideas prohibits us from being interested 
 in a subject of which we know nothing. After all, are not 
 these higher motives than taking subjects simply because one 
 is assigned them by a taskmaster or because they are in a 
 required curriculum ? 
 
 Motivation Through Results. — While every one gets some 
 exhilaration from exercise, it is results that motivate. The 
 great mainspring to action in all orders of life is interest in 
 achievement — in results. We must not be led to believe that 
 school children will accept cheerfully all assigned tasks be- 
 cause of an inevitable interest in action — in processes. It is 
 only when we cause them to feel a worth in the result that we 
 secure genuine and continuous interest. School activities are 
 frequently too far removed from reality. Children like to do 
 and accomplish real work. A boy in a kindergarten said: "I 
 don't want to play drive nails. I want to drive some real 
 nails with a real hammer!" Too much occupation for chil- 
 dren is playing at driving nails. Every one is more inter- 
 ested in results than in processes of securing results. The 
 processes are only means to ends. All nature has been inter- 
 ested in securing results. Educational theory, however, has 
 often erroneously conceived educational values to lie in the 
 processes. It is said that the process of learning the arithme- 
 tic, the algebra, or the Latin are the important things; the 
 resulting knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and Latin are in- 
 consequential, compared with the value of the processes. 
 
1 68 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Learning, therefore, is often a purely formal affair. In the 
 chapter on formal discipline this theory is critically examined 
 and shown to be untenable. Even in manual training at- 
 tempts have been made to exalt the value of the process and 
 to minimize the value of products. A little observation of 
 pupils engaged in manual training should show that the child 
 is primarily interested in the product. The sled, the box, 
 the Christmas present he is constructing make the process 
 worth while. Let him be asked to go through purely formal 
 "exercises" without making anything, and note the dwindling 
 interest. 
 
 Can we not regenerate all our subjects of instruction by 
 putting real, worthful results into the foreground? Pupils 
 should write real letters, work concrete real problems growing 
 out of spontaneous activities, study problems in civics con- 
 nected with everyday life, make geography, like charity, 
 begin at home, read to know, recite to give information. In 
 all teaching have the work spring out of the demands of life 
 and be made to contribute to them. The boy who regards 
 algebra and Latin as mysteries evolved merely for schoolboy 
 occupation is never interested; but the boy who glimpses that 
 algebra will unlock hidden secrets in electricity or that Latin 
 may contribute to his efficiency as a lawyer will glow with 
 enthusiasm over the results and is willing to master the 
 processes. 
 
 Interest Through Experience. — It often happens that pupils 
 are not interested in a subject when it is first begun, but after 
 they have pursued it for a time it becomes pleasurable to 
 them. This is to be expected. We are really interested only 
 in those things about which we know something. Interest is 
 cumulative. The more we know, the deeper usually becomes 
 our interest. As soon as one's knowledge becomes a part of 
 one's mental system; when all activities of life are fitted into 
 this system; when one begins to shape all thoughts, feelings, 
 and actions by this knowledge; then one may be said to be 
 really interested. The business man who sees stocks in every- 
 thing, the doctor who constantly discovers cases to support 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 169 
 
 his medical theories, the sociologist who discerns a sign of a 
 great social movement In every Individuars act, is really 
 Interested. I say to my students: "You will not be good 
 teachers until your days and nights, your waking hours and 
 your dreams are filled with thoughts of your work, and you 
 are possessed with a burning desire to better your work, until 
 you have thought about it enough to make It the great pas- 
 sion of your life — completely living that life which you have 
 elected as an ideal." No one ever arrives at that stage of 
 burning zeal and enthusiasm without first having studied 
 long and deeply. 
 
 The subject-matter must be adapted to the age, capacities, 
 and apperceptive insight of the child. Even In the university 
 the same principle should be observed. Where entire freedom 
 of choice obtains, the student is as liable to elect teachers as 
 subjects, and often selects subjects for which he has no proper 
 preparation. Every elective should have certain prerequisites 
 for Its pursuit. We want the subject to take a vital hold upon 
 the individual; he should form desires to pursue it; it should 
 become a part of him, so that It Influences conduct. The 
 arithmetic that is never applied in daily life spontaneously 
 by the pupil is of little account; the history that is never 
 drawn upon to measure present human conduct has not 
 borne proper fruit. 
 
 If a child does not become readily interested in a given 
 lesson, It is better to seek something else. If he has sufficient 
 apperception for the given lesson, his readiness to be influ- 
 enced by suggestion will easily develop the proper attitude. 
 Spencer says: "This need for perpetual telling Is the result 
 of our stupidity, not of the child's. We drag It away from 
 the facts in which it Is Interested, and which it Is actively 
 assimilating of itself; we put before It facts far too complex 
 for it to understand, and therefore distasteful to It." TSpen- 
 cer. Education, p. 126.) 
 
 It Is of great importance that the child should form inter- 
 ests through the subject-matter of instruction which may de- 
 velop Into permanent life interests. In this view the char- 
 
I70 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 acter of the subject-matter of instruction becomes of the high- 
 est importance. Purely formal instruction in subjects that 
 do not touch Hfe cannot develop proper interests in life. For- 
 mal rules of language, grammar, or arithmetic cannot teach 
 the golden rule. Hence the value of literature, history, and 
 other humanistic studies. Interest should remain a perma- 
 nent and abiding attitude even after the particular knowledge 
 has been obliterated from the mind. 
 
 Interest Through Imitation. — Imitation and suggestion are 
 very potent means of securing interest among children. They 
 instinctively exhibit first curiosity and then genuine delight 
 in what interests their mates. They are also responsive to 
 bursts of enthusiasm on the part of those whom they respect 
 and admire. Parents and teachers who cannot warm up over 
 the activities that appeal to child life are lacking in very 
 essential qualities of child leadership. One of the highest 
 compliments that can be paid a teacher is that he seems like 
 a student in his eagerness. Leadership is more to be desired 
 than poUcemanship or taskmastership. "Teaching is really 
 a matter of contagion rather than instruction. His (the 
 child's) leader must therefore be a person of character and 
 self-control. He loves his leader and wants to do for him. 
 His leader must be a person of ideals who can offer him good 
 and true things to do." (Forbush, Pedagogical Seminary, 
 7 :34i.) It is necessary to distinguish carefully between 
 genuine interests and spurious ones engendered through imi- 
 tation. Often pupils think they are interested in a subject 
 simply because their acquaintances have the same attitude 
 toward the subject. True interest can only develop through 
 knowledge. Consequently it is only after the pupil has given 
 a subject a fair trial that we may know whether or not he is 
 interested. 
 
 Spontaneity. — We should seek to have the child act spon- 
 taneously as far as possible. This does not preclude influ- 
 encing him by suggestion and guidance toward a desirable 
 line of action. But the child should desire to reach certain 
 ends or conquer difficulties for himself. When the child's 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 171 
 
 self-activity carries him forward, it is astonishing what results 
 may be accomplished. They are incomparable with those 
 obtained through doing prescribed tasks. "The spontaneous 
 activity to which children are thus prone is simply the pursuit 
 of those pleasures which the healthful exercise of the faculties 
 gives. . . . Children should be led to make their own inves- 
 tigations and to draw their own inferences. They should be 
 told as little as possible, and induced to discover as much as 
 possible." (Spencer, op. cit,, pp. 124, 127.) 
 
 There are thousands of ways in which their interests may 
 be aroused in discovering things for themselves and accom- 
 plishing results unaided. Normal, active children will even 
 resent help. They say: "I want to do that myself." They 
 prove this when building with their blocks, when playing their 
 games, in the various manual activities, and sometimes even 
 in the school arts. Who has not seen children delighted at 
 discovering analogies in forms of objects and in the use of 
 things ? Discovering the spelling and pronunciation of words, 
 for example, may be made a most delightful exercise. The 
 study of plant and animal life affords great opportunities for 
 the independent discovery of analogies. The child is essen- 
 tially an analogical reasoner. There is ample opportunity in 
 all subjects to have pupils work out independent conclusions. 
 Even in history, which is so often memorized in a purely 
 mechanical manner, questions may be propounded which 
 invite independent judgment. For example, have the class 
 answer such questions as the following: Should Gates have 
 been commander-in-chief? Should Fitz-John Porter have 
 been court-martialed ? Was Hayes elected President ? Was 
 the purchase of Louisiana unconstitutional ? Was the pur- 
 chase of Alaska advantageous? Was the Cuban War justi- 
 fiable? A similar procedure in literature would infuse new 
 life into what is often dry and uninteresting. 
 
 Importance of Responsibility. — A definite aim should be in- 
 culcated very early in the child's mind. This aim may and 
 should undergo metamorphosis with added experience. The 
 boy's aim should be more immediate than his father's, to be 
 
172 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 sure, but an aim he should have and that should be tena- 
 ciously striven for. No child should grow up irresponsible. 
 Responsibility promotes interest and gives zest to life. The 
 main differences between country and city bred children do 
 not result because of differing amounts of ozone which they 
 have inspired, but because of the more permanent interest in 
 tasks and the greater fidelity to responsibilities placed upon 
 the country children. That is one potent reason why so 
 many great men have been reared on the farm. Because of 
 the relief from all continuous tasks and from all responsibili- 
 ties, the city boy often does not learn to be interested in per- 
 forming duties. He is apt to be interested in the things of 
 the moment, those which compel attention, those which are 
 entertaining or amusing. The country boy is early habitu- 
 ated to perform tasks because they are duties. Work must 
 be done, some one must perform it. His father works steadily. 
 The hay must be cut, or spoil; the stock must be fed, or go 
 hungry; the fence must be mended, or danger will result to 
 the crops; wood must be cut and brought in, or dinner will be 
 late. He hears every one say must, and through habituation 
 to work and reflection upon consequences, he, too, learns to 
 say that ''this and that must be done, and they seem to fall 
 to me; I must do them." 
 
 The city child unfortunately misses all this. He seldom 
 feels the impelHng "I must," except "I must get my lessons, 
 or get punished." But he is seldom taught to be on the look- 
 out for work. The assigned lesson over, he casts himself 
 adrift, oftentimes to be caught in currents that lead to mis- 
 chief. The country child has few playmates and few play- 
 things; the city child has so many that he is surfeited with 
 them and ceases to be interested in them. Compare the boy 
 who makes a sled with one who has his sled and all other toys 
 bought for him. The one is interested in achieving an end, 
 the other is merely temporarily amused. Compare the boy 
 who makes a collection of eggs with the one who merely goes 
 to the museum. The one who collects will have deeper, 
 healthier interests than the one who can go at any time, but 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 173 
 
 who has never attempted to make a miniature museum. The 
 girl who has some part in making her own dolls secures a 
 satisfaction that is unapproachable by the poor rich child who 
 is merely a spectator. The pleasure of being a spectator in 
 these directions is almost as proportionally undesirable as 
 being a spectator instead of a participant in a feast. 
 
 On the farm it is comparatively easy to promote interests 
 in a variety of directions. With little suggestion the child 
 can be made to have a deep interest in animals and plants. 
 One of the surest ways to launch these interests is to make 
 the child a copartner, a profit-sharer. Had farmers any ped- 
 agogical tact, there would be little difficulty in keeping boys 
 on the farm. Could certain patches of ground be set apart 
 for the boys' own use, could certain animals be given them to 
 care for and to own, they would not only be interested in 
 those projects but they would become identified with the in- 
 terests of the whole farm. There, as in every walk of life, no 
 one wants to be merely a spectator. Of course the social 
 question enters here, but the same rule should apply there. 
 Make the young people copartners in working out better 
 social relations. Prescription without co-operation is fatal 
 here as elsewhere. No greater enthusiasm has ever been kin- 
 dled in my own life than in the co-operative attempts at evolv- 
 ing a country lyceum, and in the attempt to work out with 
 my father better methods of raising certain crops. 
 
 One of the gravest mistakes in the present-day education 
 from the kindergarten through the university is the failure to 
 impress thoroughly the duty of individual responsibility. It 
 has come about largely through a misinterpretation of the 
 doctrine of interest and the belief that the child develops a 
 better type of will when freed from restraint. Freedom from 
 restraint has come to mean absolvence from duties and from 
 training. On every hand the doctrine is spread that we 
 ought to follow the lead of the child's interest. This is good 
 pedagogy when we follow a child's interest which has come 
 about through a healthy and normal development. But 
 there are many perverted and unhealthful interests. It is 
 
174 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 manifestly wrong to accede to the child's wishes in such cases, 
 simply because he is interested. Moreover, many apparent 
 interests are mere passing whims. It is as important that the 
 parent and teacher create interest as that they permit chil- 
 dren to follow their own interests. They should instil into 
 the minds of children that it is a duty incumbent on them to 
 be interested in right, important, and uplifting things. 
 
 Co-operation of parents with teachers is one of the surest 
 means of producing genuine interest in school work. The 
 parent who does not know what his children are doing every 
 day in school must not be surprised if some day the child 
 plays truant or becomes apathetic toward his studies. I have 
 known few cases where parents were intelligently interested 
 in the child's progress in which the child himself was not like- 
 wise interested. Many fathers are too absorbed in their 
 banks, their merchandise, their railroad, to know anything 
 about their children. They scarcely ever see them by day- 
 light and never have time to talk with them and really know 
 what they are doing. One-half the interest and concern that 
 many a father accords to his trotting-horse, his yacht, his 
 automobile, his favorite baseball team, accorded to an identi- 
 fication of interests with his children would work wonders in 
 child-saving. No wonder that the indictment is sometimes 
 made that many men are successful in all kinds of business 
 except rearing boys and girls properly. 
 
 Interest in Self-Improvement. — Boys ought to be taught to 
 be as absorbed and interested in their school work as they 
 would be if working for wages and trying to capture a bank 
 presidency. School work is apt to be done as prescribed tasks 
 which it is deemed honorable to shirk if possible. Parents 
 should take the same pains to have children please others and 
 to succeed in school as if in a mercantile establishment. A 
 false code of school ethics has sprung up. Children should be 
 taught to do with all their mind and will and strength what- 
 ever seems right to do. Pitch in and interest follows. No 
 one will ever get up a white heat of interest by waiting for 
 interest to come before beginning a task. Assume the atti- 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 175 
 
 tude of interest and interest will follow, is the Lange-James 
 law of emotion. 
 
 Is not irresponsibility manifest in all grades of school ? Is 
 it not manifest in the university? And is it not discernible 
 in the home? The child goes to school and performs his 
 school tasks because he is entertained, and as soon as the 
 teacher fails as an entertainer the child says mentally that 
 because the teacher is not interesting he is not obliged to be 
 attentive. His assigned work over, he is in mischief. He 
 has not been taught to set himself to work. In the high 
 schools and colleges the youth often puts himself in a contest 
 with the teacher, saying: ''Now if you entertain me, I'll keep 
 awake and I'll attend your classes. If not, I'll bring dis- 
 credit upon you by going to sleep, or I'll elect a course some- 
 where else." The student who does not maintain an interest 
 by his own initiative ought not to be in class. The adult 
 who goes to sleep during a lecture or in church is in the kin- 
 dergarten stage and ought to be in the kindergarten. His 
 presence ought to be evidence that he is to co-operate. Duty 
 is not taught best through preaching. The habit of attend- 
 ing to regularly recurring work is what teaches duty, just as 
 the habit of being polite teaches one to be polite. 
 
 Pupils are virtually taught that they are absolved from all 
 personal responsibility and are to look to the teacher to create 
 all interest. This is a pernicious doctrine. I have watched 
 the career of several boys who have grown up with this idea 
 firmly implanted in their minds. To all advice that they 
 ought to pitch in because there was a personal obligation rest- 
 ing upon them to help their parents and also to make some- 
 thing of themselves, their only answer was: "I don't have to 
 because I don't like that." They have reached middle life 
 and are still seeking something which they will like. They 
 have drifted from occupation to occupation, and from occu- 
 pation to idleness, and nothing, not even idleness, has been 
 more than momentarily interesting. This is the inevitable 
 result of making pleasure the sole object of life. The pleasure- 
 seeker is the least interested and most miserable being alive. 
 
176 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Teach the children responsibility and obligation to self and 
 to society and unflagging persistence in accomplishing in the 
 best way "whatsoever their hands find to do," and the matter 
 of interest will in adult life largely care for itself. 
 
 With the wealth of well-written books now accessible high- 
 school and college students ought to progress and maintain 
 healthy interests in their studies, even with very indifferent 
 teachers. This is not an apology for poor teaching. The 
 teacher's duty in helping to maintain interest is in no way 
 lessened. But it takes two parties to maintain good class- 
 work — a good teacher and a responsive, responsible class. 
 An irresponsible-minded class becomes much like the kinder- 
 garten children, even under good tuition. The pupil must 
 learn that interest comes through aim, responsibility, respon- 
 siveness, and apperception. 
 
 Did it ever occur to you how unnecessarily long pupils may 
 pursue some subjects and not learn them well after all ? Take 
 penmanship, for example. Most schools devote to this sub- 
 ject one period of fifteen or twenty minutes daily for eight or 
 nine years, and then not half of the pupils can write a legible, 
 rapid hand. At one time I began to reflect on the wasteful, 
 half-hearted, abortive process. I watched the daily evolu- 
 tions of these young soldiers going through the aimless (to 
 them) manoeuvres. They expected that they would have to 
 do the same for eight years, anyway. Time enough later on 
 to improve. Do as little as possible now. I tried an experi- 
 ment. The pupils were told that penmanship would be a 
 required exercise until they could write a plain, legible hand 
 with fair rapidity. As soon as this degree of proficiency could 
 be attained and manifested in their usual w^ork, each one 
 should be excused. The results were amazing. Soon there 
 were self-seeking candidates for the privilege of being excused. 
 They began to coach themselves. They now had a desirable 
 aim which enlisted their deepest interest. They asked for in- 
 formation and help instead of being unwilling recipients. 
 The majority of the pupils were excused in either the fourth 
 or fifth grades, and seldom was one demoted for further dere- 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE 177 
 
 liction. A similar plan was adopted in spelling, with splen- 
 did results. They had no longer to be taught. Their in- 
 terests prompted them to teach themselves. Whenever the 
 individual instead of the class was made the basis for promo- 
 tion, I found largely similar results. 
 
 To say that we ought to follow the lead of a child's interest 
 is good pedagogy, provided his interests are healthy and have 
 come about through normal development. But there are 
 many unhealthy and perverted interests. It is manifestly 
 wrong to obey these. As with instincts, some are good, others 
 bad. The good ones are to be nourished, the bad stifled or 
 diverted. It is not more safe to follow the child's interests 
 than his appetites for food. Left entirely to himself in the 
 matter, he sometimes selects pickles and jam, or superabun- 
 dance of starches, rather than those things that are nutritious. 
 
 It is not a question of having the child interested, but, more 
 important, of having him interested in worthy things. It is a 
 mistake to think that, at all events, children must be happy. 
 Happiness is desirable, but not the only desideratum. Bet- 
 ter be less happy and more serious, if occupied with right 
 thoughts and actions, than happy in evil or idle things. 
 Better be serious in work than happy in sin and wickedness. 
 Momentary pleasures in childhood do not insure lifelong hap- 
 piness. The child should learn early that his own selfish 
 gratification must often be subordinated to the welfare of 
 others — the family and society. As with instincts, we can- 
 not trust all to the child. Rightly constituted authority must 
 set up ideals and standards toward which individuals and 
 society must be guided, and sometimes even coerced. To 
 become deeply interested in things that are worthy and en- 
 nobling is of more value than learning. The right attitude 
 toward life is of the greatest importance. Too many are 
 secretly or openly interested in ignoble things. 
 
 Adolescence and Life-Interests. — It is during adolescence, 
 that period of enlarged vision and superabundant life, that 
 interests and enthusiasms are at a white heat. Out of the 
 manifold interests then dominant some will become crystal- 
 
178 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 lized into the permanent life-interests. The stamp which is 
 impressed upon the youthful life will become fixed forever. 
 Just as conversions rarely occur in maturity, just as a criminal 
 usually enters upon his career in the morning of life, so lives 
 of usefulness, happiness, and virtue are launched while the 
 heart is yet young. 
 
 President Eliot wrote: 
 
 Any one who has read many biographies will have perceived that 
 the guiding enthusiasm of a life often springs early into view and that 
 this is almost always the case in the most effective human beings. The 
 youth has a vision of the life he would Hke to live, of the service he 
 would choose to render, of the power he would prefer to exercise, and 
 for fifty years he pursues this vision. In almost all great men the 
 leading idea of the life is caught early, or a principle or thesis comes 
 to mind during youth which the entire adult life is too short to develop 
 thoroughly. {Journal of Pedagogy, 17, 112.) 
 
 It is seldom that an entirely new occupation is entered upon 
 with success after middle life. After that a splendid super- 
 structure may be erected, but the foundations must have been 
 laid in early hfe. Although young shoulders should not be- 
 come bowed down by an overweening sense of responsibility, 
 yet it is sinful not to impress the young with the importance 
 of the morning of life. The old adage that it is never too 
 late to mend should be replaced by the one that it is ever too 
 late to become what one might have been, if an opportunity 
 has been allowed to slip. Students should early recognize the 
 importance of making the most of the morning of life. Biolo- 
 gists have come to recognize the economic value of the period 
 of infancy. This is a time of plasticity, a time when the in- 
 dividual can be moulded and modified; in other words, edu- 
 cated. The longer the period of infancy, the higher the de- 
 gree of educability. The newly hatched chick has a short 
 period of infancy. On emerging from the ^%g it can perform 
 almost all the activities which it will ever be able to perform. 
 It has very little to learn and very little time in which to 
 learn, very little possibility of learning. The young dog has 
 more to learn, a longer season in which to learn it, and larger 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE ^ 179 
 
 possibilities of acquiring new activities. The human being 
 has the longest period of infancy. Infancy is not alone the 
 period when the child is in the cradle. Biologically it includes 
 all of life from birth to maturity. After this period the possi- 
 bilities of education grow less and less. 
 
 Brain-workers inaugurate their best work between the ages 
 of 25 and 45; before that they are preparing for work, after 
 that their work, no matter how extensive, is largely routine. 
 Lawyers and physicians do much of their practice after 40, 
 but the learning was accomplished before 40 or 45. Success- 
 ful merchants lay the foundations for wealth and success in 
 youth and middle life. The great men that we know are all 
 old men; but the foundations for their greatness were laid 
 when they were young. Philosophers have founded and an- 
 nounced their systems in youth and early manhood; divines 
 and religious teachers have originated their creeds and have 
 been most effective as preachers in early manhood. States- 
 men have projected their greatest acts of legislation, diplo- 
 macy, and reform in early life. In the morning of life scien- 
 tists have wrought out the data and practically formulated 
 their theories; generals and admirals have gained their great- 
 est victories; lawyers have paved the way for leadership at 
 the bar; physicians have laid the groundwork for their great- 
 est discoveries; poets and artists and musicians have planned 
 and In many instances executed their greatest masterpieces; 
 engineers have planned the greatest monuments. 
 
 A few instances may be cited to show that the world's 
 leaders in all lines of progress have either become Illustrious 
 early in life or have done the thinking which they have re- 
 served for later expression. Dickens began early to write. 
 The Pickwick Papers was produced at 25. The works which 
 have immortalized his name were all produced before 40. 
 Ruskin had completed the first part of his greatest work, 
 Modern Painters, at 28. Shakespeare had produced some of 
 his Immortal plays before 36. Bunyan had depicted man's 
 cycles of hopes, sorrows, and despair before 35. Byron and 
 Burns died at 36, Keats at 25, Marlowe at 29, and Shelley at 
 
i8o ^EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 30. Coleridge wrote his "Ancient Mariner" at 25, Goethe 
 and Victor Hugo had produced works of lasting value at 20. 
 If Carlyle had died at 45 the loss to literature would not have 
 been great. Lord Bacon had begun to philosophize at 16, 
 and at 36 had published twelve of his essays. At 29 Descartes 
 began to outline his system, and at 41 to publish it. Schelling 
 was a renowned university professor of philosophy at 28. 
 Emerson expressed the essence of his philosophy between 25 
 and 40. His essays first appeared at 38, though they had 
 been uppermost in his thoughts from early manhood. 
 
 Edison was a young inventor. In fact, all inventors are 
 young. Eli Whitney was noted at 27, Colt at 21, Fulton at 
 28, Dreyse at 42, Graefe at 25. Alexander the Great had 
 conquered Greece at 21, Persia at 25, and had completed his 
 history at 33. Julius Caesar began to take part in the great 
 drama for which he is remembered at 17, Hannibal at 29, 
 William the Conqueror before 20, Cromwell before 30, Marl- 
 borough at 32, Napoleon at 25, Wellington at 25, Nelson at 
 39. Among artists and sculptors about three out of four have 
 shown decided promise before 15. Michelangelo produced 
 great works by 19. Raphael and Van Dyck painted famous 
 pictures before reaching their majority. Rembrandt was 
 famous at 24. Among musicians we may cite Mozart, Bee- 
 thoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Schumann as real pro- 
 ducers before 20; in fact, each produced something original 
 by 13. 
 
 If we turn to muscle-workers we find that early in life they 
 reach their maximum, and that their capacity is either sta- 
 tionary or has begun to decHne at 35 or 40. This is true of 
 all athletes, oarsmen, pedestrians, lumbermen, guides, farm- 
 ers, and soldiers. Beard says: "To get the best soldiers we 
 must rob neither the cradle nor the grave, but select from 
 those decades when the best brain-work of the world is done." 
 It has been statistically determined by Sir Crichton Browne 
 in England that among the handicrafts of weaving, button- 
 making, and pottery-making there is an increase in profi- 
 ciency from 17 to 30, when the maximum is attained. From 
 
MOTIVATION AND INITIATIVE i8i 
 
 30 to 45 there is an equilibrium, and after that a gradual 
 decline. 
 
 We are therefore strongly admonished that the most possi- 
 ble should be made of early life. Youth is the time of great 
 opportunities which come but once. We build for eternity. 
 The youth cannot sow wild oats and expect to reap a charac- 
 ter of noble manhood or womanhood. "Whatsoever a man 
 soweth that shall he also reap." Luther once said: "If a 
 man is not handsome at 20, strong at 30, learned at 40, and 
 rich at 50, he will never be handsome, strong, learned, or 
 rich in the world." 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Why should children obey their parents and teachers? 2. Why 
 should high-school pupils obey the rules of the school? 3, Why should 
 adults obey the laws of the state ? 4. What should be the motive causing 
 a child to learn to read? 5. Mention some proper incentives that would 
 stimulate children to learn arithmetic, composition, drawing, 6. How 
 would you get high-school pupils to be interested in their school ? 7. Indi- 
 cate the motivation values of extracurricular school activities. 8. How 
 may pupils be motivated to study more diligently ? 9. What is supervised 
 study? Merits and demerits of supervised study? 
 
 References for 'Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXVI. 
 
 2. Colvin, The Learning Process, chap. XVII. 
 
 3. Dewey, Schools of To-morrow, chaps. II, III, IV, VI. 
 
 4. Dewey, The School and Society, chap. II. 
 
 5. James, Talks to Teachers on Psychology and Life's Ideals, chap. X. 
 
 6. Meriam, Child Life and the Curriculum, chap. IX. 
 
 7. Miller, Directing Study, chap. V. 
 
 8. O'Shea, Mental Development and Education, chap. XI. 
 
 9. Parker, Methods of Teaching in High Schools, chap. XIV. 
 10. Wilson, Motivation of School Work. Entire book. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 
 
 What Is Memory ? — No attempt will be made to define 
 memory in a formal fashion. It is usually thought of as re- 
 calling ideas that have been previously learned. Usually 
 also it is thought of as the recall of particular words. Mem- 
 ory is, however, not limited to recall. That is just one phase 
 of the process, remembering. We may regard memory as in- 
 cluding four factors, the so-called "four R's" — registration, 
 retention, recall or remembering, and recognition. Or we might 
 think of it as comprising two factors — conservation and recall. 
 Certainly the conserving or retaining is as much a part of 
 memory as recall or remembering. Again, memory is not 
 limited to words or even ideas. Muscular experiences must 
 be learned, retained, and reproduced, as well as words and 
 ideas. 
 
 Just what takes place in the mind or in the body in the 
 process of memory is not very well understood. That some 
 change takes place and persists is certain because of subse- 
 quent behavior. We also know that modifications in nerve- 
 cells take place when continued long enough. The brain and 
 other parts of the nervous system increase in size and com- 
 plexity through experience. If nerve connections, as in asso- 
 ciation paths, are not exercised they do not develop, but de- 
 generate. The study of the brain of Laura Bridgman showed 
 that the parts exercised developed and those that were un- 
 exercised degenerated. Venn, an English psychologist, mea- 
 sured the heads of some students at the time of entering Cam- 
 bridge University and after four years of training. He also 
 measured the heads of a group of non-students at correspond- 
 ing ages, and found that the heads of the Cambridge students 
 grew more than the heads of the non-university group. This 
 
 182 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 183 
 
 shows that the effects of learning seemed to be conserved in a 
 physical way. Scars from wounds seem to indicate a similar 
 conservation of bodily modifications. From the standpoint 
 of mind we know only by subsequent ideas and behavior that 
 we have retained something from previous experiences. 
 
 We are apt to think about memory in a very artificial way 
 because we have usually associated the term with the learn- 
 ing of some particular formal expressions, like rules, definitions, 
 or formulas. But a moment's reflection will show that only 
 a small part of our everyday knowledge is of that type. Un- 
 fortunately, the school seems to emphasize that kind and to 
 omit the kind that we use every day outside of school and 
 after school-days are over. What knowledge have you used 
 to-day apart from school work? You may have driven an 
 automobile, gone to a part of the city which you previously 
 knew, greeted an old acquaintance, picked out a woollen gar- 
 ment at the store, advised a friend not to invest in certain 
 property, won a game of tennis, read the newspaper and 
 criticised some of the opinions recorded, voted the Republi- 
 can or Democratic ticket at the primaries, written a letter to 
 some of your relatives, or looked up a word in the dictionary. 
 Now, how did you learn to shift gear in the auto so that you 
 could do (recall) that to-day? How could you remember 
 your acquaintance, the proper qualities of the woollen gar- 
 ments, whether to vote the Republican or the Democratic 
 ticket, or how to consult the dictionary ? 
 
 If much more of school work dealt with everyday things 
 and were learned in a more natural everyday way, there would 
 be much less of complaint about poor memories. When things 
 are learned through doing, through natural relations, and gone 
 over from many angles until they are fully comprehended, 
 there is no difficulty in remembering them. 
 
 Physical Basis of Memory. — The property of retention of 
 impressions is possessed by all living tissues. In a certain 
 sense we might say that even inorganic matter sometimes 
 possesses memory. There are many analogues both of regis- 
 tration and retention in purely physical substances. If a 
 
i84 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 piece of white paper on which a knife is placed is exposed to 
 the actinic rays of the sun, it will, if kept in the dark, preserve 
 the image of the knife for years. The photographer's sensi- 
 tive plate records and retains impressions in a similar man- 
 ner. The ocean which has its surface ruffled can never have 
 identically the same molecular structure that it previously 
 possessed. "Every impression," says Delboeuf, "leaves a 
 certain ineffaceable trace; that is to say, molecules once dis- 
 arranged and forced to vibrate in a different way cannot 
 return exactly to their primitive state. If I brush the sur- 
 face of water at rest with a feather, the liquid will not take 
 again the form which it had before. It may present a smooth 
 surface, but molecules will have changed places, and an eye 
 of sufficient power would see traces of the passage of the 
 feather. Organic molecules acquire a greater or less degree 
 of aptitude for submitting to disarrangement. No doubt, if 
 this same exterior force did not again act upon the same 
 molecules, they would tend to return to their natural form; 
 but it is far otherwise if the action is several times repeated. 
 In this case they lose, little by little, the power of returning 
 to their original form, and become more and more closely 
 identified with that which is forced upon them, until this be- 
 comes natural in its turn, and they again obey the least cause 
 that will set them in vibration." {Theorie generale de la sen- 
 sibilite, p. 6o.) 
 
 Dissolve a crystalline salt, say sodium chloride, and then 
 let it recrystallize. The crystals will not resume the same 
 positions relative to each other, but the crystals themselves 
 will assume exactly the same geometrical form as previously. 
 Water crystallizes in definite forms. Why is this? Who 
 shall say that it is not at least a form of heredity? James 
 quotes M. Leon Dumont, who says that inorganic substances 
 and dead tissues form habits. 
 
 Every one knows how a garment, after being worn a certain time, 
 clings to the shape of the body better than when it was new; there has 
 been a change in the tissue, and this change is a new habit of cohesion. 
 A lock works better after being used some time; at the outset more 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 185 
 
 force was required to overcome certain roughnesses in the mechanism. 
 The overcoming of their resistance is a phenomenon of habituation. 
 It costs less trouble to fold a paper when it has been folded already. 
 . . . The sounds of a violin improve by use in the hands of an able 
 artist, because the fibres of the wood at last contract habits of vibra- 
 tion conformed to harmonic relations. (James, Principles of Psychol- 
 ogy, vol. I, p. 105.) 
 
 Analogy of the Phonograph. — Lloyd Morgan compares ana- 
 logically retention in the phonograph to physiological reten- 
 tion. 
 
 When we speak into a phonograph the tones of our voice are not 
 hidden away in, and retained by, the cylinder of the instrument; but 
 the wax or other material is indented, as a result of the incidence of 
 the sound-waves, in such a way that it is capable of reproducing similar 
 sound-waves at a subsequent time. So, too, the brain tissue is so 
 modified by the nervous disturbances which are the accompaniments 
 of an impression that, under appropriate neural conditions, they tend 
 to reproduce similar nervous disturbances which are accompanied in 
 consciousness by a reinstatement of the impressions in the form of an 
 idea. It is in this sense only that we may speak of the retention of 
 ideas. . . . The ideas as such have ceased to exist; but the brain 
 structure has been modified in such a way that under appropriate 
 conditions similar ideas will be again produced. {Introduction to Com- 
 parative Psychology, p. 106.) 
 
 The great bulk of our memories are of the physical and 
 physiological types. The results of our behavior are recorded 
 in our nerve-cells, muscles, and other tissues, as well as in the 
 mind. We develop intricate tissues of habits. These enable 
 us to re-do a multitude of things without consciously recalling 
 just what we are to do. When we walk, dance, swim, or shift 
 gear In the automobile we do not need to revive verbal memo- 
 ries of what we are to accomplish. In fact. It is better that 
 we do not. The actions are more expeditiously reinstated by 
 means of the reflex mechanisms than by conscious recall. 
 
 Although the physical basis of memory has been empha- 
 sized, it should not be forgotten that there is such a fact as 
 mental life. While plants have no mental life and the life of 
 lower animals Is largely physical and physiological, not all of 
 
1 86 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 life is included in muscular reflexes or in physiological and 
 chemical reactions. The knowledge of all these is mental, 
 and that is the chief field of psychology. 
 
 Retention. — In a certain sense everything that is experi- 
 enced is retained. Of course we may not be able to recall it, 
 but it modifies ©ur subsequent behavior. From the biological 
 standpoint we are led to believe that every impression leaves 
 its ineffaceable trace. Who could pass an examination upon 
 the Sunday-school lessons, upon the good counsels of parents, 
 teachers, and friends? Even though the recall of specific 
 facts and precepts is impossible, every one of us behaves dif- 
 ferently because of all previous experiences. This ought to 
 encourage teachers. In spite of the disappointing examina- 
 tions passed by our pupils, we may be comforted by the im- 
 plicit belief that the large ideas and the worthy ideals which 
 we have helped them to gain will be permanent influences in 
 their character. 
 
 Individual Differences. — There are very great differences of 
 memory among individuals. There are persons who acquire 
 readily but forget quickly; those that acquire with difficulty, 
 but retain accurately and tenaciously. Again, there are for- 
 tunate persons who acquire easily and retain with great per- 
 sistence and fidelity, as well as some who work hard to acquire 
 only to be chagrined on having what is learned evaporate 
 almost as soon as learned. When one remembers things 
 learned through a given sense better than what is learned 
 through the other senses, we say that he has a certain "type" 
 of memory. There are types of memory corresponding to each 
 of the senses. Some persons possess one type, some another. 
 Again, there are persons who have memories that vary within 
 the realm of a given sense. There are also all degrees of 
 variations, from the special power of remembering rem^ark- 
 ably certain words, certain forms, certain sounds, or certain 
 colors, up to the very exaggerated cases which we find in 
 abnormal persons, or the mathematical, musical, and other 
 ** prodigies." 
 
 There are also di^erences in the same individual at differ- 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 187 
 
 ent stages of development. Children are usually thought to 
 have better memories than adults. This view is hardly cor- 
 rect, however. Children's memories are different from adults'. 
 Children acquire even mechanical associations more slowly 
 than adults. They retain mechanical associations better 
 when once learned, but adults retain thoughtful associations 
 better. Both the power of registering and retaining thought- 
 fully increase up to about 25 years. The powers are relatively 
 stationary then until about 50, when a gradual decline sets 
 in. These various differences suggest a recognition of differ- 
 ent methods of teaching persons of different ages, and also 
 an adaptation of means and methods for persons of different 
 memory types. 
 
 In order to adjust the work of the school to the different 
 stages of growth it is important to understand the character- 
 istics of memory at the various ages and stages of growth. 
 The memory of the child is of the mechanical or serial type. 
 The child from 6 to lo can learn nonsense rhymes and jingles 
 nearly as well as at a later age. A great many persons, in 
 fact, in later life excuse themselves by saying that their "mem- 
 ories are not as good as they used to be." They mean, of 
 course, their mechanical memories, as manifested by their 
 facility in learning poetry, dates, nonsense rhymes, or jingles. 
 
 Should Everything Be Remembered? — Some people think 
 they would like to be able to recall everything they have ever 
 learned. They think that would mean a highly trained mind. 
 But would it be desirable to recall every experience that one 
 has had? Would it not be exceedingly inconvenient and 
 cumbersome if every experience that has ever been associated 
 with a given experience should be recalled every time the 
 given one came into consciousness? What an immense 
 amount of time would be wasted in recalling trivial and un- 
 important details. Remember that the unimportant details 
 are just as much a part of the experience as the significant 
 factors. It is fortunate that we are able to select the impor- 
 tant and significant factors in our experiences and cast into 
 the scrap-heap those items which are useless. Some one has 
 
1 88 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 aptly characterized memory as our "forgetter." A really 
 good memory forgets the unimportant details. Most of us 
 would gladly forget a large part of our past lives. In com- 
 menting on the type of mind which recalls with extreme 
 fidelity every association, James says {Psychology^ vol. I, p. 
 571): 
 
 Perhaps as successful a rendering as any of this mental type is the 
 character of Miss Bates in Miss Austen's ''Emma." Hear how she re- 
 dintegrates: 
 
 "But where could you hear it?" cried Miss Bates. "Where could 
 you possibly hear it, Mr. Knightley ? For it is not five minutes since 
 I received Mrs. Cole's note — no, it cannot be more than five — or at 
 least ten — for I had got my bonnet and spencer on, just ready to come 
 out — I was only gone down to speak to Patty again about the pork — 
 Jane was standing in the passage — were not you, Jane? — for my 
 mother was so afraid that we had not any salting-pan large enough. 
 So I said I would go down and see, and Jane said: 'Shall I go down 
 instead ? for I think you have a little cold, and Patty has been wash- 
 ing in the kitchen.' 'Oh, my dear,' said I — wxll, and just then came 
 the note. A Miss Hawkins — that's all I know — a Miss Hawkins, of 
 Bath. But, Mr. Knightley, how could you possibly have heard it? 
 For the very moment Mr. Cole told IMrs. Cole of it, she sat down and 
 wrote to me. A Miss Hawkins " 
 
 Memory Training. — How to train and improve memory is 
 a theme upon which volumes have been written. Some of the 
 ancients devised systems of mnemonics for memory training, 
 and such systems have been in vogue to the present time. 
 The magazines are full of advertisements of courses of lessons 
 and books on memory systems, "Stop Forgetting!" "Get a 
 Steel Trap Memory!" "Increase Your Efficiency!" are fa- 
 miliar "ads" in the popular magazines. 
 
 Because of the remarkable success of psychology in the army 
 a deluge of books on psychology has been published. "Char- 
 acterology" and "Character Reading at a Glance" and other 
 popular and often populous lectures are being given. Most 
 of these books and these lectures are given by quacks and 
 charlatans. Upon no other topic is more written by these 
 pseudoscientists than upon memory. Most of these and 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 189 
 
 other so-called ''memory systems" teach that the way to Im- 
 prove memory is by memory gymnastics. 
 
 Upon few other technical questions is the layman so willing 
 to deliver opinions as upon methods of improving memory. 
 He does not feel it hazardous to do so, but regards his conclu- 
 sions as incontrovertible. The usual advice is to memorize 
 much, verbatim and mechanically. Set apart a portion of 
 every day for committing verses, proverbs, speeches, or strings 
 of dates. It is asserted that the gymnastics thus used will 
 strengthen the memory, not only in the particular direction, 
 but also equally as much in all other directions. It is assumed 
 that the memory is a general power, capable of memorizing 
 anything when once developed. On this theory " the memory 
 organ" might be likened to a muscle, the fibre of which can 
 be strengthened by general gymnastics. Let us investigate 
 to ascertain the facts which have a bearing upon the question. 
 
 Fortunately it is possible to submit the question to experi- 
 mental tests and not leave it in the realm of mere opinion. 
 The test is rather simple in character, although demanding 
 care, patience, and persistence in its performance. The steps 
 are as follows: 
 
 1. Test the ability to memorize a given kind of material 
 
 before taking training. 
 
 2. Practice in memorizing a totally different kind of material. 
 
 This should be continued for a considerable length of 
 time, say two or three months. 
 
 3. Test on the original kind of material after taking the 
 
 practice. 
 
 4. Compare the results in Tests i and 3. 
 
 EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE 
 
 The first experiment of this kind was performed by Pro- 
 fessor James of Harvard, about 1890. James's interesting 
 account of the experiment was in the following words {Psy- 
 chology, vol. I, p. 666): 
 
 In order to test the opinion so confidently expressed in the text, I 
 have tried to see whether a certain amount of daily training in learning 
 
I90 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 poetry by heart will shorten the time it takes to learn an entirely dif- 
 ferent kind of poetry. During 8 successive days I learned 158 lines of 
 Victor Hugo's "Satyr." The total number of minutes required for 
 this was 131% — it should be said that I had learned nothing by heart 
 for many years. I then, working for 20-odd minutes daily, learned 
 the entire first book of "Paradise Lost," occupying 38 days in the 
 process. After this training I went back to Victor Hugo's poem and 
 found that 158 additional lines (divided exactly as on the former occa- 
 sion) took me i5i>^ minutes. In other words, I committed my Victor 
 Hugo to memory before the training at the rate of a line in 50 seconds, 
 after the training at the rate of a line in 57 seconds, just the opposite 
 result from that which the popular view would lead one to expect. 
 But as I was perceptibly fagged with other work at the time of the 
 second batch of Victor Hugo, I thought that might explain the retar- 
 dation; so I persuaded several other persons to repeat the test. 
 
 Doctor W. H. Burnham, who tried the same method, 
 learned for 8 days previous to training 16 lines of "In Me- 
 moriam" each day. This required 14 to 17 minutes daily, 
 average 14^ minutes. As training he committed daily for 
 26 consecutive days Schiller's translation of the second book 
 of the "iEneid." This afforded an entirely different kind of 
 material from the preliminary test. Returning to "In Me- 
 moriam," he found the average time for 16 lines to be 14H 
 minutes — maximum 20, minimum 10. Mr. E. A. Pease made 
 a preliminary test on "Idylls of the King," then trained him- 
 self on "Paradise Lost" (length of time and daily amount 
 should be given but are not). The average time for a given 
 number of lines in the 6 days preliminary to the training was 
 14I4 minutes, for the test after training, I4lf . 
 
 In order to bring the matter before my students in a con- 
 crete way, I persuaded two of them to undertake a series of 
 experiments, covering In one case thirty-five days and in the 
 other fifty days. Five days In each case were taken for the 
 preliminary tests, five for the final tests for comparison, and 
 twenty-five and forty days respectively for the drill. The 
 preliminary tests consisted in the memorizing of miscellane- 
 ous matter, such as lists of nonsense syllables, lists of figures, 
 selections of poetry, pieces of prose of varying degrees of 
 difficulty, one being from Harper's Fourth Reader and the 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 191 
 
 other from Herlng's Memory, a list of twenty titles of un- 
 familiar books, and the names on a series of bottles holding 
 chemical reagents. Each test was concluded as soon as any 
 fatigue was noticeable. They thus varied somewhat in 
 length. Only one test of a kind was taken at a given sitting, 
 and the tests were throughout so varied and unexpected in 
 character to the student that there was no possible chance 
 for the effects of practice to enter into them. (In James's 
 tests it seems as if practice on the preliminaries and finals 
 might affect the results. He discredits two other series re- 
 corded by him, in which the preliminary practice and finals 
 occupied fifteen and sixteen days respectively. See Principles 
 of Psychology, I, p. 667.) Both of the students were unfa- 
 miliar with chemical nomenclature, and the labels were partly 
 in words and partly in symbols, e. g., HNO3 and Hydric 
 Acetate. When learning the list of unfamihar book titles, 
 only the backs of the books were exposed, so as to shut out 
 as many associations as possible of names with books. It 
 was, however, rendered easier by the sizes and colors than a 
 list merely written or pronounced. There were twenty-five 
 nonsense syllables in each list, and the number list contained 
 forty-seven digits, arranged so as not to be in a serial order. 
 Each was to be learned as a separate number. Thus there 
 were tests in which as many associations as possible were re- 
 moved, lists in which as many association helps as possible 
 were included, and then intermediate lists. (Instead of fig- 
 ures and letters, arbitrary characters and forms might per- 
 haps have been given to be drawn, and arbitrary sounds 
 might have been uttered to be reproduced. This would have 
 excluded association still more.) A list was regarded as mem- 
 orized when it could be repeated or written (as the student 
 chose) with a minimum number of mistakes — omissions, trans- 
 positions, or substitutions. It would have been interesting 
 to determine how much could be reproduced after certain 
 lapses of time. This was contemplated at the beginning, but, 
 in the press of other duties, after being only partially com- 
 pleted, had to be abandoned. 
 
192 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 One of the students, after the preHmlnary results, trained 
 herself for forty days by committing for twenty minutes daily 
 parts of Tennyson's "In Memoriam," learning the introduc- 
 tion and seventeen sections. The other student took for her 
 memory gymnastics thirty minutes daily of mechanical mem- 
 orizing, which she was able to continue twenty-five days. 
 She did not drill on one form of composition, but alternated, 
 according to interest, between prose and poetry. The final 
 tests for comparison with the preliminaries were of the same 
 kind and amounts, and given under the same conditions as 
 the preliminary tests. The lists of nonsense syllables, digits, 
 book titles, and chemical labels contained the same number as 
 in the corresponding preliminary test, and the material for 
 continuous discourse was from the same selections as used in 
 the preliminary test. 
 
 On comparing the results "before taking" and "after tak- 
 ing," and considering all conditions, both of the students vol- 
 untarily stated in written reports of the experiments that 
 they believed James was right. In some parts of the tests 
 subsequent to the practice, slight gains were shown. In some 
 others losses were disclosed, and in others no changes. The 
 gains were more numerous, but the losses greater in amount 
 than were the gains. For example, student A committed 267 
 words of poetry in 30 minutes before practice, and only 189 
 words of the same selection after practice. Student B com- 
 mitted 260 words of poetry in the same period before prac- 
 tice, and only 200 after practice. In one case 47 digits were 
 learned in 15^ minutes before practice, while it took only 
 10^ minutes after practice. Neither the gains nor losses 
 have any special significance. The gains are more noticeable 
 in the purely mechanical forms where methods of learning 
 could be standardized. The variations probably represent 
 different conditions of the learner. The gains ought to pre- 
 dominate over the losses, with no other influence than that 
 of the discovery of the best methods of learning the particular 
 kind of material. A slight gain from this source ought to be 
 expected. Such gain would not contradict James's position. 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 193 
 
 In all of the instances where gains were shown, the students 
 explained that they had been able to acquire a peculiar knack 
 or trick of grouping the materials. It was also true in the 
 same cases that more mistakes and more substitutions oc- 
 curred, and the subject did not feel so sure of the results. In 
 the cases of the book titles both students said that it hap- 
 pened that a few partially familiar titles came in the second 
 list and none in the first. 
 
 Memorizing. — In former times a great deal of school work 
 was learned verbatim and pupils recited the words of the 
 book. As a consequence writers on psychology and educa- 
 tional theory have written much on methods of memorizing. 
 To such an extent has this been true that one might think 
 that was the only important kind of memory work. In recent 
 years teachers have gone to the other extreme and have re- 
 quired almost nothing to be memorized verbatim. Very lit- 
 tle has been written on rational methods of acquiring and 
 retaining. In fact, most students of psychology and educa- 
 tional theory fail to recognize the element of memory unless 
 the learning process deals with memorizing. 
 
 One of the questions relating to memorizing that has been 
 widely discussed is regarding the relative efficiency of the 
 "whole" and "part" methods. In attempting to learn a 
 selection verbatim it is said by some that it is much more 
 economical to read the selection clear through as many times 
 as are necessary, than to read a part, fix that in the memory, 
 and then memorize another part. Experiments demonstrate 
 that to be true in case of short poems, but common sense 
 teaches us that it is not true if the selection is very long. 
 For example, if one were to try to memorize "Paradise Lost," 
 Pilgrim's Progress, or the entire Bible, it would be absurd to 
 read from beginning to end each time. When the principle 
 is applied to learning the content of an entire subject, Hke 
 history, psychology, or geometry, it is at once recognized that 
 they must be learned bit by bit, and that the only rational 
 way is to go from the part to the whole. 
 
 If a relatively short selection is to be learned, probably the 
 
194 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 whole method is the most economical. From Pyle and Sny- 
 der's experiment the following statistics bear on this point. 
 
 LEARNING 240 LLNES BY WHOLE AND PART METHODS 
 
 METHOD 
 
 NUMBER OF 
 DAYS REQUIRED 
 
 NUMBER OF 
 MINUTES REQUIRED 
 
 Thirty lines per day memorized, then 
 whole reviewed till all could be re- 
 cited 
 
 Three readings per day of whole till it 
 could be recited . . 
 
 12 
 ID 
 
 431 
 
 348 
 
 
 This experiment showed an economy of about 20 per cent 
 by the whole method. Other experiments have given similar 
 results. Woodworth {Psychology, p. 344) comments on the 
 experiment as follows: 
 
 However, the matter is not quite so simple, as, under certain condi- 
 tions, the results tend the other way. Let us consider a very differ- 
 ent type of learning test. A "pencil maze," consisting of passages or 
 grooves to be traced out with a pencil, while the whole thing was con- 
 cealed from the subject by a screen, was so arranged that it could be 
 divided into four parts and each part learned separately. Four squads 
 of learners were used. Squads A and B learned the maze as a whole, 
 squads C and D part by part. Squads A and C learned by spaced 
 trials, two trials per day. Squad B learned the whole thing at one 
 sitting; while squad D, which came ofif best of all, learned one part a 
 day for four days, and on the fifth day learned to put the parts to- 
 gether. The results appear in the adjoining table, which shows the 
 average time required to master the maze by each of the four methods. 
 
 PART AND WHOLE LEARNING, SPACED AND UNSPACED, 
 
 IN THE PENCIL MAZE 
 
 From Pechstein 
 
 
 SPACED TRIALS 
 
 UNSPACED TRIALS 
 
 Whole learning. . . 
 
 A 641 seconds 
 C 1,220 
 
 B 1,250 seconds 
 D 538 " 
 
 Part learning 
 
 When the trials were spaced, the whole method was much the better; 
 but when the trials were bunched, the part method was much the 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 195 
 
 better; and, on the whole, the unspaced part learning was the best of 
 all. Thus the result stands in apparent contradiction with two ac- 
 cepted laws : that of the advantage of spaced learning, and that of the 
 advantage of whole learning. 
 
 This contradiction warns us not to accept the "laws" too blindly, 
 but rather to analyze out the factors of advantage in each method, 
 and govern ourselves accordingly. 
 
 Even if the "whole" method were true for all kinds of 
 memorizing, it would not be a very important principle, be- 
 cause outside of school very little is or should be memorized 
 verbatim or mechanically. It is seldom that our everyday 
 occupations require that form of memory. We learn to know 
 our acquaintances, our business, and our pastimes in a much 
 more natural way. The school subjects, apart from spelling, 
 the multiplication table, and a few other activities, seldom 
 should be learned mechanically. History, geography, and lit- 
 erature are great complexes of ideas and concepts, and no 
 mere mechanical expressions can represent them. 
 
 Association in Relation to Memory. — One of the most im- 
 portant factors in recording experiences is that of association. 
 It is therefore a prime factor in determining recall. For ex- 
 ample, I see the sign "Lotta Miles," and I at once think of 
 Kelly-Springfield tires; "Ivory Soap," and "It floats" imme- 
 diately pops into my mind. These recalls have taken place 
 because I have seen the combinations innumerable times. 
 The establishment of these relations between experiences is 
 termed association. Or it may be more formally defined as 
 the process of establishing relations between or among experi- 
 ences. It is equally true that it is the result of establishing 
 relations between or among experiences. It is a registration 
 process rather than a recall process. 
 
 Not all associations are mental connections. All associa- 
 tion has a physical basis. It may be physiological, i. e., be 
 concerned with life processes like swallowing or forming other 
 muscular habits. All our everyday habits depend upon 
 motor reactions of a mechanical sort. Standing, walking, 
 arranging one's clothes, opening and closing doors, avoiding 
 
196 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 obstacles, following habitual paths, holding one's book open 
 to read, dipping one's pen in the right bottle, using knives 
 and forks properly, could not be carried on were these organic 
 associations not properly established. Skill in games is 
 reached only after effort in establishing muscular co-ordina- 
 tions (associations). Once established, it is necessary to think 
 only of the end in view to awaken the entire sequence of proc- 
 esses necessary to accomplish the result. Each step is the 
 necessary stimulus to call the next step into activity. The 
 associations formed in riding a bicycle or learning to dance 
 are very largely physiological. Little mentality needs to be 
 put into either act. What there is belongs to the ideomotor 
 type. An obstruction is encountered with the bicycle. The 
 muscles hit upon the successful method of acquiring control, 
 and this co-ordination is remembered, not as a conscious 
 process, because few could describe it, but it is retained as 
 organic memory. 
 
 Such school activities as writing, drawing, oral reading, and 
 spelling acquire perfection only after mechanical, organic 
 associations have been definitely fixed. The learning of one's 
 mother tongue depends upon associations (a) between the 
 idea and the word, (b) between the sound of the word and the 
 movement of the vocal organs in producing the sound, (c) be- 
 tween the idea and the written or printed symbol, (d) between 
 the sound of the word and the written or printed symbol rep- 
 resenting it, (e) between each of these and the various quali- 
 ties making up the idea. 
 
 The Direction of the Association. — Associations are the 
 basis of habits, and as in habits the activities in a chain of 
 associations become linked together in such a way that the 
 order becomes very definite. Everybody knows how quickly 
 the alphabet can be repeated forward, and also that it takes 
 longer to repeat it backward; how much longer they do not 
 usually realize. Repeated experiments with college classes 
 have shown me that it takes about three seconds to say it for- 
 ward and thirty seconds to say it backward. Great diffi- 
 culty, even tension, is experienced by most persons who try 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: IMEMORY 197 
 
 to say It backward. Also, instead of proceeding smoothly 
 and continuously from Z to A, they are obliged to go a little 
 way, say to R, and repeat it forward. At the same time 
 they try to build up an association in the opposite direction, 
 and then repeat it backward. One who had committed a 
 poem to memory would not attempt to reverse the order of 
 words. Only a few words can be spelled backward by most 
 of us. 
 
 The far-reaching importance of this principle is, however, 
 too often unappreciated and violated. The teacher gives the 
 child the combination 7 X 8 = 56 and is amazed when the 
 child cannot tell that 8 X 7 = 56. The brightest children 
 may reverse the combination and thus happen upon the right 
 answer, while the rest are called stupid. It is rather a case 
 of pedagogical blundering; 7 X 8 is not the same as 8 X 7 
 any more than c-a-t is the same as t-a-c. 8 -f 7 is not the 
 same as 7 + 8; 36 ^ 9 is not the same as 36 -^ 4; K of 4 is 
 not the same as 4 -f- 2 or t of 4- To make the child see 
 the equivalences is a part of the process. They are not usu- 
 ally seen by the child until pointed out. 
 
 In teaching foreign languages this principle is frequently 
 overlooked. The usual procedure in the translation method 
 is to have the pupil look at the foreign word and then say 
 the English equivalent. For example, the pupil looks at the 
 word Knabe and says boy, Madchen and says girl, livre and 
 says book, le chien and says dog. It is no wonder that the 
 pupil does not learn to speak the language readily. The 
 chain of associations has been from foreign printed symbols 
 to native spoken words, instead of from object or idea to for- 
 eign spoken word. In many classes the pupils seldom read 
 the German, always translating. Thus the ear never be- 
 comes accustomed to the sound of the foreign language. Still 
 less are there associations built up between ideas, spoken for- 
 eign word and printed foreign word. While in Germany as 
 a student I noticed that many American students always 
 tried to take notes on the lectures (given In German, of course) 
 in English. As a result those students never learned to 
 
198 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 understand the lectures well. They constantly heard one 
 language and thought another. As a result both processes 
 were hindered. The students who went into the lectures and 
 began taking down in German as much as possible, if only a 
 single word in a sentence, soon became accustomed to grasp 
 the thought and to record it in the same language. Their 
 progress was decidedly faster than in the case of those who 
 resorted to translation methods. 
 
 I have frequently tried the following experiment with 
 classes: (i) A list of German words was given to be translated 
 at sight into English. The time taken and the number of 
 mistakes were recorded. (2) A list of English words equally 
 long and of the same difficulty was given to be translated at 
 sight into German. The time necessary to translate the list 
 of German into English is always much less than when the 
 translation is from English into German. The latter often 
 takes twice as long and more mistakes occur. The result is a 
 perfectly natural one. Ease and rapidity of functioning is a 
 consequence of frequent associations. The way in which ex- 
 periences are registered determines largely the manner of their 
 recall. 
 
 Necessity of Making Associations Purposely. — In order to 
 have things recalled it will not do to trust to chance associa- 
 tions that are expected to be found because things may be 
 near together in space or time. Every day illustrations may 
 be given to show that mere chance contiguity in space or in 
 time is not sufficient to produce an association in the mind. 
 A class of forty were asked to tell the number of the class- 
 room in which they assembled three times every week. Not 
 one was able to answer correctly. They were asked to draw 
 a dog's foot and a hen's track as they appeared in snow or 
 in mud. The drawings were far from accurate, some draw- 
 ing three toes and some five toes for the hen's track. These 
 were objects of frequent casual observation, but because no 
 attention had been paid to them, no association had been 
 formed. That the associations had not been formed was no 
 discredit, but it shows us that in all teaching associations 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 199 
 
 must not be left to chance. By questions, by analysis, by 
 careful explanations, and by requiring concentrated thinking, 
 pupils must be led to form definite associations and not be 
 passive recipients of isolated facts. Careful questioning pro- 
 duces new ideas, new combinations of thought, i. e., new 
 associations, thus increasing the number of suggestions and 
 the probability of recall. 
 
 When a given Idea has been associated with several others, 
 it is of interest and importance to know which will be recalled 
 when it comes before the mind. It is of more immediate in- 
 terest to know how to weld associations so that the experi- 
 ences can best be retained and recalled when needed. Al- 
 though the stream of thought is to a large extent determined 
 by chance associations, many desirable associations are not 
 made without conscious effort. The child, for example, gains 
 in a desultory manner many Ideas about nature, art, social 
 laws, and economic relations from his environment. The 
 knowledge thus gained is sometimes so much overestimated 
 that it is not deemed necessary to study these facts and phe- 
 nomena In a systematic way. While environment is exceed- 
 ingly potent In shaping one's ideas, we must not forget that 
 there are many with eyes who see not, with ears who hear 
 not. The country boy with a vast wealth of natural phenom- 
 ena all about him is too often completely deaf and blind to 
 their richness. It is not at all uncommon to find bright coun- 
 try boys of 16 who do not know as many birds and animals 
 and trees and flowers and varieties of rocks and soils as the 
 city high-school boy who early in the grades has been taught 
 to observe those things. The country boy has wonderful pos- 
 sibilities, but is often without wise guidance. Hence, In order 
 to produce associations, the more purposeful the effort the 
 better the associations will be made. 
 
 Vividness. — Events which have come to us In so striking a 
 manner as to transfix the attention are indelibly impressed 
 upon the mind. An accident, the first sight of the great 
 ocean, the first trip to a metropolis, a visit to Mammoth Cave, 
 a descent Into a coal-mine, a balloon ascension, a fright from 
 
200 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 an encounter with wild beasts, or the railroad accident can 
 never be forgotten by the one who has had the experience. 
 Similarly, it is not uncommon to be put into possession of 
 certain facts in such a way that they will never be effaced. 
 The demonstrations in physics performed by a certain pro- 
 fessor came back to me in great detail after the lapse of a 
 score of years. The first wonders of experimental psychology 
 came to me so impressively that I could tell every detail of 
 the experiments performed many years ago. Is it not a truer 
 function of teaching to open up the wonders of the universe, 
 both of nature and of art, than to drill a traditional set of 
 facts into pupils' minds ? 
 
 Ideas should be made as vivid as possible in order to estab- 
 lish associations. The advertiser seeks to arrest the atten- 
 tion and compel the mind to contemplate the thing adver- 
 tised. In order to do this, striking pictures, brilHant colors, 
 bizarre figures and situations are employed. Besides being 
 designed to compel attention, there is an attempt to set forth 
 the most tempting features of the advertised wares. Enough 
 is given to make us curious to know more. The good teacher 
 is a good advertiser. Ideas are presented in striking ways 
 and at opportune times so as to stimulate curiosity. 
 
 Attention and Association. — Though the nervous system of 
 the child is plastic and his senses keen, yet the majority of his 
 perceptions leave little trace. This is because he cannot con- 
 centrate all his forces upon the facts under consideration, and 
 because his ideas do not sprout out and become related to all 
 other germane ideas. Attention not only means the ability 
 to focus the mind on a point, excluding extraneous ideas, but 
 also the ability to secure a grasp on everything that can con- 
 tribute. It is like the abihties of a strong executive. He 
 must not only be able to work hard and effectively himself, 
 but he must be able to marshal great forces to exert their ut- 
 most aid in the same direction. In a great act of attention 
 the mind is not merely fixed in one direction, oblivious to all 
 else, but it is searching this way and that to discover and 
 establish all possible relations. The child's inability to attend 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 201 
 
 then is explained largely through his lack of apperceptive 
 material. Therefore when we speak of attention as a factor 
 in association, we mean that associations are deepened and 
 new ones formed, thus increasing the possibility of recall. 
 The lowest sort of attention is employed in strengthening 
 mechanical associations, the higher in establishing thoughtful 
 ones. The former is necessary in teaching the child to recog- 
 nize word-forms, to spell, to fix the addition table and the 
 multiplication table. As long as he is swaying about, look- 
 ing out of the window, or counting his marbles, he cannot fix 
 the word-forms. He must be brought to see with sufficient 
 "(at) tension" to effect a change in his cerebral ganglia. On 
 the other hand, in order to register ineffaceably algebraic 
 principles or scientific truths, the attention must command 
 all the individual ideas in such a way that they are appre- 
 hended and comprehended, until every relation is established. 
 To accomplish this, each new fact must be scrutinized and 
 made to fit into the system necessitated by all the kindred 
 facts. This relating activity is the higher form of attention 
 and insures more valuable associations. 
 
 When there is an attempt to make artificial associations in 
 a mechanical way, as in learning foreign languages, the names 
 and locations of various geographical features, or a series of 
 historical data, there is often no interest in the process, and 
 the results either become confused or soon disappear. Experi- 
 ences do not become deep and permanent without undivided 
 attention. Genuine attention is only possible when there is 
 a full headway of interest. 
 
 Frequently insufficient time is given to make associations 
 permanent. A flash-light may disclose an interesting scene, 
 but before the mind has had time to dwell upon its contents 
 it is passed by for another one. The succession of views be- 
 comes confused. Similarly with the multiplicity of things 
 which often engage the school child's attention. He flits 
 from study to study and from topic to topic so rapidly that 
 no idea has a chance to be recalled or contemplated. When 
 we consider the number of topics that a child is frequently 
 
202 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 expected to learn in history or geography in a year, the 
 surprise is not that he forgets some but that he retains so 
 many. 
 
 Repetition of what has been learned is an important factor, 
 especially in mechanical memory. The association tracks are 
 to be deepened, and the oftener the ideas are recalled in the 
 same order the better the retention. Here again the psychol- 
 ogy of advertising has abundant suggestion. No one can 
 help knowing the particular merits of Ivory Soap, Pears* 
 Soap, Rubifoam, Peruna, Walter Baker's Cocoa, Swift's Pre- 
 mium Hams, or Force. They have been inescapable. We 
 encounter their compelling pictures and persuasive phrases in 
 every newspaper and magazine. We cannot turn a street cor- 
 ner or glance out of a car-window or even withdraw our glance 
 to the car interiors without encountering some of these ads. 
 In season and out of season, whether we will or no, we are 
 bound to meet them. 
 
 The teacher may well take a hint. Some of the arts most 
 worth striving for can be taught by the same process. Take 
 language, for example. In no other way can the child ever 
 develop correct speech except by hearing it, seeing it, and 
 feeling its power during every minute of the school-day, and 
 properly in the home. The child who hears correct speech 
 only in the language class will never acquire it. Morals and 
 manners must be taught in the same fashion. If good exam- 
 ples are only advertised on Sunday, the intervening week-days 
 will obliterate all traces. 
 
 The Observance of Natural Relations is always an excellent 
 means of fixing associations. This is true because when once 
 the relations are observed the coexistent factors are frequently 
 brought before consciousness. Such phenomena as thunder 
 and lightning, warm weather and growing vegetation, cooling 
 atmosphere and condensation of moisture, change of tempera- 
 ture with change of thermometric reading, being casually re- 
 lated, become easily impressed upon the mind when once the 
 relationship is observed. 
 
 However, the fact that relationships exist between objec- 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 203 
 
 tive things Is no guarantee of their being observed and re- 
 corded together. For example, the relation between forests 
 and rainfall has only recently been observed; the circulation 
 of the blood Is a new discovery ; the bacterial theory of disease 
 not a half-century old. A pupil would be a long time dis- 
 covering the relations between varieties of soils and adaptable 
 crops, though when once understood they become indlssolubly 
 connected. Just so with multitudes of facts In geography, 
 science, and history. 
 
 The Import of this Is to emphasize the necessity of forming 
 systematic, logical, and causal relations among series of facts 
 rather than to depend upon artificial associations. The nat- 
 ural relations are more apt to be forced upon the mind repeat- 
 edly. Too much of geography teaching and history teaching 
 is made to depend upon absolutely mechanical associations, 
 when everything could be presented In a connected series of 
 thoughtful relations. There are some things desirable to 
 learn which must be largely Isolated, but the majority of all 
 knowledge, whether In school or out of it, can be so grouped 
 as to become woven into logical relations. People's names 
 have no logical relation to their possessors, but when we come 
 to know the Individual thoroughly, his habits, his tempera- 
 ment, his home, his associates, and his capacity, the name 
 becomes so complexly associated with the individual that a 
 multitude of suggesting strings may be pulled, any one of 
 which will recall the right name. The case Is far different 
 with the child in learning the list of capes on the coast of 
 America, or the boundaries of each of the states. In these 
 cases there Is only one sort of association, and that purely 
 artificial and mechanical. When the child learns rules In 
 arithmetic or grammar without comprehending them, the 
 associations are purely arbitrary and mechanical. When we 
 shall have become entirely free from such atrocities committed 
 in the name of education, a day of rejoicing may be proclaimed. 
 
 Recognition of Varieties of Memory Functions. — The fact 
 that different individuals have different types of memory sug- 
 gests the desirability of recognizing these Individual charac- 
 
204 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 teristics in memory training. These should be considered in 
 two ways. First, the one with a special gift in any direction 
 should know how to utilize it; and, second, the one who is spe- 
 cially defective in any direction should be helped to remedy 
 the defect, if possible. Use as many senses as possible in 
 acquiring ideas. We should remember that knowledge is 
 very complex, and that a variety of experiences enter into the 
 real and complete knowledge of every concept we possess. 
 For example, the complete knowledge of that classical fruit, 
 the orange, includes taste ideas, those of smell, touch, weight, 
 color. In the case of this particular fruit, most of us have 
 received the actual primary experiences. But in how many 
 cases are we satisfied with getting only a single set of sensa- 
 tions, and then expect that all the other factors will be repre- 
 sented through the fiat currency of words that we employ ! 
 The druggist who did not employ several senses in acquiring 
 his knowledge of drugs would be a dangerous person to com- 
 pound medicine for us. The successful one relies not on sight 
 alone, but upon the touch, the odor, the consistency, the 
 weight and sound. Chemistry used to be taught from a book 
 by learning names, symbols, and formulas, without ever see- 
 ing a compound. By such teaching a pupil could not tell 
 sulphuric acid from kerosene, or quartz from meerschaum. 
 
 Spelling is a process in which sight, hearing, the muscular 
 movements of the arm and the fingers, muscular movements 
 of the vocal cords, the tactile sensation in the hand, joints, 
 and vocal cords, all may and should enter. Unfortunately, 
 unpsychological faddists successively accentuate some one 
 or other of these factors to the neglect of all others. Each 
 faddist is partly in the right, but all are in the wrong. Ideal 
 results cannot be secured in this useful art until the ear is 
 trained to hear the syllables and other component elements, 
 to hear the exact pronunciation as a whole, and the succession 
 of sounds in uttering the letters and syllables; until the eye is 
 trained to see the word as a whole, and in various analyses; 
 until the muscles of the vocal apparatus are habituated to 
 the utterance of the various combinations; until the hand 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 205 
 
 and arm have formed definite and ready associations of 
 movements; and, finally, not until there is a perfect harmony 
 and co-ordination among all the various processes. Then 
 only can the spelling of any combination be said to be prop- 
 erly mastered. 
 
 Note should also be made of the fact that impressions are 
 not received through a given sense equally well at all times. 
 For example, the ear is used to interpret language symbols 
 several years before the eye. In racial development the ear 
 was for ages the only interpreter of language symbols. This 
 should be recognized in teaching. Early education should be 
 almost wholly oral. The child's language expression should 
 be vocal; instead, he is often plunged into reading as a means 
 of learning, and the hand is set to pen-wagging as a means of 
 expression. Halleck tells us {Education of the Central Nervous 
 System^ pp. 48-54) of a class that had struggled hard and long 
 to interpret visually "As You Like It." But they failed 
 utterly to grasp it. It was finally read to them and the 
 change was marvellous. No greater pedagogical heresy is 
 perpetuated at the present time than the atrocious method of 
 instructing little children in singing by note. Instead of giv- 
 ing them an opportunity to hear sweet melodies and then 
 encouraging them, through imitation, to burst forth into 
 songs of praise and gladness, they are required to read a 
 strange, meaningless Chinese puzzle. The little singing they 
 learn, which is indeed a diminutive quantity, is really gained 
 through imitation of what they hear. 
 
 Interest and Memory. — Joseph Cook is said to have written 
 in effect: "Interest is the mother of attention, and attention 
 is the mother of memory; if you would secure memory, you 
 must first catch the mother and the grandmother." The boy 
 who has no interest in what he does, but goes through his 
 tasks in a purely perfunctory way, does not acquire much, 
 and retains that little poorly. The boy who blunders in his 
 arithmetic, forgets how to spell, and seems to be unable to 
 remember his geography may be, and probably is, one who 
 can remember every detail of all the season's football games. 
 
2o6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 He can name every player who took part in each, remember 
 all the "star plays," the fouls, the bad decisions of the um- 
 pire, the different formations that were tried; in fact, like the 
 politician, his fund of knowledge of certain sorts seem inex- 
 haustible. 
 
 I once had a boy in school who was called a dunce by many 
 of his teachers, but who knew more about birds than all 
 his teachers combined. Strangely enough, too, most of his 
 teachers had never discovered this interest. A little judicious 
 consideration of this boy's interests which he brought with 
 him furnished a key which unlocked other interests. He did 
 splendid work in nature study, his arithmetic work became 
 the strongest in his class, and, in fact, his work in all lines was 
 second to no other's. The only thing he had needed was an 
 enlistment of his interest. By interesting myself in things 
 that appealed to him, I was able to direct his attention to 
 other things which I thought he should know. The child who 
 is kept after school to do work as a penalty remembers well 
 enough his emotions on the occasion, but forgets speedily the 
 lesson imposed. The mind must be in the right attitude, and 
 be a willing party to the operation. The mind that is not 
 aglow with enthusiasm for the task in hand continually wan- 
 ders away to more alluring fields, attention is scattered, and 
 mental acquisitions are vague, confused, and fleeting. Irk- 
 someness and superficiality of acquisition are natural accom- 
 paniments. 
 
 Clearness of Ideas. — To record ideas so that they may be 
 permanent, and also that they may be recalled readily, it is 
 necessary to comprehend them clearly. The majority of ideas 
 which come to our minds are so vague and poorly defined 
 that they make little impression and are soon lost. It is a 
 common fault of teachers to lack lucidity in explanation, and 
 text-books are generally very abstract. Limited space, to a 
 certain degree, necessitates this abstractness of text-books, 
 but it is the teacher's business to be concrete and clear him- 
 self, and to render condensed abstractions of the text-books 
 clear and comprehensive, when necessary, by copious illustra- 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 207 
 
 tions. In the lower grades most text-books should serve as 
 summaries of material secured from real presentation by the 
 teacher and from concrete collateral material gathered from 
 necessary books, experiments, and excursions. 
 
 Comprehension vs. Apprehension. — The foregoing consid- 
 eration of memory should teach us much with reference to 
 modes of attempting to secure lasting impressions of various 
 schoolroom lessons. According to the character of the ma- 
 terial, some should be memorized mechanically, while in other 
 lessons no attempt should be made to secure automatic repro- 
 duction of fixed forms. In lessons where content is to be 
 memorized, the efforts of the learner should be centred upon 
 mastering the ideas contained. The attempt should be to 
 understand, to know, and to let memory take care of itself. 
 That which is apprehended in perception, comprehended 
 through apperception, and woven into the warp and woof of 
 mind through manifold associations will be retained without 
 recourse to artificial memories. McLellan says (McLellan 
 and Dewey, Applied Psychology, p. 95) : 
 
 Do not aim at training memory directly, but indirectly, through 
 the training of the apperceiving powers. The attitude of the pupil's 
 mind should be: I must perceive this just as it is and in all its bearings; 
 not, I must remember this. If the original perception, in other words, 
 is what it should be, accurate, comprehensive, and independent, mem- 
 ory may be left very largely to take care of itself. For the first step 
 in remembering anything is to get it within the mind, and appercep- 
 tion is just this getting it within the mind. 
 
 A careful consideration of the lessons to be taught, for the 
 purpose of determining just what is to be acquired, and how 
 it is to be acquired, is of prime moment in the teacher's daily 
 plans. Whether a given page is merely a scaffolding which 
 should form a setting for the real structure, or whether it is 
 a part of the structure itself, should be clearly distinguished. 
 Oftentimes many paragraphs must be included merely for the 
 sake of a proper background for the picture which is to be 
 discovered. They are necessary to complete understanding, 
 but there is no necessity for centring the attention upon 
 
2o8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 them. But the sahent facts, principles, and laws should be 
 focalized, crossed and recrossed, viewed telescopically, micro- 
 scopically, with the physical eye, and through the eye of imag- 
 ination. Finally, through the highest processes of abstrac- 
 tion and symbolization, the concepts should be comprehended 
 in all their fulness without recourse to the elementary means 
 necessary to the first fundamental ideas. 
 
 Modes of Recall. — The function of recall in the learning 
 process is of great pedagogical interest. The recitation has 
 for one function the recall of ideas for the purpose of fixing 
 them in memory more firmly. Under what conditions should 
 recall take place so as to make learning the most sure and 
 economical ? Ebbinghaus ( Ueber das Geddchtnis, Leipsic, 
 1885) studied the matter experimentally, in connection with 
 learning nonsense syllables. He found that if the list con- 
 tained several syllables one reading would suffice, when the list 
 contained twelve syllables it took sixteen repetitions. Six- 
 teen syllables required thirty repetitions. This suggested the 
 desirability of short lessons, especially with children. After 
 a lapse of tw-enty minutes he found that 58 per cent as much 
 work was required to recommit as to commit a new list. 
 After an hour the further loss by forgetting was small. Col- 
 vin says, however, that in the case of thought processes, as 
 opposed to forms of expression, when once the idea is learned, 
 recall twenty-four hours after learning is as accurate as imme- 
 diate recall. This suggests the importance of frequent drills 
 upon things that are to be learned verbatim, but the lack of 
 such necessity when dealing with ideas. For example, the 
 spelling lesson and elementary foreign languages require fre- 
 quent repetition, while the history and nature-study lessons 
 should be dealt with as ideas, and will not require much or 
 frequent repetition in learning. The Germans recognize these 
 principles in a practical way in the organization of their school 
 curricula. Latin and other foreign languages are given every 
 day, and sometimes twice a day in the initial stages, while 
 history, geography, and nature study are given about twdce 
 a week. 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 209 
 
 Kind of Memory to Employ in a Given Case. — It is also 
 important to know whether the form of expression in a given 
 lesson should be learned exactly. There are some things that 
 should be learned exactly, that should be learned verbatim. 
 In these the form as well as the content is important; in fact, 
 in some cases, without the exact form the content would be 
 largely valueless. Among the things which should be firmly 
 fixed in the mechanical memory are the following: The addi- 
 tion, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables; certain 
 tables in denominate numbers; a rich vocabulary of words in 
 the mother tongue; vocabularies in foreign languages; the 
 spelling of all of one's usable words in the vernacular; some 
 mathematical formulas that are constantly applied in higher 
 mathematics; paradigms in ancient languages or other foreign 
 languages, read only; many gems of literature; occasional 
 definitions; principles and laws. 
 
 Except in the case of spelling, tables of the fundamental 
 operations in arithmetic, and certain parts of vocabulary 
 learning, the processes need not be devoid of thoughtful asso- 
 ciations. The multiplication table and much EngHsh spell- 
 ing are, however, as mechanical and content-less as "ickery- 
 irey, ooery-ann" — and must be learned by point-blank 
 mechanical associations. In such cases repetition is about 
 the only way to establish the mechanical bonds of association. 
 In other cases admitting of analysis and thoughtful considera- 
 tion, the content should be thoroughly mastered before at- 
 tempting to impress the form of expression on the mind. 
 This should be the invariable rule, for children easily focus 
 upon learning the expression before comprehending its signifi- 
 cance. The meaning of all generalizations to be memorized 
 should be taught indirectly, thus coming to the concentrated 
 statement last. Joshua Fitch expressed the matter in a para- 
 graph almost worthy of being memorized verbatim by every 
 teacher. He wrote: 
 
 When the object is to have thoughts, facts, reasonings reproduced, 
 seek to have them reproduced in the pupil's words. Do not set the 
 faculty of mere verbal memory to work. But when the words them- 
 
2IO EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 selves in which a fact is embodied have some special fitness or beauty 
 of their own, when they represent some scientific datum or central 
 truth, which could not otherwise be so well expressed, then see that 
 the form as well as the expression is learned by heart. 
 
 Analyze Material. — In trying to remember or in teaching 
 pupils to remember, one of the first things to do is to analyze 
 the material to determine its character and the purpose in 
 learning. Each type of material must be learned in a differ- 
 ent fashion. Oftentimes pupils are assigned a lesson, and, 
 believing that they will be required to recite the text verba- 
 tim, they try to memorize it in a mechanical way. Without 
 trying to comprehend it, they repeat it over and over again. 
 The words thus learned are soon forgotten, and with the result 
 that they have neither the words nor the ideas. 
 
 After comprehension of the meaning some tables of denomi- 
 nate numbers, definitions in arithmetic, grammar, geometry, 
 algebra should be thoroughly memorized. The statement of 
 theorems in geometry as given in the text-books can hardly 
 be improved upon and should be memorized verbatim after 
 understanding their meaning. The demonstrations should 
 never be memorized. Whenever the object is to acquire some 
 fact, law, principle, or process that must be used continually 
 in the same way, the form as well as the substance should be 
 learned. It is also an excellent plan to have pupils learn ver- 
 batim many proverbs, short poems, and worthy artistic prose 
 expressions which epitomize wise sayings of the great thinkers 
 of all time. Such expressions grow in significance as the years 
 go by and become richer and richer in meaning. Most chil- 
 dren can acquire much in this way without difficulty. 
 
 On the other hand, most of the knowledge acquired in 
 everyday life need not become a part of habitual action. It 
 is to become a part of the background of consciousness and 
 the exact record is unimportant. We need simply to appre- 
 hend it, but not to fashion it into forms of conduct. 
 
 Selective Memory. — The obvious suggestion which grows 
 out of the foregoing analysis is that in economical learning, 
 instead of trying to memorize details we should select the sig- 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 211 
 
 nificant factors and large concepts and try to fix these in 
 mind and discard the mass of details which has merely served 
 as a scaffolding in building the real structure. After thor- 
 oughly mastering that which is to be learned, then try to 
 recall the large concepts and ideas. Do not bother with the 
 details. If the details were once mastered and incorporated 
 in the large ideas, there will be no difficulty in filling in details 
 if necessary. Be sure, however, that you really have the 
 ideas and not merely some catch words and phrases that 
 stand for the ideas. 
 
 Before starting to read a chapter or topic it is well to try 
 to determine before opening the book what subtopics and 
 points are discussed. Try also to think how you would treat 
 the topic. Then open the book, glance through the topic as 
 a whole to see how the author has organized it. After that 
 read each paragraph or section carefully, stopping at the 
 end to see if you comprehend. Difficult points must be dwelt 
 upon and studied intensively. Go through the entire chapter 
 in that way. Then put the book aside and see if you can 
 state the topics treated. Often it is well to actually write an 
 outline statement of the main points. Then concentrate upon 
 each one and see if you are thoroughly convinced that you 
 understand the points completely. Some points need not be 
 dwelt upon long, because you have a consciousness that you 
 fully comprehend them, that they are very similar to some 
 previously learned points, or that they are relatively unim- 
 portant ones. Should you come to a topic that seems hazy, 
 entirely obscure, or one that should be fixed firmly, centre 
 upon that one. Generally there are only a few such points in 
 a given lesson. Much of the material is for the purpose of 
 leading up to the main principle or to give a general setting, 
 or it reviews much that has gone before. 
 
 Importance of the Recitation. — Ordinarily the recitation is 
 thought of as a means of giving the teacher an opportunity to 
 find out how faithfully and well the pupil has prepared the 
 assigned lesson — a chance to square accounts. There is some- 
 thing to that from the moral side, but that is not the main 
 
212 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 purpose of reciting. The main value is (a) because it gives 
 opportunity for expression, and (b) because it reveals to the 
 learner his own lacks. A noted lecturer once said: "I lecture 
 not to enlighten others, but to clear up my own ideas." 
 
 The recitation reveals what has been learned and what has 
 not been learned. Socrates considered that the first step in 
 gaining wisdom was a recognition of one's own ignorance. 
 ''From impression to expression" is one of the most valuable 
 maxims of modern psychology. The expression tends to 
 clear up and fix ideas. 
 
 Again, one's attitude in studying is wonderfully modified 
 by the consciousness that what is being studied will be called 
 for. If one were absolutely certain that he were to be called 
 upon to repeat every fact acquired, the results would be vastly 
 different from what they would be if one were absolutely sure 
 of not being called upon to recite. Students should form the 
 habit of reciting to others what they have gone over before 
 going to class. They should also frequently write out ab- 
 stracts and try to form concise generalizations of topics read 
 or heard discussed. 
 
 Be severe with yourself. Do not be content with laziness 
 or half mastery. Difficulties slid over will surely be encoun- 
 tered as stumbling-blocks later on. Ask yourself questions 
 about the meaning and the relations to other materials pre- 
 viously studied. Try to think what questions the teacher 
 might ask and be sure to answer the questions satisfactorily 
 to yourself. Be mercilessly critical with yourself. It is far 
 better for you to discover faulty learning in yourself than it is 
 to have it discovered and recorded by the teacher. Many a 
 pupil might have passed a good examination instead of one 
 full of flaws, inaccuracies, and omissions if he had only stuck 
 to the lesson until he had mastered it. 
 
 After going over the lesson as suggested, try to express a 
 part or all of it to some one else. Explain it to your room- 
 mate and let him probe with critical questions. Be as defi- 
 nite and as accurate as possible, even to details. Keep in 
 mind the probability all the time that some one will ask you 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 213 
 
 to express the knowledge acquired. If you have a subcon- 
 sciousness that you are absolutely certain to be called upon 
 to recite, you learn in a far more thorough manner than if you 
 feel pretty certain that your turn will not come that day. 
 The one who figures on escaping recitation is storing away 
 vague ideas which are very elusive about examination time. 
 
 Regular Study Schedule. — In school organization we have 
 properly given much attention to securing definite recitation 
 periods. But little has been done to provide definite and 
 regular study periods. If pupils would only form regular, 
 adequate habits of study, and learn how to study, the recita- 
 tion would be largely unnecessary, or at any rate it could be 
 utilized in a far different manner from that which is usually 
 necessary. A definite study programme should be arranged 
 and adhered to. Only the most exceptional circumstances 
 should be allowed to interfere. The very habit of taking up 
 a given task at the scheduled hour is one that is exceedingly 
 valuable. A habit of procrastination begets slothfulness. 
 Too many persons have revised the old adage to read: "Do 
 not do to-day what can be put off until to-morrow." The 
 regular study schedule should apply to school work done at 
 home as well as that done at school. 
 
 Supervised and Directed Study. — Much energy in study is 
 often dissipated because pupils do not know what is to be 
 learned — they do not know what to concentrate upon. Clear- 
 ness and definiteness in assigning lessons, a due consideration 
 of the apperceptive data already possessed, and proper con- 
 ditions for study would do more for the recitations than any 
 patent methods of questioning or conducting recitations. Pu- 
 pils need to be taught how to study in order to accomplish it 
 economically and efficiently. Many of our best educators are 
 coming to insist upon due attention to the proper assignment 
 of work. A considerable part of many recitation periods 
 should be devoted to planning methods of attacking the new 
 problems. Too many teachers regard the class period as a 
 time for pumping the pupil in order to square accounts. Not 
 infrequently they pump from a very dry well. Extreme mis- 
 
214 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 interpretation of the Socratic method of questioning has led 
 teachers to beheve that they must not instruct or teach, but 
 merely question and record. Their greatest function is to 
 teach and to guide in methods of acquisition. Button says: 
 
 Supervise the study periods. The teacher who asks his pupils to 
 study, and then proceeds to write letters or make up his reports, is not 
 only losing an opportunity but is violating his trust. He should be 
 at the service of his pupils, passing around from one to the other, giv- 
 ing the needed word of advice or encouragement, making sure that all 
 the conditions for earnest work are as favorable as possible. {School 
 Management, p. 171.) 
 
 Pupils need time to think. A high-school pupil once said: 
 "All our time is so taken up with learning our lessons and 
 reciting that we have no time to think." Alas ! this indict- 
 ment is too often true. In the hurry of activities, in school 
 and out, with the methods employed, when do the pupils 
 really find time to reflect upon what they are doing ? There 
 should be frequent times in the pursuit of every subject when 
 the learner may have time for meditation, sustained reflec- 
 tion, and opportunity for independent organization of the 
 work in his own mind. 
 
 I have found it very helpful in advanced classes to assign 
 written reviews to be worked out at home. Some help is 
 usually necessary in organization, but only the main features 
 are suggested and the students are left to give expression to 
 the ideas as they lie in their own minds. This plan necessi- 
 tates the using of class notes, gathering of materials from col- 
 lateral reading, and organizing the whole topic for themselves. 
 The topics given out for written organization frequently 
 should not be wholly or definitely covered in the books or in 
 the discussions, but should consider some new relations grow- 
 ing out of the materials at hand. Sometimes a topic may be 
 studied intensively for a time and then written up during the 
 class period. Such work is the best sort of examination, and 
 has the great advantage of giving opportunity for deliberately 
 organized thoughts and the formation of multiple associa- 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 215 
 
 tions. A necessary prerequisite of all memory of real ideas is 
 just this associative reflection. 
 
 Multiple Associations. — Many diverse associations are nec- 
 essary to secure the best memory. The more numerous and 
 diverse the associations connected with a given fact, the more 
 possibilities of its recall. Each experience becomes a "sug- 
 gesting string" which may be pulled to induce recall. There 
 is great danger that associations will be too few and of the 
 purely mechanical type. The way in which the ordinary 
 text-book history is studied illustrates the point. The num- 
 ber of topics is large, because the historian feels compelled to 
 give a complete account. This necessitates great brevity of 
 topics, usually at the expense of clearness. Furthermore, this 
 condensed compendium frequently necessitates giving as much 
 space to comparatively unimportant events as to those which 
 are of vital significance and which should be expanded accord- 
 ing to their importance. An actual count shows that average 
 school histories contain about 1,500 topics, any one of which 
 would furnish several days' lessons if studied sufficiently to be 
 clearly comprehended. The entire 1,500, however, are fre- 
 quently forced kaleidoscopically before the children in about 
 270 lessons. What wonder that the whole subject is but a 
 confused blur in the minds of the learners ? If a few leading 
 topics were selected and then studied deliberately from many 
 sides until thoroughly comprehended, the resulting product 
 would be infinitely more valuable. With the abundance of 
 collateral material easily obtainable, every lesson ought to be 
 illuminated by the teacher, and by means of other readings, 
 until the pupils see the actors face to face, instead of through 
 a glass darkly. What boots it if the entire book is not cov- 
 ered ? Not all history is recorded in one book, and no single 
 author has selected the only events worth while. 
 
 The important thing is to have the pupils know how to 
 study the subject; to know where to find books and sources 
 that are worth while ; and to understand some history so well 
 that it will modify their likes and dislikes, and bias their entire 
 future thinking. Through this they should develop a taste 
 
2i6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 for history and a knowledge of its proper methods of study. 
 If they have not acquired a genuine Interest In the narrative 
 of history, the work has been largely unfruitful. If a high- 
 school pupil should spend an hour a day for three weeks read- 
 ing on the Missouri Compromise or the United States Bank, 
 he would have some ideas so clearly and firmly Implanted 
 that he could talk Intelligently upon the subject, and, more- 
 over, he would never forget the salient features. The Ideas 
 gained would be so many-sided and the associations so diverse 
 and multiple that they could not be easily forgotten. How 
 different is much of the study of history ! 
 
 In studying geography It is not necessary that every fact 
 chronicled In a text-book should be learned. The text is usu- 
 ally a compendium for reference. There is no reason why a 
 pupil should take all of the topics, and in precisely the same 
 order as given in the book. Suppose the order is varied and 
 some topics even omitted ? If the topics taken are rendered 
 interesting and clear and full, the method of geographical study 
 will have been impressed and the facts learned will be usable. 
 In order to accomplish these fundamental ends, only a few 
 things can be studied, and these must be taken so exhaustively 
 that no doubt exists as to whether the resulting knowledge 
 consists of words alone or of clear, well-defined concepts gained 
 through concrete individual notions. Usually the book con- 
 tains only the merest statement of the concept. All concrete 
 details, which are absolutely necessary prerequisites to con- 
 ceptual ideas, are lacking. Hence the child begins with the 
 generalization which should be the end. The elementary 
 text-book is a good summary, but not an exhaustive treatment 
 of any of the topics discussed. Much of the material for the 
 adequate treatment must be supplied from other sources — by 
 the teacher and collateral books. 
 
 We marvel at the politician and the scholar who seem to 
 have an inexhaustible fund of illustrations and arguments 
 bubbling over for expression. We say **What wonderful 
 memories!" But outside of their specialties the memories 
 would probably be found as unresourceful as other people's. 
 
CONSERVATION OF EXPERIENCE: MEMORY 217 
 
 The secret of their fund of ready recall is easily accounted for 
 by the long study and reflection upon the same thing. Who- 
 ever has the perseverance and gives long-continued attention 
 to any line of investigation can acquire a fund of ready knowl- 
 edge sufficient to enable him to talk authoritatively upon that 
 line. 
 
 Teachers are frequently disappointed in examinations be- 
 cause pupils seem to have forgotten so much that they had 
 supposedly been taught. The wonder is, however, not that 
 pupils have forgotten so much, but that they remember as 
 much as they do. The main reason why they do not remem- 
 ber more is that they have not really learned anything that 
 they were asked to recall. They may have read the words of 
 the lessons assigned and the teachers may have explained, but, 
 unless the lessons have become more than words, retention of 
 ideas cannot follow. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Have you recently read of any sure means of acquiring a "steel-trap" 
 memory? 2. Were there any sound psychological principles underlying 
 them? 3. Do you know of any phenomenal memories? 4. Do you know 
 of any peculiar memories? 5. Is your memory equally good in all direc- 
 tions? 6, Do you learn certain subjects more easily than others? 7. Do 
 you recognize any differences between your present memory ability and 
 your childhood ability in memory? 8, Try memorizing some simple prose 
 or poetry. Have some children of 8 or 10 try the same. Compare re- 
 sults. 9. Try the whole and part methods with different types of mate- 
 rials. Note results. 10. What principles apply in learning the ideas in 
 this book? II. Criticise cramming for examinations. 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chaps. XIII, XIV, XV. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chaps. VI, XII. 
 
 3. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. IX, X, XI, XII, XIII. 
 
 4. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chap. XV. 
 
 5. James, Talks to Teachers on Psychology and Life's Ideals, chap. XII. 
 
 6. Parker, Methods of Teaching, chap. VIII. 
 
 7. Pyle, The Science of Human Nature, chap. VII. 
 
 8. Starch, Educational Psychology, chap. XI. 
 
 9. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. VIII. 
 
 10. Woodworth, Psychology : A Study of Mental Life, chaps, XIII, XIV. 
 
 11. James, Principles of Psychology, vol. I, chap. XVI. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 
 
 Recent Recognition of Its Importance. — Men have long rec- 
 ognized that imitation influences the conduct of individuals 
 and of groups. However, it has usually been thought to be a 
 low order of learning, something characteristic of the imma- 
 ture, something slavish and uncommendable. 
 
 It is only recently that we have come to understand that 
 imitation is one of the most fundamental and important means 
 of learning. Only the imitative individual is capable of learn- 
 ing, and the most imitative is the most educable. Even ani- 
 mal trainers recognize this. If they find an animal that imi- 
 tates poorly, they try to secure one more apt. 
 
 Meaning of Imitation. — Whenever an action has been per- 
 formed, an organic memory is left. Because of this modifica- 
 tion, there is a tendency to repeat the same action, even though 
 there is no outside stimulus present. If the stimulus recurs, 
 the reaction takes place easily, reflexly, almost automatically. 
 This tendency of an organism to repeat an action once performed 
 is imitation. The essential process is the copying of one's own 
 action and not the action of some one else. 
 
 It is thus seen that all imitation is of the reflex type, and fun- 
 damentally all imitation is autoimitation. One can imitate 
 only those actions which he himself has experienced. In copy- 
 ing others one selects those factors which have been experienced 
 and sometimes recombines them so that they seem to be new 
 and novel. A good illustration of autoimitation is afforded 
 by the process of acquiring speech. It is an interesting and 
 significant fact that the first words of all children of all nations 
 or tongues are papa, mama, daddy, or some modification of 
 them. That occurs not because the children try to use words 
 meaning father and mother. Before they use vocalized speech 
 
 218 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 219 
 
 their natural vocalized sounds are ah, ah, eh, etc. When the 
 nascent period for vocalized speech appears they begin to use 
 the lips and tongue, and consonant sounds precede the vowels. 
 The expressions then become ma, ma; ba, ba; da, da, etc., and 
 the fond parents say: "Why, the baby is saying papa and 
 mama!" The babe had no such thought. The child was 
 just reflexly uttering the only sounds possible. It is more 
 correct to say that the parents imitate the children. When 
 the child hits upon these new expressions, it is so pleased with 
 the acquisition that it oftentimes keeps up the babbling for 
 minutes at a time. Hence, this is sometimes called the la Id 
 period of language. 
 
 Imitation Not Always Voluntary. — Imitation has generally 
 been considered to be a conscious, intentional copying of 
 others. But we know that everybody, little children espe- 
 cially, imitate many acts of others without every intending to 
 or even being conscious that they had observed them. Our 
 pronunciation of words is taken on unconsciously, our mode 
 of standing, w^alking, and various mannerisms could not be 
 traced to any particular attempt to copy some one else, but 
 we have "caught" them somewhere unintentionally. If one 
 child afiflicted with St. Vitus's dance goes to school with nor- 
 mal children, the chances are that others will soon become af- 
 flicted. If a teacher talks in a harsh, high-pitched tone, before 
 long all her pupils will be doing likewise. A gentle, well-modu- 
 lated voice on the part of the teacher is equally contagious. 
 A nervous, fidgety teacher is sure to infect all her pupils, while 
 one that is calm and well-poised will exert a wholesome influ- 
 ence on all around her. All that is summed up in the expres- 
 sion "unconscious education" is a matter of non-voluntary 
 imitation. 
 
 Ideomotor Action. — Recent investigations have demon- 
 strated that all ideas tend to express themselves in action. 
 Whenever any idea is held by the mind, it struggles for mus- 
 cular expression. Suppose you awaken some cold morning 
 and say to yourself "I must get up," but try to banish the 
 thought and attempt to take another nap. You continually 
 
220 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 find yourself thinking "I must get up," "I must get up," but 
 finally apparently banish the thought. All at once, when en- 
 joying a cat-nap or a day-dream, without thinking, up you get. 
 The thought has worked itself out into action. Any one can 
 easily walk a two-inch board on the floor. But suppose the 
 board is placed a hundred feet above the floor. No one but 
 an acrobat or a trained gymnast could accomplish the feat 
 without falling. Why the difference ? In the latter case the 
 thought of falling so possesses the mind as to inhibit every- 
 thing else, and naturally enough the motor response speed- 
 ily follows up by destroying equilibrium and causing the 
 fall. 
 
 The ideomotor action is not imitation, but it furnishes the 
 starting-point of multitudes of imitative reactions. It pro- 
 vides the pattern which tends to be copied. This is of great 
 importance, because the individual is thus seen to be very 
 greatly under the influence of environment which furnishes 
 the stimulations. 
 
 General Illustrations of Imitation. — Language has an instinc- 
 tive basis, but its particular form is wholly due to imitation. 
 That we speak and gesture rather than howl, bark, or neigh is 
 a matter of instinct; that we speak English, French, or German 
 rather than Russian, Armenian, or Choctaw is due to imitation. 
 The English boy drops his h's where we should put them on, 
 or tacks them on where we should suppress them, simply be- 
 cause he lives with others who do so. The New Englander 
 says nevah, rivah, and Jarvar; the Englishman says dog, while 
 the Western American says dawg; the Englishman calls a 
 young bovine a calf, while the ranchman maintains that it is 
 a calf. In one region of the United States every one says 
 bucket; in another, pail. I carry a pocketbook, the New Eng- 
 lander a wallet. The city man goes to church, his country 
 cousin goes to meeting. I attended a Sabbath-school when a 
 boy, my children go to Sunday-school. Whether one whistles 
 a tune, a tyune, or a tschune, all depends upon who his neigh- 
 bors are. Slang phrases, catchy expressions, or popular songs 
 are caught up by the special circle to which they appeal ; they 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 221 
 
 are dinned into everybody's ears, and finally resound from the 
 lips of all who have been made listeners, willing or unwilling. 
 How many of us have felt chagrined on catching ourselves 
 humming some meaningless nickeldom melody, or using the 
 latest slang expressions ? 
 
 Manners and customs are products of imitation. Thou- 
 sands of our everyday matters of etiquette no longer have any 
 reason back of their performance. Though they may have 
 originated in some rational way that has long since disap- 
 peared, they are now perpetuated solely through imitation. 
 For example, the people of many nations shake one another's 
 hands on meeting; but those from some countries shake their 
 own hands. Americans and Englishmen say "How do you 
 do?" the German, "How goes it?" American men lift their 
 hats to a lady; the German is more apt to do so on meeting a 
 man. With Caucasians, black is an emblem of mourning; 
 among the Chinese, white performs the same service. 
 
 Fashions in dress are created and perpetuated through imi- 
 tation. Were it not so, scores of hideous, unbecoming, unhy- 
 gienic fashions could never have been launched. Desirable 
 fashions are maintained in the same manner. There must be 
 leaders who will be aped in all they do to set the ball rolling. 
 Their devotees pay homage by immediate adoption. Metro- 
 politan milliners, dressmakers, and tailors know that to insure 
 changes of fashion all they need to do is to induce some leader 
 to appear in a new style, and the fashion is launched. This is 
 a usual method of stimulating trade. Psychical laws are the 
 most potent factors in economics. A history of furniture re- 
 veals characteristic styles prevailing often for centuries. But 
 within the memory of every adult the styles in furniture have 
 changed at least three distinct times. In dress, at least half 
 a dozen special epochs may be traced through the last quarter- 
 century, besides a semiannual upheaval in minor matters. 
 One should enjoy his Flemish oak and his mission patterns as 
 fully as possible to-day, for to-morrow they will be sought out 
 by relic-hunters. The sixteenth-century style was reopened 
 to the sunlight for a day at the close of the nineteenth century, 
 
22 2 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 and shut away for another cycle to proclaim it the only style 
 worth possessing. 
 
 Dramatic Imitation. — One of the important elements of dra- 
 matic representation is the imitative. Through suggestion an 
 idea is received and its representation is carried out with more 
 or less fidelity. In children the impersonated self often be- 
 comes so real as temporarily to supplant the usual self. James 
 writes {Principles of Psychology, II, p. 409): 
 
 For a few months in one of my children's third year, he literally 
 hardly ever appeared in his own person. It was always "Play I'm 
 So-and-So, and you are So-and-So, and the chair is such a thing, and 
 then we'll do this or that." If you called him by his name, H., you 
 invariably got the reply, "I'm not H., I'm a hyena, or a horse-car," 
 or whatever the feigned object might be. He outwore the impulse 
 after a time; but while it lasted, it had every appearance of being the 
 automatic result of ideas, often suggested by perceptions, working out 
 irresistible motor effects. 
 
 Sully tells us that children, when pretending to live another 
 life, frequently resent any intrusion that seems to contradict 
 the harmony of the simulated world. He relates that "a little 
 girl of 4 was playing 'shop' with her younger sister. 'The 
 elder one' (writes the mother) 'was shopman at the time I 
 came into her room and kissed her. She broke out into pite- 
 ous sobs. I could not understand why. At last she sobbed 
 out: "Mother, you never kiss the man in the shop." I had 
 with my kiss quite spoilt her illusion.'" 
 
 Following the Crowd. — The world is full of everyday illus- 
 trations of following the crowd. Commercial panics are good 
 examples of the force of wholesale imitation. Let it be ru- 
 mored that there is a run on the bank. If a neighbor is known 
 to have withdrawn deposits, a dozen will follow his example, 
 and immediately a stampede is precipitated. At a fire one 
 giddy, emotional individual can cause the multitude to in- 
 dulge in a mad, frenzied rush, while a calm, phlegmatic tem- 
 perament assuming generalship can quiet the turbulence and 
 lead the unstable throng to safety. Because of suggestibility 
 and imitation we have such phenomena as the Crusades, 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 223 
 
 witchcraft, the Dutch tuHp craze, and the Mississippi Bubble. 
 
 Imitation is rife in pohtics. The majority of men vote the 
 party ticket of their fathers. Few come to fixed, independent 
 beHefs through reflection and deliberation. Men often believe 
 themselves original thinkers, but even college-bred men vote 
 largely as their fathers did. Deahl made an investigation 
 which, though in a somewhat limited field, confirms casual 
 observations. He found that out of fifty men selected from 
 among college graduates, and many of them college professors, 
 84 per cent voted the same ticket as their fathers voted. Could 
 a promiscuous canvass of the less well educated be secured, the 
 percentage would probably be even larger. 
 
 Imitation in the Fine Arts. — Although the products of the 
 fine arts are not mere copies, they are, nevertheless, imitative. 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds says: **Our art is not a divine gift, neither 
 is it a mechanical trade." Even though an artist does not 
 copy other works of art, he must go to nature for her innumer- 
 able forms. Goethe writes: "The artist must hold to nature, 
 imitate her. He must choose the best out of the good before 
 him." Art has gradually developed by slowly accumulating 
 imitative accretions. Visit the famous art galleries and study 
 the art of schools or periods. To the novice the sameness in 
 a given school or period is more striking than the differences. 
 The individual variations which the connoisseur recognizes as 
 originality and marks of genius are very real and very great 
 to the critical eye, but they are apt to be overlooked by the 
 multitude. 
 
 Deahl writes: 
 
 The fundamental principle in any school of art or of literature is 
 imitation. Among the master artists it is selective, intelligent, often 
 unconscious imitation. Among the second or third rate artists imita- 
 tion is the cause of similarity, but is a less-intelligent, a more-mechani- 
 cal kind of imitation; it approaches nearer to what we term copying. 
 {Imitation in Education, p. 31.) 
 
 Before the artist exhibits great originality he must spend 
 years in imitating — either nature or the products of other art- 
 
2 24 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 ists. This in no wise implies mere copying. It means that 
 the great works should be studied, the principles mastered, the 
 ideas absorbed, and new inspiration developed out of them. 
 It is said that William M. Hunt, one of America's eminent art- 
 ists, advised continued study of the best works of art. "You 
 must set yourself ahead by studying fine things. I've told you 
 over and over again whose works to draw — Michael Angelo, 
 Raphael, Diirer, Holbein, Mantegna. Get hold of something 
 of theirs. Hang it up in your room, trace it, copy it, draw it 
 from memory over and over, until you own it as your own 
 'Casabianca' and 'Mary had a Little Lamb.'" (Quoted by 
 Deahl, op. cit., p. 29.) 
 
 Imitation in Literature. — Although imitations are not so 
 easily traceable in literary productions, yet a critical study of 
 many of the masterpieces will disclose the effects of suggestion, 
 at least. Longfellow's "Hiawatha," as is well known, has a 
 prototype in the Finnish poem "Kalevala." Longfellow can- 
 not be said to have copied it from " Kalevala," but he received 
 very definite suggestions as to both form and content. Chau- 
 cer was doubtless much indebted to Boccaccio for suggestions 
 which were utilized in The Canterbury Tales. Most of Shake- 
 speare's plots were not absolutely original with him. Carlyle's 
 Sartor Resartus is plainly of German origin. Rabelais, while 
 imitating the Greeks, afforded suggestions for many who fol- 
 lowed him. Many incidents similar to those in Don Quixote, 
 Robinson Crusoe, and Gulliver's Travels under other names and 
 bearing the imprint of other pens, are said to have delighted 
 many, even centuries ago. To assert these facts is in no wise 
 to discredit the authors. To be able to imitate and give in 
 addition the creative touch of a new whole is evidence of 
 genius. The majority either copy blindly and poorly without 
 deviation or advance, or they do not see what is worth while 
 to imitate. Without making use of what has been wrought 
 and giving it a new turn, the world would remain at a stand- 
 still. To imitate is no sign of weakness. "When a writer 
 improves what he imitates, he does well ; but when he fails to 
 add beauty, we condemn him. New fight, or grace, or charm 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 225 
 
 must be given. In the progress of the mind, in all depart- 
 ments of literature, we find imitation, the most palpable in 
 the books we most admire." (Deahl, op. cit., p. 33.) 
 
 Educational Value of Imitation. — Every teacher ought to 
 understand the great importance of imitation. Up to the 
 time the child has entered school a very large proportion of 
 its knowledge has been gained and retained in a purely imita- 
 tive way. If pupils imitate, the great educational question is 
 how to select wisely copy that is worthy of imitation. Sev- 
 eral of the ancient writers on education realized the impor- 
 tance of imitation in education. Plato shows its value in 
 learning language, music, painting, science, dancing, literary 
 style, and also in formation of character. Xenophon believed 
 that the most effective way of teaching behavior and manners 
 is through imitation. Aristotle cautions against leaving chil- 
 dren much with slaves, and also urges us to be careful what 
 stories children hear. Many Greeks are known to have been 
 solicitous that their children should mingle with those who 
 spoke pure Greek. Plutarch urged in his essay on The Train- 
 ing of Children that they should be shielded "lest, being con- 
 stantly used to converse with persons of barbarous language 
 and all evil manners, they receive corrupt tinctures from them. 
 For it is a true proverb, ' that if you live with a lame man you 
 will learn to halt.'" Quintilian would insist that the nurse 
 have a good moral character and that she should "also speak 
 with propriety. Let the child not be accustomed, therefore, 
 even while he is yet an infant, to phraseology which must be 
 unlearned." 
 
 Imitation in Language Education. — Think what it means to 
 learn to talk ! A grown person would give a great deal to 
 learn to speak a foreign language correctly in a few years. 
 The child at 5 or 6 years has gained almost perfect com- 
 mand of the oral expression of all his thoughts. Of course his 
 ideas and his vocabulary are limited, but his expression is 
 almost perfect within his limited range. At this age the num- 
 ber of words is not so small, either, as one might suppose. 
 An average child of 6 years brought up in a good home pos- 
 
2 26 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 sesses a usable vocabulary of a couple thousand words. He 
 understands nearly double that many. An adult often spends . 
 years of painfully conscious labor in acquiring the vocabulary 
 of a foreign language. Not only does imitation determine 
 whether the child is to speak English, German, French, Ice- 
 landic, Choctaw, or Siamese, but the vocabulary, the inflec- 
 tion, to some extent tone, rapidity, order of words, choice of 
 illustrations, are also matters of imitation. 
 
 It is easy to recognize the role played by imitation in the 
 first years of childish attempts to master the mother tongue. 
 Children learn through imitation to clip their words, to intone 
 them clearly, to talk in monosyllables, or to drawl. The boy 
 when asked why he drawled his words replied : " Mother drawls 
 her'n." The deaf child, unable to imitate the speech of his 
 fellows, remains mute (unless he learns lip or throat reading). 
 The child that lives in a home where correct language is spoken 
 and who hears good language among his playmates will speak 
 correctly, barring a few inaccuracies resulting from irregulari- 
 ties in the structure of the language. He will learn to syllabi- 
 cate properly, utter words distinctly, and to give correct em- 
 phasis to his expressions. The teaching of language in the 
 schools is often rendered difficult because children have so 
 much to unlearn. Years of imitation of undesirable models 
 counteract efforts in the right direction. 
 
 In all language acquisition of the child the most important 
 factor is imitation — at first unstudied and purely absorptive, 
 and gradually becoming conscious and purposive. At first the 
 all-important thing is to have the child hear only the purest 
 of speech. He will then re-echo exactly as he has heard. 
 Later he should not only hear pure speech, but he should be- 
 come saturated with the forms of the choicest diction expressed 
 in literature. Gradually the beauty of forms of expression in 
 literature should be brought to his consciousness in order that 
 he may rise from the stage of reflex imitation to the higher, 
 studied, idealistic stage. The primary consideration, how- 
 ever, is so to pre-empt the mind with the choicest form and 
 content in literature that spontaneous expression of a similar 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 227 
 
 nature will follow necessarily as a result of the laws of ideo- 
 motor action. 
 
 Properly guarded, even definitely studied imitative repro- 
 duction of the best models is of great assistance in acquiring 
 ideal habits of expression. Occasionally when a pupil has 
 read a piece of literature it is well to have him reproduce it 
 with all the imitativeness he can command. For what other 
 purpose has he studied than to make the thought and art his 
 own ? So long as the art has become integrated into his own 
 style and is not a borrowed garment put on for the occasion, 
 there is no danger. A careful distinction must, of course, be 
 kept in mind between proper imitation and mere copying. 
 Spontaneity and naturalness are prime desiderata, and are not 
 sacrificed if the language work is made a matter of assimila- 
 tion and not one of mechanical memory. The models for 
 studied imitation should also be varied and none long con- 
 tinued. The place and meaning of imitation which are here 
 desired to be emphasized are well illustrated in many of the 
 present-day books on composition, in which the basis of com- 
 position work is to be the study of the choicest literary models 
 of the various forms of composition. 
 
 Chubb says: 
 
 Children learn their native tongue by imitation; and imitation con- 
 tinues to be, throughout the school course, the chief factor in language 
 work. The rules of grammar and rhetorical precept are later and 
 comparatively unimportant means to the end sought. Of models, the 
 most influential is the teacher herself; the influence of book models is 
 heavily discounted if the teacher's own practice is not exemplary and 
 winning. And by example we mean, first and foremost, oral example. 
 {The Teaching of English, p. 374.) 
 
 He further says: 
 
 Children should learn to write as they learn to swim — by watchmg 
 and imitating others; by trying under the lead of a model. They 
 develop a feeling and instinct and knack for writing, without which 
 they will never be effective as writers. . . . The child or youth who 
 writes well is he who feels that he has something to say, wants to say 
 
2 28 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 it, and to say it well — to make his point. He naturally falls back, 
 consciously or unconsciously, upon examples known to him. {Op. cit., 
 p. 3^2.) 
 
 The testimony of some really successful writers concerning 
 their method of learning to write should be valuable. Steven- 
 son writes of imitation; 
 
 That, like it or not, is the way to learn to write. It was so Keats 
 learned, and there never was a finer temperament for literature than 
 Keats's; it is so, if we could trace it out, that all men have learned. 
 Perhaps I hear some one cry out: "But that is not the way to be origi- 
 nal !" It is not; nor is there any way but to be born so. Nor yet, if 
 you are born original, is there anything in this training that shall clip 
 the wings of your originality. There can be no one more original than 
 Montaigne, neither could any be more unlike Cicero ; yet no craftsman 
 can fail to see how much the one in his own time tried to imitate the 
 other. Burns is the very type of a prime force in letters; he was of all 
 men the most imitative. Shakespeare himself, the imperial, proceeds 
 directly from a school. Nor is there anything here that should aston- 
 ish the considerate. Before he can tell what cadences he truly prefers, 
 the student should have tried all that are possible; before he can choose 
 and preserve a fitting key of words, he should long have practised the 
 literary scales — and it is the great point of these imitations that there 
 still shines beyond the student's reach his inimitable model. 
 
 Stevenson further says: 
 
 Whenever I read a book or passage that particularly pleased me, I 
 must sit down at once and set myself to imitate that quality of pro- 
 priety or conspicuous force or happy distinction in style. I was un- 
 successful and I knew it, but I got some practice in these vain bouts 
 in rhythm, in harmony, in construction, and in co-ordination of parts. 
 I have thus played the sedulous ape to Hazhtt, to Lamb, to Words- 
 worth, to Browne, to De Foe, to Hawthorne, to Montaigne, to Baude- 
 laire, and to Obermann. (Stevenson, Memories and Portraits , p. 55.) 
 
 Franklin's early reading gave him a bias toward dogmatic 
 disputation. This was later overcome by imitation of a dif- 
 ferent style. He found himself lacking "in elegance of ex- 
 pression, in method, and in perspicuity." He then came 
 across a volume of the Spectator ^ which he says: 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 229 
 
 I read it over and over and was much delighted with it. I thought 
 the writing was excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With 
 that view I took some of the papers, and making short hints of the sen- 
 timents in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without 
 looking at the work, tried to complete the papers again by expressing 
 each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed 
 before in suitable words that should occur to me. Then I compared 
 my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and cor- 
 rected them. 
 
 To acquire a stock of words and a readiness in recollection 
 and use of them he "took some of the tales in the Spectator 
 and turned them into verse; and after a time, when I had 
 pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again." 
 
 Whom Do Children Imitate ? — The fact that children im- 
 itate other children more than adults can be scientifically 
 explained. Imitation, as shown before, is fundamentally a rep- 
 etition of one's own previous experience. Therefore one can- 
 not Imitate the experiences of others when they have not been 
 realized as a part of one's own previous experience. This does 
 not mean that they have been realized In their entirety, but 
 at least In their elements. The child, therefore, Imitates ac- 
 tions of others that he can understand. If he observes actions 
 which have no meaning to him, there Is no tendency to Imitate 
 them. 
 
 The boy follows the leadership of the livery-stable hand, the 
 corner loafer, or the bandit rather than the leadership of 
 George Washington, because the former are comprehended 
 through experiences acquired through the natural expression 
 of his own instinctive tendencies. The latter Is not copied 
 because too remote from his every-day thinking and experi- 
 ence. 
 
 Adolescent Imitation. — Imitation Is usually considered to 
 be a dominant characteristic of early childhood, but Is not 
 regarded as of much significance in youth and adult life. As 
 a matter of fact, Imitation Is as determinative of conduct In 
 youth as In childhood. The types of Imitation are not the 
 same at the different ages. The child's imitation Is of the 
 automatic type; the youth's selective, deliberate, and studied. 
 
230 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 The youth is more idealistic than the child, and his ideals de- 
 velop into conduct. The youth is constantly studying and 
 selecting models from people about him in active life, and also 
 from his reading. What boy has not run chasing the ball for 
 the big fellows until ready to drop from exhaustion? How 
 many boys have not been beguiled by some unscrupulous, 
 though to them fascinating, bully into doing things which 
 would horrify their parents and later themselves, simply to 
 meet the approval of their hero ? 
 
 Were youth not purblind in their hero-worship, no boy 
 would repeat the deathly sickness of his first smoke simply to 
 project himself into his ideal world. No college freshman 
 would don a fool's cap, a dress suit, or a clown's garb and 
 labor six hours rolling a peanut through the main street of 
 the town, appear at chapel in chains, in class in paint more 
 hideous than the South Sea Islanders, or the thousand and 
 one equally inane things, so lacking in fun for adults that 
 even the street-laborers will not turn their heads to look. We 
 should not bewail such actions nor pronounce censure, but we 
 should understand the mental attitude. Those are perfectly 
 normal states for those ages, and will be moulted in due time. 
 
 College government largely depends upon the sentiment 
 espoused by the students themselves. Faculty rules are in- 
 significant in comparison with the laws enunciated by the 
 leaders of the classes. High-school pupils, though not so 
 assertive, idealize and idolize even more blindly. What is 
 more suggestive of the cataleptic trance than the high-school 
 boy in love, especially with some one old enough to be his 
 mother ? 
 
 Because of this blind and excessive fidelity to a course of 
 life once assumed, it behooves the guardians of youth to pro- 
 vide desirable copy for the youth to imitate. Many a youth's 
 aim has been low through life simply because he has too early 
 idolized unworthy copy. It is highly important that boys and 
 girls both see something of the world outside their own cir- 
 cumscribed community before developing too fixedly their 
 ideals of life-work and especially of life companions. Savon- 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 231 
 
 arola was saved to the world for a monumental work because 
 the ignorant shepherdess rejected his suit when he was a cal- 
 low youth. His wanderings caused by his fancied dejection 
 gave him an enlarged horizon and higher ideals. 
 
 To get an idea of imitation among adolescents, one needs 
 only to observe any adolescent boys or girls with whom he 
 may come in contact — their behavior in general, in school, 
 their manner of reciting in the classroom, their actions on the 
 street, in the home, at church, at a party, in any situation 
 where groups are thrown together. I have frequently watched 
 a group of high-school pupils on their way to school, and have 
 noted the same fashions in dress, in wearing the hair, and in 
 slang expressions. If one wears an overcoat, it is because the 
 rest do, not because necessary; if one carries an umbrella, all 
 must do so. Sometimes all ride in the street-car; at other 
 times every one walks and one would scorn to ride. Just now 
 all carry their lunches in a crumpled paper sack folded in an 
 approved fashion and carried in a certain way. One would 
 stay out of school rather than carry a neat lunch-box. The 
 songs they sing, the phrases they use, the movies they attend, 
 the shows they praise or taboo, the popular football heroes 
 they acclaim, the things they approve or decry, all are largely 
 the product of unstudied imitation which they have caught 
 from the crowd. 
 
 It is usually believed that children imitate their elders, but 
 a moment's consideration shows this to be a superficial ob- 
 servation. Whom do the high-schoolers imitate in their 
 dress, their speech, their attitudes, and their prejudices? 
 Whom do the college freshmen copy? There is certainly a 
 wide distance between the dress of the freshman and the pro- 
 fessor. In the ideals espoused, the conduct followed, who are 
 their patterns? One who knows a college campus or class- 
 room is not misled into the wrong answer. The youth's every- 
 day associates are the ones that slowly but surely determine 
 his actions, his habits, his ideals. 
 
 Imitation in Developing Personality. — The teacher needs to 
 observe carefully the effects of varying impressions upon the 
 
232 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 class. Warner tells us: * ''The sight of your movement brings 
 into activity the same combination of nerve-centres as you 
 use. This is one means by which you determine action in 
 the child's brain." Because children are such imitators of 
 each other they unconsciously secure some sort of education. 
 Care must be exercised to exclude undesirable companions, 
 those with either physical, mental, or moral defects. Cases 
 are numerous in which those afflicted with diseases such as 
 St. Vitus's dance (chorea) have caused others to become af- 
 flicted solely through imitation. Stammering, hysterics, and 
 even ordinary fright become epidemic. Children possessing 
 tendencies toward excitability and overmobility should be 
 with children having good self-control. By imitation of these 
 latter the pathological tendencies may disappear. Yawning, 
 gaping, coughing, restlessness may become infectious in a 
 class. Every word, gesture, peculiarity of walk, facial ex- 
 pression, intonation of voice, are certain to be absorbed and 
 unconsciously or purposely represented in action. Thus hab- 
 its of language become universalized in a school or commu- 
 nity, a certain type of manner becomes typical of a school, 
 certain methods of study and recitation often characterize a 
 system or schools. In one place recitations are clear-cut, in- 
 telligently rendered, while in another school they are always 
 disconnected, mumbled, and indistinct, and rendered with no 
 apparent pride. Even an excellent teacher cannot model 
 things to his own liking if the custom does not sanction his 
 way. A splendid teacher once failed in a country school be- 
 cause he insisted on having boys remove their hats during 
 the recess while in the schoolroom. Each one simply imi- 
 tated a prevailing custom, and they rebelled against any de- 
 viation. Put the most obstinate of those boys in a school 
 where custom dictated baring the head indoors, and see how 
 quickly he would uncover, with never a word of opposition. 
 
 Through imitation the child is to absorb many of the most 
 valuable lessons of life. All the elements that go to make up 
 what we term "bearing" or "personaUty" are largely prod- 
 *Mental Faculty, p. 89. 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 233 
 
 ucts of imitation. To a large extent one's character is deter- 
 mined imitatively by the company one keeps. It is fre- 
 quently true that ideals of life and conduct are imitative re- 
 flections more than particular intellectual acquisitions. Emo- 
 tions are especially contagious. Attitudes toward life and 
 its various problems are taken on through inoculation when 
 the reasons therefor are not at all apparent. As nearly all 
 the world's great wrong-doings, resulting in robbery, embez- 
 zlement, drunkenness, poverty, pauperism, vice, divorce, mur- 
 der, and suicide, result from a distorted view of life, duty, and 
 happiness, it becomes highly important to radiate ideals which 
 shall counteract the distorted ones. 
 
 Idealistic Imitation. — Not only do we imitate directly others 
 around us, but we also do many things indirectly because of 
 ideals gained through sermons, lectures, chance remarks, and 
 through reading. We are apt to discount the potency of 
 reading to determine conduct. It is indeed true that much 
 of the youth's reading seems to make little impression upon 
 his conduct. But when we so interpret it we are thinking of 
 immediate responses. It may be that the ideas absorbed to- 
 day will not express themselves to-day, nor to-morrow, nor 
 next week; but they may be the mainspring of action next 
 year or ten years hence. If not inhibited by counter-tenden- 
 cies from opposing ideas, they will inevitably result in conduct 
 that becomes a part of the warp and woof of character itself. 
 The prose poet has said: ''Sow a thought and reap an act; 
 sow an act and reap a habit; sow a habit and reap a character; 
 sow a character and reap a destiny." 
 
 Even long after childhood days ''unconscious education'* 
 is the most influential in shaping destiny. We think of edu- 
 cation as the resultant of studied set lessons, but this is be- 
 cause we are prone to measure education by stereotyped facts 
 that can be displayed on examination days. But the really 
 vital education is that which results in modes of behavior, 
 attitudes, feelings, prejudices, wills, strivings — character. 
 
 Social Responsibilities because of Imitation. — The laws of 
 imitation place great responsibilities upon every individual in 
 
234 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 society. Every one, unless isolated even more than Robinson 
 Crusoe, is a part of somebody's environment. Every action 
 has some influence upon others as well as upon oneself ! 
 Thus is each one his brother's keeper. When we come to 
 understand the influence of others upon us, the influence other 
 children exert upon our children, we shall then be more solici- 
 tous to secure only wholesome, elevating surroundings for our- 
 selves and our children. We shall be almost as deeply con- 
 cerned to educate our neighbors' children properly as we are 
 about our own, for in the widest sense we cannot educate a 
 given individual properly without suitable environment. 
 Every man is a product of the time in which he lives. A great 
 statesman cannot be produced without a great state. A great 
 scholar rarely lives in an unscholarly time or place. There- 
 fore every parent who wishes to educate his children in intel- 
 lectuality, morality, and virtue must seek those conditions as 
 an environment. No one who desires to educate his children 
 properly moves to the slums; no, he moves where culture is 
 highest, not because good teachers are not obtainable for the 
 slum districts, but because of all other contributory factors. 
 While many seek these conditions, few realize their duty in 
 creating them. 
 
 Imitation in School Government. — It has been said that as 
 the teacher so is the school, and no doubt Channing was right 
 when he said that "a boy compelled for six hours a day to see 
 the countenance and hear the voice of a fretful, unkind, hard, 
 or passionate man is placed in a school of vice." But I am 
 inclined to think we overrate the teacher's influence and un- 
 derrate the influence of pupil companions. A study of what 
 children imitate most has revealed to me that children imitate 
 other children, usually those slightly older than themselves, 
 more than they do adults. Let a few children become inter- 
 ested in some new game or play, and it usually spreads over 
 a city. From time to time there are epidemics of playing mar- 
 bles, tops, circus, jack-o'-lanterns, football, baseball, shinny. 
 
 The particular code of honor in a school, the things that 
 are tabooed and the general moral tone of the school also de- 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 235 
 
 pend far more upon the school community than upon the 
 teacher. We send our boys to be educated by the school- 
 master, but the schoolboys educate them. The moral tone of 
 a school Is very much affected by imitation. If a teacher can 
 secure the co-operation of a few real leaders, it does much 
 more to change the moral tone than any amount of lecturing 
 or preaching. Get a few leaders started and the effect spreads 
 like contagion. The teacher must always see to it that the 
 leaders, those whose opinion is deemed important, are on her 
 side. Public opinion is largely the opinion of leaders. This 
 is true in poHtics, and equally true in school circles. This 
 public opinion is a most powerful shibboleth. Let the teach- 
 ers keep the leaders sympathetic. She can then run their 
 opinions into any desired mould. With the leaders enlisted 
 on her side and the cause of right, and school government is 
 an easy affair. The hearts of the multitude cannot be entirely 
 changed all at once. Other counter-influences may be strong, 
 but when once the wide-spread influence of imitation is recog- 
 nized, when it is comprehended that we are to imitate whether 
 we will or not, there will be much more attention paid to the 
 "copy" that is placed or allowed before children. 
 
 It is not a new thing for solicitous parents to try to keep 
 bad and vicious companions away from their children, but 
 they usually think little of the positive effects of good copy. 
 The right kind of playmates for a child in its impressionable 
 years may save many school bills and even doctors' bills. It 
 takes years and many schoolmasters to teach what ought to 
 have been gained silently, surely, unthinkingly from right sur- 
 roundings, and to help unlearn the undesirable things learned 
 by the same inevitable process. 
 
 Take, for example, the code witn respect to "tattling." 
 While any fair-minded person would denounce the kind of 
 tattling which informs for the selfish satisfaction of getting 
 the other fellow punished, yet not to inform against an enemy 
 to common welfare is to be a silent partner to the crime. This 
 was emphasized during the World War. To be an informer 
 against all enemies of the public is one of the most fundamen- 
 
236 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 tal civic virtues. Yet a foolish misinterpretation of the lit- 
 eral expression has become a false code of honor, fostered in 
 school and perpetuated in civic life. Many shrink from at- 
 tempting to right public abuses because the injury has not 
 become so personal as to be felt. The public business becomes 
 no part of any individual's business. As In school they felt 
 it to be the teacher's business to right evils, they now turn it 
 entirely over to the police, and then grumble at the corrup- 
 tion in public affairs. One can be a flagrant sinner "by mind- 
 ing his own business." There are sins of omission as well as 
 of commission. Our greatest civic sin is neglect of the pub- 
 lic weal. While we fold our hands, stop our ears, and blind 
 our eyes the council barters away the franchise, the sheriff 
 pockets his usurious fees, the tax-collector keeps all that sticks 
 to his fingers, the money kings hide their taxable property, 
 the corporations swindle the patient public, and the patent- 
 medicine man saps the life and vigor from the commonwealth. 
 We know^ all these things are going on, but we believe in 
 "minding our own business." Children must be taught in 
 school that one who permits without protest any wrongs 
 against the welfare of the school Is a public malefactor. 
 
 Nearly all the rules, regulations, and machinery of govern- 
 ment in school are In point of importance and efficiency of 
 minor worth when compared with the public opinion of the 
 school. The school Is what its pupils sanction. The teacher 
 who succeeds In Inculcating In the pupils' minds high ideals of 
 the relations the pupils should bear toward the school will 
 have no difficulty in government. Many schools, regrettably, 
 have never glimpsed true ideals of these relations, because the 
 narrow teachers themselves have not comprehended them. 
 The teacher who comports himself as a policeman and detec- 
 tive is surely imitated In his ideals, and usually plays a sorry 
 game. 
 
 We hear much about self-government In schools. The ten- 
 dency is to evolve a complex system of machinery whereby 
 the pupils may themselves enact and execute laws and even 
 punish offenders for their infraction. No system of school 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 237 
 
 governmental machinery, however, can secure self-govern- 
 ment of itself. The only secret worth striving to discover is 
 that of securing a feeling of mutual ownership of the school. 
 That secured, the machinery is rendered largely unnecessary. 
 Pupils are too apt to feel no sense of partnership in the school 
 and no sense of responsibility for its good name. School pub- 
 lic opinion has thrown the whole responsibility upon the 
 teachers, and instead of feeling happy in the success of the 
 school the pupils have even felt a secret delight in the failure 
 of what is to them some one else's affair. False codes of honor 
 are by no means uncommon. Many a boy who would sooner 
 cut off his right hand than inform the authorities of offenses 
 against their mutual welfare would not hesitate to "crib" 
 from his neighbors on examination. No teacher can abolish 
 cribbing, hazing, or bullying by an edict, but once let him 
 create a public opinion against it, and woe to the offender. 
 Even little children will often commit flagrant disobedience 
 of parents' commands rather than disregard the mandates of 
 the public opinion of their own circle. 
 
 We are told that Mrs. Jacob A. Riis was a past master in 
 utilizing imitation in reforming gangs of hoodlums in New 
 York and Brooklyn. She would go to the leaders of the gangs, 
 who might have their rendezvous under the sidewalks or in 
 back-alley shacks, and say to the leaders: "I would like to 
 come to your meetings and become a member of your club." 
 Because of her winning, magnetic personality, they would 
 allow her to go. She would enlist the help of the leader, who 
 forthwith became her valiant knight, vowing vengeance upon 
 any who did anything to displease his heroine. The crowd 
 would then all swear allegiance to their leader. 
 
 Public Opinion among Boys. — William Dean Howells has 
 glimpsed the unseen force of public opinion which reigns In 
 the boy's world and has given us a delightful picture of it in 
 A Boy's Town. He writes: 
 
 Everywhere and always the world of boys is outside of the laws that 
 govern grown-up communities, and it has its unwritten usages, which 
 are handed down from old to young, and perpetuated on the same 
 
238 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 level of years, and are lived into and lived out of, but are binding, 
 through all personal vicissitudes, upon the great body of boys between 
 6 and 1 2 years old. No boy can violate them without losing his stand- 
 ing among the other boys. ... He must do this, and must not do 
 that; he obeys, but he does not know why, any more than the far- 
 off savages from whom his customs seem mostly to have come. . . . 
 There were some things so base that a boy could not do them; and 
 what happened out-of-doors, and strictly within the boy's world, had 
 to be kept sacredly secret among the boys. For instance, if you had 
 been beguiled, as a little boy, into being the last in the game of snap- 
 the-whip, and the snap sent you rolling head over heels on the hard 
 ground, and skinned your nose and tore your trousers, you could cry 
 from the pain without disgrace, and some of the fellows would come 
 up and try to comfort you; but you were bound in honor not to appeal 
 to the teacher, and you were expected to use every device to get the 
 blood off you before you went in, and to hide the tear in your trousers. 
 Of course, the tear and the blood could not be kept from the anxious 
 eyes at home, but even there you were expected not to say just what 
 boys did it. 
 
 They were by no means the worst boys who did such things, but 
 only the most thoughtless. StiU, there was a public opinion in the 
 Boy's Town which ruled out certain tricks, and gave the boys who 
 played them the name of being ''mean." One of these was boring a 
 hole in the edge of your school-desk to meet a shaft sunk from the top, 
 which you filled with slate-pencil dust. Then, if you were that kind 
 of a boy, you got some little chap to put his eye close to the shaft, with 
 the hope of seeing Niagara Falls, and set your lips to the hole in the 
 edge, and blew his eye full of pencil-dust. This was mean; and it was 
 also mean to get some unsuspecting child to close the end of an elder- 
 wood tube with his thumb, and look hard at you, while you showed him 
 Germany. You did this by pulling a string below the tube, and run- 
 ning a needle into his thumb. My boy discovered Germany in this 
 way long before he had any geographical or political conception of it. 
 
 I do not know why, if these abominable cruelties were thought mean, 
 it was held lawful to cover a stone with dust and get a boy, not in 
 the secret, to kick the pile over with his bare foot. It was perfectly 
 good form, also, to get a boy, if you could, to shut his eyes, and then 
 lead him into a mud-puddle or a thicket of briers or nettles, or to fool 
 him in any heartless way, such as promising to pump easy when he 
 put his mouth to the pump-spout, and then coming down on the pump- 
 handle with a rush that flooded him with water and sent him off blow- 
 ing the tide from his nostrils like a whale. Perhaps these things were 
 permitted because the sight of the victim's suffering was so funny. 
 Half the pleasure in fighting wasps or bumblebees was in killing them 
 
LEARNING THROUGH IMITATION 239 
 
 and destroying their nests; the other half was in seeing the fellows get 
 stung. If you could fool a fellow into a mass-meeting of bumblebees, 
 and see him lead them off in a steeplechase, it was right and fair to do 
 so. But there were other cases in which deceit was not allowable. 
 For instance, if you appeared on the playground with an apple, and 
 all the boys came whooping around, "You know me, Jimmy!" ''You 
 know your uncle !" ''You know your grandfather ! " and you began to 
 sell out bites at three pins for a lady-bite and six pins for a hog-bite, 
 and a boy bought a lady-bite and then took a hog-bite, he was held in 
 contempt, and could by no means pass it off for a good joke on you; it 
 was considered mean. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Distinguish between conscious, purposive imitation and reflex imita- 
 tion. 2. Think of some habits you have acquired by intentionally imitat- 
 ing some one else. 3. Think of some habits you have "picked up" unin- 
 tentionally (a) by accidentally imitating yourself and {h) by accidentally 
 imitating others. 4. In which manner have you acquired the largest fund 
 of habits? 5. Analyze the place of imitation in learning handwriting. 
 (Be sure to recognize the place of autoimitation in the process.) 6. To 
 what extent may imitation be employed in teaching (a) foreign languages, 
 {h) composition, (c) drawing ? 7. Show the place of imitation in our every- 
 day thinking. 8. Have you noticed the effects of imitation in creating a 
 school atmosphere? 9. Of what value is imitation as a means of promot- 
 ing school government? 10. Notice boys and girls in school and on the 
 way to school. Note several things they imitate very slavishly. 11. 
 Have you ever observed any "propaganda" of any kind, good or bad, 
 spread just to cause people to imitate an attitude of mind? 12. What 
 agencies are most powerful in securing imitation and creating public 
 Whom do children imitate most? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XVI. 
 
 2. Tanner, The Child: His Thinking, Feeling, and Doing, chap. XV. 
 
 3. O'Shea, Dynamic Factors in Education, chaps. VI, VII. 
 
 4. Baldwin, Mental Development, chaps. IX, X, XI, XII. 
 
 5. Norsworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood. See Index. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 
 
 Popular Meaning of Imagination. — While the imagination 
 may be concerned with the creation of air-castles, its most 
 fundamental process consists in repicturing objects which have 
 been actually perceived through the senses. According to the 
 popular meaning, imagination means fancy, thinking of things 
 that do not actually exist. We sometimes indulge in day- 
 dreams in which we allow the mind to wander unchecked from 
 one fanciful idea to another. Sometimes we experience illu- 
 sions in which we fancy that we see, hear, or feel something 
 which in reality had no existence. Again our memories often 
 play us tricks causing us to think that we have had certain 
 experiences when we have not. In all of these illustrations 
 we speak of the mental states as cases of imagination. This 
 will pass very well for very general meanings of imagination, 
 but for educational purposes we need a much more accurate, 
 scientific definition. 
 
 Scientific Meaning of Imagination. — Look at your pencil, 
 touch it, or allow it to drop on the floor. While you see it, 
 touch it, or hear it, you are at that moment perceiving it or 
 receiving a percept of it. Look away from the pencil and 
 you now have a picture of it. See if you can represent the 
 sound of it as it fell to the floor; the weight of it as it lay in 
 the hand; or the smell and taste of the cedar-wood. See if 
 you can recall definitely the appearance of a silver dollar. See 
 if you can hear it ring as it is dropped on the table. These 
 revived pictures of the sight, sound, taste, weight are not per- 
 cepts because the objects are not present to any of the senses. 
 They are copies of the percepts. They are termed images. 
 Hence the definition : Images are copies of percepts. And the 
 process of imagination should then be defined as follows: 
 
 240 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 241 
 
 Imagination is the process of forming images. Titchener says 
 {Primer of Psychology, p. 201): 
 
 Imagination is imaging. And imaging a thing is thinking of it in 
 kind: a tree is imaged by a visual idea, a piano note by an idea of 
 hearing, running to catch a train by a tactual idea; the ideas are the 
 same in kind as the perceptions which they represent. In this sense, 
 a mind is more or less "imaginative" according as it is better or worse 
 constituted to think of things in kind; and the primitive mind — the 
 mind whose ideas are photographic copies of perceptions — is the most 
 imaginative of all. 
 
 Illustratibns. — Many persons think they imagine clearly, 
 when, in fact, their imagery is very dull, or possibly lacking. 
 Try to picture clearly through visual Imagery your home when 
 away from It; the schoolhouse and the church you attended 
 as a child. See if you can visualize your mother, your father, 
 a distant friend. Which Is clearer, the image of the persons 
 as you have actually seen them, or the Image of some photo- 
 graph of them ? Why ? The following Is a capital test of 
 visual Imagery: Imagine a three-Inch cube. Paint it blue. 
 Imagine it cut Into Inch-cubes. How many cuts were neces- 
 sary ? How many cubes ? How many cubes have no paint ? 
 How many have paint on one side only ? How many have 
 paint on two sides only? On three sides only? On four 
 sides ? Draw from memory the picture of the print of a dog's 
 foot as it appears In the snow or mud. Draw from memory 
 a hen's track. Draw from memory your watch-face. Look 
 for a moment at some unfamiliar wall-paper or decoration, 
 and then turn away and see If you can describe or draw It. 
 
 Try to revive the exact sound of a friend's voice; the sound 
 of the old school-bell; the music of "America" as sung by a 
 chorus, as played on a piano, on a violin, by an orchestra, or 
 by a brass band. Revive the sensations produced by filing a 
 saw, a step on the walk, or the splashing of water. If a prod- 
 uct of imagination, each revival must be specific and con- 
 crete. It is not enough to know that we have heard the 
 music, to feel that we could reproduce It, or to be sure that 
 we should recognize It, If heard. It must be revived In con- 
 
242 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 sciousness so that it is a reproduction of what has actually 
 been experienced in sense-perception. To further test the 
 power of imagery try to image the odor of violets, roses, 
 onions, old books, new-mown hay, or a clover-field. How 
 closely do the images approximate reality? Try to imagine 
 the taste of pickles, coffee, roast beef. Without looking at 
 the hand, see if you can feel a glove upon it. Think of an ant 
 crawling on the back of the neck, or a fly walking over the 
 face. Do the images become so real as sometimes to become 
 confused with actual sensations? How would it feel to bite 
 a rusty nail, to touch a snake or a sand-bur ? 
 
 The student who looks through the microscope, turns 
 away, and draws accurately what he has seen must have a 
 visual image in his mind of what he has seen. The more ac- 
 curately he can represent the object, the more perfect his 
 image. Many never portray well what they have seen be- 
 cause their imagery fades. They are sometimes unjustly ac- 
 cused of not seeing accurately. The child who makes an 
 excursion to the field, forest, or quarry, and on returning re- 
 vives pictures of what he has experienced is imaging, i. e., is 
 employing the imagination. To examine a hydrostatic press, 
 a battery, a Wheatstone's bridge, a clam, a crystal, or a fern, 
 and then to recall exactly what has been seen is to imagine. 
 To Ksten to a note sounded by the director's tuning-fork and 
 then hold it in mind long enough to sound the same is to 
 imagine. To examine the color and texture of a piece of cloth 
 and then to go to the store without the sample and match it 
 is to hold in mind an image — to imagine. 
 
 The musical composer must hear each note as it will sound 
 when executed. He must differentiate the various parts and 
 hear each voice or each instrument as it will appear in the 
 rendition. In singing it is necessary to image the sound be- 
 fore it is produced. Thus a train of imagery runs in advance 
 of the actual rendition. If a discord should be imaged for an 
 instant, that discord would be reproduced. This is just as 
 certain as that when a bicyclist thinks of an obstacle he is 
 certain to steer toward it. The image is held before the mind 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 243 
 
 and largely determines execution. The architect who plans a 
 building must see every part in imagination before he con- 
 structs his drawings. The carpenter who builds without a 
 definite pattern-drawing must see each room, each door, each 
 stairu^ay, each pipe and fixture as they will be arranged, if 
 mistakes are to be avoided. Try some time to imagine a 
 change in the stairway of your house, a change in the roof 
 or the furnace, and note how definitely it must all be imaged. 
 Consider what is necessary before a child can appreciate 
 through full imagery the following: 
 
 "O robin in the cherry-tree, 
 
 I hear you carolling your glee ! 
 The platform where you lightly tread 
 
 Is lighted up with cherries red, 
 And there you sit among the boughs 
 
 Like Patti at the opera-house." 
 
 Relation and Difference between Memory and Imagina- 
 tion. — It will be necessary to distinguish between imagination 
 and memory. As we shall more and more come to appreciate, 
 mental life is a unity, and not made up of entirely separate 
 faculties or powers; hence, memory and imagination will be 
 found to be very closely related forms of mental life. We 
 shall find, moreover, that they overlap each other. In their 
 well-marked higher stages it will not be difficult to distinguish 
 the two, but in indefinite stages they will be found to be in- 
 distinguishable. Distinguishing between memory and imag- 
 ination, between sensation and perception, between intellect 
 and will are much like making exacting distinctions between 
 plants and animals. It is perfectly easy to determine to which 
 kingdoms trees and horses belong, but when we come to 
 sponges and the protozoans the task is more difficult and even 
 baffling. No one can say that a given sensation has no ele- 
 ment of perception in it, nor in a given percept can one en- 
 tirely separate the perceptional element from the sensational. 
 The difference between memory and imagination can perhaps 
 be better felt than expressed. In order to understand the dif- 
 
244 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 ferences each individual must experience them for himself. 
 Certain hints may be given, however, to enable the learner to 
 identify the states in his own consciousness. In memory we 
 recognize the following factors: 
 
 registration \ , ^ 
 
 f ^. > necessary factors, 
 
 retention J 
 
 reproduction 1 
 
 recognition \ possible factors, and present in all complete memory. 
 
 localization J 
 
 In imagination the following factors are to be considered: 
 
 registration ] 
 
 retention \ necessary factors. 
 
 reproduction J 
 
 1 ft* ( possible factors, and present in all complete imagination. 
 
 We can image only individual ideas, not concepts; they can 
 be remembered. Again, memory deals with the past only. 
 Imagination deals with the past, present, or future. One 
 may remember his yesterday's dinner. He may also imagine 
 it. One may imagine the morrow's dinner, but he cannot 
 remember it. He has not experienced it and cannot there- 
 fore recall it. Imagination is simply a more vivid form of 
 recall. As above illustrated, if you can recall or produce in 
 mind an idea of an object so vividly that it seems almost as 
 if the object were present, then you have an image. If it 
 is dim and hazy and indefinite, you have a memory. 
 
 Dream Images and Illusions. — ^The best examples of im- 
 agery come to us in dreams. We see things, hear things, 
 touch things, and even taste and smell things in such a vivid 
 way that they seem real. For the time they are just as vivid 
 as the actual experiences would be. Temporarily we are de- 
 ceived into believing them real. Sometimes similar phenom- 
 ena occur in normal waking life. We imagine we see things, 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 245 
 
 hear sounds, such as voices, or bells, etc. We imagine we feel 
 things when there is no stimulation of the sense-organs. 
 Usually there may be a suggestive factor in some actual sen- 
 sations, but the images that arise are very much stronger than 
 the stimulation would warrant. Children, savages, and su- 
 perstitious people are prone to experience hallucinations upon 
 the suggestion of the slightest stimuli. Darkness and lone- 
 some places heighten the suggestibility. As De Quincey says; 
 **Many children have a power of painting, as it were, upon 
 the darkness all sorts of phantoms." Insanity is little else 
 than a species of disordered imagination. The abnormal 
 mind, possibly through suggestion, sees visions, hears voices, 
 and feels touches, which in a sane condition would not be 
 experienced. 
 
 Types of Imagination. — Viewed from the standpoint of the 
 senses employed, there are as many types of imagination as 
 there are sense-perceptions. When we image in terms of sight 
 we are using visual imagination, when we image in terms of 
 sound we are using auditory imagination. Touch images are 
 in the realm of tactile imagination, taste images in the realm 
 of gustatory imagination. As will be shown in a succeeding 
 paragraph, these powers vary in different individuals. 
 
 From the standpoint of the combination in the product we 
 may speak of imagination as reproductive and productive or 
 constructive. When perceptions are revived exactly as experi- 
 enced, they are reproductive; when recombined into new 
 wholes, productive or constructive. Of course, all construc- 
 tive imagination depends absolutely upon the reproductive. 
 The degree of real constructiveness depends upon the accu- 
 racy of the reproduction of the parts and the consistency and 
 originality of the new whole. Merely recombining with con- 
 sistency of relations does not indicate a high degree of con- 
 structive imagination. Both imagery and real constructive 
 thinking are necessary to real constructive imagination. 
 
 Limitations of the Imagination. — The imagination is limited 
 to the use of materials already in the mind. Sense-perception 
 must furnish the elements, the raw material out of which the 
 
246 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 imaginative product is produced. This is true in the case of 
 the highest creative imagination as well as the lowest form of 
 mechanical combination. It may be stated as a law that no 
 product can he imagined the elements of which have not come 
 through sense-perception. 
 
 Helen Keller, deaf and blind, does not image colors or 
 sounds as normal persons do. Extravagant newspaper stories 
 are told of her marvellous powers of seeing colors through her 
 finger-tips and hearing sounds through her feet. But she does 
 not in reality see colors, hear tones, or even imagine them. 
 She says: "I talk about colors as if they were realities to me, 
 but they are just words." These facts are of much impor- 
 tance in education, for if we wish to have pupils imagine, we 
 must be sure that they have had the sense-perceptions. 
 
 One born bhnd cannot imagine color, nor one born deaf 
 imagine sound. Among the blind it has been found that those 
 who became blind before the age of six or seven never dream 
 of colors, while those deprived of sight at a later age frequently 
 have dreams in which color is a factor. The necessity for 
 sense-elements out of which to construct the new picture is 
 well illustrated in the case of Sir Walter Scott, a writer of 
 most vivid imagination. In a visit with Mr. Morritt, Scott 
 said to his host with reference to some facts which he had 
 given to Scott: '*You have given me materials for a romance; 
 now I want a good robber's cave, and an old church of the 
 right sort." "We rode out," says Mr. Morritt, "and he found 
 what he wanted in the ancient slate quarries of Brignal and 
 the ruined abbey of Eggleston. I observed him noting down 
 even the peculiar little wild flowers and herbs that acciden- 
 tally grew round on the side of a bold crag near his intended 
 cave of Guy Denzil; and could not help saying that, as he 
 was not to be on oath in his work, daisies, violets, and prim- 
 roses would be as poetical as any of the humbler plants he 
 was examining. I laughed, in short, at his scrupulousness; 
 but I understood him when he replied that in nature herself 
 no two scenes were exactly alike, and that whoever copied 
 truly what was before his eyes would possess the same variety 
 in his descriptions, and exhibit apparently an imagination as 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 247 
 
 boundless as the range of nature In the scenes he recorded; 
 whereas whoever trusted to [constructive and not accurate 
 reproductive] imagination would soon find his own mind cir- 
 cumscribed, and contracted to a few favorite images, and the 
 repetition of these would sooner or later produce that very- 
 monotony and barrenness which had always haunted a de- 
 scriptive poetry in the hands of any but the patient worship- 
 pers of truth." (Carpenter, Mental Physiology, p. 492.) 
 
 The foregoing also illustrates the fact that in the best so- 
 called imaginative literature the finest descriptions are more 
 true to life than ideal. The salient characteristics which have 
 been selected for the scene characterized must be true to life. 
 It is said that Scott's characters "are felt by those who are 
 well acquainted with the Scottish life of the past to be so in- 
 tensely natural that every one of them might have been a real 
 character. And the same is true of the best of Dickens's and 
 of Thackeray's imaginary constructions, in which these great 
 humorists have so completely identified themselves, as it 
 were, with the several types they delineated, as to make each 
 of them speak and act as he (or she) would have done in 
 actual life. It is certain, indeed, that most of these (as in 
 Walter Scott's case) are developments of actual types, while 
 those which are purely ideal — the work of the creative rather 
 than of the constructive imagination — lack 'flesh and blood 
 reahty.'" (Carpenter, op. cit., p. 502.) 
 
 Burroughs says of Tennyson: 
 
 A lady told me she was once walking with him in the fields when they 
 came to a spring that bubbled up through shifting sands in a very 
 pretty manner, and Tennyson, in order to see exactly how the spring 
 behaved, got down on his hands and knees and peered a long time 
 into the water. The incident is worth repeating, as showing how in- 
 tently a great poet studies nature. 
 
 After knowing these habits of the great poet, we can read- 
 ily understand why he could pen such an exact simile in the 
 lines 
 
 "arms on which the standing muscle sloped, 
 As slopes a wild brook o'er a little stone, 
 Running too vehemently to break upon it." 
 
248 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Individual Differences. — There are manifestly very great 
 individual differences in the power of imaging. Some pos- 
 sess a good imagination for all classes of sense-percepts, others 
 possess remarkable powers in a certain class, as sight, and still 
 others are almost devoid of any powers of vivid imagery. 
 The classic investigations of Sir Francis Galton for the first 
 time revealed these striking individual differences in mental 
 processes. To the psychologist of to-day the fact that people 
 are incredible about such differences is the strangest thing. 
 That such mental differences exist is no more strange than that 
 some people are tall, some short, or some red-haired and some 
 black-haired. But the popular mind is slow to recognize that 
 mind is the greatest variable in existence. 
 
 Some people are wofully lacking in the power of visualiza- 
 tion. Such persons cannot draw, would not be good archi- 
 tects or designers, can invent nothing, and probably cannot 
 build anything so that the joints and parts fit. They could 
 not make a success of real geometry study. They might mem- 
 orize demonstrations but not fully comprehend them. It fre- 
 quently happens that a boy is a great success in algebraic 
 mathematics and an equal failure in geometric mathematics. 
 Success in the latter demands a high type of visualizing power. 
 Similarly many boys bright in geometry, drawing, and natural 
 science may make signal failures in their music. To achieve 
 success in music requires especial powers of auditory imagery- 
 Successful designers of wall-paper, carpet patterns, furniture, 
 textile patterns, decorations, fresco-painters, milHners, dress- 
 makers, tailors, architects, and inventors must all have good 
 powers of visual imagination. One who possesses special 
 powers of visual imagery should seek an occupation giving 
 opportunity for its employment. 
 
 The possessor of a notably vivid auditory imagination should 
 turn to music, language, or some occupation demanding fine 
 powers of auditory discrimination. No one has ever become 
 a skilled linguist without ability to detect fine shades of sound 
 differences and the power of revival through imagery. The 
 possession of vivid tactile imagery is rare. Frequently it is 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 249 
 
 developed in the blind because of the lack of visual imagery. 
 To be able to revive tactile perceptions accurately is a rare 
 gift. The great surgeon owes his skill largely to this power- 
 Artistic skill in drawing, painting, or sculpture depends much 
 upon tactile imagery. Inventors, architects, and landscape- 
 gardeners owe their success largely to visual imagery. 
 
 The great musical composer must hear every instrument 
 and every voice and every note to be produced by each before 
 he really composes the new production of his imagination. 
 Mossosays: 
 
 An able dramatic writer once told me that when he composes he 
 has to shut himself up in his study because he is obliged to make his 
 characters continually talk aloud. He receives them as if on the 
 stage, shakes hands with them, offers them a chair, follows them in 
 every little gesture, laughs or cries with them, as occasion demands. 
 When he writes, he always hears the voices of his actors. 
 
 Children's Imagination. — Oftentimes children are said to 
 have better imagination than adults. This is true only in re- 
 lation to vividness. While the child's imagination is very 
 vivid, it is very inaccurate. Children's stories are vivid but 
 incoherent. One of the things training should do is to increase 
 accuracy, that is, consistency. 
 
 The child usually possesses vivid imagery, but the images 
 lack accuracy. The child also lacks voluntary control of his 
 images and trains of thought. Consequently, the child's fancy 
 is flitting, incoherent, inconsistent, and ineffective. The child 
 thinks out very fanciful stories, but they would hardly make 
 a consistent piece of fiction. It is only with effort and through 
 training that the adult is able to control thoroughly his imagi- 
 nation. It is erroneous to regard the child's imagination as 
 being better or stronger than that of the adult. The unbridled 
 play of fancy in the child causes his ideas to run riot, and as 
 imagination is so frequently made identical with fancy, his 
 imagination has come to be regarded as stronger than that of 
 the adult. 
 
 Throughout childhood, while sense-perceptions are relatively 
 
250 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 stronger than any other powers, all forms of sense imagery are 
 very vivid. So vivid are the child's imaginations, and so little 
 reflective is he, that illusions are easily created. The child is 
 extremely suggestible, i. e., he easily seizes upon the merest 
 sign and through his vivid imagery builds up creations which 
 would not appear to more mature persons. Careful studies 
 have been made on the suggestibility of children. It has been 
 found that children can be caused to see things, hear things, 
 smell, taste, and touch things that have no objective existence. 
 The word or some sign was sufficient to arouse the brain cen- 
 tre controlling the particular function. (See Maurice H. 
 Small on ''The Suggestibility of Children," Pedagogical Semi- 
 nary, 4: 176-220.) The degree of suggestibility is greatest in 
 the first grade and decreases with age. That is, imaginative 
 products are much more often mistaken for real perceptions 
 in early childhood than in later life. 
 
 This child-world is not a product of creative imagination, 
 but one of reproductive imagination. His world is a reflection 
 of the experiences he has been able to drink in. I have no 
 evidence that there are great flights of fancy in which inex- 
 perienced scenes and situations are marshalled together. The 
 child plays with dolls, and although these often crude objects 
 are imaginatively made instinct with life, yet the child does 
 with them and has them do only what she has seen her mother 
 or the nurse do with the baby. The little mischiefs play 
 school, and in so doing impersonate different individuals. 
 One assumes the role of teacher while the others are pupils. 
 The play pupils (imitating) sit obedient to the dictates of the 
 teacher, with now and then an (imitative) infraction of the 
 rules. They are punished in an approved (imitative) fashion, 
 i. e., in the fashion which the real teacher of their acquaintance 
 punishes. They seldom assume roles not imitative. Sully 
 says that the "impulse to invent imaginary surroundings" is 
 very common. In fact, he denominates all plays which are 
 dominated by the imagination as creative or inventive. 
 Through my own personal observations I am not able to con- 
 firm this position. Moreover, I have failed to find in all of 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 251 
 
 Sully's or Baldwin's examples of imitation any that give evi- 
 dence of much, if any, inventiveness on the part of children. 
 In childish lies we have some inventions for the purpose of 
 avoiding consequences, but during play the child is attempting 
 to mirror truthfully the world as he understands it. To be 
 sure, the child builds perfect products from the crudest mate- 
 rials; a stick or a chair or his own body serve equally well to 
 be transformed into a dashing steed. There are no obstacles 
 between the raw material and the flawless product. His in- 
 ventive powers are little taxed in the transformation. He pic- 
 tures a desired end and presto ! it is secured. 
 
 In playing with her dolls the little girl, though living a life 
 which she knows is make-believe, is a faithful imitator of the 
 mother or nurse. The little mother of four summers is heard 
 to say: "Oh, mercy ! baby must have a clean dress on; but all 
 are in the wash. Does you want your cloak on too ? " When 
 a child harnesses the chairs, calls them horses, and makes 
 himself the driver, he imitates very closely the action of the 
 real driver, whom he has seen. A child who has never seen 
 equestrians will never ride an imaginary broomstick horse. A 
 boy whose father had a lariat and used it in lassoing horses 
 was continually seen with a noosed rope playing at the cap- 
 ture of animals. 
 
 Because of the vivid manner in which children image things, 
 a caution needs to be given against telling the child things 
 which will be magnified into terrorizing objects. All stories 
 of bad man, the bogie, big bear that will catch you, wolves, 
 tramps, robbers, or future punishment, should be religiously 
 avoided. Many children are made timid and retiring through- 
 out Ufe because of injudicious stories of bogie-men and spooks. 
 If the child could understand that they are fiction he would 
 not be troubled, but imagination becomes belief, and often a 
 belief haunts one as a lifelong spectre. Even stories of such 
 harmless and well-disposed genii as Kris Kringle or Santa 
 Claus should be told properly. 
 
 This great activity and vividness of the child's imagination, 
 coupled with the fact that every imagined product deepens im- 
 
252 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 pressions on the brain and in the same way that original per- 
 ceptions do, suggests that this power should contribute much 
 to the education of the child. Not only may intellectual les- 
 sons be reinforced, but we may emphasize if not actually 
 create moral tendencies by stimulating the child's imagination 
 in right directions. Just as bodily health or disease may be 
 induced through the imagination, may we not induce mental 
 health or disease by imaginative stimulation ? Ideas held be- 
 fore the mind tend to result in the corresponding activities, 
 hence the desirability of holding only correct ideas (ideals) 
 before the mind. Harboring immoral imaginations will tend 
 to convert them into beliefs, and we are what we believe. 
 How to control properly the imagination is a question second 
 in importance to no other in the realm of intellectual training. 
 
 What Training Involves. — Training the imagination may 
 concern itself with either the increasing of a power of vivid 
 recall or with the control of the train of imagery into desired 
 channels and thus lead toward the creation of new and original 
 combinations. From the discussion of the psychological 
 meaning of the imagination it can readily be inferred that the 
 key to its training lies in the proper development of sense-per- 
 ception. To formally state it, there are requisite: (i) An op- 
 portunity for abundant sensory experience; (2) judicious gui- 
 dance and direction along proper channels ; (3) sufficient exer- 
 cise in reviving actual experiences; (4) practice in building 
 accurately imaginary pictures painted by another, as in lit- 
 erature, geographical descriptions, etc.; (5) attempts at con- 
 structive imagination. 
 
 A person with a well-developed imagination can repicture 
 clearly, vividly, and accurately a great variety of perceptions 
 which have been gained through personal experiences. He 
 also has the ability to recombine his imagery so as to construct 
 new pictures out of the elements of reproductive images. A 
 well-trained power of imagination enables the possessor in 
 addition to voluntarily hold before the mind any selected 
 images and to exclude others. Through voluntary selection 
 of imagery the trained individual is able to reproduce his im- 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 253 
 
 agery for advantageous consideration and to recombine ele- 
 ments into logical, consistent trains of imagery and thus lead 
 to the construction of new and original combinations. 
 
 Recognition of Individual Differences. — In view of the fact 
 that there are great individual differences in the power of 
 imagery, the question arises whether we should attempt to 
 develop the special talents or supply deficiencies and try to 
 secure equal powers in all directions. Three of the types un- 
 doubtedly have become of greatest importance in our lives. 
 These are the visual, the auditory, and the muscular, and an 
 attempt should be made to secure at least a medium degree of 
 proficiency in reproducing each of these classes of images. 
 The senses of taste and smell are not so absolutely essential, 
 but, however, unless the sense-organs are defective they should 
 receive training, as the pleasures of life may be much enhanced 
 by being able to recall images in terms of these senses. Greater 
 enjoyment may be derived through the normal development 
 of all the kinds of imagination, and the general mental effi- 
 ciency may be increased. 
 
 These individual differences in imagination should be recog- 
 nized in education. The kind of imagination one possesses 
 often determines his success in a given subject of study or in 
 a given occupation in life. The type of imagination possessed 
 by a pupil may also determine his method of studying particu- 
 lar subjects. One child learns spelling best by visualizing, 
 another by auditizing, another by reproducing the ideas in 
 motor terms. One learns best what he reads by reproducing 
 it visually, another by reviving the sound, another by feeling 
 the action of the vocal cords or the muscles involved. I 
 know of two children who took piano lessons. One of them 
 can play from memory without the notes anything once mas- 
 tered; the other must always have the written music, or she 
 cannot reproduce any of the lessons. The first has good audi- 
 tory imagery, the other is very lacking in this type, but de- 
 pends upon visual and motor imagery. 
 
 Imagination in Geography Study. — No subject should be 
 studied merely to give exercise in imagery. The images ac- 
 
254 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 quired should be worth while and imagination should be a 
 means of acquiring a knowledge of the subject. Geography 
 is one of the subjects which can only be acquired accurately 
 through the use of imagination. It is not by taking wild 
 flights of fancy in geography that the imagination is used, 
 but in the definite and accurate revival of experiences gained 
 through sense-perception. 
 
 Let us take a specific example for illustration. Suppose the 
 pupils were studying the port of Seattle. The first step would 
 be to have the pupils visit the municipal docks, terminals, and 
 warehouses. They should see, hear, touch, measure (through 
 walking and climbing) the many things and relations there. 
 They will see immense docks and warehouses with mammoth 
 steamships loading and unloading; a harbor with liners fly- 
 ing flags of every great nation of the globe. They can see the 
 trucks, giant cranes, hear the ceaseless clanking of chains, 
 smell the fishy smell. They may see the cargoes of wheat, 
 cotton, and peanuts, tons of iron, rolls of paper, giant tim- 
 bers, tropical fruits, arctic furs, stacks of shingles, and, in 
 fact, commodities from every corner of the globe. They 
 should observe how these products are stored in the steamers 
 and warehouses, how they are loaded and unloaded, how they 
 are transshipped, etc. All this is in the realm of sense-percep- 
 tion and not imagination. They thus get sense-perceptions. 
 
 On returning to school they should revive all these percepts, 
 giving as exact descriptions as possible. They should see 
 again, hear ag^in, and revive all the manifold experiences just 
 as exactly as possible. This is reproductive imagination. To 
 stimulate these revivals encourage oral discussions and written 
 lessons, have them draw and remake in miniature some of the 
 things they have observed. An abundance of time should be 
 taken for it. Too often pupils observe much and never revive 
 any of the experiences. In that way the benefits are largely 
 lost, for without revival the idea soon becomes vague and 
 hazy. 
 
 The third stage, that of constructive or productive imagina- 
 tion, should not be omitted. They may be asked to revise 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 255 
 
 and rearrange some of the things they observed. For exam- 
 ple, ask if they could rearrange the docks and terminals so as 
 to make loading and unloading handier. Could they suggest 
 new appliances for handling the various commodities? Are 
 the terminals large enough ? Are they of the right construc- 
 tion? Should they be in another part of the city? Where 
 should the railway terminals be ? etc. Keep in mind continu- 
 ally that the constructive imagination as well as the reproduc- 
 tive is absolutely dependent upon previous sensory experi- 
 ences. The essence of imagination does not consist in the 
 rearrangement of materials, but in their revival in the form 
 of images. 
 
 Another good problem for constructive imagination would 
 be to ask the pupils to suggest ways for handling more advan- 
 tageously the congested traffic on ''Second Avenue." Ask 
 them to landscape more artistically their school grounds, some 
 particular city park, etc. 
 
 Everything possible should be done to secure objective illus- 
 tration of as large a fund of facts as possible. Wherever prac- 
 ticable, things should be seen in their natural habitat, plants 
 in the fields, rocks in the ledges, etc. Excursions should be of 
 frequent occurrence in all public schools. The fresh air and 
 exercise are themselves conducive to clear brains and vivid 
 imaginations. Many city children have never seen common 
 domestic farm animals such as the cow, pig, hen, and sheep. 
 Their only ideas have been built up from pictures. Their 
 ideas through this source are so erroneous that many children 
 have thought the cow no larger than a mouse. The pictures 
 were of the same size, why should they not so think ? Excur- 
 sions should include factories, foundries, flouring-mills, paper- 
 mills, tanneries, printing-offices, brick-yards, stone-quarries, 
 water-works, gas-works, electric-lighting plants, railroad de- 
 pots, commission houses, museums, art-galleries, law-courts, 
 legislative halls, caucuses, etc., the particular ones visited de- 
 pending upon the locality. Not infrequently are classes taught 
 about plants, soils, and minerals without a single objective 
 illustration, not seldom do pupils "pass" in the subject of civil 
 
256 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 government without ever having witnessed a single feature 
 discussed. It is still words, words, words ! 
 
 The school museum should also be a prominent feature of 
 every school; in it should be found specimens of forest, field, 
 factory, and trade from home surroundings, and as much as 
 means will allow illustrating the life of other countries. Ex- 
 tended zoological, botanical, and mineralogical cabinets are 
 not usually so educative for children as collections typifying 
 the industrial and social life of people — remember that the 
 people are to be the centre of interest. Children should be 
 encouraged in their natural instincts for making collections. 
 More geography has frequently been learned by a boy through 
 his stamp collection — which his teachers and parents may 
 have ridiculed and tried to destroy — than in all of his hours 
 of formal toil at the subject. Of 229 boys. Doctor G. Stanley 
 Hall found that only 19 had no collections. Thirty- two per 
 cent of these had made collections from nature, and 34 per 
 cent had made postage-stamp collections. The age at which 
 the postage-stamp interest is at its height seems to be from 
 9 to II years of age — just the age when geography is one of 
 the dominant school subjects. 
 
 In studying the geography of foreign countries we must 
 make it concrete, even where not feasible to make it objec- 
 tive. The child should get many details, so that the con- 
 cepts may be full of meaning. In order to secure fulness and 
 concreteness, the text-book will have to be abandoned, or, at 
 any rate, considered as a text, with the context to be supplied. 
 Most books are altogether too condensed. Here is a sample 
 description of the people of Holland as given in a recent geog- 
 raphy: ''The Dutch are an exceedingly thrifty, hard-working 
 people. They succeed in raising good crops of rye, wheat, 
 oats, and other farm produce, and they export cattle, sheep, 
 butter, and cheese." The whole consideration of Holland oc- 
 cupies less than a page, one-fourth of that space being given 
 to two pictures — the best part of the whole description for 
 children. But with the necessary generality of the statement, 
 what could remain in the child's mind except words? 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 257 
 
 In order to get a picture of Holland the pupils should see as 
 many objects from there as are obtainable, and at least see 
 pictures of many other things illustrative of Holland life. In 
 this picture there must be definite imagery of the historic 
 windmills, its ''misty-moisty" climate, the sluggish rivers, 
 flat land — so flat that from a certain tower in Utrecht almost 
 the entire country can be seen; we must image the three great 
 enemies of Holland, the lakes which they drain, the rivers 
 which they imprison, and the great arch-enemy, the sea, which 
 they combat, sometimes successfully, sometimes themselves 
 overwhelmed; we must image the reclaimed acres and the 
 dikes, which nobody has ever described perfectly in words; 
 the alarm-bells; the stage-boats on the canals in summer, and 
 the whole families, from grandsire to grandchildren, on skates 
 in winter; the storks on the roofs, with the traditions which 
 each little Hollander is told concerning these sacred birds; the 
 Dutch fishing-boats, the awkward carts, the housewives scrub- 
 bing the floors; the wooden shoes with silver buckles, the short 
 petticoats and gorgeous head-dresses; the delftware and the 
 naturalistic paintings of Rembrandt, Van de Velde, and Ruys- 
 dael. These and scores of other objects and events must be 
 brought before the pupil so vividly that he projects himself 
 into the scene as an actual witness. This can be accomplished 
 only by presenting many details and in a concrete way. It is 
 only by this means that a proper conceptual idea can arise. 
 To leave out of Dutch life the windmills, the dikes, the storks, 
 and the habits of the people would be like teaching " Hamlet" 
 with Hamlet left out. It is not impossible to teach all the 
 above concretely, either by objects, pictures, or through verbal 
 description which portrays the new scenes in terms of known 
 experiences. 
 
 "Recently I went into a practice school connected with the 
 University of Chicago," wrote President Faunce, ''where I 
 saw the children gathered round a teacher who was reading 
 to them the poem of 'Hiawatha,' and their eyes were wide 
 with wonder. Then they went over into the Field Columbian 
 Museum and saw the materials of Indian life, the tents and 
 
258 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the wampum, the feathers and the moccasins, and all the 
 utensils of the Indian household. Then they returned and 
 modelled in clay an Indian village, with Hiawatha at one end 
 of it, and all over it the marks of the creative imagination." 
 In contrast President Faunce said: "I, too, learned 'Hia- 
 watha,' side by side with Mr. Colburn's ingenuities. I could 
 spell the name of every tree in Hiawatha's forest, but would 
 not have known one of them if I had seen it. I could pro- 
 nounce the name of every beast on the American continent 
 or in Noah's ark, but knew nothing about any one of them." 
 
 Collections of pictures should form a part of the equipment 
 of every geographical classroom. Such collections as are 
 found in many magazines and accompanied by verbal descrip- 
 tion can be easily obtained, and they serve to awaken great 
 interest and to make things real. Photographs can frequently 
 be secured. The stereopticon views are still better. One 
 only needs to watch the crowds going to the "magic-lantern" 
 shows and the moving-picture shows to know the interest that 
 is aroused by views projected upon the screen. Things ap- 
 pear to stand out in three-dimensional space, and perfect illu- 
 sions might almost cause one to mistake the representations 
 for the realities. No one ever obtained much of an idea of a 
 glacier from an ordinary picture and verbal description. But 
 I have seen stereopticon views that almost made one hear the 
 detonation as immense blocks of ice fell into the sea. What 
 complex scenes are we not able to portray vividly to the 
 eye. One only lacks real auditory impressions, and they will 
 be awakened through imaginative representations. Every 
 schoolroom should at least be supplied with a good lantern, 
 and it should be a part of every teacher's equipment to know 
 how to operate it. The moving-picture machine is now so 
 perfect that it is to be hoped the day is not distant when every 
 school shall possess one. 
 
 These perceptual notions should more and more be enriched 
 through the images reproduced from former perceptions. The 
 words of the teacher and descriptive books should also bring 
 often into requisition as large a stock of images as possible. 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 259 
 
 Finally, when a vast array of fundamental notions has been 
 derived through the medium of sense experience, the represen- 
 tations may be stimulated entirely through verbal description. 
 Thus, by the time a pupil is able to read standard literature, 
 it ought to be no longer necessary to resort to objective or pic- 
 torial illustration to convey the pictures delineated by the 
 writer. They ought to be called into being by their verbal 
 symbols. But until the word has received a content based 
 upon experience the word can call up no image. In this higher 
 stage, which is of equal importance with the lower, new pic- 
 tures are created through combination of the pictures sug- 
 gested by the words. 
 
 If geography is taught according to the method suggested, 
 it may become one of the richest subjects in the whole curricu- 
 lum. It need no longer remain "the poor man's study," but 
 one which is rich in basal concepts for almost every other sub- 
 ject. It furnishes most of the fundamental apperceptive con- 
 tent for the material sciences, and dealing as it does with 
 life in all its relations, it furnishes the indispensable prelimi- 
 nary to the understanding of literature, history, commerce, 
 economics, politics, and even education and religion. 
 
 All this, however, deals with sense-perceptions and only be- 
 comes imagination when revived. Definite opportunities for 
 accurate recall should be provided. This will first use repro- 
 ductive imagination. Then recombinations, modifications, 
 and elaborations should be made through productive or con- 
 structive imagination. After the pupils have made observa- 
 tions, gaining definite and accurate sense-perceptions, they 
 should be given an opportunity to revive those experiences as 
 accurately as possible. They should give descriptions, being 
 held to accurate statements of fact. At first they will tend 
 to omit important data or to arrange them in unorganized 
 fashion. Few persons without training observe accurately 
 and report faithfully. Practice under sympathetic, critical 
 guidance will accomplish wonders. It is so much easier to be 
 uncritical that the average mind is exceedingly slovenly in 
 reviewing former perceptions. 
 
26o EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Imagination in Scientific Study. — "Physical investigation, 
 more than anything else besides, helps to teach us the actual 
 value and right use of the imagination," said Sir Benjamin 
 Brodie in an address to the Royal Society. (Quoted by Tyn- 
 dall, Fragments of Science, p. 417.) It is not only important 
 as a means of training, but the sciences themselves could never 
 be profitably pursued without a judicious use of the imagina- 
 tion. The same noted authority says that this power, when 
 "properly controlled by experience and reflection, becomes the 
 noblest attribute of man; the source of poetic genius, the in- 
 strument of discovery in science, without the aid of which 
 Newton would never have invented fluxions, nor Davy have 
 decomposed the earths and alkalies, nor would Columbus have 
 found another continent." 
 
 It needs to be clearly understood that the repicturing of 
 things exactly as they are is the essence of imagination. To 
 look upon a plant and then when it is no longer present to 
 recall its details of root, stem, branches, leaves, color, or shape, 
 is to imagine. To observe a hydrostatic press and later recall 
 the relations of the lever, piston, valves, bolts, and standards, 
 is to exercise imagination. The student who looks through 
 the microscope and sees unicellular beings, then turns away 
 and draws them exactly is exercising imagination of the most 
 accurate kind. To view the proper geometric figure in con- 
 nection with the Pythagorean theorem, and then without hav- 
 ing the book or paper present to see the figure and all its rela- 
 tions with^the mind's eye, is to exercise imaginative processes 
 no less than to write a book of fiction. In fact, the former is 
 the more fundamental and the latter is apt to be incoherent, 
 hazy, and inexact, unless a foundation has been laid through 
 imagination of the former, exact reproductive type. Imagina- 
 tion is employed in acquiring and recalling the concrete de- 
 tails of science no less than in building up notions of relations 
 and theories which have not been tested by observation of 
 material things. Reproductive imagination is employed in 
 the former case, productive or constructive in the latter. The 
 former is prerequisite to the latter, a fact which is so often 
 overlooked. If this exact reproduction of definite notions of 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 261 
 
 material things, gained through the senses of sight, sound, 
 touch, taste, smell, and weight is insisted upon, the combina- 
 tive imagination will almost take care of itself. At any rate, 
 there is no place for the latter without definite images to com- 
 bine. Thus the scientist with his exact consideration of ma- 
 terial things has as much — I am inclined to think much more 
 — to do with the development of powerful creative imagina- 
 tions as the poet, the painter, or the sculptor. 
 
 For one with some genius in painting no better foundation for 
 science could be had than an exact and exacting course in de- 
 scriptive geometry as given in an engineering school. Doubt- 
 less all our great painters and sculptors owe much of their suc- 
 cess in producing ideal creations to their exact knowledge of 
 anatomy and architecture. These subjects are always pre- 
 scribed in schools of art. A great architect must see every 
 minutest detail, even in his most unique creations. It is said 
 that Michaelangelo, before beginning to decorate a room in 
 fresco, spent days and days studying intently the bare walls 
 and picturing exactly what was to appear. Some one remon- 
 strated with him for such a waste of time, but he said: "I 
 have to see my picture before I can paint it." "With accu- 
 rate experiment and observation to work upon, imagination 
 becomes the architect of physical theory. Newton's passage 
 from a falling apple to a falling moon was an act of the pre- 
 pared imagination, without which the 'laws of Kepler' could 
 never have been traced to their foundations. Out of the facts 
 of chemistry the constructive imagination of Dalton formed 
 the atomic theory." (Tyndall, Fragments of Science, p. 419.) 
 In the study of sound the imagination must be called upon to 
 transcend actual experience. "The bodily eye, for example, 
 cannot see the condensations and rarefactions of the waves of 
 sound. We construct them in thought, and we believe as 
 firmly in their existence as in that of the air itself." (Tyndall, 
 op. cit.j p. 421.) Then carry it over into the realm of light. 
 In microscopic work only flat surfaces are seen — the imagina- 
 tion must build up the third dimension and the relations be- 
 tween the parts. 
 
 Just because natural science deals with objects perceived 
 
262 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 by the senses it affords unsurpassed opportunities for imagina- 
 tion. As indicated, it need not be confined to exact copies of 
 things perceived. It may be used to recombine in the most 
 unheard-of ways. It may picture the most fantastic com- 
 binations and conceive of those elements as working accord- 
 ing to laws before undreamed of. In fact, this is the course of 
 science. It is not unscientific to do this provided we further 
 do what the true scientist does, viz., test the conclusions. 
 Barring the small part played by accident in discovery, this 
 has been the course followed in the development of science. 
 "First comes the conjecture pictured by the imagination, then 
 logic and reasoning, then the test by observation and experi- 
 ment. This is the necessary order of discovery, and it is the 
 best order for the student who will follow in the footsteps of 
 the discoverer. It is, and must be, the path of the discoverer. 
 His mind must work pictorially." (Tyler, School Review, 
 6: 721-722.) 
 
 Imagination and Invention. — In every invention a result to 
 be attained has to be pictured and then known appliances 
 tested to see how far they will meet the requirements. If they 
 fall short they must be varied and combined and recombined 
 in such a way as to reach a result. The man who invented 
 copper toes for shoes asked himself: "What will make that 
 part of the shoe wear as long as the rest?" He set about 
 imagining various things that would produce the result. Cop- 
 per caps were finally hit upon and the inventor was made 
 rich. The invention of the steam-engine was a similar proc- 
 ess. What new motive can be used in exerting great force? 
 was the question set. Steam had lifted the lid of the tea- 
 kettle, and the imagination confined great amounts of steam 
 in a cylinder, and then conceived a piston to compress the air, 
 and the problem was solved. The imagination has discovered 
 atoms and worlds; it has penetrated the interstices of all 
 matter; it has encompassed in its glance the limits of the uni- 
 verse; it has espied the invisible force which unites all things 
 terrestrial and celestial ; it has stolen the secret laws of all the 
 varying changes in the universe; it has enslaved these laws 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 263 
 
 and forces; it has joined them in infinitesimal permutations; it 
 has harnessed the cosmic forces singly and tandem in n-fold 
 forms and caused them to do service from the most menial to 
 the most exalted; it has ploughed our fields and garnered the 
 bounteous harvests; it has lighted our homes; it has clad us 
 warmly and fed us bountifully; it has provided us aesthetic 
 enjoyment, as in music, art, and poetry; it has girt the globe 
 with means of transit; by its achievements knowledge of the 
 thoughts and actions of all mankind is borne on lightning pul- 
 sations to every corner of the globe. 
 
 Imagination in the Study of Literature. — In training the 
 imagination in literary study first see that the literature stud- 
 ied is imaginative, and then let it appeal to all the senses, so 
 that literature may quicken the boy to say like Christopher 
 Sly: 
 
 "I see, I hear, I speak; 
 I smell sweet savors, and I feel soft things." 
 
 Further, the laws of apperception must be heeded. It is 
 absurd to expect the child to imagine when no elements are 
 already in his possession. Parts of "Childe Harold," though 
 beautiful verse, would awaken no representations in the mind 
 of a reader unacquainted with Itahan skies. Similarly "The 
 Lady of the Lake" would call up very little visual imagery to 
 a child not made acquainted, through personal observation or 
 pictorial representation, with the Scottish mountains, lakes, 
 and Highland costumes. What vague, distorted pictures 
 must be evolved by children, lifelong residents in the slum 
 districts of a metropolitan city like London or New York, and 
 who have never made an excursion beyond their own ward, 
 when they read the opening stanza of Gray's "Elegy": 
 
 *'The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, 
 The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, 
 The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, 
 And leaves the world to darkness and to me." 
 
 They have never beheld a herd, perhaps not even a cow; 
 their only estimate is one gained from pictures, and undoubt- 
 
264 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 edly many a boy has thus gained the idea that a cow and a 
 mouse are of the same size. They have never seen a lea; 
 perhaps have never set foot on earth — only on pavements. 
 The picture of a fading, glimmering landscape is undreamed. 
 Most of the imagery suggested in the first seven stanzas 
 would be impossible to such children until they were provided 
 with the necessary background of sensory experience. This 
 leads us to the very practical question as to how the sense- 
 perceptions may be suppHed. It must be granted that it is 
 not so easy to secure as to prescribe, but that in no wise viti- 
 ates the theory nor does it lessen the desirability nor the im- 
 perativeness of providing in every manner possible for a rich 
 perceptual life. And whenever we cannot resort to nature 
 we must resort to art to assist us. In many cases where words 
 are entirely inadequate, and objective illustration impossible, 
 pictures, diagrams, and charts can come to the rescue. Pic- 
 torial illustration, as an aid in teaching, was initiated by that 
 noble and prophetic old Moravian John Ames Comenius 
 nearly 300 years ago, but the manifold use of visual represen- 
 tation is only yet in its infancy. The stereopticon can be 
 used as well in literature as in geography and physics. A 
 good stereopticon ought to be a part of the equipment of 
 every schoolroom, not one for every building, but one for 
 every room, for every grade, and every teacher ought to be 
 instructed in the technic of its manipulation. Take, for ex- 
 ample, Irving's ''Westminster Abbey," and combine the effect 
 of lantern views with the verbal description given by Irving, 
 and how much greater would be the effect than by the verbal 
 description alone. In my own case the careful study of the 
 verbal description failed to give me a picture at all correspond- 
 ing to reaUty. Upon visiting the abbey I was not a little 
 surprised to find how erroneous my notions were concerning 
 it. A few lantern-slides would have changed my ideal en- 
 tirely. It has been well said that the foreign traveller gets 
 only as much history or geography through his travels as he 
 takes with him. In attempting to train the imagination 
 through literature we may learn a valuable lesson from a psy- 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 265 
 
 chological analysis of some of the best imaginative literature. 
 We need to bear In mind that those Images which are clearest 
 and most vivid are the ones that are most easily described. 
 Hence we know that those descriptions which are most accu- 
 rate and convey the clearest pictures to the reader are descrip- 
 tions of things which have come within the writer's actual ex- 
 perience. Scott, bred elsewhere, could never have delineated 
 such masterpieces as "The Lady of the Lake," Ivanhoe, and 
 "Marmion." Byron, without actual knowledge of Lake 
 Geneva, Swiss mountains and castles, and the political vicis- 
 situdes of that country could never have penned the " Prisoner 
 of Chlllon." No other environment could have furnished the 
 same images and stimulated him to describe them with the 
 same realistic touches. "The Cotter's Saturday Night " could 
 not have been written by one unpossessed of a lifelong famil- 
 iarity with Scottish life. Irving, living in the Carolinas or 
 California, could never have depicted the ideal Dutch life in 
 old New York nor the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Though 
 ideal and fictitious, they are true representations of what has 
 been lived. No one but a Yankee bred could have written 
 "When the frost is on the punkin," and only a child-lover and 
 observer could have produced those sweet, inimitable poems 
 given to us by Eugene Field. Halleck has studied the great- 
 est bard of all the ages, Shakespeare, to determine the secret 
 of his great imaginative resources. He has shown that Shake- 
 speare's works are replete with allusions to nature. The 
 images described are not confined to sight alone, but all the 
 senses are appealed to — sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. 
 Those scenes Shakespeare would never have been able to rep- 
 resent without first-hand knowledge of all the things he has 
 depicted. The poet's early life was spent out of doors, in 
 contact with the fields, the woods, the birds, and the animals. 
 Though his parents could probably neither read nor write, 
 the young Shakespeare received a splendid education; that 
 is, through sensory training he obtained a vast store of 
 images which were later woven into such marvellous combi- 
 nations. 
 
266 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Imagination in Everyday Life. — While stress has been laid 
 on the education of the imagination in connection with school 
 subjects, it must not be inferred that imagination is of value 
 in scholastic life only. No power of the mind should be more 
 active in performing the duties outside of school, and the pur- 
 pose of the school training is in part to make the individual 
 more efficient and happier in the extra-school occupations 
 throughout the rest of his life. The imagination is needed in 
 every art, trade, craft, or occupation. For example, the effi- 
 cient blacksmith must see exactly, in imagination, the horse's 
 hoof to be shod, the wagon tire to be fitted, the function of 
 the bolt or brace; and then he must hammer the iron and steel 
 to fit the particular case. The painter, the carpenter, the 
 architect, the watchmaker, the machinist, the inventor, the 
 typewriter, the printer, the landscape-gardener, the tailor, the 
 dressmaker, the milliner, the musician, the farmer — all need 
 well-trained powers of imagination if they are to succeed in 
 life. 
 
 Wonders of the Imagination. — In closing we may echo the 
 statement of Robert Witt that " the possession of a vivid imag- 
 ination, of the imaginative faculty in all its variety and many- 
 sidedness, is a gift of the gods themselves, and, as it were, 
 priceless. Imagination has the power to alter the face of the 
 world, to bridge distance, to annihilate time; like an alche- 
 mist, it can transmute, refine, transform; like the artist, it is 
 skilful to glorify and to enrich. On the moral side of life it 
 knows how to comfort and encourage, to inspire and control, 
 to animate and to rejoice." {Westminster Review, August, 
 1900.) 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. After looking at a drawing, try to reproduce it from memory. 2. 
 Look at some simple object and try to draw it from memory, 3. Do not 
 look at a watch-dial, but try to draw it. 4. What mistakes did you make? 
 5. Can you revive accurately images of members of your family? 6. 
 Which can you image the more accurately, pictures of your friends or of 
 photographs of them? Why? 7. Crook the finger as if pulling the trig- 
 ger of a pistol; do not move a muscle, but think hard of the effort. Can 
 you "feel" the movement and the strain? 8. Can you sometimes hear 
 
IMAGINATION IN LEARNING AND EXPRESSION 267 
 
 things that are purely imaginary? 9, Is it of value to have pupils try to 
 image things after the stimuli have been removed? 10. What are the 
 steps to follow in causing pupils to use (a) reproductive and (b) construc- 
 tive imagination in learning music, penmanship, drawing, a geography 
 lesson on handling traffic in their city? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chaps. XVII, XVIII, XIX. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. VI. 
 
 3. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chap. XV, 
 
 4. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. VII, VIII. 
 
 5. Norsworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood, chap. IX. 
 
 6. Tanner, The Child: His Thinking, Feeling, and Doing, chap. VII. 
 
 7. Titchener, A Primer of Psychology, chap. X. 
 
 8. Woodworth, Psychology : A Study of Mental Life, chaps. XV, XIX. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 
 
 Importance of the Question. — One question almost certain 
 to be discussed in a teachers' meeting is "How can we get 
 pupils to think?" Doctor Schaeffer once said: "You can't 
 stop them from thinking !" If Schaeffer was right, then why 
 the necessity of teaching pupils to think ? The answer is that 
 even though they are bound to think, they do not always 
 think effectively, nor do they always think worth-while 
 thoughts. Doubtless the second is the graver problem. No 
 technical definition of thinking will be given here. The fol- 
 lowing simple definition will suffice: Thinking is a process of 
 comparing, deliberating, or weighing possibilities and coming to 
 a decision. 
 
 Independence in Thinking. — Independence in thinking is a 
 rare but thoroughly economical mode of activity. Many peo- 
 ple are so unused to thinking for themselves that they would 
 be frightened at the appearance in consciousness of a thought 
 really their own. It has been said that "animals think not 
 at all, and some men a little." Most of the effective thinking 
 of the world is carried on by a relatively small number of in- 
 dividuals. The rest of the world are mere echoists. This is 
 a terribly wasteful process and sinful. There are hundreds of 
 everyday illustrations which prove that many people do very 
 little independent thinking. The majority of voters cast their 
 ballot for the same party as their fathers belonged to, or allow 
 themselves to be dictated to by a few political bosses. Mul- 
 titudes of people regulate their conduct, their business, and 
 their speech entirely by other people's thoughts. Their con- 
 clusions are all second-hand and give evidence of great mus- 
 tiness. If one doubts the force of tradition, just let him try 
 
 268 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 269 
 
 to secure some reform in any direction he pleases. A new- 
 measure is at once regarded with suspicion simply because no 
 one ever knew of that before. Every new idea proposed for 
 the schools is at once branded by the masses as a "fad." 
 
 Millions of gallons of patent medicines containing alcohol 
 and opiates as the chief ingredients are sold annually. Thou- 
 sands of babies are stupefied by being dosed with "soothing 
 syrups" containing opiates. It is no wonder that so many 
 children grow up stupid. The "quiet" produced by the 
 opiates sometimes persists through life. Hygienic rules which 
 common sense should teach every one are ever being ignorantly 
 disobeyed. The history of medicine is replete with illustra- 
 tions of the influence of charms, incantations, and fetichisms. 
 Even to-day the masses can be wheedled into absurd notions 
 concerning medicinal values. Let some one announce a 
 "vegetable remedy," or, still better, an "Indian vegetable 
 remedy," or a "vegetable remedy discovered by a missionary 
 or an Egyptian," and it at once has millions of throats open 
 to receive it. 
 
 When Columbus asserted that the earth was spherical, peo- 
 ple scouted the idea, and when he passed through the streets 
 jeered at him as being an insane man. Had they not evi- 
 dence through their own senses that disproved such a crazy 
 theory as he proposed? A little later Galileo, Copernicus, 
 and Bruno shocked the world by asserting that not the earth 
 but the sun is the centre of the universe. They were not only 
 scorned but Bruno was burned at the stake because he would 
 not retract, and Galileo, after bitter persecution, was made to 
 swear that he had never believed such blasphemous doctrines. 
 Could the people not see with their own eyes ? The sun rose 
 every morning and set every night after travelling round the 
 earth. Various conjectures were rife as to what it did during 
 the darkened half of the day, but of course they were positive 
 concerning its relation to the earth during the other hours. 
 Could they not believe their own senses ? And Aristotle had 
 never mentioned such a preposterous proposition. Monroe 
 writes {The Educational Ideal, p. 9) that "during this long 
 
270 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 period . . . the dry formalism and dead conning of words 
 . . . led, inevitably, to the dreary hoo tings of scholasticism. 
 This owlish learning, growing more outrageous as its meta- 
 physics became more absurdly deep, soon lost all point of con- 
 tact with humanity. Its husks of syllogism drove all appe- 
 tite for real learning from the mind of the student, and he 
 contented himself, ignorant of better intellectual food, with a 
 smattering of Latin, a jargon of philosophy." 
 
 Superstitions and signs have by no means all belonged to a 
 bygone age. Why does the horseshoe hang over so many 
 doors ? Why do so many people hesitate to begin a journey 
 or a new piece of work on Friday ? Why do fewer steamships 
 start Friday than any other day, if they can get plenty of 
 passengers for Friday ? Recently I met a man carrying a rat- 
 tlesnake's tail in his hatband. On inquiry I found that he 
 did this to ward off rheumatism ! He firmly believed in the 
 efhcacy of the senseless process. Why do farmers plant their 
 potatoes in the new of the moon and some other crops in the 
 old of the moon ? Why do they consult the almanac before 
 slaughtering beef or weaning a lamb? This happens to be 
 "ground-hog day," and thousands of people are pinning their 
 faith in the remaining winter weather upon the supposed ac- 
 tion of the innocent little creature. I recently heard a man 
 say: "The winter has been so cold, we shall have an early 
 spring." A little applied knowledge of the convertibility of 
 heat into other forms of energy would teach that there is no 
 necessary truth in his statement. 
 
 The School Should Train to Think. — The school can per- 
 form no higher function than to teach independence in think- 
 ing. Unfortunately, as many schools are conducted, every- 
 thing tends to beget dependence. The child finds himself in 
 a realm of mysterious, meaningless symbols, strange customs, 
 arbitrary rules and regulations for his conduct, and is forth- 
 with made to feel that all must be learned and accepted un- 
 questioningly. As he progresses he finds words without sig- 
 nificance which he must pronounce, read, and spell. Rules in 
 arithmetic and grammar are forced upon him to be mechani- 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 271 
 
 cally memorized without illumination; long strings of dates, 
 names of kings, queens, dynasties, battles, and generals must 
 be recited and called history; names of capes, bays, rivers, and 
 mountains, which have only location, must be committed. 
 Most of this is without a glimmering of meaning or a particle 
 of interest in the content on the part of the learner. The child 
 early learns by imitation to accept the husks of knowledge 
 and to produce the certificates for real knowledge when called 
 on to recite. Instead of continuing in a questioning attitude 
 he learns that the line of least resistance is to take everything 
 ready-made. Dewey remarks that "what is primarily re- 
 quired is first-hand experience. Until recently the school has 
 literally been dressed out with hand-me-down garments, with 
 intellectual suits which other people have worn." 
 
 The school should train the pupil to think, and to think 
 effectively. That is, it should free the child from superstition, 
 it should train him to weigh authorities, not to accept things 
 dogmatically. It should train him to form conclusions from 
 given data. These conclusions should be just such, and only 
 such, as are warranted by the facts in hand. Some people 
 form no conclusions at all for themselves. They never dare 
 assert opinions unless others bear them company. They are 
 largely echoes of other people. Still others form opinions, but 
 too hastily, the conclusions not being based upon evidence 
 and unwarranted by the facts. Both these tendencies must 
 be overcome. There is the child who repeats only what the 
 book says, and again the child who is continually talking with- 
 out thinking. Both of these classes may be helped by careful 
 attention in requiring them to be reflective. One needs to be 
 pushed into the water to be shown that he can swim, and the 
 other needs to be restrained from jumping into the whirlpools. 
 
 Although it is the utmost pedantry to expect the child to 
 be a discoverer or an inventor of knowledge, new and valuable 
 to the world, yet he should be led through the established 
 truths in the "course" in such a way that it shall possess in- 
 terest, rationality, and meaning for him. Many truths he 
 can and should be led purposively to discover by himself and 
 
272 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 for himself — not for the world — and what you point out to 
 him should be understood and full of interest. Of course in 
 so doing he will not make independent discoveries. But you 
 will have supplied the conditions which it may have taken 
 the world ages to discover, and the child will now perceive 
 the relations and the results. With all the rule-of-thumb 
 exercises, the parrot memorizing, and the dogmatic state- 
 ments which the child finds at school, it is little wonder that 
 he forgets that he has ideas of his own when school questions 
 are under consideration, even though he is ultraindependent 
 on the diamond or the gridiron and among his fellows. Cole- 
 ridge says: *'To educate is to train to think, for by active 
 thinking alone is knowledge attained. Without active thought 
 we cannot get beyond mere belief, for to pass from belief to 
 knowledge means to sift and weigh evidence for oneself. . . . 
 Alas," he exclaims further, "how many examples are now 
 present to my memory of young men the most anxiously and 
 expensively be-school-mastered, be- tutored, be-lectured, any- 
 thing but educated ; who have received arms and ammunition, 
 instead of skill, strength, and courage; varnished rather than 
 polished; perilously overcivilized, and most pitiably unculti- 
 vated ! And all from inattention to the method dictated by 
 nature herself, to the simple truth, that as the forms in all 
 organized existence, so must all true and living knowledge 
 proceed from within; that it may be trained, supported, fed, 
 excited, but can never be infused or impressed." (Quoted by 
 Wei ton. The Logical Bases of Education, p. 252.) 
 
 Importance of the Concept or Universal Truth. — It has been 
 well stated by McMurry that the concept is the goal of all 
 instruction. This is true if we bear in mind as McMurry has 
 done that there are moral truths as well as intellectual, and 
 that all worthy truths should result in influencing action. 
 Isolated percepts and detached facts are valuable only in so 
 far as they form a nucleus or matrix out of which universal 
 truths are evolved. Too much of teaching deals with unre- 
 lated facts and symbols of facts which do not lead to the pro- 
 duction of instruments (the concepts) whereby new cases can 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 273 
 
 be dealt with. The solution of a particular example in arith- 
 metic is of no value unless it leads to the formation of a rule 
 whereby others of a similar nature may be analyzed and 
 solved. A particular experiment in physics or chemistry may 
 be interesting, but unless it illustrates some principle or law it 
 is of no great value. No great progress in foreign languages, 
 or in the mother tongue, for that matter, could be made did 
 not the learner arrive (not necessarily consciously) at laws and 
 principles which are of general application. Even the child 
 that says * ' I rimned down the hill ' ' has arrived at several gen- 
 eral principles, one of which at least has exceptions. How- 
 ever, his mistake arises out of his correct application of a law 
 which he has learned. 
 
 Psychological Meaning of the Concept. — If conceptual 
 thinking is so important in teaching, then it will be valuable 
 for teachers to study carefully the meaning of the concept and 
 the modes of promoting its formation. The concept differs 
 from the percept in many important respects. The percept is 
 particular, concrete, and in consciousness only when the ob- 
 ject is present to the senses. A concrete and specific copy of 
 the percept is an image. Percepts and images are ideas of 
 individual things; are specific and concrete. The concept is 
 an idea of a class. It deals with universals. The concepts of 
 chair or house do not refer to particular chairs or houses, but 
 to the classes of objects. When we think chair conceptually 
 we are not concerned with a big chair or a little one, a dining- 
 chair or a rocker, an oak chair or one of mahogany. When 
 we have a concept of animal we do not think oi a cat or a dog, 
 a white animal or a black one, a ferocious one or a docile one. 
 In all conceptual thinking the characteristics common to the 
 class are included. As soon as we turn to some particular 
 individual of the class we must think in terms of percepts or 
 of images. The concept, however, cannot be imaged. 
 
 We must guard against the idea that a concept relates to 
 material objects only, or even that it is always represented by 
 a noun. There are just as truly concepts of actions or rela- 
 tions. The predicate, as well as the subject, in any sentence 
 
2 74 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 expresses a conceptual idea. The same is true of every other 
 element or part of speech. To understand the expression 
 "The ink flows freely from my pen," it is just as necessary to 
 understand the denotation and the connotation of "flows" as 
 of ink or pen. Similarly the prepositional phrase "from my 
 pen" can only be understood through the universal idea com- 
 pounded from many individual ideas that were first known 
 through experience. Laws in physics and chemistry, rules in 
 arithmetic and algebra, definitions in grammar, are all ex- 
 pressions of conceptual ideas. They do not necessarily repre- 
 sent concepts in the child mind. If he has begun with the 
 definitions, rules, and laws learned verbatim, they do not 
 stand for clear, definite, enlarged relational ideas. They are 
 mere words, the counters of realities and not the realities. 
 But if elements connoted in the expressions have been experi- 
 mentally known, their relations apprehended, and the whole 
 knit together into a product which gives a new background 
 for all subsequent experiences, then we may say that the con- 
 cept has been experienced. In natural science the learner 
 must through classification of ideas be continually forming 
 new concepts, not only of objects but of their manifold rela- 
 tions. These concepts must be ever subject to modification 
 and revision through new experiences. 
 
 Genetic View of the Concept. — It should be clearly under- 
 stood that a concept is not a psychical product with a fixed 
 value or content. When one gets a concept of a given object 
 he has not exactly the same idea as some one else who has a 
 concept designated by the same name. The child's idea of 
 horse is, for example, very different from the one possessed by 
 the farmer, the veterinarian, the jockey, or the zoologist. In 
 fact, each of these will have different ideas included in the 
 concept. The jockey has all the fine racing points of the 
 horse in his idea, while the zoologist thinks of the place in 
 the animal scale to which the horse belongs. A given con- 
 cept also changes in the mind of the same individual accord- 
 ing to his experiences. One*s childhood concept of a given 
 thing is very different from his concept of the same thing when 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 275 
 
 he becomes an adult. For example, a child is given a book 
 containing pictures; he thereupon marks off that object from 
 others and isolates it as a class. But as the years go by, if 
 rightly schooled, he gradually enlarges his idea of book. 
 He learns of the different bindings, different sizes, varying 
 print, and, more important for the idea of book, he learns of 
 the different types of books, judged by the contents. He 
 finds that there are story-books, reading-books, arithmetics, 
 grammars, histories, geographies, dictionaries, encyclopaedias; 
 books of fiction, travel, biography, and others in wonderful 
 profusion. One's idea of book is never complete, but with 
 the student ever enlarging. 
 
 How different the child's idea of carbon, when he has seen 
 it exemplified only in a piece of coal, from the concept of the 
 chemist who has studied it in its manifold relations. Every 
 one thinks he has a perfect concept of "home." However, let 
 one try to describe the homes of the Cingalese, the Kaffirs, the 
 Comanches, the Hindoos, or a king, and see whether he will 
 not acknowledge that there are multitudes of individual ideas 
 that could still be incorporated into his concept, thereby ex- 
 tending it. Let the ordinary person try to describe his con- 
 cept of oxygen (which word he would say he understood per- 
 fectly) and see how narrow his concept, and even how vague. 
 One who has not studied chemistry can tell little about 
 oxygen. One of my adult students said he understood the 
 word, knew that the substance was a gas, that plants and 
 animals need it to sustain life. There was the expression of 
 a very crude concept; one of very narrow content; but it was 
 nevertheless a concept. Another student who had studied 
 chemistry a little added that it was a constituent of water, of 
 nitric acid, of sulphuric acid, and a few other acids; that it 
 was a colorless, tasteless gas, and a few other facts. This stu- 
 dent had a little fuller and more exact notion or concept of 
 the substance. Suppose I had called upon a professor of 
 chemistry ? What he could have told me would make a book. 
 His concept is vastly fuller and also more exact. 
 
 The child's notion of plants is one thing, the botanist's an- 
 
276 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 other; the child knows only a few facts, and those indefinitely; 
 the botanist knows multitudes of them, and those with exact- 
 ness. The child has formed a few accidental, mechanical 
 associations; for example, that all plants have leaves and lose 
 them in the fall ; the botanist has formed myriads of thought- 
 ful associations relating to structure, function, use, and habi- 
 tat. The child's generalizations concerning people are at 
 first few and largely the result of chance associations. As he 
 grows older he extends his range of acquaintances, discover- 
 ing different types, enlarging his range of observations, draw- 
 ing newer conclusions, revising old ones, thus constantly mod- 
 ifying and enlarging his concept of mankind. Before he be- 
 comes a sociologist, a statesman, or a leader of men in any 
 capacity, his crude childish notions of society must undergo 
 such transformation that his specialized adult conceptions will 
 no longer be recognizable as related to the primitive ones. 
 However, this is the only process whereby the rich, accurate, 
 and completer notions could have been developed. The rate 
 of growth may be sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but 
 the stages must be passed through. Finished concepts can 
 never be borrowed ready-made. They must grow, and not 
 merely by accretion of new material, but also by apperceptive 
 integration. 
 
 Language and Thinking in Concepts. — There is a very close 
 relation between accuracy of expression and accuracy of think- 
 ing. Much of the looseness of children's thinking may be 
 traced to slovenliness of expression. The statement of a rule, 
 law, or generalization wrought out by the student through the 
 study of observed facts is a very important and clarifying ex- 
 ercise. Too often there is no attempt at the formulation of 
 rules or principles by the pupils, but the rules are either not 
 learned or they are taken ready-made and merely committed 
 to memory. The old-fashioned rote-learning without compre- 
 hension of rules and definitions was bad, but some of the mod- 
 ern superficial exposure to masses of facts without attempt at 
 analysis, organization, classification, or definition of them is 
 not much better. The former closed the mind against inves- 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 277 
 
 tigation and produced the opinionated echoist, the latter pro- 
 duces the chaotic-minded, superficial factmonger. The facts 
 are usually without coherence or logical relation. It is only 
 when fundamental laws or principles are comprehended that 
 knowledge becomes valid and serviceable. 
 
 Much more time ought to be spent in each subject in help- 
 ing pupils to formulate in good language the generalizations 
 worked out. Every teacher should be a language teacher, 
 not to emphasize the formal side of language, but to assist 
 pupils in clear thinking. Doubtless, if much less time were 
 spent in isolated language study and much more in connection 
 with easy study, the result would be much better. Geometry 
 is very largely an exercise in terse expression of rather simple 
 mathematical concepts. Definiteness of expression should be 
 insisted upon. 
 
 The Statement of Concepts. — Although the importance of 
 expression and language training has been emphasized, a 
 caution needs to be suggested against the forcing of over- 
 refined scientific statements before the concepts themselves 
 have been acquired. It is easy to require children to mem- 
 orize definitions and descriptions of things which they totally 
 fail to comprehend. No definition should be committed to 
 memory until its meaning is understood. A definition is a 
 highly condensed statement of a concept. Since the expres- 
 sion of a concept is the final step in its acquisition, if mem- 
 orized before understood it tends to close the mind against 
 further analysis of the content. It therefore closes all avenues 
 of acquisition for that particular idea. What is true of defi- 
 nitions is also true of rules. 
 
 It is a good thing to have summaries and outlines made — 
 by the pupils themselves. If stereotyped summaries and out- 
 lines are learned, they tend, like definitions, to close the mind 
 against further search for content and meaning. An outline 
 presented at the beginning of a subject or topic should never 
 be memorized at that stage. It may be presented as a sort 
 of guide-board to indicate the direction to be followed, but it 
 is detrimental if considered as the full expression of the con- 
 
278 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 cepts themselves. The most valuable outlines and summaries 
 are those made by the learners themselves. It is especially- 
 important that advanced students be required to organize 
 the materials which they have acquired. Unless required to 
 do so, they, like children, tend to depend upon verbal mem- 
 ory, and frequently deceive themselves and their instructors 
 by the expression of knowledge which is vague and meaning- 
 less to them. Even though the summaries made by the learner 
 himself may be less finished than those given by the instructor 
 and memorized in form by the learner, they are far more val- 
 uable than those borrowed ready-made. The summaries 
 made independently by the learner indicate what he knows — 
 his concepts — while those memorized from another show what 
 the teacher knows and the pupil is able to echo. 
 
 Scientific Classification and Organization of Knowledge. — 
 Important as it is to have knowledge classified in an orderly 
 and scientific manner, a caution should be observed against 
 overemphasizing this with beginners. The child mind is not 
 scientific in its tendencies. It is absorptive, acquisitive, but 
 not orderly. The interest and the attention of the child are 
 flitting, and undoubtedly this is necessary for normal growth. 
 Too long-continued attention in any direction causes over- 
 tension and one-sidedness of growth, because of the great 
 plasticity at that age. It is a great mistake to overemphasize 
 system, classification, or refinement of expression in child- 
 hood. It is sure to kill interest, spontaneity, and self-activity, 
 and to produce arrest of development in some direction or 
 other. We must remember that one of the very causes of 
 instability is the struggle of instinctive tendencies to assert 
 themselves. While we are causing the child to fix absolutely 
 certain forms and formulas, we are probably stifling the ex- 
 pression of many desirable instincts and making him lop- 
 sided in other directions. Any teacher who has tried to teach 
 nature study to children from a book, logically and scientifi- 
 cally arranged from the adult point of view, has undoubtedly 
 made a failure of it. Even in the grammar-school and the 
 high school there is great danger of overemphasizing the 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 279 
 
 purely logical side of studies. There is too much anxiety to 
 have everything systematized and ticketed when the pupil 
 leaves a course at any point. What will be the harm if pupils 
 do not "finish" a given "course" in history, geography, or 
 physics? Who can say w^hat "the course" should be in any 
 one of them ? In different countries, in different localities, 
 every one of them may differ very materially in content. 
 When a student studies history in college he certainly ought 
 to organize the subject thoroughly, but before that time it is 
 far more important that he gather facts and acquire a head- 
 way of interest. 
 
 We may go so far as to maintain that with beginners in 
 any grade of school, and even in college, there is great dan- 
 ger of overemphasizing classification and systematization of 
 knowledge. To classify and organize there must be some- 
 thing to classify and organize. The beginner in economics, 
 chemistry, psychology, or the theory of education, for exam- 
 ple, needs to go through a gathering period before devoting 
 too much attention to systematization and organization, no 
 less than does the child in the kindergarten. The genesis and 
 growth of the concept demands it; and organization means 
 relatively finished expression of concepts. Of course the 
 teacher should proceed in an orderly, systematic manner, but 
 it is fatal to spontaneous growth in the learner if he becomes 
 too conscious of the method by which he is acquiring. He 
 should be absorbingly interested in the ideas or activities ac- 
 quired and relatively oblivious of the method of acquisition. 
 Even the teacher must be guided much more by the psycho- 
 logical unfolding of his pupils' minds than by logical cate- 
 gories. 
 
 Effective Thinking through Habit. — It is important for the 
 student to understand early the force and value of habit. 
 Much time is lost by every one of us because our early train- 
 ing did not render automatic all those activities that we have 
 to perform constantly and in the same way. Purely mechani- 
 cal work can be controlled more economically by lower ner- 
 vous centres than by higher. In childhood and youth the 
 
28o EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 nervous system is plastic, a prime condition for memorizing 
 and fixing habits. Among the habits that should become in- 
 grained during this period are those of correct bodily postures 
 and activities, correct speech, the multiplication table, spell- 
 ing, writing, those involved in learning to speak foreign lan- 
 guages. Most habits are controlled by the spinal cord, which 
 is early developed. Hence we should form habits early, so 
 that the brain may be relieved later of mechanical work and 
 be concerned with higher operations. As Doctor Balliet has 
 observed : 
 
 At first a child uses his brain in walking; later he can walk from 
 habit, and walks, therefore, with his spinal cord. At first we spell 
 with painful consciousness; later we spell familiar words of our vocab- 
 ulary with little or no consciousness. Children ought to be trained 
 to write and spell mainly with the spinal cord, and to use their brain 
 power in thinking the thoughts to be expressed. We do many things 
 with the spinal cord to relieve the brain. We walk with the cord, we 
 write and spell with the cord; I suppose we knit and gossip with the 
 spinal cord; indeed, we may sing and pray, not with our hearts, nor 
 with our brains, but with the upper part of our spinal cord. We tip 
 our hats to each other, not with our brains, but mainly with our spinal 
 cord; when we meet people whom we do not wish to see, we often shake 
 hands mechanically with our spinal cord — hence we speak of a "cor- 
 dial welcome." 
 
 Not only do these elementary physical activities become 
 automatic, but also processes of judging and reasoning must 
 become largely mechanical before becoming serviceable. 
 One's thinking is largely specialized, and judgment outside of 
 the well-beaten track of thinking is not very valuable. The 
 lawyer's opinion concerning disease is slowly formed and un- 
 reliable; the doctor's judgment about legal matters likewise is 
 valueless. The expert in a given line is one who has studied 
 widely and who can form instantaneous judgments because of 
 the habitual consideration of the data. Difficult studies pur- 
 sued through a long time until mastery is complete become 
 simple as the alphabet. Mathematicians become so familiar 
 with the calculus that they may read it for recreation when 
 fatigued with other work. The lawyer can instantly cite 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 281 
 
 scores of cases and precedents for which the tyro would have 
 required hours to summon to the foreground of consciousness. 
 Hence, when knowledge is to become usable it must be pon- 
 dered long and every detail absolutely appropriated. To ar- 
 range work in such a way as to sustain interest through variety 
 and at the same time dwell upon it until thoroughly compre- 
 hended and appropriated is high teaching art. The demands 
 for variety frequently allure to new fields before assimilation 
 has been effected. 
 
 I wonder if there is not much in modern student life that 
 militates against the deepest thinking. With the multiplica- 
 tion of student activities, of themselves in no way secondary 
 to any others in importance, have not the opportunities for 
 sequestered contemplation decreased? With football, base- 
 ball, basket-ball, tennis, rowing, skating, the literary society, 
 the dramatic club, the freshman banquet, the sophomore co- 
 tillion, the junior "prom," the senior "hop," the numberless 
 fraternity, sorority, and various house-parties, the church, 
 social, and other engagements, besides the loafing hour, the 
 theatre, concert, special lectures galore, the newspapers and 
 magazines to scan, the letters to write home and other places, 
 applications for schools to make, one might exclaim: "And 
 when do they find time to study?" In ancient times and in 
 the Middle Ages the scholars shut themselves away from the 
 world, quiet as it was, in order to avoid the distractions 
 against thinking. While they erred in not recognizing that 
 the senses are the source of all knowledge, were they not wise 
 in recognizing that to think effectively demands solitude ? 
 
 Many students take on altogether too many activities. In 
 my own observation I have known several students who ar- 
 rested their development badly by getting too many irons in 
 the fire. A student's popularity is not infrequently the cause 
 of his intellectual arrest. By attempting debates, athletics, 
 dramatics, study, and society all at the same time, his energies 
 are dissipated, his growth stunted, while his plodding com- 
 panion, by everlastingly keeping at a few things, finally be- 
 comes a master and frequently astonishes even himself as well 
 
282 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 as his acquaintances. Even short courses with too much 
 variety, except for inspiration, are uneconomical because they 
 do not lay permanent foundations. Too many open lecture 
 courses provided by faculties may easily be distracting and a 
 source of dissipation. The student must learn to say no to 
 the siren's voice which continually beckons him to unrelated 
 fields. 
 
 I sometimes feel that there ought to be some course labelled 
 "thinking," in which the individual should be isolated from 
 everybody long enough to empty his mind of all ideas which 
 are merely echoes, and then to discern what are really his 
 own. With all the distraction of congested social life, the 
 time may come when it would be a blessing for the state to 
 imprison a few great men each year and allow them only pen, 
 ink, and paper. It may have been a fortunate thing for the 
 world that John Bunyan languished in prison until his thoughts 
 had time to germinate and come to full fruition. Possibly the 
 blind Milton, shut away from the distractions of visual stimuli, 
 may have looked within and discovered thoughts struggling 
 for expression, but stifled with the ephemeral ideas of sense- 
 perception. 
 
 While we are rightly emphasizing group activities as an aid 
 in developing altruism, I wonder whether students do not 
 sometimes misinterpret its meaning. Self-activity is funda- 
 mental in the process of acquisition of knowledge. No knowl- 
 edge is of much value that is not made one's own personal pos- 
 session. This means more than the recital of words and for- 
 mulas gained from books and companions. In their desire to 
 be helpful, I sometimes see students in groups, even sitting on 
 the stairways where the crowds are passing, believing they are 
 studying together. When one hears the bits of gossip inter- 
 spersed between the formulas, the declensions, and historical 
 dates, one wonders where the calm reflection, deep concen- 
 tration, analysis, comparison, doubt, contemplation, delibera- 
 tion, complete abstraction, enter in. An oversocial room- 
 mate who persists in retailing the gossip of the day during the 
 hour set apart for study is an uneconomical acquisition. Psy- 
 
THINKING AND LEARNING TO THINK 283 
 
 chology has thoroughly demonstrated that we can consciously 
 attend economically to only one set of ideas at a time. Even 
 much note-taking in the class is an uneconomical distraction. 
 The faithful but misguided student frequently attempts to 
 take down every word uttered. He deceives himself, for 
 what he hopes to carry under his arm he should have in his 
 head. No wonder that sometimes the less scrupulous one 
 who cuts class and borrows notes instead of writing them 
 fares about as well. 
 
 In student life it is important to thoroughly master a task 
 as speedily as possible. To skim over a lesson and leave it 
 without mastery is wasteful. The process may be repeated a 
 dozen times in this way and then be only half learned. Hence, 
 "whatsoever thou findest to do, do it with all thy mind and 
 with all thy heart and with all thy strength." 
 
 May I say a word on the ethics of cramming for examina- 
 tions ? The method is a delusion and a snare. Ideas are not 
 grasped, associations are not made, brain tracks are not made 
 permanent, and even though the student might pass an ex- 
 amination on such possessions, like the notes of an insolvent 
 bank they are found to be worthless trash when put to real 
 use. Instead of wisdom more to be prized than fine gold, 
 such a process may leave one with only bogus certificates. 
 Make your mental acquisitions absolutely your own while 
 going over the subject day by day, take ten hours of sleep 
 before every examination day, and the results need not be 
 feared. In trying to gain possessions most economically and 
 to make them most permanent, heed the following recipe: 
 Study your lesson as if you expected to teach it. When you 
 can teach it to some one else you possess it. Frequently actu- 
 ally try to teach your lesson. If your roommate will not 
 submit, inflict it upon an imaginary pupil. 
 
 (See The Popular Science Monthly, vol. LXXI, Septem- 
 ber, 1907, where several of the preceding paragraphs were 
 first published by the writer under the title "Some Ethical 
 Aspects of Mental Economy.") 
 
284 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Enumerate several false traditions now current. 2. Make a list of 
 superstitions that are really heeded by otherwise intelligent persons. 3. 
 Which do pupils usually prefer to do: memorize the text-book ideas or think 
 out problems for themselves? Why? 4. What schoolroom procedures 
 seem to stimulate pupils to think? What seem to train away from inde- 
 pendent thinking? 5. In the laboratory work that you have observed in 
 the high school has independent thinking been a dominant characteristic? 
 6. As ordinarily taught, does history encourage thinking? 7. Try to 
 make out a set of thought-provoking questions on some phase of history, 
 say, Washington's administration or Wilson's administration. (Be sure 
 that the answers do not merely call for memorized statements.) 8. Do 
 pupils who recite glibly in geometry necessarily reason carefully? 9. 
 What are some of the causes of superficial reasoning in geometry? 10. Is 
 it correct to say "slow but sure" with reference to efficiency in thinking? 
 
 11. Are slow readers better than rapid readers in comprehension of thought ? 
 
 12. May the project method stimulate efficient thinking? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chaps. XX, XXII, XXIII. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chaps. VII, VIII, IX. 
 
 3. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. XX, XXI, XXII. 
 
 4. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chap. XVIII. 
 
 5. Miller, Directing Study, chaps. Ill, VII. 
 
 6. Norsworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood, chap. X. 
 
 7. Parker, Methods of Teaching in High Schools, chap. IX. 
 
 8. Pyle, The Science of Human Nature, chap. VIII. 
 
 9.. Schaeffer, Thinking and Learning to Think. Entire book. 
 
 10. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. X. 
 
 11, Woodworth, Psychology : A Study of Mental Life, chap. XVIII. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 
 
 Meaning of Induction. — All laws, rules, generalizations, or 
 classifications have been discovered at some time by observ- 
 ing a number of individual cases. In much of our learning at 
 the present time, especially in school, we accept ready-made 
 the great majority of such laws or generalizations. But some- 
 body had to work them out from individual cases. This 
 process of discovery is termed induction. It may be defined 
 as follows: Induction is a process of thinking in which the 
 learner discovers laws or generalizations from individual data. 
 
 Examples of Induction. — Here is an apple-blossom with five 
 petals. I examine several others, and finding the same num- 
 ber in each and that the arrangement is regular, I conclude 
 that there are five petals on every apple-blossom. People 
 saw a good many swans all of which were white, and the 
 belief that all swans were white became firmly fixed. We 
 now know, however, that there are black swans. But as long 
 as only white swans had been seen, the former conclusion was 
 a legitimate induction. For thousands of years people be- 
 lieved the earth to be flat and plate-shaped. They arrived at 
 these conclusions just as we should do in case we had not 
 been taught differently. We never noticed evidence of its 
 sphericity, and from every point of view the line of meeting 
 of the earth and sky seems to form a circle, and we seem to 
 stand in the centre of the circular plane surface. 
 
 When the child first perceives things, they are experienced 
 as isolated things without relationship or laws. Gradually as 
 experiences multiply they seem to occur in regular orders and 
 sequences, and connections seem to obtain among various 
 things. These experiences gradually become classified and 
 arranged according to laws apparent to the child. This is 
 
 285 
 
286 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 precisely what occurs when the adult views new experiences. 
 At first each occurrence is viewed singly, but as other phe- 
 nomena occur they gradually become classified. The main 
 difference here between the child and the adult is that the 
 adult mind arrives at more general laws, which are more cor- 
 rect, and instead of mere chance associational bonds that 
 assist in classification the adult seeks and finds more causal 
 relations. However, the ordinary adult is far from being 
 critical and accurate, and many generalizations are incorrect 
 and even absurd. It is only the careful scientist who is able 
 to make correct inductions. Even many of his conclusions 
 are apt to be very imperfect and need continual revision. The 
 true scientist is cautious about dogmatic assertions, and waits 
 until sufficient evidence is collected before proclaiming his be- 
 liefs. Darwin, though believing in certain conclusions for a 
 long time, was willing to collect materials and to observe for 
 thirty years before publishing his conclusions to the world. 
 
 Imperfect Induction. — Oftentimes the generalizations de- 
 rived through induction are incorrect. In fact, most conclu- 
 sions so derived are at first guesses or hypotheses. This is 
 true of the thinking of the savage or the scientist. The sav- 
 age stops with the guess, the scientist keeps on guessing and 
 verifying. Some farmers, for example, are sure that three 
 white frosts bring a rain; that planting potatoes in the new of 
 the moon brings bumper crops; that toads and earthworms 
 rain down. The savage believes that spirits eat the food 
 which is left in the forest for their propitiation; he resorts to 
 charms, incantations, and sorcery in the cure of disease. All 
 such conclusions are arrived at because of imperfect induction 
 and lack of testing. 
 
 Children's Inductions. — Children do much more thinking 
 than they are credited with. Much of their thinking has one 
 characteristic of scientific thinking, viz., independence. Their 
 judgments are apt to lack accuracy because they jump at con- 
 clusions before gaining sufficient data, and they do not try 
 to verify them. Many of their conclusions, however, are bet- 
 ter illustrations of genuine inductions than the echoings of 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 287 
 
 some older people. My boy of 4 said one cold day on reach- 
 ing a park: ** Let us hurry, for it will be cold here." I inquired 
 why. "Because the trees make the wind blow," he replied. 
 G., a girl of 5, brought me some elderberry-blossoms and 
 asked: ''What are these? V^hat becomes of them?" She 
 was told that they become fruit. "Then, do cherries have 
 blossoms before the cherries grow?" she inquired. "Yes," I 
 said. "Do apples have blossoms?" "Yes." "Do all fruits 
 have flowers first?" Then came the statement: "There will 
 be no berries if we pick off the flowers." Here we have a 
 perfectly definite chain of induction, and the conclusion was 
 independently drawn from the data at hand. 
 
 When the child says "I runned," "I singed," "I hurted 
 myself," he is applying conclusions reached inductively. The 
 course of reasoning is not a conscious process, but is just as 
 unerring as if it were a matter of deliberate analysis and syn- 
 thesis. Many misspellings are the result of reasoning based 
 upon analogies. Certain values are learned for given letters, 
 and the inference is drawn that the same values will always 
 obtain. The misspelling is not the result of illogical reason- 
 ing, but quite the contrary. The following actual mistakes 
 illustrate the point advanced: meny, sed, peeple, mutch, eny, 
 lern, axadent, suckseed, ashure. To spell correctly many words 
 of the English language one must be able to disregard logic 
 and remember isolated combinations of sounds. 
 
 The child, like the savage, is anthropomorphic, and soon 
 learns to ascribe very concrete causes to actions not visible 
 and to forces not understood. For example, the wind is 
 caused by some one waving a big fan; the rain comes down 
 because some one has made holes in the sky; the lightning is 
 caused by God fighting the gas quickly; thunder is the sound 
 made by a wagon in the sky, or sometimes it is God groaning 
 or walking on the floor. Children develop their own unique 
 ideas on moral questions. They are quite certain to conclude 
 that acts which are forbidden are wrong and that all not for- 
 bidden are perfectly right. Through our injudicious methods 
 of correction they are apt to conclude that sin consists not in 
 
288 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the doing of certain things but in getting caught. Thus the 
 "protective He" comes to be resorted to and beheved to be 
 right. Children's inductions concerning the Deity, reUgion, 
 time, the self, distance, are all very naive, but strikingly inde- 
 pendent of authority. 
 
 It is a sad commentary that when the child begins school 
 he begins to surrender much of his independence of thinking. 
 Being set to learning books instead of continuing with the 
 world of objective reality, he soon learns to rely on authority 
 instead of upon the evidence of his own senses. Again, his 
 questionings are silenced by our methods and he ceases to be 
 an alert inquirer while in school. The teacher frequently 
 does all the interrogating and marks him down for wrong 
 answers and for ignorance displayed by his questions. No 
 wonder that he subconsciously arrives at the induction: ''It 
 pays to be silent and to expose as little ignorance as possible." 
 Verbatim memory for the day comes to be the best-paying 
 capital. 
 
 Illustrations of Inductive Exercises. — A few examples of the 
 inductive development of certain generalizations will be given. 
 Of course they are much abridged. The teacher might have 
 to ask many more questions. The procedure is not indepen- 
 dent discovery. The teacher selects the conditions and aims 
 to get the pupils to draw valid conclusions. To accomplish 
 even that means much and cannot fail to develop a new atti- 
 tude toward study. The first illustration is from physics. 
 
 Take a tube which is nearly full of water and blow Into it. 
 A sound of a certain pitch Is produced. Lengthen the tube by 
 pouring out part of the water and a lower tone is produced. 
 Pour out still more water, thereby lengthening the tube, and 
 a still lower tone Is produced. Reverse the order of proce- 
 dure and note results. What may be concluded from this 
 experiment? That the longer the tube the lower the tone; 
 the shorter the tube the higher the tone. 
 
 The following Illustrations will serve to show how the proc- 
 ess of induction may be profitably employed in mathematics. 
 Ordinarily the pupils are given a rule and then required to 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 289 
 
 work examples according to the rule. It is true they can 
 learn the process and oftentimes work the examples just as 
 accurately and speedily as if they had developed the rule in- 
 ductively. But have they learned to think mathematically ? 
 The procedure is much like being asked to follow a cook- 
 book recipe. The cake may turn out all right, but if some- 
 thing goes wrong intelligence has not been developed by 
 which to correct the mistake. 
 
 I. Aim. To discover inductively the rule for pointing off the 
 product in the multiplication of decimals. 
 
 II. Presuppose a knowledge of (i) multiplication of integral num- 
 bers, (2) reading and writing of decimals, (3) the reduction of common 
 fractions to decimals, (4) the reduction of decimal fractions to common 
 fractions. 
 
 III. Data and course of inductive reasoning: 
 
 1. Write for illustration the following examples: 
 
 a. 3/10 X 2/10 = 6/100. 
 
 b. 3/10 X 5/10 = 15/100. 
 
 c. 5/100 X 5/10 = 25/1000. 
 
 2. Ask the pupils to rewrite, without performing the operations, 
 
 the Examples a, b, c in decimal form, and they will give: 
 
 d. .3 X .2 = ? 
 &. .3 X .5 = ? 
 c. .05 X .5 = ? 
 
 3. Questions and answers: 
 
 What was the product of 3/10 X 2/10? Ans.: 6/100. 
 Write the product in the form of a decimal. Ans.: .06. 
 What, therefore, should be the product of .3 X .2 ? Ans. : 
 6/100 or .06. 
 
 What was the product of 3/10 X 5/10? Ans.: 15/100. 
 Write the product as a decimal. Ans.: .15. 
 What, therefore, should be the product of .3 X .5 ? Ans. : 
 15/100 or .15. 
 
 What was the product of 5/100 X 5/10 ? Ans. : 25/1000. 
 Write the product as a decimal. Ans.: .025. 
 What, therefore, should be the product of .05 X .5 ? Ans. : 
 25/1000 or .025. 
 
290 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 How many decimal places in .3 ? Ans. : One. 
 How many decimal places in .2? Ans.: One. 
 How many decimal places in the product of .3 X .2? 
 Ans.: Two. 
 
 How many in the multiplicand in example b ? Ans. : One. 
 How many in the multiplier? Ans.: One. 
 How many in the product? Ajis.: Two. 
 How many in the multiplier, how many in the multipli- 
 cand, and how many in the product in Example c? 
 
 In Examples a, b, c compare the number of decimal places 
 in both the multiplier and the multiplicand with those 
 in the product. Ans.: There are as many in the prod- 
 uct as in both multiplier and multiplicand taken to- 
 gether. 
 
 IV. Make a rule for pointing off the product in the multiplication 
 of decimals. Ans.: Point off as many decimal places in the product 
 as there are in both multiplicand and multiplier taken together. 
 
 The laws of decimal-fraction notation and numeration may 
 be discovered and stated by pupils themselves. Presupposing 
 that the decimal notation for integral numbers is understood, 
 the following questions may be asked concerning the expres- 
 sion ii,iii : What is the value of the second figure from the 
 right as compared with the first i ? Ans. : Ten times as great. 
 The third with the second? The fourth with the third, etc.? 
 What is the name of each order? Now, how does the third 
 figure from the right compare with the fourth? The second 
 with the third ? The first with the second ? What would be 
 the value of the next order to the right as compared with the 
 first? Ans.: One-tenth. The next? Ans.: One-hundredth. 
 What should be the name of each? Now we place a point 
 between the whole number and the fraction to indicate the 
 separation. How read i ? If I place a point to the left of it, 
 what does it become? ii.i, how read? .1, how read? 11, 
 how read ? 
 
 The illustration on next page shows how the learner may 
 arrive at the rule for finding (a) the area of a rectangle, and 
 (b) the area of a triangle. Draw a rectangle, for example, 
 one that represents a surface of 6 x 4 . 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 
 
 291 
 
 (a) Divide it into squares. How many squares in the 
 upper row? Ans.: Six. How many in the next? Ans.: Six. 
 How many in each row ? How many rows of squares ? Ans. : 
 Four. Then if there are six squares in each of four rows, how 
 many squares? Ans.: Twenty-four squares. State how you 
 found this. ^W5.; By multiplying six squares by four. What 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 y' 
 
 
 
 ^" 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 ./ 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 
 FIGURE USED IN DEVELOPING RULE FOR FINDING 
 AREA OF RECTANGLE AND TRIANGLE 
 
 do each of the six squares Kepresent? Ans.: A square foot. 
 Then state the rule for finding the area of a rectangle. By 
 this method it will be seen easily that we obtain square feet 
 because we started with a square foot as the unit. Similarly 
 the rule for finding the cubic contents of a rectangular solid 
 can be developed. In fact, practically all of the rules in the 
 mensuration of surfaces and solids can be thus built up. 
 
 (6) Draw a diagonal of the rectangle and ask: How do the 
 two parts of the rectangle produced by drawing the diagonal 
 compare in size? Ans.: It is manifest that they are equal. 
 What part of the rectangle is each of the triangles? How 
 does the base of each triangle compare with the length of the 
 rectangle? Ans.: They are equal. How do the heights or 
 altitudes of the triangle compare with the width of the rec- 
 tangle? Ans.: They are equal. State again the rule for 
 finding the area of a rectangle. Then, how shall we find the 
 area of each triangle ? State the rule for finding the area of 
 any right triangle, when the base and altitude are given. 
 This could be extended so as to hold for any triangle. 
 
292 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Examples from algebra are very easy to find. By actual 
 division get the following results: 
 
 a^ — b^-7-a— b=a + b 
 a^ - b^ -^a - b = a"^ +ab +b^ 
 a^ -b^ ^ a -b = a^ + a?b + ab"^ + W 
 a^ -b^ ^ a -b = a^ -[-a^b + aW + a¥ + b^ 
 
 a^o -^10 ^ a -b = a^ + a% + aW + a%^ + w'b^ + a^Z^ + a^W + 
 a^-J + a¥ + b^ 
 
 What is the nature of the dividend ? Ans.: The difference 
 of like powers of the two numbers. The nature of the divisor ? 
 Ans,: The difference between the two numbers. Are all of 
 the given dividends divisible by a — b? Do you think 
 ^100 _ ^100 divisible by a - 6 ? a^ - &^ and a° - 6° by a - & ? 
 Do the last belong to the same class as the first ? State what 
 you believe to be true, i. e., the law or rule. Proceed in a simi- 
 lar manner to develop the law of exponents, number of terms, 
 etc., in the quotient. 
 
 As another illustration take the following (from A School 
 Algebra, by C. A. Van Velzer and C. S. Slichter, p. 164): 
 
 What does a~a^a^ equal? What then does (a^Y equal? 
 What does a^a^a^ equal? What then does (a^y equal? 
 What does a%%^ equal? What then does (3^)^ equal? 
 What does a^a^a^ equal? What then does {a^y equal? 
 What does a^a^a^ equal? What then does {a^Y equal? 
 What does a'^a'^a^aP- equal? What then does {a^Y equal? 
 What does the product of r factors each of which is a^ equal ? 
 What does {a^'Y equal? 
 
 The rth power of the nth. power of a number is equal to the 
 wrth power of that number ; this is expressed in the formula 
 
 Order of Instruction. — The teacher, knowing that the in- 
 ductive process is the natural order in which the mind moves, 
 will arrange his instruction so as to further the habit and to 
 assist in securing as a habit what is not very natural, viz., a 
 critical evaluation of data. This does not mean that teachers 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 293 
 
 should never tell anything. To know when to tell, what to 
 tell, and how to tell constitute high teaching art. But the 
 order should be one of inductive unfoldment of ideas; a skilful 
 marshalling of facts, propounding of questions, and leading 
 the learner to draw conclusions for himself as far as possible. 
 Reasoning either by induction or deduction means deriving 
 relational knowledge. Merely gathering facts without estab- 
 lishing new relations among them is not reasoning at all. 
 
 Now notice that usually the rule is stated at the outset, the 
 pupil told to learn it, and then given examples for practice. 
 By that procedure he is not trained in reasoning but merely 
 in computingy according to rule. Proof should come at some 
 stage, but that is much harder. That is a deductive proce- 
 dure. He should be trained to think and to work from prin- 
 ciples rather than from rules. 
 
 Relation of the Text-Book to Induction. — Some have con- 
 tended that text-books ought to give generalizations only; 
 others that they ought to give the detailed facts but omit the 
 generalizations and rules, leaving these to be worked out by 
 pupils, with the teacher's help. In the first kind of book the 
 particulars would need to be supplied by the teacher. This 
 works fairly well in some subjects with skilful teachers. For 
 example, an arithmetic on this plan would begin each case 
 with the statement of the rule and then follow with examples 
 and problems for application. All preliminary illustrative 
 material would be omitted. Such a book in the hands of a 
 poor teacher would be very uninteresting and difficult. Many 
 of the text-books in the German schools are of this type. 
 Even in geography there is the merest outline and a summary 
 of generalizations. Geographies in this country have been of 
 this type, but the newer ones furnish much material. The 
 ones which furnish more material are manifestly more desir- 
 able than those which are merely boiled-down summaries. 
 Only the teacher with an abundance of time and equipment 
 can furnish the many details necessary. Even then the well- 
 written text-book has the materials better selected and ar- 
 ranged than can be done for a particular class by most teachers. 
 
294 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 A book of facts with the generahzations omitted is often to 
 be found in our newer arithmetics. They are better than the 
 book with only the generahzations. However, in unskilled 
 hands they produce chaotic results. Knowledge needs classi- 
 fication and ticketing in order to be usable. The rules and 
 generalizations fulfil the same functions as words. They help 
 to isolate knowledge, to classify it, and to form a centre about 
 which to group new related knowledge. A good text-book 
 contains plenty of material. This material should be arranged 
 in logical sequence, selected according to psychological needs, 
 and in such a way that the learner who follows the discussion 
 thoughtfully foresees the generalization before reaching it. 
 The book statement of the generalization should, of course, 
 be the best, and be calculated to clarify and enlarge the learn- 
 er's notions. In many cases the teacher may go over the 
 same lesson orally before assigning the text to be read. The 
 book is then used to clarify and impress the knowledge more 
 firmly. In other cases the pupils may safely be set to work 
 out the lesson themselves. A book properly arranged meets 
 their apperceptions and furnishes the data necessary for the 
 development of every generalization. Every good text-book 
 for older pupils should be so arranged that the learner could 
 use it to good advantage without a teacher. With a teacher 
 he should be able to use it to still better advantage. 
 
 But back of the text-book in most subjects there must be 
 objective experiences gained at first hand. The understand- 
 ing of the text-book is made possible only when it calls up 
 personal observations and experiences. To be sure, the new 
 whole need not have been experienced, but the elements com- 
 posing the new whole must have been. In the material sci- 
 ences laboratory experiments and demonstrations should make 
 clear each step whenever possible. From the very nature of 
 mind it is necessary that the elementary notions in all sub- 
 jects should be built up objectively. 
 
 Importance and Use of Inductive Methods. — What will the 
 pupil gain by being required to form conclusions for himself ? 
 In some cases results would be secured more quickly by simply 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 295 
 
 giving the rule and requiring him to apply it. For example, 
 the rule for pointing off in multiplication of decimals can be 
 committed to memory easily and its application learned with- 
 out understanding a shadow of the reason therefor. The pupil 
 could quickly learn to perform the operation without mistakes 
 and undoubtedly would remember it as long as if acquired in 
 a more laborious manner. Then what is gained by the more 
 laborious process ? Nothing, provided computation is the only 
 end in view. But if arithmetic is to be "a study which trains 
 the reasoning powers," the pupil must use it as a means of 
 reasoning. To learn "that he must invert the terms of the 
 divisor and multiply" is a mere act of memory and involves 
 no real thinking, but to know why he does involves thinking 
 to a high degree. We wish to inculcate hahits of inductive 
 reasoning. 
 
 Every successful man is a good inductive reasoner. The 
 professor in science has no monopoly on induction. The 
 business man has equal need of forming independent conclu- 
 sions from everyday data. The merchant, the banker, any 
 financier must watch daily factors that are liable to affect the 
 markets, and from these factors they must draw conclusions 
 as to the course of procedure. No rule can be laid down that 
 will guide infallibly, for exactly the same factors never enter 
 into combination twice. Hence each set of factors should 
 lead to independent conclusions. Since the mind works ac- 
 cording to habits acquired. It Is of the highest importance to 
 give the mind In early life as strong a tendency as possible 
 toward inductive thinking. 
 
 The dry-goods merchant, to be successful, has to determine 
 carefully in advance what kind of goods to purchase for the 
 coming season. He must be guided by the experiences of past 
 seasons and by the present conditions of trade, and by all the 
 factors that affect trade. The past season will tell him whether 
 woollen or cotton goods sold best, and what grade, and the 
 quantity. The present condition of the money market will 
 enable him to guess how freely people will spend their money; 
 local conditions, as taxes and philanthropic enterprises, will 
 
296 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 enable him to guess how much money will be diverted into 
 other channels and how much may be left to purchase from 
 him. He must consider the growth of the population of his 
 trade district, also the number of competing merchants who 
 have moved into or away from his neighborhood; and Dame 
 Fashion must be consulted for changes of styles. Besides 
 these, a host of other factors enter most intimately into the 
 trade relations to affect the amount and quality of the stock 
 to be purchased. The merchant who can look ahead, foresee 
 advantages and disadvantages, is the successful one. That 
 is, the one who makes the widest, most careful inductions is 
 generally the most prosperous. It often takes a year or years 
 to prove the truth or falsity of the generalizations which he 
 makes, and the bits of evidence collected in testing his theories 
 are made the basis of new generalizations. 
 
 The United States Weather Bureau makes its daily fore- 
 casts from the data relating to barometric and thermometric 
 readings, wind velocities at different points, and the various 
 changes in temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity. 
 The forecasts are applied inductive conclusions asserting 
 probable conditions. The judge on the bench or the jury 
 listening to a trial has problems of induction to deal with. 
 The testimony of witnesses is to form the basis for generaliza- 
 tions, or, in other words, it contains the individual notions 
 used in forming the general notions. Similarly in every oc- 
 cupation there is opportunity and necessity for arriving at 
 new conclusions through the consideration of particular cases. 
 True, in many cases the mind cannot isolate the data as 
 clearly nor draw as definite conclusions as in mathematical 
 problems. But even in the most "offhand" guess the mind 
 subconsciously generalizes from data which have been gath- 
 ered previously. Even our unexplainable prejudices are re- 
 sults of induction. 
 
 Therefore, how important that the pupil be trained in the 
 careful collection of evidence and in weighing it accurately 
 instead of jumping at conclusions! The person who habitu- 
 ally decides things too hastily and then spends his time re- 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 297 
 
 gretting his conclusions, reasons inductively no less than the 
 one who arrives at a safe conclusion, but the induction of the 
 former is imperfect. 
 
 Pupils, as well as scientists, should be taught to form hy- 
 potheses to account for certain phenomena. Hypotheses are 
 guesses, but good guesses based upon a thorough knowledge 
 of the conditions entering into the problem. The hypothesis 
 should be (i) conceivable in the light of the facts; (2) it should 
 be in accord with the facts; (3) it should explain the known 
 facts; and (4) should be of such a character that inductions 
 can be made from it. When hypotheses have stood the fire 
 of criticism and have become well established they are termed 
 theories. The atomic theory and the nebular theory were 
 simply hypotheses or guesses which seemed to account for 
 certain phenomena or relationships that existed, and from 
 these guesses much actual progress in further knowledge has 
 been made possible. The theory of a universal ether was at 
 first propounded as an hypothesis attempting to explain some 
 problems concerning the passage of light and heat rays. There 
 were certain apparently demonstrated facts demanding ex- 
 planation. The hypothesis which was put forth presented 
 astounding difficulties of conception, but it has proved so val- 
 uable in working out practical applications, and its proof has 
 been apparently so incontrovertible that it has long been a 
 well-accepted theory. Even now, however, new hypotheses 
 and theories looking toward the explanation of many of the 
 phenomena of heat and light are being propounded. 
 
 The Deductive Method. — In deduction a law, rule, hy- 
 pothesis, or generalization is the starting-point in thinking. 
 Some one has previously worked out the conclusion from par- 
 ticular cases. The problem now is to take the conclusion and 
 (a) apply it to particular cases, or (b) test its validity, or {c) 
 discover new particular facts. As illustrations of the first 
 type take the classical example : All men are mortal ; Socrates 
 was a man; therefore Socrates was mortal. Or, nouns are 
 name words; John is a name; therefore the word John is a 
 noun. In "parsing" in grammar the definitions of the vari- 
 
298 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 ous parts of speech and their modifications are given and the 
 pupil measures or compares the given words with the defini- 
 tions. Similarly in classifying specimens in botany the pupil 
 is given definitions of various species and families of plants. 
 He then takes the particular specimen and studies the calyx, 
 corolla, stamens, pistils, petals, stem, roots, etc., observes 
 their characteristics, says: "They do not belong to the crow- 
 foot family, but do correspond to the definition of the rose 
 family." He has in effect reasoned thus: "The rose family 
 has such and such characteristics. This plant has these char- 
 acteristics. Therefore it belongs to the rose family." The 
 best illustration of deduction in school subjects is found in 
 the ordinary text-book in geometry. A theorem is stated 
 which is assumed to be correct. For example: "The sum of 
 the three angles of a triangle is equal to two right angles." 
 The pupil has not discovered the principle. Some one else 
 has, and the pupil's task is to test its truth or falsity. Only 
 occasionally is a new fact discovered deductively. Deduction 
 may be formally defined as follows: Deduction is a process 
 of thinking in which the learner starts with lawSy principles^ 
 or hypotheses and applies them to individual cases; or tests 
 their validity; or discovers new individual facts by means of 
 them. 
 
 The following are illustrations of deductive teaching. The 
 first relates to a well-known principle of algebra. The book 
 from which it was taken (Olney's Complete Algebra) starts the 
 discussion with a statement of the principle. In many books 
 the principle is first derived inductively. Most texts do not 
 attempt to test or prove that it is true. The given book proves 
 it and then gives examples in which the quotients are to be 
 stated without actually dividing. Both the proof and the ap- 
 plications are deductive in character. 
 
 Proposition. — The difference between any two quantities is a divisor 
 of the difference between the same powers of the quantities. Dem- 
 onstration. — Let X and y be any two quantities and n any positive 
 integer. First, x — y divides x"" — y"". Second, if n is even, x + y 
 divides x"^ — y"". Third, if « is odd, x -\- y divides x"^ + y^. 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 299 
 
 First 
 X - y) x"" - y"" { x""-^ + ^°~- y + :y°~^ y"^ + a;°-* y + etc . 
 
 ric" — X" 
 
 Taking the first case, we proceed in form with the division, till 
 enough terms to determine the law are found. We find that each 
 remainder consists of two terms, the second of which, — y"^, is the 
 second term of the dividend constantly brought down unchanged; and 
 the first contains x with an exponent decreasing by unity in each 
 successive remainder, and y with an exponent increasing at the same 
 rate that the exponent of x decreases. At this rate the exponent of x 
 in the nth. remainder becomes O, and that of y, n. Hence the wth 
 remainder is y° — y"^, or O; and the division is exact. Q. E. D. 
 
 The following is a typical deductive statement found in a 
 high-school text in physics (Black and Davis, Practical Physics, 
 p. 78). Note that the principle is stated first and then a 
 demonstration is given. At the close of the chapter a num- 
 ber of problems and exercises are given, applying the various 
 principles studied and demonstrated in the chapter. 
 
 Air is very compressible. In one respect gases are very different 
 from liquids, namely, in compressibility. This striking difference can 
 be shown in the following experiment: 
 
 When a brass tube, with a closely fitting steei rod, is filled with air, 
 the steel plunger can be easily pushed down by hand, and when the 
 plunger is released, it springs back nearly to its initial position. If it 
 does not come quite back to its initial position, it means that some of 
 the air has leaked out. The entrapped air acts like a spring. But 
 when the tube is filled with water, or any other liquid, it is quite im- 
 possible to push the plunger down, to any perceptible extent, by 
 hand, and when the end of the plunger is struck with a hammer, the 
 effect is as if the entire tube were a solid steel column, because the 
 liquid is so nearly incompressible. 
 
300 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 High-school geometry furnishes the best possibilities for the 
 use of the deductive method. The learner starts with the 
 theorem and is asked to prove the truth or falsity of it. If he 
 works it out for himself, he reasons deductively. If he mem- 
 orizes the printed discussion, he follows a deductive method, 
 but he does not necessarily reason. The fact that the dis- 
 cussions are fully written out in most text-books on geometry 
 militates against securing the most efficient work in reasoning. 
 The plan of the book fosters pure verbal memorizing. If 
 only a few hints were given, much better thinking would be 
 stimulated. The "original exercises" are usually the best 
 part of the book, but too often omitted. 
 
 Although deductive methods are more easily apparent in 
 geometry than in other subjects, yet they are being employed 
 continually. Whenever definitions, laws, and principles are 
 stated and then tested, or when applications are made of the 
 laws and principles the deductive method is used. Grammar 
 has most usually been taught by this method. Latin and 
 Greek are quite universally taught deductively. In American 
 schools the modern foreign languages have generally been 
 taught by the translation method, which is deductive in its 
 approach. The pupil learns his definitions and rules, and then 
 applies them to the particular words. Algebra and arithmetic 
 have been taught more deductively than inductively, but even 
 more as a matter of memory and by rule-of-thumb methods. 
 They are both excellent instruments for utilizing reasoning 
 processes, but when rules are followed blindly, reasoning is 
 used only meagrely. 
 
 It is very important that pupils learn to test results 
 which they reach inductively, or which are furnished them 
 ready-made. It is only by verification that the learner should 
 come to a feeling of certainty and security in his own inductive 
 conclusions. He should also learn to weigh, test, and verify 
 statements furnished him by his teachers and his books. 
 There is no certainty that when a pupil has reproduced cor- 
 rectly a demonstration in geometry which he has been set to 
 learn, that he has really gone through a process of deduction. 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 
 
 301 
 
 He may have approached it deductively and learned the forms, 
 but real deduction means reasoning, in which the individual 
 derives the conclusions for himself. To follow another's de- 
 
 PROPOSITION XXI 
 
 III. Theorem. If two parallel lines are cut by a transversal, the 
 alternate interior angles are equal. 
 
 Let M R and N P represent two parallel lines cut by the transversal 
 
 AB. 
 Case I. To prove that the alternate interior angles 4 and 3 are equal. 
 Suggestion i. Through 0, the middle point of E F, draw C D Ito N P. 
 
 2. What relation does CD sustain to M R? Why? 
 
 3. Compare As F D and O E C. Give auth. 
 
 4. Then, how do / 5 4 and 3 compare? Why? Par. 84. 
 
 Case II. To prove that the alternate interior angles 6 and 5 are equal. 
 Suggestion i. /4+/_6 = /_S_ + [^ Why? 
 2. Compare / s 6 and 5. 
 Therefore — 
 
 ductive discussion is not to reason deductively; it is not nec- 
 essarily reasoning at all. 
 
 The above is a splendid illustration of the real use of the 
 deductive method, in which the learner is required to do the 
 thinking and not merely echo some one else who has thought 
 
302 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 out all of the relations and conclusions. Notice especially 
 how no conclusion except the theorem is stated. All the rest 
 is left for the pupil to derive. (Taken from Shutts, Plane and 
 Solid Geometry, pp. 46-47.) 
 
 Laboratory and Field Work. — It is frequently assumed that 
 all science teaching by the laboratory method is inductive and 
 efficient. As a matter of fact, it is frequently neither induc- 
 tive nor efficient. When pupils are given a laboratory manual 
 of minute instructions, provided with every piece of equip- 
 ment, and then record mechanically what they do, and are 
 not questioned concerning reasons and relations, they are apt 
 to do very little thinking. It is as bad as the old-time text- 
 book method without any laboratory. 
 
 In European schools pupils have very little individual lab- 
 oratory manipulation in physics or chemistry. The teacher 
 gives demonstration exercises, and questions the pupils sharply 
 concerning the experiments. They get better results than in 
 our schools, where pupils are turned loose in the laboratory 
 and follow the "cook-book recipe" method. The abolish- 
 ment of the laboratory is not here advocated. It should be 
 emphasized, however, that the only purpose of the laboratory 
 is to cause pupils to really think. Laboratory work should 
 be largely inductive in order that pupils may learn to be dis- 
 coverers, at least in a small way, but many laboratory exer- 
 cises should be given for the purpose of demonstrating laws 
 or principles, testing hypotheses or applying what has already 
 been established as true. 
 
 Neither induction nor deduction should be followed exclu- 
 sively in any subject. The foundations should always be 
 laid inductively. Induction is a method of discovery, of in- 
 vestigation; deduction a method of testing, of proof, of appli- 
 cation. After principles, laws, hypotheses, conclusions have 
 been derived through a personal examination of particulars 
 they should be carefully tested and proven either valid or 
 incorrect. It is a mistake to teach sciences by inductive 
 methods alone. Induction without deduction tends to lead 
 learners to jump to conclusions. They develop a commenda- 
 
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE THINKING 303 
 
 ble habit of making independent observations, but the obser- 
 vations are apt to be loose and inaccurate. When deductive 
 methods only are employed, the learner is apt to become ab- 
 sorbed in the abstractions of logic, too much inclined to reason 
 out conclusions from insufficient data, too ready to rely on 
 authority. The Middle Age scholasticism was characterized 
 by the excessive use of deductive methods and a meagreness 
 of investigation. . The reasoning was correct and fine-spun, 
 but often based on unsound premises. The combined use of 
 both methods characterizes all good teaching and all effective 
 study. In advanced classes the deductive approach often 
 seems to characterize the most of the work, while in reality 
 the approach is also inductive because the students have for- 
 merly gathered so many individual ideas that they need but 
 to form or perfect their generalizations from the individual 
 data. This is true in such subjects as economics, institutional 
 history, and psychology. 
 
 It is necessary that we accept, at least tentatively, many 
 laws and principles that have been discovered by scientists 
 and others throughout the ages. It would be impossible, for 
 lack of time if for no other reason, to test every working prin- 
 ciple. Generally, also, the discovery of the law has required 
 special scientific knowledge or equipment which we do not 
 possess and therefore we could not test it. We must there- 
 fore learn to evaluate authorities, so that when it is impossible 
 to test laws we may be reasonably sure that we are following 
 probably correct principles and rules. Only by accepting and 
 applying apparently valid knowledge vouched for by special- 
 ists are we able to make any progress. We all have to rely 
 upon specialists. Few can test scientifically the principles of 
 law, medicine, engineering, plumbing, accounting, or astron- 
 omy. In attempting to cause pupils to think critically we 
 sometimes try to make pupils discover or prove every fact 
 which they consider. That is manifestly impossible. They 
 must learn to select and appropriate from the world's great 
 storehouses of well-established facts. Of course, in learning 
 to rely upon authorities they must be sufficiently critical not 
 
304 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 to accept facts blindly simply because of the rank of the 
 authorities. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Think of some generalization derived independently by children. 2. 
 Recall some generalizations derived independently by yourself in connec- 
 tion with (a) some school subject, (b) some practical affairs of life, 3, 
 Suppose a pupil performs an experiment and independently comes to a 
 wrong conclusion. Is the time and effort wasted? 4, What subjects lend 
 themselves to the inductive method of learning? 5, Under what circum- 
 stances should definitions in school subjects be memorized ? 6, Arrange a 
 lesson in your major subject to be taught by the inductive method. 7, 
 Suggest a list of questions designed to help pupils to discover the function 
 of an adjective, 8, Would you try to teach history inductively ? 9. Were 
 you taught arithmetic inductively or deductively? Which method do you 
 consider preferable? 10, If a subject is not taught inductively, is it there- 
 fore taught deductively? 11, Should rules for spelling be taught induc- 
 tively, deductively, or not at all? 12. Which phase of deduction, dis- 
 covery, proof, or application, is most frequently employed by pupils? By 
 persons in everyday life? 13, Under what circumstances is deduction 
 used by pupils in laboratory exercises? Legitimate? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bagley, The Educative Process, chaps. XIX, XX. 
 
 2. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXIV. 
 
 3. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. VIII. 
 
 4. Colvin, Introduction to High School Teaching, chap. XIII. 
 
 5. Colvin, The Learning Process, chap. XXI. 
 
 6. McMurry, Method of the Recitation. Entire book. 
 
 7. Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, chaps. V, VI. 
 
 8. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. X. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 
 
 The Dynamic Side of Life. — Deeds, not ideas or words, 
 count. What determines one's course of action at any given 
 moment? Professor Royce speaks of will as the direction of 
 conduct. We have noted that sensations and ideas tend to 
 develop into action. Which response will follow? Why do 
 we select or choose one mode of behavior rather than another ? 
 It is just this selecting, choosing, following that constitutes 
 what is known as will, or volition. 
 
 Ordinarily will Is thought of as something which compels us 
 to follow some line of action rather than another. It Is said, 
 for example: "He kept up by sheer force of his strong will," 
 "His Iron will carried him onward," "His will weakened," or 
 "He failed because he lacked will." One person is said to 
 have a firm will and another one that is changeable. Will is 
 thus regarded as a sort of psychological ghost that continu- 
 ally pursues us, compelling or prohibiting whatever we do. 
 Each one is supposed to be born with a will of a given type 
 which remains with him through life. This is not true, how- 
 ever, because the will develops with experience. It is con- 
 nected with intellectual and emotional states, and its growth 
 is largely determined by them. 
 
 Royce said that our minds are full of "passing impulses, of 
 tendencies to action, of passions, and of concerns for what we 
 take to be our welfare. All these Impulses and concerns get 
 woven, by the laws of habit. Into systems of ruling motives 
 which express themselves without In our regular fashions of 
 conduct. The whole of our Inner life, viewed In this aspect, 
 appears as the purposive side of our consciousness, or as the will 
 in the wider sensed (Royce, Outlines of Psychology, p. 367.) 
 
 305 
 
3o6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Development of Will in the Child. — Instead of being a fixed 
 quantity, the will of the child grows through experience. At 
 the outset the child possesses through heredity a stock of 
 motor impulses. Many of them are random, while others are 
 quite definite. Then through being carried about, being fed, 
 washed, and dressed, thousands of positions are assumed. 
 Thus many movements, accidental so far as the child is con- 
 cerned, are experienced. Each one of these is of definite 
 value in trying a new movement, as they can be recombined 
 in countless ways. Trial and error and trial and success are 
 the usual ways of developing definite voluntary actions. 
 
 In order to understand fully developed volitional acts let 
 us examine the genesis of a voluntary act; for example, throw- 
 ing at a mark. We throw at the mark and do not succeed. 
 But in doing so we have gained certain experiences — muscu- 
 lar, auditory, and others. Each of these experiences leaves a 
 memory. It may be a visual memory of the appearance of 
 the mark and of the distance, or it may be the kinesthetic 
 memory of the position of the arm when it was raised, as the 
 missile was hurled, of the position of the hand and the fingers 
 as the missile was released. All of these memories are taken 
 account of in gauging the next trial. We know, for example, 
 how wide of the mark we came and how much muscular ten- 
 sion was exerted, at what height the object was released. 
 These memories we compare with our ideas of the amount of 
 force that ought to be exerted, the modified positions to be 
 taken by the arm and hand, and other conditions which we 
 think ought to bring about the desired end. We try again 
 and possibly err in the opposite direction. The memories of 
 this experience are now compared with the former ones and 
 also with the imagined necessary ones, and we repeat the trial, 
 attempting to correct all the former errors. If perchance we 
 have accidentally hit the mark the first time, the case is fun- 
 damentally the same. In either case we try to remember the 
 sensations and perceptions gained under these conditions and 
 then endeavor to repeat them. It takes many trials before 
 we can perform the action purposively, because our memories 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 307 
 
 of the movement are so fleeting and imperfect, and our ideas 
 of what is necessary are so indefinite. At first we cannot 
 know just what to do, because we can have no accurate idea 
 of the end until we have actually accomplished the end. 
 
 From this analysis we see that in order to perform an act 
 voluntarily we must have (a) an idea (not necessarily a con- 
 scious idea) of the end to be accomplished, and (b) a stock of 
 memories of former experiences from which a suitable selec- 
 tion can be used in guiding action toward the ideal end. This 
 idea of the end to be accomplished includes not only an idea 
 of what is to be done, but also the idea of how to do it. On 
 first consideration this may seem a startling statement. The 
 inquiry will at once be raised as to how we can ever perform 
 an act voluntarily if we must first know definitely how to 
 accomplish the act and if that knowledge can only be gained 
 by actual performance of it. Paradoxical as it may seem, 
 however, no act can be performed voluntarily until it has been 
 first performed non-voluntarily. This does not mean that as 
 a whole it must have been performed non-voluntarily, but 
 that the elements which enter into it must have been per- 
 formed non-voluntarily. In the case of reaching for a book, 
 for example, we do it at once without difficulty, although we 
 have never reached for the identical book or in that particular 
 place. But we have moved the arm and the hand in countless 
 directions previously, and each of these reachings has been 
 recorded in memory. When we reach for a particular book 
 in a particular place we select from all the past experiences 
 certain elements and combine those elements into a new 
 whole and perform the new action with ease. 
 
 James writes that "no creature not endowed with divina- 
 tory power can perform an act voluntarily for the first time." 
 But as we are not endowed with prophetic power we must 
 wait for the movements to be performed involuntarily before 
 we can frame ideas of what they are. "We learn all our pos- 
 sibilities by the way of experience. When a particular move- 
 ment, having once occurred in a random, reflex, or involun- 
 tary way, has left an image of itself in the memory, then the 
 
3o8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 movement can be desired again, proposed as an end, and de- 
 liberately willed. But it is impossible to see how it could be 
 willed before. A supply of ideas of the various movements that 
 are possible left in the memory by experiences of their involuntary 
 performance is thus the first prerequisite of the voluntary life.'* 
 (James, Principles of Psychology, II, pp. 487, 488.) 
 
 Professor Royce voices the same idea in the following sen- 
 tences : 
 
 Strange as the statement may seem, we can never consciously and 
 directly will any really novel course of action. We can directly will an 
 act only when we have before done that act, and have so experienced the 
 nature of it. The will is as dependent as the intellect upon our past 
 experience. One can indeed will an act which is sure to involve, in a 
 given environment, absolutely novel consequences; but the act itself, 
 so far as one wills it, is a familiar act. Thus a suicide can will an act 
 which results in his own death, and so far he seems to be willing some- 
 thing which wholly transcends his past experience. But, as a fact, 
 the act itself which he makes the direct object of his will (e. g., point- 
 ing a pistol and pulling a trigger, or swallowing a dose) is itself an act 
 with which he is long since decidedly famiHar. {Op. cit., p. 369,) 
 
 Relation of Habit and Will. — It is thus recognized that the 
 basis of will is habit. The more that conduct becomes woven 
 into organized systems the greater the ease and control of the 
 behavior. What is accomplished easily and with control is 
 done voluntarily. Ordinarily we think of habit as the out- 
 come of will, but, as a matter of fact, few habits are initiated 
 intentionally — voluntarily. The actions are launched through 
 ideomotor action determined by chance environment, con- 
 tinued through imitation, and finally become habits. These 
 determine our behavior. 
 
 What Is a Strong Will? — According to the popular notion 
 that person has a strong will who is full of strong, uncontrolled 
 impulses, who exhibits great vigor in doing things in the face 
 of opposition, or who is able to resist great temptations. Our 
 examination of the development of voluntary movements and 
 the relation between volition and habit will not bear out the 
 popular notion. The subject is so difficult, however, that a 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 309 
 
 little closer examination is necessary for full understanding. 
 A voluntary action is one that is under control. It is one 
 which has been brought under control by the individual or it 
 may be in part due to hereditary tendencies. Yet we say of 
 the man who experienced a great temptation to go into the 
 saloon, who had a tremendous struggle with himself against 
 going, but who finally mastered his inclination, that he had a 
 strong will. Another man goes by the saloon door with no 
 temptation, no inclination to go in, and without any struggle. 
 We give him no credit for strength of will. We demand that 
 there be struggle in order to ascribe anything to strength of 
 will. The man who goes about with no temptation to pick 
 people's pockets, no craving for murder, no longing to set a 
 match under his neighbor's house, no struggle against evil, is 
 not thought of as strong-willed. But let a man struggle with 
 debasing impulses, come out victorious, and we cite him as a 
 man of will. Now, this is incorrect. We may laud the man 
 who has struggled and won as a means of encouragement to 
 future righteousness, but it is wrong to regard him as an ex- 
 emplar of sturdy will. A strong will in the psychological 
 sense means a trained will ; it means a high degree of control ; 
 while the very fact that a struggle with temptation has ensued 
 indicates difficulty of control, or lack of will. The temptation 
 and the struggle are indications of disease of will or lack of 
 perfect volitional development. The power to go by the 
 saloon, to keep one's hands out of people's pockets, to inhibit 
 thoughts of revenge and injury to others is a token of a high 
 degree of will-training. These virtues do not come merely 
 through individual training, but they indicate hereditary ten- 
 dencies accumulated through generations of training in tem- 
 perate living, abstinence from excesses, self-renunciation, and 
 altruism. Hence, the person with desirable hereditary en- 
 dowment and properly developed individual habits does not 
 feel temptation toward intemperate sense gratification, tak- 
 ing what does not belong to him, or destruction of another's 
 property. 
 
 Most people would grant that I am voluntarily writing these 
 
3IO EVERYDAY- PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 words, but how many there are who would not admit that 
 such action exhibits considerable will-power. Should I walk 
 across the floor or open my mouth and speak several sentences 
 correctly, few would deny that it was voluntarily done, but 
 how many would fail to acknowledge that it was an exhibition 
 of strength of will. Because of the looseness of popular psy- 
 chological analysis and the inaccuracies in the use of language, 
 the word willingly has not been generally thought to express 
 an attitude of will. But in reality one who is willing in doing 
 a thing wills to do it. Should I be stricken with palsy and 
 then tremblingly write a page, or stammer out a few incoherent 
 sentences, or walk with tottering steps across the floor, but 
 exhibit struggle and persistence, the same ones who conceded 
 nothing to my will before would now marvel at my strength 
 of will. As I regard the case, the palsied nerves, the exhaust- 
 ing struggle, and the indifferent execution are all signs of dis- 
 eased and therefore weak will. The perfect control without 
 struggle and accurate execution are evidences of strength of 
 will in that direction. Whatever is voluntarily done and with 
 ease and accuracy is a manifestation of a strong will. 
 
 Individual Variations in Volition. — It will be noted readily 
 that there are a great many varieties of volitional response 
 manifested by different individuals. There is the person who 
 is cool, calm, calculating, and deliberate in everything he 
 does; as his opposite there is the one who always acts on mo- 
 mentary impulses, never foreseeing completely the results of 
 his action. Among the former type, represented admirably 
 by Gladstone, are the great constructive statesmen; in the 
 latter class we find many great reformers and soldiers — such 
 men as Luther and Napoleon (the world-shaking type, as 
 James denominates them). Then there is the" vacillating type, 
 thoroughly deHberating and weighing, but never arriving at a 
 decision. Such a one is always "going to do" something, 
 but never getting started. Extremes of this type, of course, 
 are pathological. 
 
 It should also be noted that the same person may have 
 strength of will in one direction and not in another. A high- 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 311 
 
 wayman may give an exhibition of the most perfect control 
 in a railway hold-up, but he may be the most weak-kneed 
 coward imaginable in facing a drawing-room full of company, 
 in making a speech, or standing firm in a moral issue. Stam- 
 mering is a disease of the will, and who has not seen otherwise 
 strong men who have been stammerers? The stammering 
 was indicative of weakness in a single direction. One may 
 have perfect physical control but be lacking in intellectual 
 control, i. e., he may be subject to mind wandering, lacking 
 in attention, in control of memory, imagination, or thinking. 
 One may have good control of predominantly intellectual 
 processes, but be without proper emotional balance. He may 
 be a slave to some great absorbing passions or he may be sub- 
 ject to explosions of temper. Similarly there are those who 
 have perfect control of intellectual and emotional processes 
 but who are sadly lacking in moral control. It is important 
 in education to recognize these variations that may appear in 
 the same individual. If the moral will is weak, for example, 
 it is frequently impossible to develop it through purely intel- 
 lectual activities. Logical training will not necessarily pro- 
 duce honesty. 
 
 Will Means Accumulated Tendencies. — I have tried 
 throughout this work to indicate that every experience leaves 
 its ineffaceable trace upon the nervous system and, conse- 
 quently, upon the mind. As these effects of experience ac- 
 cumulate in certain directions, impulses and tendencies 
 toward action are produced in those directions. In this way 
 the mind and body develop particular attitudes and processes. 
 When we analyze the meaning of character we find that it 
 implies nothing more nor less than the accumulated tenden- 
 cies toward action in particular directions. A man who has 
 habitually acted in a righteous direction has built up tenden- 
 cies toward righteousness. On the other hand, one who has 
 sown a generous supply of wild oats in youth is sure to reap 
 in old. age an abundant harvest of viciousness. It could not 
 be otherwise. We are enjoined in the Scriptures that "what- 
 soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." It may seem 
 
312 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 somewhat materialistic to call these results of experience char- 
 acter, but from a scientific analysis of the effect of experience 
 upon the nervous system and upon the mind, we cannot help 
 but conclude that character is a result of all the experiences 
 which have come to us. It is somewhat annoying to the one 
 who has led an idle, dissolute life to contemplate that the 
 record of all his life is constantly in evidence, impelling him in 
 the direction in which he has started, but the result is unavoid- 
 able. On the other hand, one may derive a large measure of 
 comfort and satisfaction from a knowledge of the scientific 
 fact that lifelong experience in the direction of right will pro- 
 duce a fund of capital upon which we are continually to draw. 
 A man who has thus lived properly all his life will be able to 
 stand firm easily when the storm of temptation rages around 
 him. 
 
 Transfer of Effects. — The discussion of formal discipline has 
 shown that power gained in one direction does not give power 
 in any other direction wholly unrelated. This is very true in 
 connection with will-training because it has been so generally 
 assumed that will-power can be applied to all situations equally 
 well. The one who gains control in football has not thereby 
 gained control in public speaking. Neither has the one who 
 has acquired poise and perfect control of body, train of 
 thoughts, and of voice thereby gained control in football. 
 Each type of control must be gained by experience in doing 
 that type of thing. Of course in so far as one experience may 
 become an element in another experience it reinforces the 
 other. 
 
 Directions of Control. — ^Among the manifold directions of 
 controlled actions only a few may be discussed, and these 
 merely in a suggestive rather than an exhaustive manner. 
 First and fundamentally, every child must acquire muscular 
 control of a great variety of actions, and in some cases of ex- 
 ceeding complexity. What are creeping, walking, standing, 
 running, feeding oneself, going through the process of dress- 
 ing, but cases of voluntary control ? True, they come to seem 
 automatic, but they are directly subject to modification and 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 313 
 
 control and, therefore, volitional. To stand well, possess an 
 erect carriage, walk gracefully, or to manage one's hands and 
 feet without awkwardness, are no mean accomplishments. 
 They often secure for one an entree to the best society and 
 even add to one's monthly salary. To give assurance of 
 possessing these qualities is a prime indorsement to a candi- 
 date for many positions. They must be learned, too, con- 
 trary to current opinion. They are a badge of good society, 
 and indicate that the possessor of these habits has been under 
 approved tutors, unconsciously^ observed it may be but none 
 the less important. To manage one's voice so as to utter 
 words distinctly, without stammering or hesitation, to modu- 
 late the voice properly in talking and singing, to be able to 
 marshal apt words readily, to have the power of speaking in 
 different languages, all these are excellent cases of a high 
 degree of control. Who will say that they are not voluntary ? 
 Still there is no great degree of control until they are largely 
 habitual. These are all worthy directions of will-training. 
 Proficiency in any of the several directions indicates educa- 
 tion of the highest importance, and gained only through much 
 practice. Not only are the foregoing examples of muscular 
 co-ordination and control, but they also illustrate controlled, 
 highly complex psychical activities. Such activities as are 
 manifested in drawing, painting, sculpture, watchmaking, the 
 fine touch and execution in surgery, or playing the piano or 
 violin, are all splendid illustrations of a high degree of co- 
 ordination and control. 
 
 It is highly important that children receive thorough mus- 
 cular training. This training in voluntary motor ability 
 should be begun in infancy. The child must be allowed to 
 move about freely. We have by no means reached the acme 
 of perfection in the matter of suitable clothing for babies. 
 At the outset we put them in dresses long enough to suit a 
 nineteenth-century ballroom belle. Instead of being able to 
 kick about vigorously, they are hampered in their move- 
 ments by the unhygienic clothing. When the child becomes 
 old enough to creep, he is often prevented by the mother, who 
 
314 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEA'CHERS 
 
 fears he will soil a pretty dress. He is thus deprived of lung 
 development, chest expansion, control of hands, arms, and 
 feet, and, in fact, the entire body is deprived of normal devel- 
 opment. One child studied, who had been deprived of the 
 pleasure and profit of creeping, was put into ''jumper over- 
 alls" and allowed to creep. He gained two inches in chest 
 expansion in eleven days ! Besides the improvements in 
 vital capacity and increased chest measurement, the child 
 who creeps gains wonderfully in motor control. In his pere- 
 grinations he reaches for things, closes his chubby fists upon 
 them, pulls himself toward things, making numberless daily 
 motor adjustments requiring the fine calculation of conditions 
 and the co-ordination of muscular effort. Again when the 
 child loses his provinciality and becomes a pedestrian, fashion 
 steps in to forbid his wearing clothes in which he may sample 
 sand-piles and mud pies, in which he may climb fences and 
 trees, turn somersaults, or roll in the grass. When shall we 
 learn that the child must have freedom in order to develop 
 properly physically, mentally, and morally ? 
 
 The games and plays of childhood not only develop mus- 
 cular control — the elemental type of will — but through them 
 the child also learns to direct thoughts to definite ends and 
 to control his feelings, both through subordination and in 
 proper assertion. Plays and games have not been sufficiently 
 utilized as educative means. Their value has been demon- 
 strated in kindergartens and in schools for the feeble-minded, 
 and we should take a hint for the education of normal chil- 
 dren. I hope the time will come when every teacher in our 
 public schools will be required to be on the playground during 
 certain specific times as a director of the play activities of 
 the children. 
 
 Intellectual Control. — Although the foregoing activities in- 
 volve controlled psychical processes, there are still higher 
 mental activities which are not so closely related to muscular 
 actions. What one thinks about when not engaged in set 
 routine duties seems at first sight to be accidental and uncon- 
 trolled, but an examination will reveal that our thoughts lie 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 315 
 
 along certain quite well-defined paths. We are constantly 
 thinking about our line of work or pleasure, and, though tem- 
 porary deviations are made because of chance suggestions, we 
 continually revert to the habitual line of thought. It Is pre- 
 cisely because the ideas are habitual that they are Intruded 
 before us. If we conscientiously set ourselves to reflecting 
 upon a given topic, the degree of habituation in that direction 
 determines the degree of readiness with which we stick to the 
 purpose. In other words, the more we know In a given line, 
 the more we have thought about it, the greater the degree of 
 thought-control we can manifest In that line. If I am able 
 to secure willing attention from my class, it is because the 
 ideas which I am trying to get before them are so closely 
 related to what they already know. If asked why they paid 
 such close attention they would say because they were Inter- 
 ested. This is only another way of saying that the road Is a 
 familiar one, that their apperception enables them to under- 
 stand and follow without apparent effort what is discussed. 
 Attention, even the most consciously voluntary, depends upon 
 points of relation between the thing attended to and the ex- 
 perience of the learner. No one can voluntarily attend for 
 any length of time to a mere spot on the wall. It is meaning- 
 less and without Interest. As soon as the mind finds no well- 
 worn tracks to follow, interest dies out, attention wavers, and 
 control of thoughts Is lost. The highest degree of volition is 
 evidenced by long-continued application to a single purpose. 
 The development of a great Industry In pursuance of chosen 
 ideals, the unremitting toil necessitated In writing books or 
 In patiently conducting experimental researches, the persis- 
 tence often manifested In acquiring a college education unaid- 
 ed and In the face of obstacles, each exemplifies a superlative 
 exhibition of protracted volitional control. The momen- 
 tary control of anger under provocation, individual acts of 
 bravery or self-denial, or the careful attention to a single 
 lesson are not to be compared with the thoroughly established, 
 consistent conduct, regulated In a thousand ways and all 
 promoting a single end. The former actions represent merely 
 
3i6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 temporary Impulse, while the last-named represents integrity 
 and fixity of high moral character. 
 
 Some people frequently notice that they do not seem to 
 keep their attention easily upon a given train of thought. 
 They are subject to mind-wandering. They should be assured 
 that this is largely because they have never developed habits 
 of reflecting long and continuously about anything. The 
 habit of looking at all sides of a subject can be developed by 
 persistent practice. Frequently the mind wanders because 
 no fund of knowledge has been acquired along the line of pur- 
 suit. Furthermore, the most willing attention, i. e., the most 
 voluntary attention, is a direct outgrowth of interest. Genu- 
 ine interest can only be developed through previous knowledge. 
 
 A characteristic of children is that they live in the present 
 and for the present. Ask a child which he would prefer, a 
 stick of candy to-day or ten sticks to-morrow, and he will 
 invariably choose the one to-day. Likewise the savage Is 
 largely unmindful of the future. He provides for the present 
 meal and then sleeps until hunger sends him on the chase to 
 provide another. Civilization teaches men to deal In futures, 
 to provide for the morrow, the rainy day, to provide a pro- 
 tracted course of education for the child as a preparation for 
 the future. To teach the child to build for the future, to 
 practise virtues and inhibit vices In order to eventually ac- 
 quire Ideal habits and states, and to Insure the highest pru- 
 dential control, is true pedagogy. The world's great thinkers 
 have all been men who have been able to give sustained, un- 
 divided, and continuous thought to whatever occupied their 
 attention. 
 
 Emotional Control. — To develop control of the feelings and 
 emotions Is an Important direction of will-culture. When we 
 consider that feelings and emotions are the great determining 
 forces In active life, and that no progress was ever made that 
 did not have back of It a great Interest, the importance of the 
 question Is impressed upon us. Our attitude toward life and 
 its duties determines what our active relations will be. Are 
 we happy, cheerful, full of sympathy and kindly fellow feel- 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 317 
 
 ing; or are we sorrowful, depressed, full of anger, jealousy, or 
 resentment? The answer indicates the direction which our 
 actions will take. Hence we see the importance in a child's 
 education of teaching control of the emotions. In the early- 
 life of the infant, and to a considerable extent through child- 
 hood, the feelings are more dominant than the intellect. The 
 majority of all free activities of the lower animals and of chil- 
 dren are impelled by feeling. Hunger and its satisfaction, 
 the use of the muscles in free play, and satisfaction of curi- 
 osity are pre-eminently matters of feeling. 
 
 Practically all the early manifested instincts are emotional. 
 Among these are fear, anger, jealousy, shyness, sociability, 
 affection, and curiosity. The whole natural psychical pro- 
 vision for self-preservation is largely a matter of instinctive 
 personal feeling. Rational intellectual processes scarcely 
 enter into primitive modes of self-preservation. The newly 
 hatched partridge is terrorized by strange objects, it knows 
 not why; the kitten spits at a dog simply because it possesses 
 an antipathy against it, not because it has individually con- 
 cluded that such a course is best. 
 
 The child must acquire control of the various emotions to 
 the end that they may become his ally instead of his enemy. 
 In the earliest days control of such low feelings as hunger 
 through the habits of regular eating are installed. The regu- 
 lation of this feeling is of lifelong importance to every indi- 
 vidual. Undoubtedly lack of control caused by irregular 
 hours of eating, gormandizing in response to sense-feelings 
 and improper food, have led in later life to intemperance in 
 many other forms. Intemperance in eating, drinking, smok- 
 ing, drug-using, etc., usually result from pampered, unregu- 
 lated appetites. 
 
 The impulse to anger is early evinced. While contending 
 for the high moral value of trained, intelligent anger, as evi- 
 denced by voting against chicanery and evil, yet we should 
 teach that childish passion must be curbed. The infant 
 straightens out, becomes tense, clutches its fists, screams, and 
 abandons itself wholly to the feelings, partly because of satis- 
 
3i8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 faction, partly because of anger or fear. Not only are no 
 habits of self-control thus initiated, but positive habits of 
 giving way to anger are developed. The man who gives way 
 to anger, who becomes dominated by animal manifestations, 
 is always at a disadvantage with an adversary who keeps 
 his head, who uses anger only to stimulate righteous action. 
 Two general conditions must be observed in developing con- 
 trol of anger: first, the child must be removed as far as possi- 
 ble from irritating causes; second, correlatively, he must be 
 kept as good-tempered as possible. One attempt at forming 
 habits of good nature is worth ten efforts at reforming habits 
 of ill nature. Good health, proper hygiene, and sunny-tem- 
 pered parents, teachers, and companions go far toward insur- 
 ing even-tempered children ; while a child who is forced to live 
 with crotchety, moody, and cranky parents and associates 
 easily becomes inoculated with touchiness, irritability, and 
 flightiness. 
 
 Because of the effect of assuming the outward expression 
 of emotions in producing or increasing the emotion, it is highly 
 valuable to the child to refrain from outbursts of temper, 
 from giving way to foolish fears, or even to silly, causeless gig- 
 gling. The conscious attempt to preserve a proper demeanor 
 has a salutary effect in producing habits of emotional control. 
 The hysterical, flighty woman, ready to go into spasms on 
 hearing of a worm, a bug, or a fire, who throws a whole com- 
 pany into a panic in a time of excitement, is the one who was 
 never taught to exercise proper self-restraint as a child. The 
 cool, "heady" individual who averts panics, calms the crowd 
 at a fire, or goes tranquilly into battle is the one who has 
 schooled himself from childhood against such impulsive out- 
 bursts of emotion. The freedom of the moment has been 
 bought by lifelong discipline. 
 
 Supreme wisdom is needed for developing well-regulated, 
 healthful sex feelings. They are among the most deep-seated 
 and far-reaching. Through the maintenance of perfect health, 
 the restriction of food and appetites, proper exercise, healthy 
 interests which monopolize the mental life, by giving plenty 
 of physical work and wise companionship, sex feelings should 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 319 
 
 become irradiated into the higher emotions connected with 
 home-building, social interests, and altruism in general. Just 
 how to secure this ideal is not easy to prescribe. It is worthy 
 of the wisdom of the sages. Thus far the primer of the sub- 
 ject has not been formulated. 
 
 Motor- Culture and Moral Culture. — Doctor G. Stanley 
 Hall, in his incomparable article on moral education and will- 
 training, points out the immense role motor-training has occu- 
 pied in will growth. He believes that city children of to-day 
 are liable to deteriorate volitionally, largely because they do 
 not have opportunity for will-culture through motor-culture. 
 By contrast he pictures the opportunities for such culture 
 afforded by conditions of life a generation or two ago. In 
 those days "most schoolboys had either farm work, chores, 
 errands, jobs self-imposed or required by less tender parents; 
 they made things, either toys or tools, out of school. Most 
 schoolgirls did housework, more or less of which is, like farm 
 work, perhaps the most varied and salutary as well as most 
 venerable of all schools for the youthful body and mind. 
 They undertook extensive works of embroidery, bed-quilting, 
 knitting, sewing, mending, if not cleaning, and even spinning 
 and weaving their own or others' clothing, and cared for the 
 younger children. The wealthier devised or imposed tasks 
 for will-culture, ... as part of their education. Ten days 
 at the hoe-handle, axe, or pitchfork, said an eminent educator 
 lately in substance, with no new impression from without, and 
 one constant and only duty, is a schooling in perseverance and 
 sustained effort such as few boys now get in any shape." 
 {Pedagogical Seminary, 2: 73-74.) 
 
 Children should be taught to work. A child that has not 
 learned to work has not mastered the A B C's of will- training. 
 Work differs from play in that it is not a means of relaxation. 
 Work often demands that activity be kept up long after ex- 
 hilaration has ceased. An object must be accomplished no 
 matter what the inclinations may dictate. 
 
 Will and Deliberation. — Although it has been strongly 
 argued that the voluntary execution of an act is largely con- 
 ditioned upon the fund of allied habits which have been built 
 
320 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 up, yet it should be noted that the highest acts of will involve 
 conscious deliberation. While it has been strongly urged 
 that the surest way of developing strength of will in a given 
 direction is to early inculcate habits in that direction, yet this 
 should not be taken to mean that one is to become an automa- 
 ton. It does not imply that the child should not become a 
 reflective being. He should most certainly be early accus- 
 tomed to reflecting upon his conduct. A feeling of responsi- 
 bility for sound judgment and righteous action should early 
 become characteristics of one's life. It is a perv^erted and per- 
 nicious doctrine of interest and will which assumes that youth 
 are irresponsible beings who may be excused for every devia- 
 tion from the path of rectitude on the ground that they are 
 only youth. The doctrine is sometimes carried so far as to 
 exonerate even university students for committing things 
 which would land other adults in the penitentiary. Though 
 college education should and does prolong the period of in- 
 fancy or plasticity, yet all training has been misdirected if it 
 has not developed a habit of serious reflection upon every 
 important step to be taken. It should not produce vacilla- 
 tion and hesitation, but rather sound judgment made rapid 
 by the acquired habit of always reflecting and marshalling all 
 sides of a question. Individual duty and responsibility are 
 among the highest lessons to be learned, and the most difficult. 
 Habit, Will, and Character. — ^A trained will means a con- 
 trolled mind and body, an organism that responds to the be- 
 hests of conscience. This ideal condition can only be secured 
 through oft-repeated actions in the desired direction. Every 
 action performed by a child, whether initiated by himself or 
 under compulsion, leaves a tendency to a repetition of the 
 same action. Of course any process self-initiated is more 
 potent by far than one performed under compulsion. Hence 
 the importance of securing deliberate righteous action on the 
 part of the child. But right conduct, even though compul- 
 sory, is better for the child's future than wrong conduct 
 selected by the child. Every righteous action contributes to 
 the fund of future capital which constitutes real character. 
 
THE DIRECTION OF BEHAVIOR 321 
 
 What one does in a controlled manner when off his guard 
 reveals one's real character. To be sure, most of us mas- 
 querade a great deal and do many things that are put on for 
 the occasion. These may give us reputation, but they are 
 not parts of real character. It is related by Schaeffer that 
 the Pennsylvania German gives vent to his feelings in profan- 
 ity in his own native dialect. To show further how control 
 is only secured through habitual reactions he adds that "as 
 soon as he says his prayers he reverts to the language of the 
 pulpit and of Luther's Bible, because he there finds the words 
 which express the deepest wants and emotions of the human 
 soul." {Thinking and Learning to Think, p. 93.) 
 
 Educational Significance. — This conception of the will, 
 which is just beginning to be recognized, is of great impor- 
 tance pedagogically. Under the old way of conceiving the 
 will as an entity of predetermined character, it was certainly 
 useless to try to cultivate it, though, paradoxically, the same 
 writers who promulgated the older theories of will and free- 
 dom of the will discoursed upon the great possibilities of will 
 development. According to the view that will always implies 
 conscious choice and deliberation, there could be no training 
 in volitional activities until there had been developed a high 
 degree of intellectual and affective life. There could be Httle, 
 if any, manifestation of will in animals, and none in children 
 until some months old. There would certainly be no use 
 trying to train the w^ill of a small babe, for children are many 
 months old before they deliberately choose and execute. The 
 same criticism applies here as to all of that psychology in 
 which every psychosis was viewed from the standpoint of 
 adult consciousness. The more recent psychology considers 
 everything genetically and finds a rich heritage in the heredi- 
 tary accumulations and in the subconscious life of both baby- 
 hood and of normal adult life. There is a rich mine of ex- 
 perience gained before the dawning of consciousness which 
 must be explored, and which makes up a worthy portion of 
 all our tendencies. We have learned through the study of 
 memory and instinct that every impression leaves its inefface- 
 
322 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 able trace. Thus every infantile kick and howl and tumble 
 become significant for the larger development of voluntary 
 life. We have seen that we will with all that we have willed. 
 To will in absolutely novel directions is as impossible as lifting 
 oneself by the boot-straps. The execution of every movement 
 becomes significant. Hence it becomes important to regu- 
 late this congeries of random movements producing orderly 
 paths of execution. Thus when we train the child to eat 
 regularly, to sleep at definite times and quietly, when we 
 promote digestion, when we care for its physical health and 
 keep its motor apparatus in working order, we are helping 
 him to lay the desirable foundations of his voluntary life. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Distinguish between habit and will. 2. Explain the place of habit in 
 the development of will. 3. Analyze the process of learning to write and 
 show how voluntary control is developed. 4, Point out the relation be- 
 tween muscular training and the development of will. 5. What is the 
 popular meaning of will ? How does it differ from the scientific ? 6. Trace 
 fully the development of volition in sticking to one's tasks. 7. Point out 
 the relation between willing and willingly. 8. Relation between interest 
 and the development of the will. 9. Meaning oi free will (a) in the popu- 
 lar sense, (b) in a scientific sense. 10. Relation between will and morality. 
 II. Are all moral acts volitional? 12. Are the highest acts of volition 
 necessarily moral? 13. To what extent is will a matter of heredity? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bagley, The Educative Process, chaps. VII, VIII, IX. 
 
 2. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXVII. 
 
 3. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. XI. 
 
 4. Colvin, The Learning Process, chaps. Ill, IV. 
 
 5. Colvin and Bagley, Human Behavior, chaps. IV, VII, XI. 
 
 6. O'Shea, Mental Development and Education, chaps. VII, VIII, IX. 
 
 7. Royce, Outlines of Psychology, chap. XV. 
 
 8. Woodworth, Psychology : A Study of Mental Life, chap. XX. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 
 
 Supposed Effects of Training. — Oftentimes the question is 
 raised as to why certain subjects or facts should be learned 
 by the child when they seem to have no utilitarian value. 
 Very frequently the answer is: '*They train and strengthen 
 the mind." When I entered the university I heard the presi- 
 dent say in an opening address: "When I was in college I 
 studied trigonometry and calculus, but I have forgotten 
 everything I learned, but the power still abides and I can 
 use it in other relations." It is assumed that the training in 
 arithmetic, grammar, etc., will strengthen the mind for all 
 other subjects and for all of life's duties. Just how is not 
 understood, but there has been and is a very firm belief that 
 mental gymnastics of one type strengthen the mind in every 
 direction. This belief that training of one power, function, or 
 structure will develop other powers, f mictions, or structures is 
 known as the theory of ''formal discipline,'' ''general discipline,'* 
 "transfer of training," or "generalized experience." 
 
 It is held that the effects of training are general, and that 
 whatever is gained in a given direction can be utilized in all 
 other situations in life. The strength and skill derived through 
 pitching hay, swinging Indian clubs, and rowing can be used 
 in skating, swimming, constructing watches, or in resisting 
 fatigue when under strain in professional duties. Analogous 
 reasonings are followed out concerning mental growth and 
 exercise. Each subject is assumed to be a sort of mental 
 grindstone upon which the wits are to be sharpened. We 
 are told that the study of arithmetic and grammar will 
 develop strength of mind — a sort of mental muscle — which 
 can be drawn upon in any emergency. The one who is strong 
 in arithmetic, it is assumed, will be equally proficient in geom- 
 
 323 
 
324 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 etry, botany, and foreign languages. The traditional subject 
 for strengthening the reasoning powers is arithmetic. 
 
 The first real scientific challenge came from Professor James 
 in his classical experiment in memory. James concluded 
 from that experiment that training memory in a given direc- 
 tion had no effect upon memory for other things. Since that 
 time hundreds of other experiments have been performed, 
 most of them pointing in the same direction. The essential 
 features of all the experiments are as follows: 
 
 1. Test a given ability before training on something entirely 
 
 different. 
 
 2. Practise upon something entirely different long enough 
 
 to improve in doing that. 
 
 3. Return to the original activity and test ability in that 
 
 after practice upon something entirely different. (Do 
 not exercise in the first direction.) 
 
 4. Compare the results of before and after practice in steps 
 
 I and 3. 
 
 The best and most exhaustive experimental work in this 
 line has been done under the direction of Doctor Thorndike 
 at Columbia University. Thorndike and Woodworth made 
 a great variety of experiments to discover the influence of 
 training in estimating weights, distances, and areas upon 
 other subsequent forms of learning. In Thorndike's own 
 words {Educational Psychology j p. 90 et seq.) : 
 
 Individuals practised estimating the areas of rectangles from 10 to 
 100 sq. cm. in size until a very marked improvement was attained. 
 The improvement in accuracy for areas of the same size but of differ- 
 ent shape due to this training was only 44 per cent as great as that 
 for areas of the same shape and size. For areas of the same shape 
 but from 140 to 300 sq. cm. in size the improvement was 30 per cent 
 as great. For areas of different shape and from 140 to 400 sq. cm. 
 in size the improvement was 52 per cent as great. 
 
 Training in estimating weights of from 40 to 1 20 grammes resulted in 
 only 39 per cent as much improvement in estimating weights from 120 
 to 1,800 grammes. Training in estimating Hues from .5 to 1.5 inches 
 long (resulting in a reduction of error to 25 per cent of the initial 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 325 
 
 amount) resulted in no improvement in the estimation of lines 6 to 
 12 inches long. 
 
 Training in perceiving words containing e and s gave a certain 
 amount of improvement in speed and accuracy in that special ability. 
 In the ability to perceive words containing i and /, s and />, c and a, 
 6 and r, a and w, / and 0, misspelled words and ^'s, there was an im- 
 provement in speed of only 39 per cent as much as in the ability spe- 
 cially trained, and in accuracy of only 25 per cent as much. Training 
 in perceiving English verbs gave a reduction in time of nearly 21 per 
 cent and in omissions of 70 per cent. The ability to perceive other 
 parts of speech showed a reduction in time of 3 per cent, but an in- 
 crease in omissions of over 100 per cent. 
 
 These experiments showed very clearly the influence of: (i) the 
 acquisition during special training of ideas of method of general utility, 
 and also (2) of facility with certain elements that appeared in many 
 other complexes. Instances of (i) are learning in the 10 to 100 cm. 
 training series that one has a tendency to overestimate all areas and 
 consciously making a discount for this tendency, no matter what the 
 size or shape of the surface may be; learning to look especially for the 
 less common letter (e. ^., .y in the case of e-s words, /> in the case of 
 s-p words) in the training series, and adopting the habit for all similar 
 work ; learning to estimate areas in comparison with a mental standard 
 rather than the objective i sq. cm., 25 sq. cm., and 100 sq. cm. squares 
 which each experimenter had before him (after one gets mental stand- 
 ards of the areas he judges more accurately if he pays no attention 
 whatever to the objective standards). An instance of (2) is the uni- 
 form increase of speed of eye movements in all the perception tests 
 through training in one, an increase often gained at the expense of 
 accuracy. 
 
 In the opinion of the authors these experiments show that: 
 
 Improvement in any single mental function need not improve the 
 ability in functions commonly called by the same name. It may 
 injure it. 
 
 Improvement in any single mental function rarely brings about 
 equal improvement in any other function, no matter how similar, for 
 the working of every mental function-group is conditioned by the na- 
 ture of the data in each particular case. 
 
 The very slight amount of variation in the nature of the data nec- 
 essary to affect the efficiency of a function-group makes it fair to infer 
 that no change in data, however slight, is without effect on the func- 
 tion. The loss in the efficiency of a function trained with certain 
 data, as we pass to data more and more unlike the first, makes it fair 
 to infer that there is always a point where the loss is complete, a point 
 beyond which the influence of the training has not extended. The 
 
326 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 rapidity of this loss, that is, its amount in the case of data very similai- 
 to the data on which the function was trained, makes it fair to infer 
 that this point is nearer than has been supposed. 
 
 The general consideration of the cases of retention or of loss of prac- 
 tice effect seems to make it likely that spread of practice occurs only 
 where identical elements are concerned in the influencing and influenced 
 function. 
 
 Coover (Coover, J. E., "Formal Discipline from the Stand- 
 point of Experimental Psychology," Psychological Review 
 Monographs, 20, No. 3, 191 6) much later performed similar 
 experiments in marking out words and in estimating weights. 
 The cancellation test showed a gain of 44 per cent in the train- 
 ing series and 33 per cent in the end tests, or 75 per cent as 
 much in the end tests as in the training series. This transfer 
 effect is larger than that found by Thorndike and Woodworth. 
 Coover's experiment in estimating weights was made by train- 
 ing two persons with a set of 17 blocks ranging from 40 to 
 120 grammes. Each person made i ,700 judgments in the prac- 
 tice series. They were tested before and after training in esti- 
 mating 10 common objects, each averaging 67.5 grammes in 
 weight. There was a gain of 23 per cent in the training series 
 and 29 per cent in the end tests with the set of 10 smaller 
 objects, but a loss of 100 per cent with the larger objects. 
 The gain in estimating the smaller sets was apparently greater 
 than in the training series itself. 
 
 Many experiments have been made with school subjects to 
 determine the effects of practice in one subject upon efficiency 
 in other subjects. The most notable of these was performed 
 by Rugg (Rugg, Harold O., The Experimental Determination 
 of Mental Discipline in School Studies, 191 6, University of 
 Illinois). He made a study of the influence of training in 
 descriptive geometry. He used a great variety of test mate- 
 rial, some of it arithmetical, some geometrical. The experi- 
 ments were given to 326 students in the University of lUinois, 
 College of Engineering. As a control group he had 78 stu- 
 dents in other colleges take the end tests but not the practice 
 work. Rugg makes the following conclusions: 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 
 
 Z'^l 
 
 The study of descriptive geometry (under ordinary classroom condi- 
 tions throughout a semester of fifteen weeks) in which such natural 
 and not undue consideration is given to practice in geometrical visual- 
 ization as is necessary for the solution of descriptive geometry prob- 
 lems operates: 
 
 (i) Substantially to increase the students' ability in solving prob- 
 lems requiring the mental manipulation of a geometrical nature, the 
 content of which is distinctly different from the visual content of de- 
 scriptive geometry itself. 
 
 (2) Substantially to increase the students' ability in solving prob- 
 lems requiring the mental manipulation of spatial elements of a slightly 
 geometrical character, i. e., problems utilizing the fundamental ele- 
 ments of geometry (the point, line, and plane), but apart from a geo- 
 metrical setting and in such form as to offer no geometrical aids in 
 solution. 
 
 (3) Substantially to increase the students' ability in solving prob- 
 lems requiring the mental manipulation of spatial elements of a com- 
 pletely non-geometrical nature, i. e., problems in which the straight 
 line and plane do not appear in any way w^hatsoever. 
 
 (4) The training effect of such study in descriptive geometry oper- 
 ates more efficiently in those problems whose visual content more 
 closely resembles that of the training course itself, i. e., in those prob- 
 lems whose imagery content is composed of combinations of points, 
 lines, and planes, and in which the continuity of the manipulating 
 movements approaches the continuity of those in the training course. 
 (Rugg, pp. 114-115.) 
 
 Harris made a study of the effect of knowledge of Latin 
 upon ability to spell English words by submitting a list of 
 50 words of Latin origin to 324 freshmen in the University of 
 Illinois. He gives the following table: 
 
 TABLE 65 
 After Harris ('15) 
 
 YEARS OF LATIN 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Number of students 
 
 90 
 
 82.1 
 
 41 
 
 82.4 
 
 95 
 
 80.2 
 
 54 
 81.5 
 
 44 
 90.1 
 
 Average 
 
 
 He further submitted to the same group of students 10 
 words of Latin origin which were to be defined. This test 
 gave the following result: 
 
328 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 TABLE 66 
 After Harris ('15) 
 
 YEARS OF LATIN 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Number of students 
 
 90 
 30.5 
 
 41 
 
 44.2 
 
 95 
 45 9 
 
 54 
 530 
 
 44 
 
 85-3 
 
 Average 
 
 
 He also compared the grades in rhetoric of students who 
 had had various amounts of Latin as follows: 
 
 TABLE 67 
 After Harris ('15) 
 
 YEARS OF LATIN 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Number of students 
 
 Grade 
 
 53 
 77.2 
 
 41 
 79.2 
 
 66, 
 79-5 
 
 28 
 80.6 
 
 26 
 
 81.8 
 
 
 Harris concludes: 
 
 From these various results the conclusions in so far as these students 
 are concerned are obvious. In all fields the four-year Latin students 
 showed a marked lead, and in all but the spelling — which I have con- 
 sidered above — there is a steady retrogression, although for the prac- 
 tical purposes the one-and-two-year Latin students might be classed 
 together. (Quoted from Starch, Educational Psychology, pp. 234-235.) 
 
 A most exhaustive, critical analysis was recently made by 
 Reed of all the experimental studies that had been made 
 relating to the subject of transfer of training. In addition he 
 repeated several of the original experiments and also performed 
 a new set of experiments which he devised. His study is the 
 latest important contribution to the subject. His own ex- 
 periments tested transfer from the standpoint of association. 
 He believes there is transfer of effects from one activity to 
 another when associations are made relating to them. His 
 point of view may be well summarized in direct quotations 
 from his two monographs: 
 
 In any case, the spread of improvement from a special function is 
 not general, but it is very specialized and affects only such other special 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 329 
 
 functions that are very similar to the one specially trained. The re- 
 sult of the test experiment in regard to the transfer of training is that 
 the findings of Ebert and Meumann and the conclusions based upon 
 them, that there is a general memorial function and that special train- 
 ing in one function improves the memory in general, are not con- 
 firmed. Nor is their theory confirmed that transfer from one function 
 to another is in proportion as the functions are allied.* 
 
 Training in card sorting does not improve ability to typewrite. 
 Training in estimating areas 10-100 sq. cm. does not improve ability 
 to estimate similar areas over 200 sq. cm. in size. Training in estimat- 
 ing lines .5 to 1.5 inches long does not improve ability to estimate ob- 
 jects from 2.5 to 8.75 inches long when the latter consists of such 
 things as envelopes, brushes, and wrenches. Training in estimating 
 four intensities of sound does not improve ability to estimate the 
 extent of arm movement. Training in cancelling parts of speech does 
 not improve ability to cancel words having the letters e and /. Train- 
 ing in memorizing "Paradise Lost" does not improve the memory for 
 Hugo's verse. Training in memorizing nonsense syllables does not 
 increase the memory-span for letters, numbers, nonsense syllables, dis- 
 connected words, Latin-English vocabularies, poetry, and prose; nor 
 the ability to memorize completely meaningless visual characters, 
 Latin-English vocabularies, and passages of poetry and of prose. 
 Training in memorizing prose substance does not improve the ability 
 to memorize dates, nonsense syllables, poetry, points on a map, dicta- 
 tion, letters, and names. Training in memorizing tables does not 
 improve ability to memorize dates, poetry, prose, prose substance, dic- 
 tation, letters, and names. Memorizing poetry does not improve 
 ability to memorize dates, poetry of another sort, prose, prose sub- 
 stance, points on a map, dictation, letters, and names. 
 
 I have also examined the results of experiments on the transfer of 
 training by Bagley and Squire, Briggs, Burnet, Coover, Dallenbach, 
 W. F. Dearborn, Foster, Hewins, Judd, Ruger, Scholkow and Judd, 
 Wallin, Whipple, and Winch, but have not been able to make them 
 the basis of a theoretical discussion because they were too indefinite, 
 irregular, or complicated to bring within a consistent rule. However, 
 no theory that is at all specific can explain all cases of reported transfer. 
 The psychological factors in the cases of positive transfer described 
 above were pointed out. In the cases of negative or zero transfer it is 
 difiicult to find common sensory stimuli, and common conceptual 
 stimuli that may exist are too general to be effective. It is also diffi- 
 cult to find common conceptual or associative responses. But some 
 cases of positive transfer are equally baffling; for example, training in 
 
 * "A Repetition of Ebert and Meumann's Practice Experiment on Mem- 
 ory," Journal of Experimental Psychology, 191 7. 
 
330 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 memorizing poetry has been found to improve the ability to locate 
 points on a map and to memorize nonsense syllables, but interfered 
 with the ability to learn poetry of another sort, prose, or prose sub- 
 stance. Memorizing tables improved the ability to locate points in a 
 circle and to learn nonsense syllables, but interfered with the ability 
 to learn dates, poetry, or prose. The difficulty with all these studies 
 is that the associative processes were not investigated. If we knew 
 what the common bonds of association had been in these cases of posi- 
 tive and negative transfer, we probably should have the clew to their 
 explanation. The correlation between observable stimuli and observ- 
 able responses is too irregular to make a consistent principle inferable 
 with certainty, but such regular correlations as there are point quite 
 definitely to the solution of the problem in the laws of association. It 
 is to be hoped that future investigators of this problem will more care- 
 fully examine the internal facts of transfer, i. e., the common associa- 
 tive bonds. * 
 
 Differences in an Individual's Abilities. — Were the doctrine 
 of general discipline true, there ought to be no variations 
 among our powers. The power gained in one capacity is said 
 to be carried over to all others. All varieties of accomplish- 
 ment dependent upon a given power ought then to be equally 
 attained. For example, one ought to be as proficient in 
 algebra as in history, as proficient in geometry as in algebra, 
 as good in grammar as in botany. But it needs no demon- 
 stration to convince that there are great variations in accom- 
 plishment among different subjects by the same individual, 
 and, what is more, these varieties in accomplishment often 
 represent fundamental differences in capacity. One may be 
 inclined to natural science and have poor mathematical abil- 
 ity, be a fine linguist and sadly lacking in mathematical rea- 
 soning, or skilful in music and poorly equipped for logic and 
 philosophy. Who ever saw many musicians with a philo- 
 sophical bent of mind ? It is even true that a given individual 
 may have rare power in algebraic mathematics, where all de- 
 pends upon logical trains of thought and power of abstraction, 
 but may be very inefficient in geometric mathematics, where 
 
 * "Associative Aids: I. Their relation to Learning, Retention, and Other 
 Associations; II. Their Relation to Practice and the Transfer of Train- 
 ing." Psychological Review, 191 8. 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 331 
 
 so much depends upon those qualities of visual Imagination 
 necessary to a good topographical mind. How many would 
 be willing to be judged mentally for all situations by ability 
 to spell ? So generally is inaptitude for spelling recognized 
 that no one jeopardizes his reputation by confessing to being 
 far short in this particular. Probably many cases of poor 
 orthography bespeak carelessness in the matter rather than 
 the lack of ability, but multitudes justly take refuge under 
 the plea of Incapacity. It Is but necessary to note also the 
 ease with which some children learn to spell. Those who 
 have to toil at It and then achieve Indifferent results are apt 
 to marvel at the celerity of the more favored ones. Thorn- 
 dike {Principles of Teaching, p. 83) reports a class test In 
 spelling which shows that the best speller had nineteen out 
 of twenty words correct, while the poorest missed all but 
 three. Any teacher in the work could duplicate the Hst. 
 
 Biological Evidence. — One of the most convincing argu- 
 ments against the theory of formal discipline comes from 
 biology. Exercise of an organ or function tends to produce 
 development of that organ or function. While such exercise 
 may have a general tonic effect upon the rest of the organism, 
 growth and development are largely limited to the parts ex- 
 ercised. A study of the evolution of the various powers of 
 body and mind showed clearly the effects of stimulations 
 long continued upon given portions of the organism. (Bol- 
 ton, Principles of Education, chap. IV.) We noted, for ex- 
 ample, how special forms of activity have changed the muz- 
 zle and the feet of the polar bear; how particular modes of 
 life have developed in other animals peculiar claws, teeth, 
 hoofs, hair, eyes, or ears; how changes occur in plants when 
 removed from one environment to another. In all of these 
 it is evident that the application of new stimuli to a given 
 organ or function made its effects manifest almost wholly in 
 that limited portion. In a negative way the withdrawal of a 
 particular stimulus causes atrophy in the special organ. One 
 of the best illustrations of this is in the case of cave animals, 
 whose eyes have atrophied and become rudimentary. The 
 
332 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 animals as a whole are little affected. Similarly changes in 
 hoofs, fur, legs, fins, or teeth, etc., take place with little cor- 
 relative effect upon other portions of the animal. 
 
 The theory of the localization of function and all the facts 
 supporting it are arguments against the theory of formal dis- 
 cipline. Special localized areas and special functions could 
 never have been developed had not the effects of exercise been 
 cumulative at certain points rather than evenly diffused. 
 Nourishment was supplied to the particular parts in excess of 
 that supplied to any other parts. Consequently growth and 
 development followed in the particular directions. A given 
 portion of the brain controlling a special function may be 
 materially increased in development without much affecting 
 other parts. Certain portions unexercised may atrophy with- 
 out causing degeneration of other parts. Again, a given area 
 may sometimes be completely excised without seriously affect- 
 ing the remaining portions. Only in very low unspecialized 
 forms may substitution of other areas take place. If the 
 theory of general powers were true, any portion of the brain 
 ought to be able to take on the function originally controlled 
 by the part destroyed. If the doctrine of general powers were 
 true, it would be inconceivable that localization and speciali- 
 zation should ever have taken place. Any organ ought, ac- 
 cording to that theory, to be able to control any function, and 
 undifferentiated, homogeneous structure would have served 
 equally as well as the exceedingly complex, specialized brain 
 which we possess. With the gradual isolation, insulation, 
 and specialization of functions, however, efficiency has arisen. 
 
 Starch {Educational Psychology, 191 9, p. 254) made an ex- 
 haustive evaluation of all of the principal studies that had 
 been made down to that time. He offers the following con- 
 clusions: 
 
 In formulating an opinion concerning general training effects result- 
 ing from training of special capacities, we must bear in mind that even 
 where the transfer effect is considerable, as much as one-fourth to one- 
 third as much as in the capacity specially trained, it is obviously more 
 economical to give practice directly to the capacities which we want 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 333 
 
 to train rather than to do it indirectly with the hope that the improve- 
 ment may be transferred to them. Concretely, even if the study of 
 Latin under favorable methods of teaching does improve the spell- 
 ing of English words, would it not be more economical to study directly 
 the spelling of the words which are to be acquired ? Knowledge of the 
 most common Latin words from which the largest number of English 
 words are derived could be obtained in a relatively short period of 
 time, probably a year or even less. Learning to play the piano might 
 help in learning to play the violin, but no sane person would devote 
 very much time to the piano if his sole purpose were to learn to play 
 the violin. 
 
 Even if mathematics may cause some improvement in reasoning 
 about bargains, even if the study of Latin may increase English vocab- 
 ulary, or even if a study of animal psychology did make a man a better 
 teamster, these effects are relatively very small, and can be produced 
 much more economically by a direct study of bargains, or of the origin 
 and meaning of English words, or of driving horses. A course in 
 mathematics or in Latin or in psychology will have to stand primarily 
 on its own feet for the content that it offers or the skill that it develops. 
 These by-products may be useful but they cannot be the sole purpose 
 of the efforts put into a course. The value of a meal depends upon 
 the meal itself and not upon the crumbs that fall from the table. 
 Whenever a subject loses its content value through changed social 
 conditions it seems mysteriously to acquire a great deal of disciplinary 
 value. 
 
 An immense amoimt of confusion in the thinking about the prob- 
 lem of mental discipline and the value of school subjects, even on the 
 part of distinguished thinkers, has resulted from a failure to discrimi- 
 nate between the effect of a certain kind of education and the native 
 capacities of the individuals subjected to the education. Whenever 
 allowance or deductions for differences in original ability have been 
 made, the general disciplinary effect has been found to be much less, 
 or, in many instances, even non-existent. To argue that because cer- 
 tain great leaders of men had a certain type of education, it must have 
 produced their greatness, does not prove the point. They probably 
 would have achieved distinction if they had had any other sort of edu- 
 cation. If the chief argument for pursuing a given subject is that it 
 selects the more able pupils, it would be much more economical to do 
 so by a shorter and more certain method. Almost any fifteen or 
 twenty mental tests that can be applied in a psychological laboratory 
 in two hours would separate much more accurately the gifted from 
 the stupid. 
 
 Finally, the upshot of the experimental and statistical inquiries into 
 the transference of training is that effects of training are transferred in 
 
334 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 smaller amounts and within much narrower limits than has commonly 
 been assumed. This does not mean that there is no general mental 
 discipline in any form of training, nor that the doctrine of formal disci- 
 pline has been "exploded," but rather that the actual limits of general 
 discipline have been more accurately defined. These limits, to be 
 sure, seem to be much narrower than many are inclined to believe. 
 So far as the value of school subjects is concerned, it means that the 
 content value of a subject must be the prime reason and the general 
 disciplinary value the secondary reason for pursuing it. 
 
 Types of Transfer. — Inasmuch as any physical work, no 
 matter how complex, is made up of simple elements, it also 
 follows that these elements can be woven into manifold new 
 combinations. Whenever a new activity involves an element 
 already learned, that part of the process does not need to be 
 again mastered. However, it must be recognized that not 
 only the element but also its connections have to be consid- 
 ered. One who has used the arm and hand in a variety of 
 motions, which may be combined in using a brace and bit, a 
 plane, a chisel, or a saw, or in adjusting watches, has not 
 therefore mastered carpentry or watchmaking. If he has 
 good general control of the hand he already has much capital 
 to draw upon. But if the new process is an absolutely novel 
 one as a whole and also in its elements, then what has been 
 learned is of no avail in the new direction. 
 
 Similarly with mental operations. Almost any study in- 
 volves elements that have been mastered in other connections. 
 These elements are immediately serviceable. For example, in 
 beginning the study of percentage it is found that the subject 
 is mainly a combination of old principles and processes, with 
 only a slight addition of new ones. Algebra grows right out 
 of the mathematical ideas gained in arithmetic, and calculus 
 is but an extension and recombination of arithmetic, algebra, 
 geometry, and trigonometry. When the ordinary child be- 
 gins geography, mathematics, Latin, or German he has had 
 several years* experience in reading and writing. He knows 
 the use of letters and symbols, has acquired some knowledge 
 of language classification and rules. He has, in fact, multi- 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 335 
 
 tudes of elements as capital upon which he should immediately 
 draw. Thus all studies are in a way related and to that ex- 
 tent the mastery of one helps in the acquisition of others. 
 
 But it must not be forgotten that the combination of old 
 and even perfectly familiar elements is a difficult matter in 
 itself. Old combinations may even be a hindrance, especially 
 if too fixed. Bad habits of walking, talking, writing, singing, 
 or thinking are harder to modify than new ones are to incul- 
 cate. In percentage all one has to do is to apply the knowl- 
 edge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and 
 fractions. "All?" Yes. But, ay, there's the rub. A stu- 
 dent said to me once before commencing the study of the 
 science of education: "Why, all one has to do is to learn psy- 
 chology and then just apply it." "Yes," I answered, "that is 
 all you have to do." Before the year was over he discovered 
 that learning to just apply it was a task not inferior in diffi- 
 culty to anything he had ever undertaken. 
 
 It is not here maintained that the pursuit of a given sub- 
 ject can have no value in the study of another subject later 
 pursued. It is claimed that exercise in a given direction pro- 
 duces greater growth of the special powers involved than in 
 any other. Most subjects of instruction have a great many 
 similar elements. As far as they have similar elements they 
 are valuable for each other. The greater the number of iden- 
 tical elements in the two, the greater the value. Physics has 
 a great many points in common with chemistry, geology with 
 zoology, French with Latin, etc. All subjects are related to 
 language, and consequently language illuminates them all. 
 But when we select two that are as far apart as typewriting 
 and arithmetic, or as card-playing and Chinese, it is certain 
 that the pursuit of one does not put one far ahead in the ac- 
 complishment of the other. Would a doctor of philosophy 
 have any advantage over a high-school graduate in learning 
 stenography or music? According to the theory of formal 
 discipline, the years of study on thought problems ought to 
 have increased ability in gaining the technic of music and 
 typewriting — but it does not. 
 
336 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Effect of Ideals. — Next in value to the elements of old 
 knowledge which are utilized in learning new things, there 
 are certain ideals and attitudes toward work. There are no 
 general faculties of attention, memory, and reason which 
 attend, memorize, and reason about one thing as well as an- 
 other by simply "connecting them up." But there are habits 
 of attending to things, of trying to memorize, trying to reason; 
 in short, habits of striving for excellence, which are no mean 
 possession. In fact, oftentimes the ideals of excellence and 
 of application to duty are among the most valuable assets 
 which the schoolboy acquires. But he acquires these on the 
 farm, in the store, or in the shop as well as in the school — 
 frequently better. It depends largely upon the kind of asso- 
 ciates he has. The value that we often so erroneously ascribe 
 to a given subject or kind of work is more truthfully a bene- 
 fit with which our parents, teachers, and associates should 
 be credited. They may inculcate a desirable attitude to- 
 ward all work which is of immense value in every relation in 
 life. 
 
 Judd is regarded as one of the chief scientific exponents of 
 the theory of transfer of training. It is true that he does 
 maintain that transfer may take place. He cites experi- 
 mental evidence to prove the point. At the same time he 
 does not maintain that transfer takes place equally in all 
 directions. Sometimes there is much transfer, sometimes lit- 
 tle, sometimes none, and sometimes the results may be a 
 hindrance. That is, sometimes the very learning of one habit 
 may hinder the acquisition of some other habit. 
 
 He makes a real contribution in pointing out that transfer 
 takes place through the formation of associations, through 
 applying and generalizing experiences. For example, Latin 
 will improve ability in English very decidedly if an attempt 
 is made to show the relation betw^een Latin and English; 
 school studies may strengthen one for life's duties, provided 
 the relation is shown between what is learned in school and 
 life problems outside. Too often the work of the school is 
 isolated in two ways, (a) in being unrelated to life and (b) in 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 337 
 
 each topic and subject being unrelated to all the rest. Judd 
 says: 
 
 There is no inherent reason in the psychology of the individual mind 
 or in the psychology of any subject of instruction for supposing that 
 experience cannot be generalized. On the other hand, there is no 
 reason to assume that experience of any type will infallibly carry over 
 into any other sphere whatsoever. . . . Everywhere in human ex- 
 perience there are large possibilities of generalizing experience, and 
 everywhere in school there is danger that experience will be narrowly 
 specialized. {The Psychology of High School Subjects, p. 420.) 
 
 Application in Curriculum-Making. — If one maintains that 
 powers are entirely general rather than largely special, one 
 must logically maintain that it makes little difference as to 
 what kind of facts are included in the course of study. Men- 
 tal gymnastics is assumed to be the important thing. That 
 theory imperils the whole theory of moral growth. It makes 
 all the difference in the world what knowledge our boys and 
 girls receive. Their feelings are aroused by knowledge, and 
 their activities often determined directly by the facts they 
 learn. 
 
 Even from the side of the intellect it makes much differ- 
 ence. Were mental gymnastics the only requisite of intellec- 
 tual growth, we might separate a child from his fellows, set 
 him to playing checkers or chess, or learning Russian or 
 Choctaw, and then he would be fitted for society, be capable 
 of judging of human actions as well as though he had come 
 in contact with objective facts dealing w^th society and human 
 activities. 
 
 Studies Should be Regarded as Worth While. — Why should 
 subjects be studied if not for the intellectual gymnastics ? We 
 may ask a similar question about physical work. We can 
 easily find good and sufficient reasons for doing physical and 
 intellectual work without appealing to the theory of formal 
 discipline. The work should be worth doing. If not, it 
 should be left undone. The worthfulness of the ends secured 
 through labor have been the dominating motives of all human 
 work. No one normally goes through a treadmill existence 
 
338 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 for the sake of doing the treading. In adult life one does not 
 do intellectual work for the sake of the exercise. When we 
 plan buildings, lay out political campaigns, develop war poli- 
 cies, or write books, we do not do so for the sake of the prac- 
 tice. The ends must appeal to us as being worth while in 
 themselves. It may be that in executing a given kind of 
 work we develop added power for similar kinds of work, but 
 even that kind of motive would not keep us long at our task. 
 The end to be accomplished must be the magnet which draws 
 us irresistibly on. 
 
 The case is similar with children's activities. Normally 
 they engage in all sorts of exercises for the sake of the end. 
 Play has been defined as exercise which is careless of the ends 
 to be secured. This is a false interpretation. Play not ruled 
 by entrancing ends to be accomplished ceases to be play. 
 True, when ends are accomplished, new objects are at once 
 conceived as worthful and new plays engaged in. But play 
 in which the end does not lure the child on becomes, like too 
 much of his arithmetic and writing, mere drudgery. In these 
 the objects are not understood or appreciated, and hence are 
 distasteful. 
 
 Subjects should be studied because they are intrinsically 
 valuable; because the possession of a knowledge of them is 
 distinctly worth while. One of the highest arts of the peda- 
 gogue is to make the pupil see and appreciate these values, 
 and consequently to be so attracted by the acquisition that 
 he is unsatisfied without them. The boy should study arith- 
 metic, not because he is to gain mental muscle for the prac- 
 tice of law or politics, but because the arithmetic is an in- 
 dispensable thing for him to know. He ought to be led to 
 appreciate this, and can be under skilful guidance. He ought 
 to study Latin because the Latin has intrinsic value. Gram- 
 mar ought to be studied not for the gymnastics afforded, but 
 for the sake of the grammar. If the disciplinarian's conten- 
 tions were true, then the kind of arithmetic and grammar 
 would be immaterial. The most antiquated cases in arith- 
 metic and the most obsolete grammatical forms would serve 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 339 
 
 just as well as modern subject-matter. The text-books on 
 geography, arithmetic, and grammar of our grandfathers 
 would do just as well as those containing more modern infor- 
 mation if gymnastics were all that is required. The formalist 
 is apt to say that discipline for power is the object of all 
 study, that the facts learned are forgotten anyway, that it 
 makes Httle difference what one studies provided only that 
 he studies hard (and pursues the formalist's favorite studies !). 
 
 Need for Varied Experiences. — If the emotions, for exam- 
 ple, are to be properly developed the mind must be occupied 
 with ideas which arouse the emotions. How can the emotion 
 of patriotism be aroused except through ideas which deal with 
 fidelity, loyalty, and the necessity of the fraternal spirit? 
 How can sympathy be awakened without knowledge of the 
 feelings of joy, sorrow, sadness, despondency? These can 
 only be gained by witnessing them in others and experiencing 
 them ourselves. No purely intellectual consideration alone 
 can bring into life the deepest emotions. Emotional experi- 
 ence is an absolute condition of development. Arithmetic 
 will not do it, geometry will not do it, linguistic drill fails, 
 manual training fails, all fail except that which touches the 
 germinal life of the emotions and adds to their potentialities. 
 Darwin tells us that his later life was full of regret that he 
 had no interest in music and art. The aesthetic failed com- 
 pletely to find response in him. He ascribes as a cause the 
 excessive devotion through a long life to purely intellectual 
 pursuits. His mind had become unsymmetrical by the hy- 
 peractivity in certain directions and the absence of exercise 
 in others. 
 
 We rightly say that ethical growth and culture are the 
 highest ends of education. But in practice we ignore all laws 
 for the attainment of these ends by centring the main cur- 
 rent of the child's school life upon purely intellectual activi- 
 ties. We profess to be deeply concerned lest the child wan- 
 der from the paths of rectitude, but instead of pre-empting 
 his mind with high ideals, such as could be gathered from lit- 
 erature and history, we cause him to spend most of his school 
 
340 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 life in learning rules of mathematics and language and acquir- 
 ing some degree of dexterity in handling their forms and 
 formulas. Now, arithmetic touches a great many rules, but 
 nowhere in it could I ever discover the "Golden Rule." No, 
 the only way in which one could learn to do unto others as 
 he would be done by is by associating with others and learn- 
 ing the meaning of altruism. This can be done partly through 
 the living contact and partly through subjects which deal 
 with similar situations. If moral growth is to be secured, 
 instruction must have a moral content, and the child must 
 be exercised in dealing with situations involving moral activi- 
 ties, and in a higher stage his moral judgment must be ap- 
 pealed to. 
 
 If we wish to secure development in any direction, specific 
 exercise and nourishment must enter into the course of educa- 
 tion. To stint in any direction is to dwarf growth in that 
 particular, to overemphasize in a given direction is to pro- 
 duce abnormality or arrest of development. Excessive cul- 
 ture of physical powers and disregard for the intellectual and 
 moral growth produces the brute; excessive intellectual cul- 
 ture alone develops the logician; while excessive cultivation 
 of the emotions without due balance in other qualities pro- 
 duces sickly sentimentalism with blind, ungovernable pas- 
 sion. Many people are now frankly sceptical of the idea 
 that education means merely mental gymnastics and are de- 
 manding that pupils be trained for specific situations in life. 
 In order to do this the curriculum must be so broadened and 
 enriched that the instinctive potentialities will be developed 
 and utilized in the best interest of society. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. How did the theory of formal discipline arise? It is interesting to 
 note that teachers developed the theory and laymen challenged it. 2. 
 To what extent do teachers apparently believe in formal discipline? 3. 
 Do laymen apparently believe in formal discipline? 4. Suggest an ex- 
 periment to test the theory. 5. Very few of the specific facts learned in 
 college are used directly in after-life. How then can a disbeliever in the 
 transfer effects of study recommend a college education? 6. If the ex- 
 
THE TRANSFER OF TRAINING 341 
 
 tremists' contentions regarding transfer effects were true, would it be scien- 
 tific to have pupils study grammar as a means of developing ideals of good 
 citizenship? 7. In every-day life do people with "common sense" exercise 
 on one thing in order to learn to do something else ? 8. What effect does 
 a belief or a disbelief in the theory have upon the making of the school 
 curriculum? Are such effects observable in present-day curricula? 9. 
 On what basis would you justify the high-school study of algebra, Latin? 
 10. What should be the basis for the selection of any subjects or topics in 
 a curriculum? 11. How can the pupil be helped to develop habits of ac- 
 curacy, neatness, punctuality, truthfulness, good workmanship? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Bolton, Principles of Education, chap. XXVIII. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chap. XIII. 
 
 3. Colvin, The Learning Process, chap. XIV. 
 
 4. Heck, Formal Discipline. Entire book. 
 
 5. James, Principles of Psychology, vol. I, chap. XVI. 
 
 6. Judd, The Psychology of High School Subjects, chap. XVII. 
 
 7. Starch, Educational Psychology, chap. XIII. 
 
 8. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, chap. XV. 
 
 9. Woodworth, Psychology: A Study of Mental Life, p. 316. 
 
PART IF 
 
 MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATIONAL 
 PSYCHOLOGY 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 
 
 Beginnings of the Movement. — During the last decade a 
 great deal of interest has been developed in connection with 
 methods of measuring mental ability. It is very important 
 in the classification of pupils in school and in vocational 
 guidance and placement. 
 
 The first real attempt to develop a scale for measuring 
 mental ability was made by Binet in 1904 for the purpose of 
 separating the feeble-minded from normal persons. In that 
 year an educational regulation in Paris required that the 
 mentally defective in the schools be discovered. Binet tested 
 several average children of each age, and then standardized 
 the tests of ability for each age. The tests were published in 
 1905 in the V Annee Psychologique. They were revised in 
 1908 and again in 191 1. From that time they have been 
 widely used. 
 
 While low-grade feeble-mindedness is readily distinguish- 
 able there are many border-line cases that are difficult to dis- 
 tinguish. It is also true that during the earlier years of child- 
 hood it is hard to determine whether a given child is merely 
 backward from lack of training or really subnormal in intelli- 
 gence. Terman says that even teachers are apt to confuse 
 real intelligence with facility in reading, capacity for mem- 
 orizing, and are "deceived by a sprightly attitude, a sympa- 
 thetic expression, a glance of the eye, or a chance *bump* 
 on the head." {The Measurement of Intelligence, p. 31.) 
 
 Binet tried to devise questions and exercises which would 
 call for intelligence rather than merely information in giving 
 the answer. To arrange tests that will do that is a difficult 
 thing. The Binet tests did not fully accomplish that, as will 
 be seen by examining the tests. A great many investigators 
 
 345 
 
346 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 have studied the tests, modified them and much improved 
 them, but even now they are far from perfect. However, 
 they look in the right direction. 
 
 Doctor Kuhlmann (/'The Present Status of the Binet and 
 Simon Tests of the InteUigence of Children," Journal oj 
 Psycho- Asthenics, vol. XVI, No. 3, 1912), says of the Binet 
 tests that 
 
 The tests are the first of their kind that have ever been offered for 
 the purpose of determining the degree of intelligence of children in 
 terms of mental ages. They aim to and do accomplish much more 
 than anything we have had heretofore. For this reason they have 
 become at once widely popular. They have been used in many public 
 schools throughout this country and abroad, and in a number of schools 
 for defective children, reformatories and prisons for the practical pur- 
 poses of grading intelligence. 
 
 The essential features to be noted in the Binet tests and 
 their use is: (i) There is a set of questions or directions for 
 each age in which the child is asked to give some information, 
 some judgment, or to do something. (2) These exercises have 
 been given so many times and the results so carefully recorded 
 and studied that it is known just how many of the exercises 
 for a given age a child of that age will answer correctly. (3) 
 If a child of a given age answers correctly the average num- 
 ber of exercises for that age the child is considered normal. 
 
 (4) If a child of a given age fails to answer correctly an aver- 
 age number of exercises for his age, but can answer all for the 
 next year below, he is judged to be mentally the year below. 
 
 (5) If he can answer correctly an average number of exer- 
 cises for a higher age he is assigned the higher mental age. 
 
 Because of the amount of space it would require to repro- 
 duce all of the Binet tests, only a synopsis and typical illus- 
 trations are given here. They have been considerably re- 
 vised, amplified, and improved, and those who are interested 
 should read Terman's The Measurement of Intelligence. He 
 gives there an extended and carefully selected bibliography, 
 which will enable one to do more exhaustive reading. 
 
 Synopsis of the Binet-Simon Tests. — ^The following Is a 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 347 
 
 very brief statement of the nature of the fifty-four tests in 
 the 191 1 revision of the Binet-Simon tests. The statement 
 is taken verbatim from the authorized translation made by 
 Doctor Clara Harrison Town {A Method of Measuring the 
 Development of the Intelligence of Young Children, 191 3.) 
 
 The series of tests used in the method, grouped according 
 to age, is as follows: 
 
 Three Years 
 
 Shows nose, eyes, and mouth. 
 Repeats two digits. 
 Enumerates objects in a picture. 
 Gives family name. 
 Repeats a sentence of six syllables. 
 
 Four Years 
 Gives own sex. 
 
 Names key, knife, and penny. 
 Repeats three digits. 
 Compares two lines. 
 
 Five Years 
 
 Compares two weights. 
 
 Copies a square. 
 
 Repeats a sentence of ten syllables. 
 
 Counts four pennies. 
 
 Game of patience with two pieces. 
 
 Six Years 
 
 Distinguishes between morning and afternoon. 
 
 Defines in terms of use. 
 
 Copies a lozenge. 
 
 Counts thirteen pennies. 
 
 Compares faces from the aesthetic point of view. 
 
 Seven Years 
 
 Right hand; left ear. 
 
 Describes a picture. 
 
 Executes three commissions. 
 
 Gives value of nine sous, three of which are double. 
 
 Names four colors. 
 
348 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Eight Years 
 
 Compares two remembered objects. 
 Counts from 20 to o. 
 Indicates omissions in pictures. 
 Gives day and date. 
 Repeats five digits. 
 
 Nine Years 
 
 Gives change from twenty sous. 
 Defines in terms superior to use. 
 Recognizes all the pieces of our money. 
 Enumerates the months. 
 Understands easy questions. 
 
 Ten Years 
 
 Arranges five weights. 
 
 Copies drawings from memory. 
 
 Criticises absurd statements. 
 
 Understands difiicult questions. 
 
 Uses three given words in two sentences. 
 
 Twelve Years 
 
 Resists suggestion (length of lines). 
 
 Composes one sentence containing three given words. 
 
 Says more than sixty words in three minutes. 
 
 Defines abstract terms. 
 
 Discovers the sense of a sentence the words of which are mixed. 
 
 Fifteen Years 
 Repeats seven digits. 
 Gives three rhymes. 
 
 Repeats a sentence of twenty-six syllables. 
 Interprets a picture. 
 Solves a problem from several facts. 
 
 Adult 
 
 Solves the paper-cutting test. 
 
 Rearranges a triangle. 
 
 Gives differences in meanings of abstract terms. 
 
 Solves the question of the President. 
 
 Gives the resume of the thought of Hervieu. 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 349 
 
 Illustrations of the Binet-Simon Tests. — The Binet tests 
 (191 1 revision) contain fifty-four different tests, intended to 
 be graded, so that the average child of a given calendar age 
 can answer reasonably the majority of questions for that age. 
 The following are samples of the tests: 
 
 Age 3: a. The child is shown a picture of a man and a little boy 
 drawing a cart loaded with various objects. The child is asked: "What 
 is this?" To be counted correct, at least two objects in the picture 
 must be mentioned. 
 
 b. Tell your name (including surname). 
 
 c. Point to your nose, eyes, mouth. 
 
 d. Two digits are uttered by the examiner, and the child is asked to 
 repeat them. 
 
 e. Repeat after the examiner "It is cold. I'm hungry." 
 Age 4: a. Which of two lines (shown) is the longer? 
 
 b. Are you a little boy or a little girl? 
 
 c. Is asked to name several objects, as a knife, a key, a penny, etc. 
 
 d. Three digits are uttered by the examiner, and the child is asked 
 to repeat them. 
 
 Age 9: a. What is a fork? What is a table? What is a chair? 
 What is a horse? (If the child says a chair is "a seat," "four legs," or 
 "furniture," etc., the answer is to be accepted.) 
 
 b. The child is to make change for a quarter when six cents' worth 
 are bought in playing store. 
 
 c. "If you have missed a train, what must you do? If you have 
 been struck by a playmate (or friend) who did not mean to do it, what 
 must you do? If you have broken something belonging to some one 
 else, what must you do?" 
 
 Terman's Revision of the Binet-Simon Tests. — ^Terman of 
 Stanford has revised the Binet scale by adding to and modify- 
 ing the tests made by Binet. By testing hundreds of children 
 Terman has determined norms of what children of a given 
 age can do. He says {The Measurement of Intelligence, p. 53) : 
 "A correct scale must cause the average child of 5 years 
 to test exactly at 5, the average child at 6 to test exactly at 
 6, etc." He has improved the tests more than any one 
 else. 
 
 In giving the examination to a child, begin with the lowest 
 
350 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 age and go up the scale as far as he can proceed successfully. 
 The test for the age at which he stops represents the mental 
 age of the child. It is quite usual to speak of this in terms of 
 "The Intelligence Quotient" (I. Q.), which is simply the men- 
 tal age as revealed by the tests divided by the child's chrono- 
 logical age. For example, if a child is 8 years old by the 
 almanac and tests 6 years old, his I. Q. is %, or usually ex- 
 pressed at 75. If the child is 6 years old chronologically and 
 tests as high as the average eight-year-old, his I. Q. is %, or 
 usually expressed as 133, the decimal point being omitted in 
 each case. Any I. Q. below 90 represents a subnormal con- 
 dition, any I. Q. above no represents superiority. Terman 
 regards I. Q.'s from 90-100 as representing average intelligence, 
 those from 1 10-120 as representing superior intelligence, and 
 from 120 to 140 as very superior. Not too much significance 
 should be attached if the variation is only a few points. If 
 the variation is from 10 to 20 points, however, it may be 
 regarded as quite significant. 
 
 The next six tests are selected from Terman. Those selected 
 are intended to be typical of tests that really test intelligence 
 and not merely information. The Roman numerals refer to 
 the age of the child who can answer the questions if normal in 
 development. The Arabic figures refer to the number of the 
 test. 
 
 One of the Terman tests, by many considered among the 
 best, is the vocabulary test. It is given at various ages. 
 From a standardized list of words the child is asked to give 
 definitions of as many words as possible in a given time. Any 
 simple explanation showing comprehension of the word is 
 accepted. The words include orange, bonfire, roar, gown, top, 
 peculiarity, coinage, mosaic, bewail, disproportionate, homun- 
 culus, cameo, shagreen, limpet, conflict, etc. The number of 
 words defined correctly is multiplied by 180, giving the ap- 
 proximate vocabulary. The words were selected by taking 
 the last word of every sixth column in an 18,000-word dic- 
 tionary. Thus, a child who defines 25 words correctly has a 
 vocabulary of 4,500 words. 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 351 
 
 The following are the standards for different years, as determined 
 by the vocabulary reached by 60 to 65 per cent of the subjects of the 
 various mental levels: 
 
 8 years 20 words vocabulary 3,600 
 
 10 years 30 words vocabulary 5,400 
 
 12 years 40 words vocabulary 7,200 
 
 14 years 50 words vocabulary 9,000 
 
 Average adult 65 words vocabulary 11,700 
 
 Superior adult 75 words vocabulary 13,500 
 
 Although the form of the definition is significant, it is not taken into 
 consideration in scoring. The test is intended to explore the range of 
 ideas rather than the evolution of thought forms. When it is evident 
 that the child has one fairly correct meaning for a word, he is given full 
 credit for it, however poorly the definition may have been stated. 
 (Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence, p. 226.) 
 
 Another test by Terman for the tenth year consists in hav- 
 ing the child say as many words as he can think of in three 
 minutes. The test is considered passed If sixty words, not In- 
 cluding repetitions, are given. 
 
 VIII, I. The ball-and-field test. (Score 2, inferior plan.) 
 Procedure. Draw a circle about two and one-half inches in diam- 
 eter, leaving a small gap in the side next the child. Say: "Let us sup- 
 pose that your baseball has been lost in this round field. You have 
 no idea what part of the field it is in. You don't know what direction 
 it came from, how it got there, or with what force it came. All you 
 know is that the ball is lost somewhere in the field. Now, take this 
 pencil and mark out a path to show me how you would hunt for the 
 ball so as to be sure not to miss it. Begin at the gate and show me 
 what path you would take." 
 
 Give the instructions always as worded above. Avoid using an 
 expression like "Show me how you would walk around in the field"; 
 the word around might suggest a circular path. (Terman, The Mea- 
 surement oj Intelligence, chap. XIV, p. 210.) 
 
 VIII, 4. Give similarities; two things. 
 
 Procedure. Say to the child: "I am going to name two things which 
 are alike in some way, and I want you to tell me how they are alike. 
 Wood and coal: in what way are they alike?" Proceed in the same 
 manner with: 
 
 An apple and a peach. 
 Iron and silver. 
 A ship and an automobile. 
 (Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence, chap. XIV, p. 217.) 
 
352 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 XIV, 5. Arithmetical Reasoning. 
 
 Procedure. The following problems, printed in clear type, are shown 
 one at a time to the subject, who reads each problem aloud and (with 
 the printed problem still before him) finds the answer without the use 
 of pencil or paper. 
 
 {a) If a man's salary is $20 a week and he spends $14 a week, how 
 long will it take him to save $300? 
 
 {h) If 2 pencils cost 5 cents, how many pencils can you buy for 50 
 cents ? 
 
 {c) At 15 cents a yard, how much will 7 feet of cloth cost? 
 
 Only one minute is allowed for each problem, but nothing is said 
 about hurrying. While one problem is being solved, the others should 
 be hidden from view. It is not permissible, if the subject gives an 
 incorrect answer, to ask him to solve the problem again. The follow- 
 ing exception, however, is made to this rule: If the answer given to 
 the third problem indicates that the word yard has been read as feet, 
 the subject is asked to read the problem through again carefully (aloud) 
 and to tell how he solved it. No further help of any kind may be 
 given. 
 
 Scoring. Two of the three problems must be solved correctly within 
 the minute allotted to each. No credit is allowed for correct method 
 if the answer is wrong. 
 
 (Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence, chap. XVIII, p. 319. The 
 selections from Terman are used by permission of and by special ar- 
 rangement with Houghton Mifflin Company, the authorized pub- 
 lishers.) 
 
 XIV, 6. Reversing hands of clock. 
 
 Procedure. Say to the subject: "Suppose it is six-twenty-two 
 o'clock, that is, twenty-two minutes after six; can you see in your 
 mind where the large hand would be and where the small hand would 
 be?" Subjects of 12 to 14 year intelligence practically always answer 
 this in the affirmative. Then continue: "Now, suppose the two hands 
 of the clock were to trade places, so that the large hand takes the place 
 where the small hand was and the small hand takes the place where 
 the large hand was. What time would it then be?" 
 
 Repeat the test with the hands at 8:10 (10 minutes after 8), and 
 again with the hands at 2:46 (14 minutes before 3). 
 
 The subject is not allowed to look at a clock or watch or to aid himself 
 by drawing, but must work out the problem mentally. As a rule the 
 answer is given within a few seconds, or not at all. If an answer is not 
 forthcoming within two minutes the score is failure. 
 
 Scoring. The test is passed if two of the three problems are solved 
 within the following range of accuracy: the first solution is considered 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 353 
 
 correct if the answer falls between 4: 30 and 4:35, inclusive; the second 
 if the answer falls between i : 40 and i :45, and the third if the answer 
 falls between 9:10 and 9:15. 
 
 (Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence, chap. XVIII, p. 321. The 
 selections from Terman are used by permission of and by special ar- 
 rangement with Houghton Mifflin Company, the authorized pub- 
 lishers.) 
 
 The Army ** Alpha " Tests. — The following extracts from 
 the army ''alpha" tests are copied, with permission, from the 
 army tests used so extensively during the war. The "alpha" 
 test, from which the selections are taken, is the most widely 
 known. This was given to over 2,000,000 men during the 
 war, and has been repeated thousands of times since in courses 
 in mental measurement, in college entrance examinations, and 
 to some extent in vocational guidance. No other test is there- 
 fore so well standardized. The great majority of all other 
 tests constructed since have incorporated many of its fea- 
 tures. Practically all use a combination of the Binet-Simon 
 and the army alpha. 
 
 Form 6, Group Examination Alpha, Feb. 8, 1918* 
 
 Test 2 
 
 Get the answers to these examples as quickly as you can. Use the 
 side of this page to figure on if you need to. 
 
 1. How many are 40 guns and 6 guns? Answer ( 
 
 2. If you save $6 a month for 5 months, how much 
 
 will you save ? Answer ( 
 
 3. If 32 men are divided into squads of 8, how many 
 
 squads will there be ? Answer ( 
 
 4. Mike had 1 1 cigars. He bought 3 more and then 
 
 smoked 6. How many cigars did he have 
 
 left ? Answer ( 
 
 5. A company advanced 6 miles and retreated 3 
 
 miles. How far was it then from its first po- 
 sition ? Answer ( 
 
 15. A ship has provisions to last her crew of 600 men 
 
 6 months. How long would it last 800 men? ^W5wer ( 
 
 * In the following excerpts from various tests it has not always been 
 possible to reproduce exactly the original arrangement and type. 
 
354 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 20. A commission house which had already supplied 
 1,897 barrels of apples to a cantonment de- 
 livered the remainder of its stock to 28 mess 
 halls. Of this remainder each mess hall re- 
 ceived 47 barrels. What was the total num- 
 ber of barrels supplied ? Answer ( ) 
 
 Test 3 
 
 This is a test of common sense. Below are sixteen questions. 
 Three answers are given to each question. You are to look at the 
 answers carefully; then make a cross in the square before the best 
 answer to each question. 
 
 1. If plants are dying for lack of rain, you should 
 n water them 
 
 n ask a florist's advice 
 
 n put fertilizer around them 
 
 2. A house is better than a tent, because 
 n it costs more 
 
 D it is more comfortable 
 n it is made of wood 
 10. Why should all parents be made to send their children to school? 
 Because 
 n it prepares them for adult life 
 n it keeps them out of mischief 
 n they are too young to work 
 16. Why do some men who could afford to own a house live in a rented 
 one? Because 
 n they don't have to pay taxes 
 n they don't have to buy a rented house 
 
 D they can make more by investing the money the house would 
 cost 
 
 Test 4 
 
 If the two words of a pair mean the same or nearly the same, draw 
 a line under same. If they mean the opposite or nearly the opposite, 
 draw a line under opposite. If you cannot be sure, guess. 
 
 I. cold — hot same — opposite i 
 
 ' 2. long — short same — opposite 2 
 
 3. bare — naked same — opposite 3 
 
 4. joy — happiness same — opposite 4 
 
 5. find — lose same — opposite 5 
 
 16. knave — villain same — opposite 16 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 355 
 
 17. null — void same — opposite 17 
 
 18. wax — wane same — opposite 18 
 
 19. adversary — colleague same — opposite 19 
 
 20. altruistic — egotistic same — opposite 20 
 
 36. suavity — asperity same — opposite 36 
 
 37. perfunctory — meticulous same — opposite 37 
 
 38. lugubrious — maudlin same — opposite 38 
 
 39. desuetude — disuse same — opposite 39 
 
 40. adventitious — accidental same — opposite 40 
 
 Test 5 
 
 The words A EATS COW GRASS in that order are mixed up and 
 don't make a sentence; but they would make a sentence if put in the 
 right order— A COW EATS GRASS— and this statement is true. 
 
 Again, the words HORSES FEATHERS HAVE ALL would make 
 a sentence if put in the order ALL HORSES HAVE FEATHERS, 
 but this statement is false. 
 
 Below are twenty-four mixed-up sentences. Some of them are 
 true and some are false. When I say "go," take these sentences one 
 at a time. Think what each would say if the words were straightened 
 out, but don't write them yourself. Then, if what it would say is true, 
 draw a line under the word true ; if what it would say is false, draw a 
 line under the word false. If you cannot be sure, guess. Begin with 
 No. I and work right down the page until time is called. 
 
 1. cows milk give true — false i 
 
 2. write are with to pencils true — false 2 
 
 3. are and apples long thin true — false 3 
 
 4. east the in rises sun the true — false 4 
 
 5. months warmest are summer the true — false 5 
 
 15. Washington canal 1776 Panama the in built true — false 15 
 
 24. inflict men pain needless cruel sometimes true — false 24 
 
 Test 6 
 
 Look at each row of numbers below, and on the two dotted lines 
 write the two numbers that should come next. 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 25 
 
 36 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 44 
 
356 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Test 7 
 
 In each of the lines below, the first two words are related to each 
 other in some way. What you are to do in each line is to see what 
 the relation is between the first two words, and underline the word in 
 heavy type that is related in the same way to the third word. Begin 
 with No. I and mark as many sets as you can before time is called. 
 
 1. dog — bark:: cat — chair mew fire house i 
 
 2. foot — man:: hoof — com tree cow hoe : 2 
 
 3. dog — puppy:: cat — kitten dog tiger horse 3 
 
 4. wash — face:: sweep — clean broom floor straw 4 
 
 5. door — house:: gate — swing hinges yard latch 5 
 
 21. cellar — attic:: bottom — well tub top house 21 
 
 22. man — arm:: tree — shrub limb flower bark 22 
 
 23. suitcase — clothing:: purse — purchase money string stolen 23 
 
 24. knitting — girls:: carpentry — trade houses boys lumber 24 
 
 25. arteries — body:: railroads — coimtry train crossing accident 25 
 
 36. order — confusion:: peace — part treaty war enemy 36 
 
 37. education — ignorance:: wealth — poverty riches health comfort 37 
 
 38. 10 — 100:: 1000 — money loooo 20000 wealth 38 
 
 39. imitate — copy:: invent — study Edison machine originate 39 
 
 40. historian — facts:: novelist — fiction Dickens writer book 40 
 
 Test 8 
 
 In each of the sentences below you have four choices for the last 
 word. Only one of them is correct. In each sentence draw a line 
 under the one of these four words which makes the truest sentence. 
 If you cannot be sure, guess. 
 
 1. Boston is in Connecticut Rhode Island Maine Massachusetts i 
 
 2. Euchre is played with dice rackets cards pins 2 
 
 3. The Arabian is a kind of horse goat cow sheep 3 
 
 4. The most prominent industry of Milwaukee is fish brewing 
 
 flour automobiles 4 
 
 5. Turquoise is usually yellow red green blue $ 
 
 21. The cutlass is a kind of sword musket cannon pistol 21 
 
 22. The Corona is a kind of phonograph multigraph adding- 
 
 machine typewriter 22 
 
 23. Indigo is a food drink color fabric 23 
 
 24. The xylophone is used in lithography music stenography book- 
 
 binding 24 
 
 25. Madras is a drink fabric food dance 25 
 
 36. The Battle of Lexington was fought in 1620 1775 1812 1864 36 
 
 37. The kilowatt is used in measuring rainfall wind power elec- 
 
 tricity water-power 37 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 357 
 
 38. The Buick car is made in Toledo Flint Buffalo Detroit .... 38 
 
 39. Among the allies of Germany is Bulgaria Norway Rumania 
 
 Portugal 39 
 
 40. An eight-sided figure is called a trapezium scholium parallelo- 
 
 gram octagon 40 
 
 Yerkes*s Point Scale. — ^Various other modifications have 
 been suggested. Among the most notable are those of Pint- 
 ner and Yerkes. Pintner believed that too much depended 
 upon the use of language, and his tests consist chiefly of at- 
 tempts to do something, as, for example, putting together the 
 parts of the form-board and dissected pictures. (Pintner, 
 Rudolf, and Paterson, Donald: A Scale of Performance Tests f 
 D. Appleton, 191 7.) Yerkes used many of the Binet tests, 
 but assigned a given number of points or credits to the answers 
 or actions. This makes a rather more accurate evaluation 
 than the "all or none" method of Binet. (Yerkes, Robert M., 
 Bridges, James W., and Hardwick, Rose S.: A Poifit Scale for 
 Measuring Mental Ability, Warwick and York, 191 5.) The 
 army intelligence tests and most of the current intelligence 
 tests follow largely the "point-scale" method. 
 
 The National Intelligence Tests. — One of the latest sets of 
 group intelligence tests is the National Intelligence Tests 
 (World Book Company, 1920), prepared by a research council 
 composed of Doctor Melvin E. Haggerty, University of Min- 
 nesota, Doctor Lewis M. Terman, Stanford University, Doc- 
 tor Edward L. Thorndike, Columbia University, Doctor Guy 
 M. Whipple, University of Pittsburgh, and Doctor Robert M. 
 Yerkes, chairman, Harvard University. This research coun- 
 cil was selected by the General Education Board in March, 
 1919. The importance and magnitude of their task is indi- 
 cated by the fact that they were granted $25,000 with which 
 to prepare the tests for the measurement of the intelligence of 
 school children. 
 
 The tests include two groups of five each. 
 
 These groups are designated Scale A and Scale B. Scale A consists 
 of Test I, Arithmetical Reasoning; Test 2, Sentence Completion; Test 
 3, Logical Selection; Test 4, Same — Opposite; Test 5, Symbol-Digit. 
 
3S8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Scale B consists of Test i, Computation; Test 2, Information; Test 3, 
 Vocabulary; Test 4, Analogies; Test 5, Comparison. Materials were 
 simultaneously prepared by various members of the committee for 
 five alternative forms of each test. These several forms of the tests 
 were carefully equalized and methods of scoring determined. 
 
 The ten tests are arranged in two groups, in order that the period 
 of examination may not greatly exceed thirty minutes. Either 
 Scale A or Scale B may be used alone, and either will serve as a con- 
 venient method for the rapid survey of a school system ; but the com- 
 mittee recommends that both scales be given preferably on different 
 days. The second rating then may be used as a check on the first, 
 and serious discrepancy will suggest to the teacher the desirability of 
 individual examination. . . . 
 
 The scales having been assembled and printed, the committee was 
 enabled to secure tentative norms to be used as standards for com- 
 parison of scores through the generous co-operation of Messrs. J. 
 Freeman Guy, J. L. Stenquist, and Mrs. Helen T. WooUey. Miss 
 Margaret V. Cobb organized and directed the examinations which 
 were made in Washington for the purpose of equalizing the different 
 forms of the scales, and also the co-operative examining which sup- 
 plied the data for norms. In addition she took charge for the com- 
 mittee of assembling, editing, and printing the materials for the sev- 
 eral tests in their various forms, and in the numerous other ways facili- 
 tated the preparation of the methods and increased their serviceability. 
 
 The National Intelligence Tests thus prepared are primarily an 
 adaptation for school purposes of the group intelligence tests used in 
 the examination of recruits in the United States army. They are 
 planned for use in Grades 3 to 8, and with pupils entering high school. 
 These tests may be successfully conducted and scored by the teacher 
 or supervisor who is sufficiently interested to secure for himself the 
 necessary brief instruction and training in their use. {National Intelli- 
 gence Tests: Manual of Directions, 1920, pp. 3-4.) 
 
 Scale B, Form i, Edition 2. 
 
 EXERCISE I 
 
 Do this work in arithmetic as quickly as you can without making 
 mistakes. Try each example as you come to it. Look carefully at 
 each one to see what you are to do. 
 
 Begin here (i) (2) 
 
 Add Multiply 
 
 4 4X5 = 
 
 2 
 
 (3) 
 
 Add 
 
 (4) 
 Subtract 
 
 32 
 
 13 
 
 25 
 
 19 
 
 5 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 359 
 
 (5) 
 
 Divide 
 
 (6) 
 Multiply 
 
 5073 
 9 
 
 (7) 
 Divide 
 
 (8) 
 Subtract 
 
 II -^ 3 = 
 
 37) 14282 
 
 Yi - % = 
 
 
 (9) 
 Divide 
 
 ^ - 5 = 
 
 (10) 
 Multiply 
 
 ss^ys 
 26 
 
 
 EXERCISE II 
 
 j^ , f Sheep eat mostly nuts grass fruits bread 
 ^ \ The number of cents in a dime is 2 5 10 25 
 
 In each sentence draw a line under the one word that makes the 
 sentence true. 
 
 Begin here 
 
 1. The number of days in a week is 5 6 7 12 i 
 
 2. The kitten is the young of the dog cat lion sheep 2 
 
 3 . The day before Thursday is Wednesday Tuesday Friday Monday 3 
 
 4. Cheese comes from butter plants eggs milk 4 
 
 5. Leather comes from cotton wool skins bark 5 
 
 Scale B, Form i, Edition 2. 
 Test 2 
 
 In each sentence draw a line under the one word that makes the 
 sentence true, as shown in the samples. 
 
 o 1 f Sheep eat mostly nuts grass fruits bread 
 amp es | ^j^^ number of cents in a dime is 2 5 10 25 
 
 Begin here 
 
 16. The incubator is useful in raising cattle chickens corn cotton 16 
 
 17. Boston is in Connecticut Maine Massachusetts Rhode Island 17 
 
 18. A State famous for oranges is Alabama California Louisiana 
 
 Texas 18 
 
 19. The number of weeks in a month is about 2468 19 
 
 20. Cambric is a cloth color dance food 20 
 
 EXERCISE III 
 
 jj , J Can cows eat ? Yes No 
 
 bamples < ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^.^P Yes No 
 
36o EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 Read each question and draw a line under the right answer. 
 
 6. Do trees ever grow on moist land ? Yes No 
 
 7. Are newspapers printed in churches? Yes No 
 
 8. Is stealing a proper pastime ? Yes No 
 
 9. Are steeples commonly found in barrels? Yes No 
 
 ID. Is furniture usually visible ? Yes No 
 
 Test 3 
 
 Draw a line under the right answer to each question. Do as many 
 as you can. 
 
 6. Do bears have legs ? Yes No 
 
 7. Do daisies bloom in meadows? Yes No 
 
 8. Does ice make water warmer? Yes No 
 
 9. Does a dollar have eyes ? Yes No 
 
 10. Is red a color ? Yes No 
 
 Test 4 
 
 Read carefully the first three words in each line. 
 last four and draw a line under the right one. 
 
 Then read the 
 
 Samples 
 
 shoe — foot hat — coat nose see head 
 
 sky — blue grass — grows summer green tall 
 
 bird — sing dog — tail bark walk kennel 
 
 bird — fly dog — tail bark walk kennel 
 
 dress — cloth . . . hat — head wear band straw 
 
 Begin here 
 
 1. finger — hand toe — box foot doll coat i 
 
 2. cannon — shoots bell — rings door metal maid 2 
 
 3. sweet — sugar sour — sweet cake vinegar man 3 
 
 4. handle — hammer knob — key room shut door 4 
 
 5. suitcase — clothing. . . .purse — purchase money string stolen 5 
 
 EXERCISE V 
 
 If the two things in a pair are the same, write S on the dotted line 
 between them. If they are different, write D on the dotted line be- 
 tween them. Do each one as you come to it. 
 
 ^ rn^^ 
 
 21059876 21059876 
 
 Siegel P. D Seigel P. D. 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 361 
 
 Standardized College Entrance Examinations. — Intelligence 
 tests are being tried in various universities as a substitute for 
 or supplement to entrance examinations. It is too early to 
 say how successful they will prove to be. In several places, 
 notably Columbia University, they are reported to be very 
 promising. Below is given part of two psychological examina- 
 tions that have been devised by Thurstone, in the Division of 
 Personnel and Psychology, Carnegie Institute of Technology. 
 The first five and the last five are reproduced. The entire ex- 
 amination is not given here because of the length. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION 
 
 For College Freshmen and High-School Seniors 
 
 Part A — Time Limit: 20 Minutes 
 
 Do not open this pamphlet until you are told to do so by the ex- 
 aminer. This is a test to see how quickly and accurately you can 
 think. The result of the test will be used by your advisers in order 
 that they may know more about your abilities. On the inside pages 
 there are 100 short problems. In each case you are told exactly what 
 to do. Notice the instructions carefully. You may use the margin 
 for figuring. Do not ask any questions. If you come to a problem 
 that you do not understand, go to the next problem. You will be 
 given only twenty minutes. Solve as many problems as you can in 
 the time allowed. Solve the problems in the order given. Do not 
 skip about on the page. Do not turn this page until you are told to 
 begin. 
 
 1. Underline the two words that have the same logical relation to 
 
 each other as locomotive and train: station horse hub 
 
 baggage buggy 
 Underline the two words that have the same logical relation to 
 
 each other as good and had: taste sweet conduct sour 
 
 polite 
 Underline the two words that have the same logical relation to 
 
 tai,ch. othQx 2iS flag diXid country : cross purgatory Christianity 
 
 Army president 
 Underline the two words that have the same relation to each 
 
 other as ear and hear: eye hair blue see eyebrow 
 
 2. Look at the following row of figures and fill in the two blank spaces: 
 
 2 4 6 8 10 12 
 
 Look at the following row of figures and fill in the two blank spaces: 
 172737 
 
362 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Look at the following row of figures and fill in the two blank 
 spaces : 
 123456 
 
 3. Underline the two words that have the same relation to each other 
 
 as palace and King: hut peasant barn farm city 
 
 4. If the conclusion to the following argument is true, underline true; 
 
 if it is false, underline false: Brown is shorter than Smith. 
 Jones is shorter than Brown. Therefore Jones is shorter than 
 Smith. True. False. 
 
 5. How many hours will it take a truck to go 48 miles at the rate of 
 
 four miles per hour? Answer: hours. 
 
 96. Underline the two words that have the same relation to each 
 
 other as December and January: last first least worst 
 month 
 
 97. On the blank spaces write the two numbers that should come next: 
 
 17 51 17 51 17 51 
 
 98. Underline the two words that have the same relation to each other 
 
 as dress and woman: neck feathers feet bill bird 
 
 99. If the conclusion to the following argument is true, underline true; 
 
 if it is false, underline false. The recent panic occurred just 
 after the president announced his policy regarding corpora- 
 tions in interstate commerce; therefore the president is to 
 blame for the panic. True. False. 
 100. A grocer had a tank holding 443^ gallons of oil. He drew out 
 1$% gallons. How many gallons were left in the tank? 
 Answer: gallons. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION 
 
 For College Freshmen and High-School Seniors 
 
 1922 Edition — Time Limit: 30 Minutes 
 
 (Instructions the same as in Part A) 
 
 1. I am facing north and turn to my right. In which direction do 
 
 I turn? North South East West. (Underline the cor- 
 rect answer.) 
 
 2. Is it possible for any number to be larger than its square? Yes 
 
 No. (UnderHne the correct answer.) 
 
 4. The hands of a clock read five minutes of twelve. What time 
 
 would they read if their positions were reversed? Answer. . . 
 
 5. Is the following statement logical or absurd? Phyllis was born 
 
 three years before her younger sister, Ruth. Logical Ab- 
 surd. (Underline the correct answer.) 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 
 
 363 
 
 10. Which of the following words would look the same in a mirror? 
 
 Underline it. NOON MOTTO MADAM TOOT 
 
 ANNA PEEP. 
 14. Jones owes Smith one hundred dollars; Smith owes Brown one 
 
 hundred dollars. The two debts will be settled if Jones pays 
 
 one hundred dollars to Brown. True False. (Underline 
 
 the correct answer.) 
 
 A 
 
 24. The piece of paper A is folded to look like B, again to look like C, 
 and again to look Hke D. Then a hole is cut at a position 
 indicated in D. Draw the holes in A to show where they 
 would be if the paper were unfolded. 
 
 31. How many cubes would be needed to build this figure? 
 
 48. What is the smallest number of coins that can be used to give a 
 man forty-four cents ? 
 
 50. A tank of water is being drained at the rate of 2 cu. ft. per second 
 and supplied at the rate of ^2 cu. ft. per second. After two 
 minutes there are 50 cu. ft. of water in the tank. How much 
 
 water was in the tank before it was drained ? Answer 
 
 cu. ft. 
 
364 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 51. Fill in the blanks in the following sentence. Write only one word 
 
 on a blank 
 
 The knowledge of use fire is .... of ... . important 
 
 things known by ... . but unknown .... animals. 
 
 52. Fill in the blanks in the following: 
 
 X is greater than Y therefore Z is than S 
 
 X is less than Z Y is . . . . than Z 
 Y is greater than S X is than S 
 
 53. If one word in the following is crossed out the others can be ar- 
 
 ranged to form a logical sentence. Cross out that word, 
 old is tired hard boy because the very he worked man has 
 56. Is the following statement logical or absurd? The time of the 
 sun's rising seemed earlier because the hands of the clock had 
 been turned back an hour. Logical. Absurd. (Underline 
 the correct answer.) 
 
 Uses of Intelligence Tests. — The most recent and greatest 
 emphasis that has been placed upon tests of mental ability as 
 a guide to vocational placement of individuals was in the 
 army. General intelligence tests have been very carefully 
 worked out for the purpose of testing large groups and of mak- 
 ing a preliminary sorting. In addition to those designed for 
 large groups special tests have been arranged to further test 
 the individuals in the groups determined by means of the 
 first tests. Special trade tests designed to test the proficiency 
 in a large variety of trades have also been prepared and given 
 to thousands of men in the army. 
 
 Uses in Schools. — A. Perhaps the most valuable possibility arising 
 from the use of intelligence tests in schools is that of classifying pupils 
 in accordance with their natural intelligence, or ability to learn. The 
 variation in this respect among the children of any grade is extraordi- 
 narily great; for instance, in almost any fifth grade (unless the children 
 have been specially selected) there may be found children who are so 
 bright as to be above the average seventh-grade child in intelligence, 
 and others who are so dull as to be below the average third-grade child 
 in intelligence. It is obviously impossible to teach fractions, for in- 
 stance, either in the same words or at the same rate to children so very 
 different in ability and degree of mental development. Wherever 
 three or more like grades exist within reasonable distance of one an- 
 other, there are very obvious advantages in sorting the pupils into 
 three or more intelligence groups and advancing each group at its own 
 rate. Group intelligence examination affords a ready and fairly relia- 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 365 
 
 ble means of making such classification. An hour given to the ex- 
 amination of each class, and six or eight hours of the teacher's or 
 examiner's time given to scoring papers and recording results, will 
 enable any principal or supervisor to divide his grades in this way 
 and thus to decrease appreciably the difl&culties of teachers and facili- 
 tate the progress of pupils. 
 
 Where it is impossible systematically to classify all grades according 
 to intelligence, it may frequently be possible to establish in the com- 
 munity two or three classes for gifted children, and an equal number 
 for those who are slow but not sufficiently backward to be placed in 
 ungraded classes or in special schools for defectives. The regular 
 classes in this way may be relieved of extreme cases at both ends of 
 the distribution, leaving them more homogeneous and easier to handle. 
 
 B. In the process of applying group intelligence examinations to a 
 new class, the teacher may discover, much more promptly than he 
 otherwise could, some of the physical and mental peculiarities or ab- 
 normalities of the children. A score on a group intelligence examina- 
 tion which is very low as compared with the age standard should 
 always result in inquiry as to its cause. The trouble may be defective 
 sight or hearing rather than low intelligence; or the low score may 
 indicate a psychopathic condition which seriously affects the child's 
 school work and his progress. Erratic scores, high on some tests but 
 low on others, also indicate the need of individual attention. 
 
 C. The group intelligence examination may also give a valuable 
 indication of the probable causes of difficulty with unusual and trouble- 
 some children — those who do not fit into the school routine. Anything 
 unusual in the records of such children should be followed by careful 
 individual examination for confirmation or explanation. In many 
 cases a knowledge of the cause of the child's behavior enables the 
 teacher to change it by comparatively simple but previously un- 
 thought-of means. 
 
 D. Vocational guidance, not to specific trades or professions, but 
 along broad lines (for instance, to a profession rather than a trade or 
 to unskilled rather than skilled labor), may be given with greater assur- 
 ance when the results of an intelligent examination are known. The 
 objective evidence, even when it merely confirms an impression, is 
 valuable because impersonal and definite. {National Intelligence Tests : 
 Manual of Directions for Use with Scale A and Scale B, All Forms, 192 1, 
 p. 27.) 
 
 Value of the Tests. — The various tests are generally called 
 intelligence tests and are designed to discover grades of native 
 mental ability. To a certain extent they accomplish that 
 end. However, an analysis of all of the tests thus far devised 
 
366 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 will reveal that to a large extent they are tests of information 
 or training. Of course there is probably some correlation be- 
 tween ability and the possession of certain information. But 
 it is perfectly conceivable that a highly intelligent person 
 might not be able to tell where the Buick automobile is man- 
 ufactured, or who wrote The Scarlet Letter j whether ''Country 
 
 TEN BEST" PRIVATES 
 
 TEN POOREST" PRIVATES. 
 
 RATING D- 
 
 Intelligence Grades of "Best " and " Poorest " Privates. (Best 606; 
 Poorest 583; Total, 1,189.) 
 
 Gentleman" is a kind of wheat, corn, hay, or oats. Persons 
 of rather low intelligence might be able to give the correct 
 answers. Of course, in all probability persons of low intelli- 
 gence would not be in possession of a very wide range of in- 
 formation. 
 
 That the intelligence tests are fairly reliable is shown by 
 the fact that the ratings obtained by means of them coincide 
 very closely with other judgments regarding large numbers of 
 men. For example, sixty company commanders were each 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 367 
 
 asked to indicate their ten best and ten poorest privates. 
 The entire companies were also rated by the intelligence tests. 
 The ratings were indicated by the letters A, B, C, etc., A 
 being the highest grade. The graph accompanying shows 
 that almost none of the poorest received a grade of A, while 
 the most of them were below C, ranking D and D — . On the 
 other hand, of those considered as the best, the majority re- 
 ceived a grade above C, about 20 per cent ranked B, 15 per 
 cent A, and practically none D. "Of the 'poorest,' 57.5 per 
 cent graded D— or D, and less than 3 per cent A or B. 
 The data show that a man above C is from eight to twelve 
 times as likely to be ' best ' as to be ' poorest ' ; and that a man 
 below C— is from six to ten times as Hkely to be 'poorest' as 
 to be 'best.' InteUigence seems to be the most important 
 factor in determining a soldier's value to the service." (From 
 Army Mental Tests, p. 14, printed November 22, 1918.) 
 
 Undoubtedly the various intelligence scales point in the 
 right direction, but it is equally true that they fall short of the 
 purpose intended, viz., determining the degree of intelligence 
 or native mental ability of an individual. Most of the ques- 
 tions are to a large extent questions depending upon informa- 
 tion, that is, training or education, and not just "gumption," 
 or intelligence. 
 
 Exercises such as the following seem to test understanding 
 or "gumption," and do not depend upon much specific infor- 
 mation : "Arrange in order and tell whether true or false: ' Cows 
 milk give'; 'write are with to pencils'; 'will live bird no for- 
 ever'; 'external deceptive never appearances are.'" While 
 the following depend to some extent upon certain knowledge 
 and training, the main thing is clear comprehension and logi- 
 cal thinking: "How many pencils can you buy for 40 cents 
 at the rate of 2 for 5 cents?" "If 2^ tons of hay cost $20, 
 what will 4^ tons cost?" 
 
 The tests have been of great value in that they furnish a 
 quick and tolerably standardized measure of comparison. 
 They have been of special value in sifting out the feeble- 
 minded from normal children. It should frankly be recog- 
 
368 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 nized, however, that they do not provide absolutely definite 
 measuring units, like a foot rule or as a pound weight. The 
 answers all have to be interpreted, and no two examiners 
 would evaluate them in exactly the same way. Comparative 
 studies, however, go to show that the judgments of different 
 examiners do not differ so widely as to invalidate the conclu- 
 sions. A child's condition may vary greatly from time to 
 time, so that the results secured at different sittings may vary 
 considerably. 
 
 Ayres ( The Binet-Simon Measuring Scale for Intelligence : 
 Some Criticisms and Suggestions, Russell Sage Foundation, 
 191 1 ) maintains also that: 
 
 I. The tests predominantly reflect the child's ability to 
 use words fluently, and only in small measure his ability to do 
 acts. 
 
 II. Five of them depend upon the child's recent environ- 
 mental experience. 
 
 III. Seven depend on his ability to read and write. 
 
 IV. Too great weight is given to tests of ability to repeat 
 words and numbers. 
 
 V. Too great weight is given to ''puzzle tests." 
 
 VI. Unreasonable emphasis is given to tests of ability to 
 define abstract terms. 
 
 Like all the intelligence tests that have been devised, they 
 tend to test information rather than native ability or intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 Caution Suggested in Interpretation of Tests. — Intelligence 
 measurement represents a new and significant direction of sci- 
 entific psychology and education. Caution needs to be ex- 
 ercised in the interpretation of results. The movement is in 
 its infancy, and much more critical work needs to be done in 
 devising tests and interpreting them. Before making sweep- 
 ing changes in the classification of children and before tests 
 are used as absolute means of determining vocational apti- 
 tudes much more work needs to be done. 
 
 Doctor Trabue, an expert in measurements, has emphasized 
 the same idea in a recent article. (''Some Pitfalls in the Ad- 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 369 
 
 ministrative Use of Intelligence Tests," Jour, of Educational 
 Research, June, 1922, pp. 2-9.) He writes: 
 
 An inadequate understanding of the scope and significance of the 
 tests may lead to serious difficulties. "Intelligence" is a big word, 
 and it signifies to the average person a broad range of abilities. Each 
 of the group intelligence scales at present available involves only a 
 few of these abilities, and no two of these scales measure exactly the 
 same combination of qualities. We know very little about the specific 
 traits that should be included in a comprehensive test of general intelli- 
 gence, and still less about the relative weight that should be attached 
 to the different tests to be included. We are certain that we do not 
 yet have any system of tests in which exactly the proper elements are 
 combined in exactly the proper proportions to make a perfect test of 
 general intelligence. What then do the intelligence tests actually 
 measure? What are the criteria by which we are judging the intelli- 
 gence of pupils? As teachers we tend to think of intelligence in the 
 rather narrow terms of school success. The child who prepares his 
 lessons easily and well is "intelligent." The one who has difficulty in 
 understanding words, symbols, and complex ideas is "rather stupid." 
 Practically all of the present intelligence tests are built on the assump- 
 tion that success in school work is only another measure of intelli- 
 gence. The pupils who make high scores on the intelligence tests are 
 the ones who enjoy and can easily master the books and abstract ideas 
 offered in the schools. . . . 
 
 In view of the specific nature of the intelligence tests, it is unfortu- 
 nate that the custom has grown up of speaking of one child as "supe- 
 rior" to another, when the only evidence of such superiority is that he 
 has made a larger score on a given test. The evil of this custom is 
 more clearly seen when one child is reported as "inferior" to another. 
 How do we know that the perfect all-round intelligence test might not 
 weight social intelligence, or mechanical intelligence, or some other 
 type of ability, much more heavily than the academic type we now 
 can measure? Do we know that the child making a low score in ab- 
 stract intelligence might not be rated much higher if measured by a 
 truly general intelligence test? The words "superior" and "inferior" 
 give far too great an importance to the type of tests that are now avail- 
 able. College graduates in business make a higher score, on the salary 
 scale, than college graduates in education, but we do not for that rea- 
 son need to speak of one of these groups as superior to the other. . . . 
 
 Another false conclusion, drawn from the results of the so-called 
 intelligence tests, is that pupils who make scores of a certain size will 
 not profit by further training. The tests used are measures of a 
 specific type of ability — the type which enables pupils to succeed at 
 
370 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the academic work offered in the usual public school. If a child makes 
 a low score in the tests, it does not follow that it is useless to train 
 him. The child may indeed have reached his maximum level in ab- 
 stract work with symbols and words, but there remains an endless 
 number of avenues through which he may broaden his experience and 
 enrich his store of knowledge, even at his relatively low level of ab- 
 stract thought. There may be other fields of training, also, in which 
 such a child may demonstrate a relatively higher level of ability. It 
 is certainly unfair to refuse further training to a child because the 
 school has in the past failed to recognize the needs of pupils of his 
 type. At the other extreme there is a pitfall of just as serious a nature 
 — the assumption that those who make high scores on the so-called 
 intelligence tests do not need special attention or training, because 
 they will take care of themselves. 
 
 Doctor Guiler (" How Different Mental Tests Agree in Rat- 
 ing Children," Elementary School Journal, June, 1922), after 
 a critical evaluation of a large number of tests, drew conclu- 
 sions similar to those of Rugg. Among his suggestions are 
 the following: 
 
 1. Mental measurements, in their present state of develop- 
 ment, must not be accepted as the final gauge of mentality. 
 This conclusion is made on the basis of the large amount of 
 disagreement existing among the different tests employed in 
 this investigation. 
 
 2. It seems unwise to attempt to estimate mentality on the 
 basis of a single mental examination. 
 
 3. More attention needs to be given to the displacement of 
 mental ratings. While the correlation between some of the 
 distributions of mental ratings is marked, the lack of agree- 
 ment among specific ratings in the same distribution is equally 
 striking. 
 
 4. The greatest need in mental testing to-day seems to be 
 the perfection of existing tests and scales. 
 
 5. Mental tests render an important service in selecting 
 children of high and low mentaHty. Their usefulness is lim- 
 ited in the middle quartiles. 
 
MEASURING MENTAL ABILITY 371 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Mention some of the different types of mental abilities of school 
 children. 2. Are the differences due to native power or training ? 3, Who 
 was Binet? 4. Who is Terman? Goddard? 5. What is meant by 
 "I. Q."? 6. What advantage is there in classifying children by mental 
 age rather than by chronological age? 7. Do you think one's I. Q. is 
 constant through life? If so, of what advantage is it to know a child's 
 I, Q. ? 8. What is an "age-grade" table? What are some of the interest- 
 ing facts usually disclosed ? 9. Would you place specially gifted children 
 in a special school? How else could they be given adequate advantages? 
 10. Do children with superior gifts always do better than others in school? 
 In life pursuits? 11. For classification purposes how great variations in 
 mental age might be permitted in the same class? 12. Distinguish be- 
 tween intelligence and achievement. 13. What is meant by diagnostic 
 and by prognostic measurement? 14. What are the main characteristics 
 of the "Army Intelligence" tests? How do other tests resemble them? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Book, The Intelligence of High School Seniors. Entire book. 
 
 2. Hollingworth, Judging Human Character, chap. VII. 
 
 3. McCall, How to Measure in Education, chaps. I, II. 
 
 4. Starch, Educational Psychology, chap. VII. 
 
 5. Terman, The Intelligence of School Children. Entire book. 
 
 6. Terman, The Measurement of Intelligence. Entire book. 
 
 7. Terman, Intelligence Tests and School Reorganization. Entire book. 
 
 8. Yoakum and Yerkes, Army Mental Tests. Entire book. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 
 
 Scales for Measuring Achievement. — It is important not 
 only to measure and compare the abilities of individuals, but 
 also to measure and compare their achievements in given lines. 
 This has been done quite successfully in connection with 
 school children's achievements in several subjects of the cur- 
 riculum. The most important measurements have been made 
 in arithmetic, spelling, handwriting, reading, and composition. 
 It is very desirable in teaching and in school administration 
 to know how the achievements of pupils in a certain grade in 
 a given school compare with the achievements of the same 
 grade in another school. It is convenient and valuable to 
 have a means of comparing the results in the various subjects 
 in one school system with those in another system. The scales 
 also furnish a means of comparing the status of one grade 
 with another. 
 
 It should be kept in mind that the scales do not indicate the 
 ability of a given pupil or grade or school, but furnish a ready 
 means of comparing the accomplishments of different individ- 
 uals or groups of individuals. Neither do the scales indicate 
 what ought to be taught nor best methods of teaching. These 
 must be determined by other means. Of course, if a given 
 method has been tried and the comparative tests show un- 
 favorable results, then another method is pursued and favor- 
 able results follow, it may safely be assumed that the method 
 should at least be partly credited with the better results. 
 
 Previous Methods Not Comparative. — In the past either no 
 comparisons have been made or the methods of measuring 
 have been very inaccurate and variable. Each person formed 
 a judgment on the basis of his own standard. A great many 
 investigators have recently put forth much effort in construct- 
 
 372 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 375 
 
 ing scales which may be used under standardized conditions, 
 and which may be scored in the same way by different persons 
 applying the tests. Of course absolutely the same scoring 
 can never be given, but by the selection of materials and then 
 by prescribing the conditions in scoring much more compara- 
 ble results may be secured than when the entire judgment is 
 made haphazard. Without definite scales and standards one 
 teacher may judge a specimen of handwriting, for example, as 
 "good," while another teacher may regard the same specimen 
 as "poor." Each judges from his own particular bias. One 
 may consider slant or angles, the other may consider height, 
 legibility, or even have no particular criterion. Consequently 
 the judgments of "poor" or "good" have no value compara- 
 tively. If they could compare it with many samples on a 
 scale and decide that it corresponds to sample "60" or "80," 
 there would be a much more definite meaning to the judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Samples of Achievement Scales. — A few of the well-estab- 
 lished scales will be indicated in order that the reader may 
 get an idea of educational scales and their application. The 
 scales that have been constructed and very largely used are 
 by no means the only ones that can be made. Any good 
 teacher who knows how to set an examination in her own 
 work can construct scales. The most important factors in a 
 good scale are that (a) it tests for specific things, and (b) it 
 should be possible to give them under uniform conditions; (c) 
 it should be possible to score them uniformly. The special 
 merit of such scales as Thorndike's handwriting scale, Starch's 
 spelling scale, Trabue's language scale, is that they have been 
 standardized and have been given so many times and to so 
 many pupils that they furnish a wide basis for comparing any 
 given results. 
 
 Ayres's Handwriting Scale. — Accompanying is given a copy 
 of the Ayres handwriting scale which has been very widely 
 used. The detailed suggestions for using are printed on the 
 scale. A few additional points are herein indicated. 
 
PORTION OF MEASURING 
 
 20 
 
 
 80 
 
 
SCALE FOR HANDWRITING 
 
 30 
 
 y^u^c^x^^y.^ ^Z^^ff- 
 
 .^oi^Q^-^y^ 
 
 ..^CC^t^ ^^'^^^^^-^'Ccfy^.^C^rx^^ 
 
 ^^*?t^ 
 
 :x^z--^L-^'^<^o-»- 
 
 .^^^^^^ 
 
 90 
 
 ^x-'^^.-t^^^-'^TMf^ <:;^>^^<^-" 
 
 ^^^-U^^cU.^<^-^Ck^ y 
 
376 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 To secure samples of Imndwriting the teacher should write 
 on the board the first three sentences of Lincoln's Gettys- 
 burg Address and have the pupils read and copy until familiar 
 with it. They should then copy it, beginning at a given signal 
 and writing for precisely two minutes. They should write in 
 ink on ruled paper. The copy with the count of the letters 
 is as follows : 
 
 Four 4 score 9 and 12 seven 17 years 22 ago 25 our 28 fathers 35 
 brought 42 forth 47 upon 51 this 55 continent 64 a 65 new 68 nation 
 74 conceived 83 in 85 liberty 92 and 95 dedicated 104 to 106 the 109 
 proposition 120 that 124 all 127 men 130 are 133 created 140 equal 
 145. Now 148 we 150 are 153 engaged 160 in 162 a 163 great 168 civil 
 173 war 176 testing 183 whether 190 that 194 nation 2cx) or 202 any 
 205 nation 211 so 213 conceived 222 and 225 so 227 dedicated 236 can 
 239 long 243 endure 249. We 251 are 254 met 257 on 259 a 260 great 
 265 battlefield 276 of 278 that 282 war 285. 
 
 The quality of a specimen of writing is determined by com- 
 paring the specimen with the several numbered samples in 
 the scale and deciding which one the specimen most nearly 
 resembles. The method advocated by Ayres is as follows : 
 
 The scorer sorts into separate piles all of the papers to be rated, 
 putting in one pile those which he judges to be of quality 20, in another 
 those which he judges to be of quality 30, and so on for all of the dif- 
 ferent quaUties. He then carefully compares all of the papers in each 
 pile with each other and with the samples of that value reproduced on 
 the scale, so as to make sure that he has not included in the pile any 
 samples that might more justly be assigned to the next higher or lower 
 piles. (Ayres, L. P., ^ Scale for Measuring the Quality of Handwriting 
 of Adults, p. 9.) 
 
 Another method consists in starting at the bottom of the 
 scale and moving the specimen upward until the judge decides 
 that a given sample on the scale is just superior to the speci- 
 men under consideration. Then the specimen is moved from 
 the top downward until a sample is found which is judged to 
 be just inferior to the one considered. A figure midway be- 
 tween the two points is then considered as the rating. For 
 example, if in using the Ayres scale the lower figure were 50 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 377 
 
 and the upper 60, the rating assigned would be 55. Some- 
 times several factors, such as legibility, slant, spacing, align- 
 ment, uniformity, neatness, etc., are rated separately, and 
 then the various judgments are combined according to certain 
 standardized methods. 
 
 On the "Gettysburg Edition" the following additional de- 
 tails are given : 
 
 To score samples slide each specimen along the scale until 
 a writing of the same quality is found. The number at the 
 top of the scale above this shows the value of the writing being 
 measured. Disregard differences in style, but try to find on 
 the scale the quality corresponding with that of the sample 
 being scored. With practice the scorer will develop the ability 
 to recognize qualities more rapidly and with increasing ac- 
 curacy. If the scoring is done twice, the results will be con- 
 siderably more accurate than if done only once. The pro- 
 cedure may be as follows: Score samples and distribute them 
 in piles with all the 20's in one pile, all the 30's in another, 
 and so on. Mark these values on the backs of the papers, 
 then shuffle the samples and score them a second time. 
 Finally make careful decisions to overcome any disagree- 
 ments in the two scorings. 
 
 The scale (p. 378) for measuring the quahtyof handwriting is 
 a revised edition of a scale first published in 191 2 and subse- 
 quently reprinted 12 times with several minor revisions and 
 with a total of 62,000 copies. The purpose of the changes 
 introduced in the present edition is to increase the reliability 
 of measurements of handwriting through standardizing meth- 
 ods of securing and scoring samples, and through making 
 numerous improvements in the scale itself designed to reduce 
 variability in the results secured through its use. The present 
 scale may be referred to as the "Gettysburg Edition" in order 
 to distinguish it from other editions. The original or "Three 
 Slant Edition" and the scale for adult handwriting are not 
 superseded by the present scale. Copies of any of the three 
 scales may be secured for ten cents each, postpaid, Russell 
 Sage Foundation, N. Y. 
 
378 
 
 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 The following graphs show standardized results from vast 
 numbers of cases: 
 
 Fifth 
 grade 
 
 Sixth 18 
 grade 
 
 JBXLA 
 
 , , siBsi , — , m 
 
 ISeventhf ■■■1 {Eighth isHH,. 
 
 L jllliii illllL 
 
 10 20 30 406060 70 8090 2030405060 70 80 90 2a3040S0607080 90 3040 80-60 JO 80 90 
 
 Qaality of writing. Columns rejiresent per cent of pupils in each of four upper 
 grades commonly found to have handwriting of qualities shown below each column. 
 
 m III ^ Jli mijit ^ M 
 
 ■0 20 10 40 so «0 70 80 M 100 20 30 40 SO 60 '70 80 00 100 110 30 40 SO «0 70 80 00 100 110 120 30 40 SO eO 70 80 90 100 110 120 
 t» 2» 1» 40 » «9 79 SO »9 IW 29 39 4« S« 0« 70 89 M 1(N 119 39 49 S9 «« 79 En 99 IMUtlM J9 49 S» M 79 tO 99 1091I9I20 
 
 Rate of writing. Columns represent per cent of pupils in each of four upper grades 
 commonly found to write the number of letters per minute shown below each column. 
 
 Sate 
 Averaga niun- 
 
 ber of leRers _. 
 
 written per min- '* 
 
 nte and average 72 
 quality of writ- 
 ing commonly 
 found in grades 
 
 from second to 60 
 
 eighth. Number £6 
 
 of letters per co 
 
 grade is 48 
 
 the third 44 
 
 44, in the fourth ^a 
 
 55, in the fiftb *; 
 
 64, in the sixth 36 
 
 71, in the ser- 32 
 
 etoh 76, and in 90 
 
 Bie eigbtik 79. *" 
 
 minute 
 
 ■ec 
 
 ^1> 
 
 -Jr^ 
 
 Ty^ — 
 
 -—&— 
 
 : — <^~~ 
 
 ^> 
 
 — fzr 
 
 34 38 43 46 so 54 58 63 66 
 Q u a 1 1 t 7 
 
 Reasons for Using Handwriting Scales. — Even when measures of 
 handwriting are not accurate they force the teacher to give attention 
 to the specific faults and needs of the pupils. This measurement cre- 
 ates a critical and scientific attitude in the teacher toward the out- 
 comes of instruction. This attitude tends to remove the attention 
 from personal bias and feeling to an objective consideration of the 
 results secured. Measurement of handwriting also banishes the old 
 false standards represented by the perfect specimens which were pro- 
 duced from an engraved plate. In their stead are proposed some 
 standards which are within the reach of a majority of the pupils. 
 Thus many children can know the joy which comes from achieving 
 something recognized to be of value. In addition to these values 
 measurement is destined to become scientifically accurate and thus 
 furnish a valid basis for instruction. (Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, 
 Educational Tests and Measurements, p. i88.) 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 379 
 
 Testing Speed in Handwriting. — In case speed in hand- 
 writing is to be measured, the amount that a given pupil or 
 group writes in a given time is compared with the amount 
 that has been accomphshed by other groups under standard- 
 ized conditions. The speed is determined by the number of 
 letters per minute which are written. The standardized con- 
 ditions usually require that the material to be written should 
 be memorized before the speed test is taken. Of course it 
 would be perfectly fair and comparable if the standards had 
 been established by copying from written or printed material 
 or from phonographic dictation at a definitely standardized 
 rate. To have the work entirely comparable, the test mate- 
 rial should be the same as that used in the standardization. 
 
 Various details, like good pens, ink, paper, correct position, 
 and proper light are very important, and should be alike in 
 the test and the standardized efforts. Familiarity with the 
 spelling, capitalization, etc., are presupposed. The manner in 
 which the directions are given is very important. In any test 
 only those familiar with the test and practised in giving it 
 should be allowed to give the directions. Monroe suggests 
 the following directions as typical of those that have proven 
 satisfactory : 
 
 Write the stanza of the poem which you have learned. When you 
 have written the stanza, write it again, and keep on writing until I 
 tell you to stop. Write as well as you can and as fast as you can. 
 Write on one side of the paper. W^hen you fill one page, use another. 
 Place your paper in position and see that your pen and ink are ready. 
 When I say "Ready!" ink your pen and place your hand in position 
 to write, but do not begin until I say " Start ! " When I say *' Stop ! " all 
 stop at once and raise your hands so I can see that you have stopped. 
 Remember: fast work and good work. Ready! Start! At the end 
 of three minutes, "Stop!" (Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, Educational 
 Tests and Measurements, p. 148.) 
 
 Wilson believes that the speed test should be of only two 
 minutes duration, and says that the most usual unit now used 
 is two minutes. (Wilson and Hoke, How to Measure, p. 27.) 
 
 The handwriting scale, like other scales for comparing 
 achievement, does not determine whether a given specimen of 
 
380 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 STANDARD SCORE-CARD FOR MEASURING HANDWRITING 
 Devised by C. T. Gray 
 
 Pupil Age Date 
 
 Grade School 
 
 Sample Number Teacher 
 
 S.\MPLE 
 
 PERFECT 
 SCORE 
 
 SCORE 1 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 I Heaviness 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 II 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 (26) 
 8 
 6 
 5 
 5 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Slant 
 
 Uniformity 
 Mixed 
 
 1 Size 
 
 Uniformity 
 Too large 
 Too small 
 
 4. Alignment 
 
 S Spacing of lines . . 
 
 Uniformity 
 Too close 
 Too far apart 
 
 6. Spacing of words 
 
 Uniformity 
 Too close 
 Too far apart 
 
 7. Spacing of letters 
 
 Uniformity 
 Too close 
 Too far apart 
 
 8 Neatness 
 
 Blotches 
 Carelessness 
 
 9. Formation of letters. . . . 
 General form 
 
 Smoothness 
 
 Letters not closed 
 
 Parts omitted 
 
 Parts added 
 
 Total Score 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 381 
 
 handwriting is good or poor, but simply enables a judge to 
 determine whether he regards the specimen as good, as poorer 
 or better than the standard, or to determine what part of the 
 scale he thinks corresponds exactly with the specimen. It 
 must be recognized that the scale does not determine exactly, 
 for different persons using the same scale to judge the quality 
 of the specimen might judge differently. One person might 
 decide by the general legibility, another by the slant, another 
 by the spacing, another by the fineness or coarseness of the 
 lines, another by the angularity, etc. A score-card for tabu- 
 lating and evaluating results devised by C. T. Gray is ap- 
 pended. (Gray, C. Truman, A Score-Card for the Measure- 
 ment of Handwriting, Bulletin No. 37, University of Texas, 
 
 1915.) 
 
 Spelling Scales. — Various spelling scales have been devised. 
 Some of them consist of lists of selected words to be written 
 as dictated singly, and others consist of words woven into 
 sentences or connected material. In order to use the scales 
 in diagnosis to compare a given pupil or group with the 
 standardized group, it is necessary to use the same material 
 and under the same conditions. 
 
 The standard is determined by giving the tests to a large 
 group and finding the record for the group. Any other group 
 or individual record can then be compared with the standard- 
 ized record. The standardized record is not necessarily the 
 ideal one. For example, spelling might be studied in Denver, 
 and those results considered as a standardized measure. That 
 would not mean that the accomplishments in spelling in Den- 
 ver were ideal. They might be far below what they ought to 
 be or the results might be very superior. 
 
 The results do not necessarily show anything concerning 
 the efficiency of methods pursued. The conditions of learn- 
 ing may have been entirely different. One group may have 
 had much practice, the others little; one group may have 
 learned by the oral method, the other through writing. The 
 test simply reveals the comparative status in accomplishment. 
 Having discovered this, another problem is to find out why 
 
382 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the difference and how to remedy defects. These are much 
 more difficult problems. 
 
 Ayres's Spelling Scale. — Doctor Ayres aimed to select words 
 that are in everyday use. He selected words from standard 
 literary selections, from the correspondence of 2,500 persons, 
 from 250 different articles that appeared in four Buffalo Sun- 
 day newspapers, from 2,000 business letters, and from the 
 family correspondence of 13 adults. From these he selected 
 1,000 words, which were used as many as 44 times in all of 
 the sources. 
 
 The next step was to arrange the different words according to diffi- 
 culty, in order to secure a graded test, or, in other words, a spelling 
 scale. To determine the relative difficulty of the words in the 1,000 
 list. Doctor Ayres arranged to have the words spelled by school pupils. 
 Fifty lists of 20 words each were constructed, and the words included 
 in these lists were pronounced to the pupils of the various grades in 
 the middle of the school year in the schools of 84 cities scattered 
 throughout the United States. The data secured from these tests 
 gave a total of 1,400,000 spellings by 70,000 school children. On the 
 basis of these data, the 1,000 words were divided into 26 groups 
 according to difficulty. This will be understood by reference to the 
 scale. (See scale inserted herewith.) 
 
 Group "A" consists of "me" and "do," and these words were 
 spelled by 99 per cent of the second-grade pupils. At the other ex- 
 treme, group "Z," consisting of "judgment," "recommend," and 
 "allege," were spelled by only 50 per cent of the eighth-grade pupils. 
 The scale is simple and easily understood. At the top of each column 
 is shown the average per cent of the words spelled by each grade, 
 except that report is not made upon any grade for per cents below 50. 
 The blank spaces to the left, however, if filled in, would indicate in 
 each case 100 per cent — that is to say, the eighth-grade pupils spelled 
 all of the words correctly from columns "A" to "N" inclusive. 
 (Quoted from Wilson and Hoke, How to Measure, p. 6.) 
 
 Courtis's Arithmetic Scales. — The first known standardized 
 scales for the measurement of achievement in any of the school 
 subjects were the Courtis tests in arithmetic, first published 
 in 1910. The series "A" consisted of eight tests, as follows: 
 I. Addition. 2. Subtraction. 3. Multiplication. 4. Division. 
 (In each of the foregoing combinations 0-9.) 5. Copying fig- 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 383 
 
 ures. (Rate of motor activity.) 6. Speed reasoning. (Judg- 
 ments of operation to be used in simple one-step problems.) 
 
 7. Fundamentals. (Abstract examples in the four operations.) 
 
 8. Reasoning. (Two-step problems.) 
 
 Series *'B" of the Courtis tests consists of tests in the four 
 fundamental operations only. That series has been very ex- 
 tensively used ; one year they were used in nearly every State 
 in the Union and in foreign countries, about a half-million 
 copies being required. The following are a few typical exam- 
 ples from the tests: 
 
 Series B, Form 2. 
 ARITHMETIC 
 
 Test No. I 
 
 Addition — Time : 8 Minutes 
 
 Score 
 
 No. Attempted 
 
 No. Right 
 
 You will be given eight minutes to find the answers to as many of 
 these addition examples as possible. Write the answers on this paper 
 directly beneath the examples. You are not expected to be able to 
 do them all. You will be marked for both speed and accuracy, but it 
 is more important to have your answers right than to try a great 
 many examples. 
 
 (24 Examples in All) 
 
 837 
 
 996 
 
 877 
 
 572 
 
 862 
 
 267 
 
 588 
 
 236 
 
 882 
 
 320 
 
 845 
 
 253 
 
 159 
 
 854 
 
 256 
 
 578 
 
 957 
 
 778 
 
 981 
 
 948 
 
 383 
 
 684 
 
 719 
 
 877 
 
 603 
 
 886 
 
 693 
 
 529 
 
 451 
 
 358 
 
 524 
 
 916 
 
 118 
 
 913 
 
 184 
 
 936 
 
 938 
 
 938 
 
 969 
 
 543 
 
 781 
 
 164 
 
 772 
 
 223 
 
 433 
 
 333 
 
 761 
 
 593 
 
 756 
 
 897 
 
 749 
 
 358 
 
 599 
 
 493 
 
 113 
 
 956 
 
 222 
 
 972 
 
 256 
 
 676 
 
 172 
 
 775 
 
 449 
 
 439 
 
 525 
 
 119 
 
 258 
 
 122 
 
 152 
 
 239 
 
 122 
 
 309 
 
 Test No. II 
 
 Subtraction (24 Examples) — Time : 4 Minutes 
 
 115364741 113380936 146246252 37953635 
 
 80195261 42666840 52160891 23913884 
 
384 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 119811864 137769153 168354186 105755782 
 
 34379846 70176835 70537861 90863147 
 
 Test No. Ill 
 
 Multiplication (25 Examples) — Time: 6 Minutes 
 
 7942 4795 9245 8357 4965 
 
 72 83 86 87 iQ 
 
 Test No. IV 
 Division (24 Examples) — Time: 8 Minutes 
 
 92 ) 27784 64 ) 61504 Ss ) 26643 29 ) 24679 
 
 57 ) 51642 46 ) 34086 75 ) 55500 s^ ) 32300 
 
 Woody Arithmetic Scales. — Doctor Clifford Woody devised 
 a set of arithmetic tests, one for each of the four fundamental 
 operations. He says that his "idea was to derive a series of 
 scales which would indicate the type of problems (examples) 
 and the difficulty of the problems (examples) that a class can 
 solve correctly." (Woody, Clifford, Measurements of Some 
 Achievements in Arithmetic, p. i.) The examples are graded 
 in the order of increasing difficulty. "Each is composed of 
 as great a variety of problems (examples) as the fundamental 
 operations can well permit." In deciding upon the examples 
 to include, he gave preliminary tests which contained more 
 than those finally selected. Those examples "were chosen 
 which were solved by a gradually increasing percentage of 
 the pupils as one proceeded from the lower to the higher 
 grades." A sample of the Woody scales is given below: 
 
 Series B 
 ADDITION SCALE 
 By Clifford Woody 
 
 City County School Date 
 
 Name When is your next birthday ? 
 
 How old will you be? Are you a boy or a girl?. . . . 
 
 In what grade are you? Teacher's name 
 

 
 COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 
 
 385 
 
 (l) 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 (5) 
 
 (7) 
 
 (10) 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 17 
 
 72 
 
 3 +1 = 
 
 21 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 
 33 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 (13) 
 
 
 (14) 
 
 
 (16) 
 
 (19) 
 
 (20) 
 
 23 
 
 2 
 
 5+42 
 
 = 
 
 9 
 
 $.75 
 
 $12.50 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 1-25 
 
 16.75 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 15 
 19 
 
 •49 
 
 15-75 
 
 (21) 
 
 
 (22) 
 
 
 (23) 
 
 (24) 
 
 (30) 
 
 $8.00 
 
 
 547 
 
 
 >i + >i = 
 
 4.0125 
 
 2K 
 
 5-75 
 
 
 197 
 
 
 
 1-5907 
 
 6H 
 
 2.33 
 
 
 685 
 
 
 
 4.10 
 
 3H 
 
 4.16 
 
 
 678 
 
 
 
 8.673 
 
 
 •94 
 
 
 456 
 
 
 
 
 
 6.32 
 
 
 393 
 
 
 
 
 
 525 
 
 240 
 
 152 
 
 (33) (36) (38) 
 
 .49 2 yr. 5 mo. 25.091 + 100.4 + 25 -f 98.28 -f 19.3614 = 
 
 .28 3 yr. 6 mo. 
 
 .63 4 yr. 9 mo. 
 
 .95 5 yr. 2 mo. 
 1.69 6 yr. 7 mo. 
 
 .22 
 
 '33 
 
 .36 
 i.oi 
 
 .56 
 
 .88 
 
 .75 
 
 -56 
 1. 10 
 
 .18 
 _56 
 
 — (Published by Teachers College, Columbia University.) 
 
 Among the most widely used arithmetic tests are the 
 Diagnostic Tests in Arithmetic, devised by Doctor Walter S. 
 
386 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Monroe, and published by the Bureau of Educational Re- 
 search of the University of Hlinois. The diagnostic tests are 
 designed to yield separate measurements of the important 
 abilities in the field of operations of arithmetic. Samples of 
 ''instructions" and tests in subtraction and in multipHcation 
 follow. In each case only correct results are counted. 
 
 Part II.— Tests 7-1 1. 
 
 BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 
 
 University of Illinois 
 Urbana, Illinois 
 
 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN ARITHMETIC 
 
 Operations with Integers 
 Devised by Walter S. Monroe 
 
 Name Age To-day 
 
 Years Months 
 
 Race Sex Grade 
 
 City State Date 
 
 School Teacher 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS TO EXAMINERS 
 
 Have the pupils fill out the blanks at the top of this page. Have 
 them start and stop work together. Use a stop-watch if one is avail- 
 able; if not, use an ordinary watch with a second hand, and exercise 
 care to allow just the exact time for each test. Allow an interval of 
 half a minute or more between tests. Require the pupils to close the 
 folder as soon as the signal to stop is given, in order to make certain 
 that they do not spend this rest period working on the next test. If 
 the pupils need to sharpen pencils before going on, allow this to be 
 done. The following time allowances must be followed exactly. 
 
 Test 7 — 2 minutes. Test 10 — 2 minutes. 
 
 Test S—3 minutes. Test 11— 4 minutes. 
 
 Test 9 — I minute. 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 
 
 387 
 
 Have the children read the following directions: ''Inside this folder 
 are examples which you are to work out when the teacher tells you to 
 begin. Do not open this folder before the teacher gives the signal. 
 Work rapidly and accurately. There are more examples in each test 
 than you can work out in the time that will be allowed. Answers do 
 not count if they are wrong. Begin and stop promptly at signals from 
 the teacher. Place the test in position on your desk so that you can 
 open it quickly when the signal is given to begin, but do not open it 
 until the signal is given." 
 
 After all of the tests have been completed have the pupils exchange 
 papers. Read the answers aloud and have the children mark each 
 example that is correct "C." Count the proper spaces at the top of 
 the tests. Examples partially completed or partially right are not 
 counted. 
 
 Before collecting the papers have the records transcribed to the 
 first page. The teacher should verify a sufficient number of records', 
 to make certain that the pupils have marked the papers and transcribed 
 the results correctly. 
 
 Test 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 Number of examples attempted.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Number of examples right 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Test 9.— SUBTRACTION 
 
 
 
 
 At 
 
 Rt 
 
 739 
 367 
 
 1852 
 948 
 
 975 
 906 
 
 1087 
 821 
 
 516 
 239 
 
 962 
 325 
 
 508 
 447 
 
 1371 
 843 
 
 1284 
 966 
 
 730 
 508 
 
 1853 
 162 
 
 897 
 258 
 
 1910 
 361 
 
 735 
 478 
 
 1056 
 591 
 
 877 
 618 
 
 1190 
 739 
 
 619 
 
 257 
 
 831 
 360 
 
 954 
 483 
 
 1077 
 704 
 
 13 
 8- 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 939 
 654 
 
 i3i<S 
 827 
 
 ) 
 
388 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Test lo.— MULTIPLICATION At 
 
 Rt 
 
 560 807 617 840 730 609 
 
 37 _59 508 80 96 70 
 
 435 790 940 307 682 870 
 
 308 60 38 42 409 40 
 
 780 502 386 150 850 401 
 
 56 68 207 90 72 80 
 
 817 460 730 605 392 590 
 
 109 30 52 84 306 30 
 
 Most of the scales used in educational measurements are 
 so arranged that it is possible to know of the individual or 
 class proficiency in specific directions. Very frequently, when 
 the usual type of tests and examinations are given, the teacher 
 may know that the rating is high or low, but the tests are not 
 standardized so that specific excellencies or deficiencies are 
 revealed. A variety of abilities and skills are involved in 
 most learning processes, which are very complex. Even some 
 processes that seem very simple are often very complex. 
 Ordinary problems in arithmetic involve manifold diverse 
 processes. 
 
 Arithmetical Abilities Distinct. — A few years ago Stone investigated 
 the nature of ability in arithmetic and concluded that it was made up 
 of a number of specific abilities. His conclusions have been corrob- 
 orated by a number of other investigations, and it is now reasonably 
 certain that in teaching the operations of arithmetic we are attempt- 
 ing to engender a number of specific abilities which are relatively dis- 
 tinct, and not a single arithmetical ability. There are as many differ- 
 ent abilities as there are types of examples. In fact, it is obvious that 
 the abiHty to add a column of three figures is not the same as the ability 
 to add a column of twelve figures. In adding a column of figures it is 
 necessary that one hold in mind the partial sum until he has added 
 the next figure. This process must be repeated continuously until 
 the final sum is reached, and a failure to do this continuously wUl 
 result in stopping the adding, at least temporarily. It is a frequent 
 occurrence, for one who is not accustomed to adding long columns of 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 389 
 
 figures, to find that he has stopped, perhaps has even lost the partial 
 sum, and must begin again. The span of attention required in add- 
 ing three figures is short, and pupils who are able to do examples of 
 this type with a high degree of skill frequently are unable to add long 
 columns of figures with an equal degree of skill. In fact, we have no 
 reason to expect them to be able to do this type of example until they 
 have practised upon it. (Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, Educational 
 Tests and Measurements, p. 18.) 
 
 Courtis has identified the following types of examples in 
 the operations of integers {Teacher's Mantial for Standard 
 Practice Tests, 191 6): 
 
 Addition: (i) addition combinations; (2) single-column addition of 
 three figures each; (3) "bridging the tens," as 38 + 7; (4) column addi- 
 tion, seven figures; (5) carrying; (6) column addition with increased 
 attention span, thirteen figures to the column; (7) addition of numbers 
 of different lengths. 
 
 Subtraction: (i) subtraction combinations; (2) subtraction of 9 or 
 less from a number of two digits, both with and without simple ''bor- 
 rowing"; (3) subtraction involving borrowing. 
 
 Multiplication: (i) multiplication combinations; (2) multipHcand 
 two digits, multiplier one digit, and no carrying; (3) same as number 
 2, but with carrying; (4) long multiplication, without carrying; (5) 
 zero difficulties; (6) long multiplication, with carrying. 
 
 Division: (i) division combinations; (2) simple division, no carrying; 
 (3) same as number 2, but with carrying; (4) long division, no carry- 
 ing; (5) zero difficulties, without carrying; (6) long division, with car- 
 rying; ''first case," the first figure of the divisor is the trial divisor and 
 the trial quotient is the true quotient; (7) "second case, where the 
 trial divisor is one larger than the first figure of the dividend, but the 
 trial quotient is the true quotient"; (8) "third case, where the first 
 figure of the divisor is the trial divisor, but the true quotient is one 
 smaller than the trial quotient"; (9) "fourth case, where the first fig- 
 ure of the divisor must be increased by one to get the true quotient." 
 . . . Each of these types of examples requires a specific habit or 
 automatism. To be sure, certain elements, such as the fundamental 
 combinations, are common elements, but careful analysis will show 
 that the ability to do examples of one type is different from that 
 required to do another. (Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, Educational 
 Tests and Measurements, p. 20.) 
 
 Doctor Courtis found that the tests were of great value in 
 discovering individual differences among children. Not only 
 
390 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 were variations among different individuals of the class made 
 evident, but also great differences in the same individual. 
 Frequently a given child was found strong in addition but 
 weak in subtraction and division, etc. These, of course, did 
 not determine whether or not they were native differences, 
 but simply differences of achievement. After discovering the 
 differences, the next step is to either attempt to reduce them 
 if due to differences in training, or to make the most of them 
 if due to real native differences. Courtis says: 
 
 It should ever be remembered that the chief functions of standard 
 tests are four: 
 
 1. Diagnostic. To make evident the actual conditions existing in 
 schools, classes, and individuals, that the weak points may be noted, 
 causes determined, and remedies devised. 
 
 2. Scientific. To discover the natural laws of mental developments 
 which are operative in school work. 
 
 3. Experimental. To make possible control experiments that will 
 settle all questions of educational procedure upon a fact basis. (Scien- 
 tific determination of the efficiency of different methods.) 
 
 4. Supervisory. To secure the information needed in setting stand- 
 ards for the guidance of teachers and schools, and in determining 
 whether or not standards already set are being attained. (Manual of 
 Instructions, 19 14, p. 5.) 
 
 Geography Scales and History Scales. — ^While standardized 
 tests and scales were naturally first devised for the more 
 exactly measurable subjects like spelling, handwriting, and 
 arithmetic, a large number of scales have been constructed for 
 practically all other subjects of the elementary and high 
 school curriculum. Samples of scales in two of the less-exact 
 subjects, history and geography, are appended. The exact 
 form of page cannot be reproduced for lack of space, but 
 typical questions are copied verbatim. The first is from Van 
 Wageneris American History Scales ^ Information Scale B, 
 There are thirty-four questions in all. 
 
 1. Who discovered the Hudson River? 
 
 2. Who was the first President of the United States? 
 4. Name any general who fought in the Civil War. 
 
 6. Name any one of the battles of the Revolutionary War. 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 391 
 
 8. With what country did the United States have a war in 181 2? 
 
 II. Name two purchases of land that have been made by the United 
 States. 
 
 15. Which of these first came into use in America: the railroad, the 
 stage-coach, or the steamboat? Which one was the last to 
 come into use? 
 
 25. Arrange these events in the order in which they occurred, by 
 putting a ''i" before the event that occurred first, a "2" be- 
 fore the event that occurred second, and so on until you have 
 put a "7" before the event that occurred last. 
 
 . . . .Settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Adoption 
 
 of the United States Constitution Settlement of Jamestown. 
 
 . . . .Battle of Yorktown Capture of New Amsterdam by 
 
 the English Declaration of Independence Fall of 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 29. Which of these men were in favor of a strong central government ? 
 
 Put a check mark (v/) before their names John Adams. 
 
 . . . .Alexander Hamilton John C. Calhoun Benja- 
 min Franklin Abraham Lincoln Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 .... George Washington Jeferson Davis Daniel 
 
 Webster. 
 
 From Van Wagenen's Thought Scale B the following are 
 typical of the twenty-two questions: 
 
 I. During the Revolutionary War, France had helped the colonies 
 with both men and ships. Ten years after the close of the 
 Revolutionary War France was again at war with England. 
 What would the French people think the United States ought 
 to do? 
 
 4. During the winter of 1609-1610 in the Jamestown Colony, rats, 
 mice, and snakes were relished, and fungi of various sorts were 
 eaten. It is even reported that an Indian who had been slain 
 in an assault upon the stockade was eaten by the poorer men. 
 What do these statements show? 
 
 9. During the year 1824, 8,000 immigrants came to America. Dur- 
 ing the year 1844, 78,000 immigrants came. During the year 
 18^4, 427,000 immigrants came. What do these statements 
 show about immigration? 
 15. At the close of the Civil War many of the Southern negroes would 
 not return to work on the plantations for pay, but wanted land 
 of their own. There was also a scarcity of white laborers in 
 the South, and but little capital with which to buy agricultural 
 machinery. What effect would you expect these conditions 
 to have upon the size of the farms in the South? 
 
392 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 20. Although an agreement of peace was signed by the commissioners 
 of both Great Britain and the United States at the City of 
 Ghent in the Netherlands on Christmas Eve, 1814, the news 
 did not reach America until after the Battle of New Orleans 
 had been won by the Americans on January 8, 181 5, with a 
 loss of nearly 2,000 soldiers to the British, (a) Why do you 
 think the news was so long in getting to America ? (b) What 
 effect would this victory of the American army have upon the 
 arrangements for peace? 
 
 Similarly in the geography tests space forbids reproduction 
 of the exact arrangement on the page. The Gregory-Spencer 
 Geography Tests, Form B, consist of eight large quarto pages. 
 Typical samples of the questions are given. 
 
 Check the right word or statement: 
 
 I Rice. .. .Corn. .. .Cotton is shipped from San Francisco to 
 
 Kobe, Japan. 
 
 2 Gold .... Cotton .... Pork is shipped from Bombay to Liverpool. 
 
 3 Selvas . . . .Steppes. . . . Tundras are marshy plains in the north- 
 ern regions. 
 
 4 The Kiel Canal .... The Suez Capiat The Grand Canal is in 
 
 China. 
 
 5 The Prime Meridian .... The Equator .... The Tropic of Cancer 
 
 is the line from which longitude is measured. 
 
 6. The capital of Chile is ... . New Orleans .... Sydney .... Osaka 
 . . . .Satitiago, etc. 
 
 Evaluation of Objective Tests in Content Subjects. — The 
 
 foregoing tests in geography and history are very skilfully 
 arranged so as to receive answers that must be stated defi- 
 nitely and unambiguously. They can also be scored quickly 
 and accurately. It will be noted, however, that they call 
 largely for mechanical memory. If pupils have not been 
 drilled on the various facts called for, the tests correctly an' 
 swered would show a wide range of accurate information. 
 If the teacher has been aware that the test would be given 
 and has drilled the pupils on these facts, it would not reveal 
 very broad or thoughtful learning. It should be noted also 
 that the wording of many of the questions does not call for a 
 high order of thinking or even of fact memory. For example, 
 it is much easier to answer " Rice Corn Cot- 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 393 
 
 ton is shipped from San Francisco to Kobe, Japan" than to 
 answer "Name the products shipped from San Francisco to 
 Kobe, Japan." It is not very difficult to select the right an- 
 swer from the three following statements: "Petroleum and 
 ratural gases were formed by: decomposition of min- 
 erals the decaying of plant and animal bodies 
 
 burning of vegetable matter." A much more difficult ques- 
 tion would be: "Explain the origin of petroleum and natural 
 gases." The "fact-memory" type of question has its place, 
 but if limited to that type instruction must become very 
 narrow and devoid of accurate independent thought reactions. 
 They are the type of questions which educators have long 
 been trying to supplant and supplement in order to enrich 
 the curriculum. They are entirely at variance with topical 
 teaching, project teaching, and the socialized recitation, in 
 which there is an attempt to get away from the stereotyped 
 forms of instruction. Doctor Walter F. Dearborn, in a recent 
 letter to the writer, expressed the same apprehension. He 
 said of certain arithmetic tests that "unsupported by more 
 comprehensive tests, they have at the same time tended to 
 narrow the work in the schoolroom." He wrote further: "We 
 believe that the tests of various kinds now in use throughout 
 the country are shaping the work in the schools and, there- 
 fore, that unless the movement for scientific measurement is 
 to be brought into disrepute, the tests used must fulfil aims 
 in keeping with modern teaching." 
 
 Difficulties and Limitations. — There are several difficulties 
 that will make it impossible for the standardized scales to 
 ever entirely displace the ordinary tests and examinations in 
 the schoolroom. In the first place, no tests can be devised 
 that will meet all needs at various times in a given subject. 
 Each teacher must devise tests to measure progress in the 
 particular feature of work that has been stressed. For exam- 
 ple, a given teacher may wish to discover the diligence and 
 faithfulness of a class in the preparation of a particular assign- 
 ment. Such factors are quite as important as particular skill 
 or knowledge. The teacher must devise the test to fit that 
 
394 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 particular case. Of course, If the teacher Is famlHar with 
 standardized scales and methods of testing, the given test will 
 be more carefully selected and the results better analyzed than 
 If he had no knowledge of them. Again, standardized scales 
 can never be kept abreast of the new materials that should be 
 Incorporated In the curriculum. To entirely measure a teach- 
 er's success by the standardized scales would often do a 
 teacher great Injustice. One teacher might have his classes 
 up to a grade In spelling the particular words of a standardized 
 scale, or up on the addition of Integers, but have very poor 
 work In history, music, or civics, because these last are seldom 
 measured by standardized scales. It might be that a teacher 
 had not secured the median results with the "spelling demons" 
 or with the "borrowing" process in subtraction, but she had 
 taken extra time for Inculcating much-needed civic and moral 
 lessons. Her school might show splendid results in the devel- 
 opment of a co-operative spirit, a splendid example of the 
 development of fine, thoughtful conduct so necessary in train- 
 ing for citizenship. Scales for the testing of these latter have 
 not been devised nor can they be easily quantified. All the 
 scales test intellectual or motor results. They do not test 
 emotions and morality. But these latter mean more in citi- 
 zenship than intellectual accomplishment. 
 
 The foregoing is not designed to discourage measuring, but 
 merely to suggest that the present tendency in scale-making 
 and measurements may, if wrongly evaluated, discourage 
 effort in more worthy directions. It would be desirable If the 
 results of civic and moral education could be accurately mea- 
 sured, and it may be that the present development of the 
 measurement of intellectual attainments may point the way. 
 But let no teacher or school be wholly judged by the attain- 
 ments in purely intellectual achievements. Many a teacher 
 whose pupils would score low on "bridging the tens" has been 
 a veritable benediction in the lives of her pupils and the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Only a limited number of subjects have been standardized 
 or can be standardized so that all teachers can or should mea- 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 395 
 
 sure their pupils by the same tests. In geography, for exam- 
 ple, pupils living in Seattle ought to spend most of their time 
 upon geography, either of that locality or that which is related 
 to it in some vital way. Their achievements in geography 
 ought to be very different from those of children living in 
 Buenos Aires. All of the geography tests thus far devised 
 would tend to cause the beginning teacher, or the one who 
 knows that she will be judged by the results of standardized 
 scales, to centre upon "what will pay." The best results of 
 geography teaching are determined (a) by the pupil's interest 
 in the subject, and (b) his ability to use geographical helps, 
 and to apply his knowledge to new problems. Projects in 
 geography should not result so much in stereotyped examina- 
 ble information as in increased interest and power to investi- 
 gate a new situation. What standardized scales give different 
 values for a project in Seattle or in Boston ? The standardized 
 scales all seem to put a premium upon mere information of 
 the old stereot>'ped kind that we have been trying to get away 
 from as a measure of geography study. 
 
 Unless the scales are changed frequently, teachers and pu- 
 pils naturally will collect them and cram for them, and the 
 worst sort of narrowness will result. It is noticeably true that 
 few of the devisers of scales and standardized tests have pub- 
 lished any relating to their own subjects. If such scales are 
 valuable, should not every subject in psychology and educa- 
 tion be tested and measured by some standardized scales? 
 What teachers of those subjects would be willing to restrict 
 their teaching so that their students could be measured by 
 somebody else's scale? 
 
 The following comment by Wilson and Hoke {How to 
 Measure, p. 192) is very significant regarding the possibilities 
 and the limitations of standardized tests in tool subjects and 
 content subjects: 
 
 The tool subjects of the grades are being measured with success and 
 with beneficial results on teaching and curricula making. Can the 
 content subjects — such as history, geography, physiology, literature, 
 nature study, and elementary science — be measured with equal sue- 
 
396 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 cess and equally beneficial results ? The answer is that many attempts 
 are being made, that success has not been attained, and that final 
 success is still in doubt. A scientific test or scale for grading a subject 
 is merely a reasonable examination which has been carefully graded 
 and evaluated, i. e., standardized. Any fixed or rigid examination 
 scheme tends always to formalize the teaching of a subject. For the 
 formal phases of the tool subjects this is desirable, assuming good 
 teachers and provision for adequate motive. But can we formalize 
 the teaching of a content subject without undesirable results, or can 
 we apply standard tests to the more formal information phases of such 
 a subject without its resulting in misplaced emphasis by many teach- 
 ers, a large majority of them? It is very doubtful. At any rate, it 
 remains an open question. 
 
 Equally pertinent is their comment regarding the use of 
 standardized tests in high-school subjects {How to Measure, 
 p. 213): 
 
 The reasons are: First, most of the high-school subjects are not tool 
 subjects. They are of value chiefly because of content and apprecia- 
 tive values. These values are more intangible, more difficult to mea- 
 sure, than the simple elements involved in the tool subjects. Second, 
 the old academic view-point that secondary work is merely prepara- 
 tory is changing. The old view-point made the mastery of subject- 
 matter, as such, the essential consideration. The present tendency, 
 liowever, is to minimize the importance of high-school work as merely 
 preparatory, to look more toward use and application, and to make of 
 the high school a real people's school serving the broader airiis of edu- 
 cation. The efficiency of work on this basis cannot be tested nearly 
 so well by examination methods. Even a subject like mathematics 
 does not become a tool subject for a large percentage of pupils. Ap- 
 parently, therefore, appreciative values and an understanding of the 
 subject from the standpoint of enjoyment and perspective are just as 
 important as the mere mastery of subject-matter. Third, it is in sub- 
 jects like literature and history especially that the fact, subject-matter 
 basis, is particularly undesirable. Literature, to be effective and to 
 carry over into later life, must be taught on a basis of appreciation and 
 enjoyment. It does not lend itself to rigid testing. History, likewise, 
 deals with life problems, which depend for their development upon 
 present-day problems, pupil interests, community contacts, and teach- 
 ing equipment. So that any attempt to reduce history to a mere 
 mechanical basis renders it of little value. 
 
 In short, standard tests and scales have proven of value chiefly in 
 measuring the tool subjects and the mastery of subject-matter. The 
 high-school curriculum has many other values,- some of which are pos- 
 
COMPARING ACHIEVEMENT 397 
 
 sibly even more important than the strictly measurable ones. It will 
 be worth while, however, to note the development of scales in high- 
 school subjects in so far as they have developed. 
 
 Pupils* Interest in Scales. — One of the noteworthy results 
 of the use of scales in measuring achievement in various school 
 subjects has been the interest which pupils have taken in the 
 tests and results. They have compared the achievements of 
 individuals with other individuals, with the class scores and 
 also with the standardized scores secured by the wide use of 
 given tests. Teachers have also been put on their mettle to 
 enable their pupils to reach or exceed the standard scores. 
 There is a question whether sometimes undue effort may not 
 be diverted from other important work to the drill in types of 
 skill required in the standardized tests. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Distinguish between tests of intelligence and tests of achievement. 
 2. Why is a "standardized" test more accurate than an ordinary test or 
 examination? 3. Is a standardized test always more valid as a measure 
 of progress than a test made by the teacher who has given the particular 
 work? 4. What use would you make of a standardized reading, writing, 
 arithmetic, or spelling test in a given class? 5. How are standardized test 
 norms derived? 6. Will given norms remain permanent? 7. If pupils 
 score high on a given standardized test, does it mean that the content is 
 worth while? What will determine the value of the content? 8, How 
 can we determine whether a given test is a good one? 9. Should teachers 
 be rated by the scores made by their pupils in standardized tests? 10. 
 Mention several of the best standardized tests in arithmetic, spelling, silent 
 reading, handwriting, algebra. 11. Is it equally easy to construct good 
 standardized tests in all subjects? Explain. 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Brooks, Improving Schools hy Standard Tests. Entire book. 
 
 2. Cameron, Psychology and the School, chaps. XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX. 
 
 3. McCall, How to Measure in Education, chaps. IV, V. 
 
 4. Monroe, The Theory of Educational Measurements. Entire book. 
 
 5. Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, Educational Tests and Measurements. En- 
 
 tire book. 
 
 6. Parker, Methods of Teaching in High Schools, chap. XXII. 
 
 7. Pressey, Introduction to the Use of Standard Tests. Entire book. 
 
 8. Starch, Educational Measurements. Entire book. 
 
 9. Strayer and Englehardt, The Classroom Teacher, chap. XIX. 
 
 10. Strong, Introductory Psychology for Teachers, lesson 29. 
 
 11. Wilson and Hoke, How to Measure. Entire book. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 
 
 Prophecy has always been a fascinating pastime. Because 
 of the uncertainty and unreUabiHty, only occasional individ- 
 uals acquire a great reputation for their prophecies. Because 
 of the mystery connected with prophecy, it has always been 
 fascinating, and therefore many believe in prophecy. Scien- 
 tific prophecy, however, is of recent development. In fact, all 
 scientific principles include implied predictability, or, in other 
 words, prophecy. A scientific law simply means that under 
 certain conditions certain results will follow. 
 
 Predictability of human conduct is a science in its infancy. 
 Undoubtedly every individual human action is determined by 
 a sequence of previous actions, and the order is definite. 
 Nothing happens or comes by chance. If the exact relations 
 between effects and causes in human conduct could be worked 
 out, and then if a given sequence of causes were known, effects 
 could be foretold with absolute certainty. Of course in the 
 main that is utterly impossible. But in certain limited lines 
 the sequences have been studied so that a fair degree of predic- 
 tability is possible through scientific means. 
 
 It would be of very great value if we could know whether 
 an individual retains the same degree of mental power through 
 life. That is, does the I. Q. remain constant through life in 
 a given individual ? If true, the possibilities of the individual 
 could be determined on entering school and his work gauged 
 accordingly. Terman writes {Intelligence of School Children, 
 p. 149) that 
 
 The I. Q. is sufficiently constant to make it a practical and service- 
 able basis for mental classification. At the same time, it is not infalli- 
 ble. A single test does not give us certainty, but merely a high degree 
 of probability. While the I. Q. it yields is extremely valuable in the 
 tentative classification of children, it needs to be checked up by supple- 
 
 398 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 399 
 
 mentary data and by retests. In certain types of pathological subjects, 
 the I. Q. may undergo large fluctuations. Epileptics, for example, 
 frequently deteriorate from something like normality to middle-grade 
 deficiency in the course of a few years. 
 
 That rough prediction is now possible on the basis of intelligence 
 tests can no longer be denied. For example, it is a fairly safe pre- 
 diction that the child who has been competently tested by the Binet 
 scale and found to have an I. Q. of 75 will never attain an I. Q. of 125, 
 or that an I. Q. of 125 will never, barring definite nervous disease, drop 
 to 75. No one would now expect a child with an I. Q. of 60 or 70 to be 
 able to graduate from an average high school or pursue a college course. 
 These predictions are, of course, very rough, but it is worth something 
 to know that, in general, there is even a tendency for the superior to 
 remain superior, for the average to remain average, and for the inferior 
 to remain inferior. ("Mental Growth and the I. Q.," Jour, of Educ. 
 Psych., 13: 325- 1921.) 
 
 Terman, Rugg and CoUoton, and Poull present a large 
 amount of data {Jour, of Educ. Psych., vol. 12, September, 
 1921) supporting the contention that the I. Q. Is practically 
 constant. Studies are cited to show that several retests of 
 the same Individuals show essentially the same I. Q. at suc- 
 cessive periods. In general, all the studies seem to show a 
 slight Increase In the I. Q. with Increasing age. Doll, Sten- 
 qulst and Fermon, and Garrison question this conclusion. 
 (Doll, Psychological Monographs, vol. 29, No. 2, 1921; Garri- 
 son, "The Fluctuation of Intelligence," School and Societyy 
 June, 1921; Fermon, "Validity of I. Q. as Established by Re- 
 tests," Thesis, Columbia University, 1920; Stenqulst, "Unre- 
 liability of Individual and Group Intelligence Tests," unpub- 
 lished.) 
 
 Undoubtedly Terman Is correct In the main. A bright child 
 will continue to be bright If ordinary environmental condi- 
 tions prevail; a dull child will remain dull no matter what 
 the conditions; and the feeble-minded are doomed to a life of 
 feeble-mlndedness. However, we must make a variety of 
 tests covering a sufficient variety of conditions, so as to be 
 sure that we know that the child Is bright or dull. Limited 
 tests under adverse emotional or health conditions might In- 
 dicate hopeless dulness, or limited tests that chanced to test 
 
400 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 a special quality, like mechanical memory, or to call for spe- 
 cial information, might suggest precocity in an average child. 
 
 Also, much allowance should be made for the fact of un- 
 evenness of growth of different individuals and of the various 
 powers of each individual. It would probably be correct to 
 say that each individual's M. Q. (motor quotient) is fairly 
 constant, but every one knows that there are many fluctua- 
 tions depending upon conditions of development and health. 
 Again, much depends upon the persons making the tests. A 
 personal equation in deciding the validity of an answer is no 
 small factor in all intelligence testing. 
 
 A few studies have been made to discover whether there is 
 any correlation between intelligence ratings and school grades 
 in various studies. The results are not uniform and are some- 
 what conflicting. In all probability a hundred pupils scoring 
 high with the intelligence tests would achieve much higher 
 grades in their studies than a hundred others with low intelli- 
 gence scores. A few studies will be mentioned. 
 
 Proctor found that pupils with low I. Q.'s drop out of high 
 school in greater numbers than those with a high I. Q., al- 
 though a high I. Q. is not necessarily a guarantee of success. 
 He says: 
 
 There are good grounds for the prediction that 75 per cent of those 
 who test below average, mentally, will fail in more than one-half of 
 their studies during their first year of high school; that 50 per cent of 
 them will leave school to go to work during the first two years; and 
 that none of them will remain to graduate. {Psychological Tests and 
 Guidance of High School Pupils, p. 23.) 
 
 Professor William F. Book, director of the Psychological 
 Laboratory of the University of Indiana, has just recently 
 completed a state-wide study of the intelligence of high-school 
 seniors in the State of Indiana. The results have been pub- 
 lished in book form. He says {The Intelligence of High School 
 Seniors, pp. 93-110): 
 
 It has been generally assumed that students possessing a superior 
 or very superior grade of intelligence can and will do a superior grade 
 of school work. On this theory intelligence tests have recently been 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 401 
 
 used by certain universities in place of the usual college entrance ex- 
 aminations, and candidates are being selected for university scholar- 
 ships on the basis of the records they make on intelligence tests. 
 Pupils in the public schools have also been doubly promoted by pro- 
 gressive teachers and superintendents merely on the basis of the 
 strength shown in intelligence tests. 
 
 In most of these cases such students have been successful in their 
 academic work . . . but data recently gathered by our own labora- 
 tory indicate pretty clearly that other mental characteristics besides 
 intelligence are important factors in determining school success. The 
 foregoing data show that we have no right to expect a student to do 
 a very superior type of school or college work merely because he pos- 
 sesses a high degree of native mental endowment. He must possess 
 additional characteristics, such as persistence, a proper attitude 
 toward his teacher and the school, endurance, health, and the like, 
 to be successful with his school work. All the factors which contribute 
 to a pupil's success or failure in school are not known. When deter- 
 mined, they will probably show that general intelligence is insufficient 
 to guarantee an individual's school success. . . . The evidence seems 
 to indicate that we are not in reality measuring the same thing when 
 we test for intelligence and school success. . . . The correlation be- 
 tween intelligence scores and scholastic success in school is not very 
 high. ... If taken for individual cases, intelligence scores are poor 
 criteria for predicting the kind and amount of school success that will 
 be attained. . . . Mere ability to learn and do are not synonymous 
 with actual performance. . . . Because a pupil has the ability to 
 learn or do his school work, it by no means follows that he will do it. 
 ... A mere intelligence test is evidently no criterion for what a 
 pupil will do in school. 
 
 Correlation between Grades in Different Subjects. — Some 
 studies have also been made of the correlation between grades 
 received in a given subject and those received in other sub- 
 jects taken at or near the same time. It is very frequently 
 asserted by some that if a pupil stands well or poorly in a 
 given subject it is quite certain that he will have correspond- 
 ing marks in other subjects. If differences appear, they are 
 frequently attributed to the inability of teachers to mark 
 fairly. 
 
 A study made by one of the writer's students, Miss Mabel 
 Foster, when she was a teacher in the Iowa City, Iowa, High 
 School, is given in the accompanying tables. 
 
402 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 ALGEBRA 
 
 TABLE I 
 
 TABLE n 
 
 
 E 
 
 G 
 
 M 
 
 P 
 
 F 
 
 E 
 
 G 
 
 M 
 
 P 
 
 F 
 
 Lat 
 
 53 
 39 
 44 
 54 
 i8 
 
 39 
 
 55 
 69 
 
 38 
 50 
 51 
 41 
 69 
 45 
 33 
 25 
 
 6 
 10 
 5 
 4 
 14 
 15 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 13 
 26 
 
 13 
 22 
 29 
 20 
 26 
 44 
 49 
 41 
 
 19 
 
 38 
 37 
 23 
 41 
 II 
 27 
 23 
 
 9 
 14 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 58 
 23 
 12 
 
 33 
 
 13 
 
 39 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 Ene 
 
 sd :.:::;: 
 
 Hist 
 
 M. Tr 
 
 Draw 
 
 Arith 
 
 Dep 
 
 
 GEOMETRY 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 
 E 
 
 G 
 
 M 
 
 P 
 
 F 
 
 E 
 
 G 
 
 M 
 
 P 
 
 F 
 
 Lat 
 
 45 
 30 
 42 
 40 
 
 54 
 32 
 63 
 50 
 
 48 
 
 53 
 48 
 46 
 27 
 68 
 33 
 41 
 
 4 
 
 II 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 6 
 I 
 3 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 6 
 5 
 
 17 
 18 
 
 25 
 12 
 
 17 
 14 
 
 23 
 27 
 58 
 40 
 
 46 
 
 41 
 18 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 43 
 25 
 28 
 
 16 
 16 
 36 
 25 
 17 
 15 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 30 
 26 
 37 
 29 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 Sci 
 
 Hist 
 
 Eng 
 
 Ger 
 
 M Tr 
 
 Draw 
 
 Deo 
 
 
 Table I includes pupils marked E (Excellent) in algebra. It shows the percentage of them who 
 received E*, G, M, P, F in each of the subjects indicated. 
 
 Table II includes pupils marked F (Failed) in algebra. It shows the percentage of them who 
 received E, G, M, P, F in each of the subjects indicated. 
 
 Table III includes pupils marked E (Excellent) in geometry. It shows the percentage of them 
 who received E, G, M, P, F in each of the subjects indicated. 
 
 Table IV includes pupils marked F (Failed) in geometry. It shows the percentage of them 
 who received E, G, M, P, F in each of the subjects indicated. 
 
 * E— Excellent, G— Good, M— Medium, P— Poor, F— Failed. 
 
 The grades of all pupils who had received E (Excellent) in 
 algebra and geometry were compared with their grades in 
 other subjects which they had taken in high school. Simi- 
 larly, the grades of all who had failed in algebra and geometry 
 were compared with their grades in other subjects. The 
 tables show that pupils who received high marks in algebra 
 and geometry were more likely to receive fair or high grades 
 in other subjects. However, there were many individual vari- 
 ations, thus making it impossible to say absolutely that a 
 given pupil who ranks high or low in a given subject will cer- 
 tainly have a similar rank in other subjects. 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 403 
 
 Correlation between Grades in Lower Schools and in 
 Higher. — Quite a number of studies have been made of the 
 correlation between grades received in the elementary school 
 and in the high school, also between those received in the 
 high school and college. To a lesser extent the correlation be- 
 tween success in school achievement and in life after college 
 has been studied. A few of the most important studies will 
 be cited. 
 
 Dearborn compared the high-school grades of 472 pupils 
 from eight Wisconsin high schools with their grades at the 
 University of Wisconsin. {The Relative Standing of Pupils in 
 the High School and in the University, 1909.) 
 
 He studied ''all those who entered from the eight high 
 schools during the years 1900 to 1905, inclusive. The basis 
 of comparison is the general average of the marks secured by 
 each pupil in high school and in the first two years of the 
 university." A group of 180 students included in the 472 
 were followed throughout the four years at the university 
 also. The comparison is made of this last group between 
 the standing in high school and the standing in each of the 
 four years at the university. (Pp. lo-ii.) 
 
 He says (p. 19) : 
 
 Of these 472 pupils, only 5 who stood in the lowest quartile of the 
 group on entrance succeeded in reaching the rank of the first quartile, 
 and they secured only the lowest grade in the quartile; similarly, but 
 5 of those who entered in the first quarter of this large group dropped 
 to the lowest quarter during the freshman year, and they stood in the 
 highest grade of this quartile. . . . 
 
 And the opposite facts are nearly, if not quite, as true; the chances 
 are but about one in five that the student who has done poorly in 
 high-school work — who has been in the lowest quarter of his class — 
 will rise above the median or average of the freshman class at the 
 university, and the chances that he will prove a superior student at 
 the university are very slim indeed. 
 
 The striking facts about this comparison are, first, the extent to 
 which those who were in the first quarter of this group in high school 
 maintain relatively the same position in the freshman year, and, sec- 
 ondly, the somewhat less-marked tendency of the lowest quarter of 
 the high-school class to be limited to the last two quartiles of the 
 
404 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 freshman year. The interchange between the middle quartiles is, as 
 remarked above, much more extensive. 
 
 What is true of the standing of students in the high school holds in 
 just about the same proportions throughout the sophomore and junior 
 years. About ninety -three students have dropped out of the freshman 
 group before the sophomore year. . . . 
 
 From an inspection of this first series of charts we are justified in 
 drawing the general conclusions that those students who are the best 
 scholars in the high school are, usually, the best in the university, and, 
 similarly, that the poor scholars in the high school tend to remain so in 
 the university. (Pp. 21, 22.) . . . This investigation indicates very 
 clearly that the previous rank of pupils in the accredited school fur- 
 nishes a satisfactory means for forecasting the likelihood of successful 
 work at the university. (P. 44.) 
 
 He says (p. 41) that 
 
 A little over 80 per cent of those who were in the lowest or highest 
 quarter of the group in the high school are found in their respective 
 halves of the group throughout the university. . . . We may say, 
 then, on the basis of the results secured in this group, which is suffi- 
 ciently large to be representative, that if a pupil has stood in the first 
 quarter of a large class through the high school, the chances are four 
 out of five that he will not fall below the first half of his class in the 
 university. (It may be of interest to the reader versed in statistics 
 to add that the Pearson coefficient of correlation of the standing in 
 high schools and in the freshman year of 472 pupils is plus 80 per cent.) 
 (P. 21.) ... Rank in high school has, therefore, as is to be expected, 
 a definite relation to the question of elimination in the university. It 
 is evident from these results that a student entering the university 
 from these schools with a rank or general average of 85, or above, for 
 example, is much more likely to continue through freshman year than 
 one whose high-school rank was below 85. In this case, there were 
 244 (56.9 per cent) of the group who attained this or a higher rank in 
 high school, but 29, or 12 per cent, of them drop out during freshman 
 year, whereas of the remaining 228, 64, or 27.5 per cent, are eliminated. 
 (Pp. 39, 40.) 
 
 Dearborn found that many more of those entering with low 
 standings were eliminated from the university during their 
 freshman year than of those who entered with high standings. 
 He says: 
 
 As was to be expected, the larger number who drop out are found 
 in the lower quartiles. Out of the group of 472, 93, or 19.7 per cent, 
 leave during freshman year, and 43, or 12 per cent, during sophomore 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 405 
 
 year, showing a total of 136, or 31,7 per cent, eliminations in the two 
 years. In other words, about one-third of the group were eliminated 
 in the first two years of college. 
 
 About 50 per cent of these are from the lowest quarter of the class, 
 23 per cent and 17 per cent from the third and second quarters, respec- 
 tively, and less than 10 per cent from the first quarter. Similar per- 
 centages hold in the high-school quartiles. . . . Only 15 per cent of 
 those eliminated in freshman year were in the first quarter of their 
 high-school classes, whereas 42 per cent of them were in the lowest 
 quarter of the high-school class. The eliminations of the sophomore 
 year are much less dependent on high-school standing, and correspond 
 more closely with the university standing. 
 
 Walter R. Miles {Pedagogical Seminary, December, 1910), 
 one of the writer's students, made a comparison of the grades 
 of pupils in the elementary schools and in the high school. 
 That study revealed in a definite way that there is a high 
 degree of correlation between the accomplishment of pupils in 
 the lower schools and in the high school. That would not be 
 expected as much as betw^een the grades attained in the high 
 school and in the university. Between the high-school period 
 and the university period of study, there is not as great a 
 developmental change, and habits and methods of study have 
 become more fixed. He compared the records of 106 pupils 
 during the last four years of the elementary school with their 
 records during the four years of high school. He was able to 
 follow fourteen of them into their university work. While 
 this group was too small to furnish conclusive evidence, the 
 results are corroborative of those obtained by Dearborn, 
 Smith, and others, and are quite significant. 
 
 Another one of the writer's students, Franklin O. Smith, 
 made a study of the high-school and university grades of 120 
 students. ("A Rational Basis for Determining Fitness for 
 College," Pedagogical Seminary, 19: 137-153, June, 1912.) 
 He followed much the same plan as Dearborn, but instead of 
 dividing the entire group into quartiles, he divided it into 
 quintiles (fifths). 
 
 He says: 
 
 On the basis of the general averages in the high school and in the 
 university it is seen (Table I) that more than one-half (54 per cent) 
 
4o6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 of the pupils who were in the first or highest quintile in the high-school 
 grouping remain in the corresponding quintile in the university group- 
 ing, and that somewhat less than half (42 per cent) of those in the 
 fifth or lowest quintile in the high-school grouping are in the same 
 quintile in the university grouping. Furthermore, 29 per cent of 
 those in the first quintile are in the upper half of that quintile, while 
 only 16.5 per cent of those in the lowest quintile are in the lower half 
 of that quintile. That is, 12.5 per cent more pupils move up from the 
 lowest positions in the high school to relatively higher positions in 
 the university than move down from the highest to relatively lower 
 positions. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION BY QUINTILES 
 General Averages, University 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 1ST Q. 
 
 % 
 
 2D Q. 
 
 % 
 
 3D Q- 
 
 4TH Q. 
 
 % 
 
 5TH Q. 
 
 % 
 
 1st q 
 2d q. 
 3d q- 
 4th q 
 5th q 
 
 54 
 25 
 16.6 
 
 o 
 
 4 
 
 16.6 
 29 
 25 
 25 
 4 
 
 16.6 
 16.6 
 21 
 
 25 
 21 
 
 4 
 
 12.5 
 21 
 
 33-3 
 29 
 
 8 
 
 16.6 
 16.6 
 16.6 
 
 42 
 
 Foster says {Should Students Study ?, pp. 28, 29) : 
 
 We may take, for example, all the students who graduated from 
 Harvard College during a period of twelve years and entered the Har- 
 vard Medical School. Of the 239 who received no distinction as 
 undergraduates, 36 per cent graduated with honor from the Medical 
 School. Of the 41 who received degrees of A.B. with high honor, more 
 than 92 per cent took their medical degrees with honor. 
 
 Still more conclusive are the records of the graduates of Harvard 
 College who during a period of twenty years entered the Harvard Law 
 School. Of those who graduated from college with no special honor, 
 only 6>^ per cent attained distinction in the Law School. Of those 
 who graduated with honor from the college, 22 per cent attained dis- 
 tinction in the Law School; of those who graduated with great honor, 
 40 per cent; and of those who graduated with highest honor, 60 per 
 cent. Sixty per cent ! Bear that figure in mind a moment, while we 
 consider the 340 who enter college "with conditions" — that is to say, 
 without having passed all their entrance examinations — and graduated 
 from college with plain degrees. Of these men, not 3 per cent won honor 
 degrees in law. . . . 
 
 So difficult is it for a student to change his habits of life after the 
 crucial years of college that not one man in twenty years — not one 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 407 
 
 man in twenty years — who was satisfied in Harvard College with 
 grades of "C" and lower gained distinction in the studies of the Har- 
 vard Law School. 
 
 The same relation appears to persist between the promise of Yale 
 undergraduates and their performance in the Harvard Law School. 
 If we divide the 250 graduates of Yale who received their degrees in 
 law at Cambridge between 1900 and 191 5 into nine groups, according 
 to undergraduate scholarship, beginning with those who won the high- 
 est "senior appointments" at Yale and ending with those who received 
 no graduation honors, we find that the first group did the best work 
 in their studies of law, the second group next, the third group next, 
 and so on, in the same order, with but a single exception, at the bottom 
 of the list. The performance at Harvard of each of the eight groups 
 of Yale honor graduates was in precise accordance with the promise 
 of their records at Yale. 
 
 President Lowell, of Harvard, has studied the records of 
 Harvard students from 1895 to 1901 who graduated first from 
 Harvard College and then later graduated from the Law 
 School or the Medical School in the same university. He 
 concluded that the grades attained in the college are fairly 
 indicative of the rank the same men will receive in the pro- 
 fessional school. "The men who are destined to take the 
 highest rank in the law and medical schools are markedly bet- 
 ter scholars, both in the preparatory schools and in college, 
 than their fellows. In intellectual power, as in other things, 
 the boy is father to the man." 
 
 Doctor Alexander C. Roberts, one of my students, recently 
 made an extended study of the predictive value of intelligence 
 tests and high-school records in relation to university achieve- 
 ment of a group of students rating "D" and "E" on intelH- 
 gence tests.* He has kindly furnished me a summary In the 
 following statement: 
 
 Summary of Factors in the Prediction of University Scholarship. — 
 This study leads conclusively to the fact that no one measure of stu- 
 dent ability is adequate in prognosis of academic success at the uni- 
 versity. The high-school scholarship record is the best single mea- 
 sure, but various studies indicate that the high-school record is far 
 from accurate as a sole basis of prediction. A progressive scheme of 
 
 * Bulletin^ University of Washington. 
 
4o8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 intelligence testing is at present the best supplement to scholarship 
 records. This study of 581 "D" and "E" students, the lowest 15 
 per cent in the intelligence ratings at the university, shows that the 
 *'D" and ''E" students have exactly five and one-half times more 
 probability of failure than has the student from the groups above. 
 Furthermore, any adequate system of admission must attempt to 
 secure a reliable estimation of character traits — ambition, persever- 
 ance, determination, optimism, idealism, etc., for we have found plain 
 inferences that highly desirable character traits carry many mediocre 
 students to scholastic success and undesirable character traits wreck 
 the accomplishments of brilliant students. INIuch maladjustment may 
 be avoided through proper reports upon the special activities, interests, 
 and abilities of those students who have brilliance or high skills but 
 very narrow interests and talents. And finally the record of failures 
 in high school is an accessible and predictive factor of great value. 
 This study indicates that students of only moderate mental ability 
 who have not failed in any high-school subject have a chance of two 
 and one-half times greater that they will not fail in any university 
 subject than that they will fail in as much as one-fifth of their univer- 
 sity work. One or two semesters of failure in high school make little 
 difference, but the students who come to the university with records 
 of three or more semesters of high-school failure have three times 
 greater probability of failing in one-fifth or more of their university 
 work than they have of failing in no university subject. 
 
 It is possible to predict closely the academic success of students 
 entering the university, and the bases of prediction are these: i. The 
 high-school record of subjects passed. 2. The high-school record of 
 subjects failed. 3. The high-school record of activities, interests, and 
 talents. 4. The best subjective estimation of several high-school 
 teachers upon character traits. 5. An intelligence rating determined 
 in a scientific manner either in high school or at the beginning of the 
 university career. 6. An evaluation of the university marks of the 
 first quarter in the light of all these other measures. 
 
 Foster {Should Students Study ?) made a careful study of the 
 class of 1894 in Harvard College to discover the relation be- 
 tween grades in college and success in later life. Twenty- 
 three men were considered by competent judges to have at- 
 tained distinguished success in later life. A comparison 
 showed that those twenty-three men had received 196 "A's" 
 in college, while twenty-three other men selected at random 
 had received but 56 "A's." A study made at the University 
 of Oregon showed that of the highly successful graduates 53 
 
PROPHESYING PERFORMANCE 409 
 
 per cent had been good students and only 12 per cent weak 
 students. Among the graduates who were considered as un- 
 successful, 52 per cent had been weak students and only 12 
 per cent had been good students. 
 
 Similar studies from Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Yale, and Oxford 
 all show that high-grade students generally become successful 
 men and low-grade students have much less possibility of 
 achieving success in later life. A study of Who's Who shows 
 that the majority of persons therein listed were high-grade 
 students in college. 
 
 Hollingworth {Vocational Psychology, p. 205) says: 
 
 On the whole, then, all these studies point in a consistent direction; 
 those who are destined to achieve distinction and success begin to do 
 so at an early age. Whether measured by achievement in academic 
 courses, honors in professional and technical courses, salary earned 
 after graduation, or inclusion among Hsts and directories of eminent 
 men, success in later life is suggested by success in the early work of 
 the school curriculum. In spite of frequent comments to the contrary, 
 the school curriculum would seem to constitute a useful test in prog- 
 nosticating at least the most probable qualities of the individual's 
 later work. 
 
 This does not mean that students could not change the pace 
 at which they are going. Of course the dawdler may have 
 ability to go faster, but the habit of dawdling has become so 
 fixed that the chances are that the pace at which he is now 
 running will be the pace at which he runs later in life. 
 
 I have no statistics to prove my opinions concerning the 
 correspondence between the gait at which my classmates in 
 college were going and their later performance, but rough ob- 
 servation seems to show me that those who were hard-work- 
 ing, persistent students are now the ones who are accomplish- 
 ing things in life, and those who were dawdling and frittering 
 their time away are now doing essentially the same type of 
 thing. Of course there are notable exceptions. But the col- 
 lege journal is wrong when it says: "Never mind, the student 
 who is loafing now will be the man of distinction to-morrow, 
 and the poor grind will be left behind in life's race." Facts 
 
4IO EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 do not bear out any such conclusion. Oliver Wendell Holmes 
 said: *'By 45 one must have carved his name on the scroll of 
 fame or shut up his jack-knife." 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. What Is the popular notion regarding the relation between ability in 
 childhood and success in adult life? 2. Have you heard of persons who 
 were dunces in childhood and geniuses in maturity ? What is your opinion ? 
 3. What is the average college student's belief concerning the relation be- 
 tween college grades and life's success ? 4. Plan a study that would really 
 give a scientific answer to such questions. 5. What parts of the problem 
 have been fairly answered? 6. What parts are most difficult? Why? 
 7. Do the same qualities that insure success in school studies insure suc- 
 cess in life? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Book, The Intelligence of High School Seniors y chaps. IV, V, VI. 
 
 2. Foster, Should Students Study?, chaps. IV, V, VI. 
 
 3. Hollingworth, Vocational Psychology. Entire book. 
 
 4. Terman, The Intelligence of School Children. See Index. 
 
 5. Roberts, Studies in Intelligence Ratings and Scholarship Records at the 
 
 University of Washington. Entire monograph. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 
 
 Importance of Vocational Guidance. — The vocational guid- 
 ance and education of youth forms one of the most important 
 phases of the education of to-day. This Is true, first, because 
 the entire life career of most boys and girls depends upon the 
 efficiency of this aspect of their education; and, second, be- 
 cause the welfare of society to such a large extent depends 
 upon it. No other part of education is so full of interest to 
 the youths themselves as that which bears upon their life- 
 work. Also, no other part of the education of youth has as 
 much interest and concern for society. If the schools con- 
 vince the pupils that the school activities will contribute to 
 increased vocational efficiency, the pupils are at once inter- 
 ested. Likewise, If parents and patrons are convinced that 
 the schools really develop vocationally efficient men and 
 women, they are ready to support the school generally. On 
 the contrary, disbelief in the effectiveness of schools in pro- 
 ducing vocational expertness causes parsimony in supporting 
 the schools. There is great importance of educational wis- 
 dom in (a) convincing the public that youth is the time for 
 vocational guidance, and (b) in demonstrating that educa- 
 tional experts can diagnose pupils accurately and guide them 
 wisely in vocational selection and training. 
 
 Meaning of Vocational Education. — Vocational education is 
 to be interpreted broadly in this discussion. It is not to be 
 limited to mean manual-arts work, looking toward gaining a 
 livelihood. It is not to be limited to the trades or crafts. 
 In fact, the meaning is altogether too narrow if it is limited 
 to the material means of gaining a livelihood. Living is far 
 broader than the securing of food, shelter, and raiment. Liv- 
 ing includes spiritual attitudes and aspirations, as well as 
 
 411 
 
412 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 satisfaction of bodily needs. Living includes intellectual, 
 aesthetic, and moral exercise and enjoyment as well. Com- 
 plete living involves concern for and satisfaction in promoting 
 the welfare of others as well as of self. It includes not only 
 self and even one's own immediate family, but one's com- 
 munity, one's state, one's nation — humanity. 
 
 A real vocation comprises all of one's life-work, which 
 enables him to realize all of these complex results. Therefore 
 in considering vocational education we must give considera- 
 tion not only to the means of physical livelihood, not only 
 the means of earning enough to maintain a family and a re- 
 spectable place in a community, but we should be equally 
 concerned with an education which will enable the individual 
 to realize the larger possibilities of life as well. This is too 
 often lost sight of. Short-sighted reformers are too much 
 concerned over a kind of narrow trade- training and skill, and 
 too little with developing broad-minded men as well as work- 
 ers. 'There is to-day more danger of spiritual starvation than 
 of bodily starvation. The bread-line is not the great menace 
 to-day. The menace is the unhumanitarian attitude of those 
 who have developed skill and shrewdness and who are depriv- 
 ing others of their rights to reasonable human happiness. 
 The great concern of labor to-day is not trade education 
 (training), but to stimulate the workers to take an interest in 
 the great world problems. It is gratifying to note, too, that 
 the ranks of labor are making tremendous strides in this direc- 
 tion. They are becoming so wide awake on great questions 
 of human rights and justice that the soulless "interests" are 
 becoming tremendously alarmed. This very attitude must 
 be stimulated to the utmost through the right kind of voca- 
 tional education. 
 
 It is just as important to provide vocational education for 
 the children of the well-to-do and even the wealthy as for the 
 poor. In many ways it is more necessary to do so, for the 
 poor will naturally from necessity be stimulated to select a 
 life occupation. The rich, not being under the economic 
 necessity of working for a livelihood, do not centre upon any- 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 413 
 
 thing to develop permanent interests. The workers, in at- 
 taining mastery of an occupation and in following that occu- 
 pation as a means of livelihood, develop a view-point of labor 
 and its purposes that tend to make them humanitarian and 
 sympathetic. The one not compelled to learn a vocation or 
 to ply it as a means of livelihood becomes contracted in vision, 
 unsympathetic, and lacking in humanitarianism. Conse- 
 quently vocational education and training is necessary for all. 
 All need to be taught the means of livelihood and also to per- 
 form honest work and render service, whether under the 
 necessity of doing so or not. 
 
 Much interest has been developed in the last few years in 
 the question of intelligent vocational guidance of young peo- 
 ple. When industrial life was relatively simple and limited 
 to a narrow range of occupations, the boy naturally either fol- 
 lowed the vocation of his father or drifted by chance to some 
 other life-work. Most of the skill required in a given occupa- 
 tion was secured at home by participation or through the 
 apprenticeships. Girls received all their training in the home, 
 because the home was their future destiny. As the industries 
 have multiplied and become specialized to a very high degree, 
 the selection of a career has become a matter of great impor- 
 tance. 
 
 Formerly it was believed that a general education was 
 wholly adequate to enable each one to select wisely and to 
 gain equipment for his life-work. Now, as the training for 
 many occupations is so specialized and so extended, it be- 
 comes highly important that the individual select the right 
 occupation and make no unwise detours in acquiring the pre- 
 liminary training and an opportunity to enter the chosen 
 career. 
 
 In recognition of these conditions much time and thought 
 have been expended upon developing vocational guidance 
 bureaus, training vocational guidance experts, and in estab- 
 lishing vocational guidance departments in connection with 
 school systems. The success of the effort depends in the 
 main upon four factors : {a) the successful survey and exhibition 
 
414 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 of the various fields of human endeavor, (b) a discovery of the 
 quaHties necessary for success in the various occupations, (c) 
 a diagnosis of each individual's aptitude, and (d) the provi- 
 sion of opportunities to enter upon the career for which one 
 is fitted. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this chapter to be a syllabus on the 
 technic and details of vocational guidance and training. It 
 is rather to attempt to present a point of view and an inter- 
 pretation of the meaning of a vocation and its relation to the 
 period of youth. Undoubtedly the largest factor in voca- 
 tional guidance is the arousal of a genuine ambition to suc- 
 ceed and to make the most of oneself, and the desire to ren- 
 der service to society. Therefore, the problem is a psycho- 
 logical one — a problem of knowing how to stimulate and 
 guide instinctive ambitions at their periods of nascency. The 
 furnishing with technical equipment is a relatively easy one 
 compared with this. 
 
 Psychology in Vocational Guidance. — While recognizing 
 that much has already been accomplished by psychological 
 methods in vocational guidance, a word of caution must be 
 given. Because of the great value of the intelligence and 
 trade tests given in the army, the wildest assumptions are 
 being made by quacks and charlatans for commercial pur- 
 poses. There is now almost as much of a belief that there is 
 some wizardry in psychology as there was in astrology in the 
 Middle Ages. To many of the multitude psychology means 
 some uncanny clairvoyance or hypnotism. Quacks make use 
 of this credulity and are reaping great harvests of lucre 
 thereby. Self-styled "psychologists" are giving lectures to 
 large groups of business men on the "psychology of success," 
 the "psychology of efficiency," etc. "How to Read People 
 on Sight, to Impress Them, Convince, Persuade, and Under- 
 stand Them" is the title of a series of lectures said to have 
 been given to as high as 3,000 persons in one city, and similar 
 numbers in other places. The audience were taught "How 
 to know, at a glance, the amount of any individual's capacity 
 — the ideal head for success to-day." "Leanings and long- 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 415 
 
 ings which we imagine we conceal from the world are printed 
 in the shapes of the eyes, mouth, nose, jaw, and forehead." 
 "How to discover what has been holding you back." Then 
 there are "memory experts," "will-trainers," etc., galore. 
 The following is an illustration of the type: 
 
 SALESLADIES, ATTENTION! The shortest distance between 
 two given points is a straight line. Don't guess at your customer. It 
 is not profitable, practical, nor necessary. You can learn how to 
 read people at a glance. Ten evening lessons will make you a suc- 
 cessful character analyst. Increase your income. Come in and get 
 the names of my successful students. They will be glad to tell you 
 what the course has done for them. New class begins November ist. 
 Office open every evening this week, 7 130 to 9 P. m. Visitors welcome. 
 , expert character analyst. 
 
 Manifestly all such assumptions are pure "bunk." The 
 belief in such wizardry, however, is a very natural aftermath 
 of the war emotionalism. Everybody was in a high tension 
 emotionally, and then important results had actually been 
 achieved by scientific psychologists in sorting men into groups 
 for occupational placement. Because of that remarkable suc- 
 cess quacks and charlatans have seized the psychological mo- 
 ment to exploit their nefarious art. At no other time in a 
 century has it been so easy to peddle psychological bunk as 
 at the present. 
 
 Those who had most to do with the development of intelli- 
 gence testing in the army and its application to vocational 
 placement are the most modest in their claims regarding its 
 values. However, a real beginning has been made and the 
 opportunity must not be lost to develop further a real science 
 of human analysis. 
 
 Analysis of Individuals. — ^AU possible available means and 
 methods of studying the qualities of individuals should be em- 
 ployed. If it were possible to know accurately all the powers 
 and characteristics of an individual and also the qualities nec- 
 essary for success in any particular occupation, then it would 
 be a relatively easy matter to establish vocational guidance 
 on a scientific basis. There are many claims and assumptions 
 
4i6 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 made by quacks and pseudoscientists. But it must be con- 
 fessed that the day is far distant when anything approaching 
 complete scientific accuracy has been reached. 
 
 Intelligence and Vocational Intentions. — Several studies 
 have been made to discover the relation between intelligence 
 of high-school pupils and the vocations which they aimed to 
 follow. Book found in his Indiana study that the high-school 
 seniors who had made vocational choices were slightly higher 
 in intelligence than those who had not made such selections. 
 The difference, however, was not great. He found that the 
 boys selecting various occupations ranked in intelligence as 
 follows, starting with the highest: scientist, minister, journal- 
 ist, lawyer, engineer, teacher, business man, physician, farmer, 
 mechanic, stenographer. A similar study of high-school girls 
 showed the following order: journalism, law, social service, 
 medicine, teaching, entertaining, home-making, clerical work, 
 music and art, nursing. 
 
 Studies made at the University of Washington on students 
 who are actually in training for their vocations indicated that 
 engineering students scored slightly higher than the all-uni- 
 versity medians. Those preparing for teaching also scored 
 higher than the all-university medians. Engineering students 
 led all other occupational groups. The army studies showed 
 that the professional classes scored much higher than those in 
 clerical, mechanical, and day-laboring classes. 
 
 Intelligence of Seniors and Parents' Occupation. — Book and 
 others have studied the relation between the intelligence of 
 pupils and the occupations of parents. He found the follow- 
 ing order of intelligence scores from the different classes of 
 parents' occupations: professional workers, clerical workers, 
 skilled artisans, salesmen and clerks, business executives, day- 
 laborers, farmers. This needs to be studied much more ex- 
 haustively, especially from the economic point of view. It 
 should also be studied through several generations to see what 
 types of occupation seem to produce the highest types of in- 
 telligence. 
 
 Thus far only a few tests have been devised which really 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 417 
 
 determine exactly fitness for a particular pursuit. Perhaps 
 only three tests have any great degree of reliability, viz., tests 
 for musical talent, ability to become an aviator, and ability 
 in typewriting and stenography. 
 
 Seashore Tests in Music. — Seashore, who has spent most 
 of his professional life in the study of sound, has devised a 
 set of tests of musical ability that are doubtless very reliable. 
 By use of specially prepared phonograph records it is possible 
 to test certain basic factors in musical ability. His tests are 
 divided into two series, the first series including tests for {a) 
 the sense of pitch, {h) the sense of intensity, (c) the sense of 
 consonance, {d) musical memory. A more refined series in- 
 cludes tests for the measurement of (a) timed action, (h) 
 rhythmic action, {c) motility, {d) singing in pitch. {The Psy- 
 chology of Musical Talent, 1919, par. VIIL) 
 
 The tests have been standardized and are very easy to give. 
 The sounds necessary for study are all recorded on grapho- 
 phone records prepared by the Columbia Graphophone Com- 
 pany. Seashore has prepared manuals of instruction so that 
 any one can readily give and score the tests, even though un- 
 musical himself. "The measures are so adjusted as to be 
 easy enough in parts for the poorest listener, and difficult 
 enough in parts for the best listener." {Manual of Instruc- 
 tions and Interpretations for Measures of Musical Talent, p. 4.) 
 
 In the first test the listeners hear two tones differing in 
 pitch. They are to judge whether the second is higher or 
 lower than the first. Ten trials are usually given. Suitable 
 blanks are furnished so that pupils can easily record their 
 judgments. In the second, sense of intensity, the listeners 
 hear two tones which differ in loudness or strength. They 
 are to judge and record whether the second is weaker or 
 stronger than the first. In judging sense of time three clicks 
 are sounded, marking off two intervals of time. The listeners 
 are to judge and record whether the interval between the 
 second and third clicks is longer or shorter than the interval 
 between the first and second. In testing the sense of conso- 
 nance the following instructions are given: 
 
41 8 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 To the listener: You will hear two combinations of two tones each; 
 one combination is better or worse than the other in consonance (har- 
 mony) . A good combination is one in which the two tones are smooth 
 and blend, tending to fuse together into one. A bad combination is 
 just the opposite. If the second combination is better, record B; if 
 worse, W. This calls for judgment on blending, smoothness, and 
 fusion, apart from the feelings of like or dislike, and apart from theory 
 or feeling of musical value. Blending, smoothness, and fusion should 
 be explained fully, and may be illustrated on the piano before the pre- 
 liminary practice. {Op. cit., p. 15.) 
 
 Tonal memory is tested in the following manner: 
 
 To the listener: In each trial you will hear a series of tones played 
 twice. In the second playing one note is changed. You are to record 
 by number which one was changed. In listening count mentally; for 
 example, i, 2, in the first playing, and then likewise in the second 
 playing, so that you may identify the one that was changed without 
 error. There should be preliminary drill for each span of the five 
 degrees of difficulty, with emphasis on the silent counting. (Seashore, 
 Mamml of Instructions and Interpretations for Measures of Musical 
 Talent, pp. 14, 15.) 
 
 As illustrations of individual surveys of musical talent, two 
 individual record charts are reproduced from Seashore's The 
 Psychology of Musical Talent, pp. 19, 21. 
 
 Theodora, — Theodora has a decidedly musical mind. In the three 
 basic capacities for musical hearing — the sense of pitch, the sense of 
 intensity, and the sense of time — she is superior and well balanced. 
 Her sense of consonance is of a high order. Her acuity of hearing is 
 only average, but this condition is not of the type which will affect 
 music seriously in view of her superior sense of intensity. Her imagery 
 is all of the moderate type. Her auditory imagery can be developed 
 as an excellent support to her superior sensory powers, and the motor 
 and visual imagery are prominent enough for an emotional back- 
 ground in music. Her lowest record is on motility, which is charac- 
 teristic of the fact that she has a deliberate type of mind and is steady 
 in her movements. Her physique is average, as indicated by her 
 grip and ergogram. Her precision of movement and her simple re- 
 sponse to a simple signal are slightly above average; while her simple 
 response to a complex signal is decidedly better. Her capacity for 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 419 
 
 serial association of sound and action is good; whereas her association 
 for visual impressions and action is barely above average. Her timed 
 action and her rhythmic action are both good. Her general motor 
 reliability is superior. She sings in key with remarkable ability and 
 reproduces the interval with superior precision, although her voice 
 control is only moderately good for nuances of pitch. She has a good 
 voice register and an excellent voice quality. Her tonal memory is 
 decidedly superior. She gives superior promise for speed and reliabil- 
 ity in the acquisition of skill in music. Her associations are highly 
 versatile and remarkably well balanced, but not peculiarly musical. 
 Her mental age is fully two years in advance of the normal. Emotion- 
 ally she is cool and undemonstrative, but capable of deep feeling for 
 music. 
 
 Generalizing from the above, we observe that Theodora has a rare 
 balance of high sensory capacities for music, that she is of the strongly 
 intellectual rather than of the motor type of mind, and that, there- 
 fore, she is not so skilful in performance as she is in hearing, apprecia- 
 tion, and intellectual control. Her motor responses are of the slow, 
 deliberate, and reliable type. 
 
 Theodora belongs to a decidedly musical family and is given excel- 
 lent musical advantages. On account of her remarkable versatility in 
 other respects, she approaches music, like other interests, in a matter- 
 of-fact attitude. 
 
 Rosahelle. — Rosabelle is not of the musical type of mind. She has 
 an average sense of pitch and an inferior sense of intensity, but a 
 rather good sense of time. She possesses but a slight sense of conso- 
 nance. Her acuity of hearing is below the average. She has but lit- 
 tle auditory imagery, but her motor imagery is pronounced and her 
 visual imagery average. She has good general motility. Her phy- 
 sique is slightly above average. In precise movements and in simple 
 reaction she is above average, but her complex reaction is superior. 
 Her auditory serial action is below average, while her visual serial 
 action is very good. She is decidedly inferior in timed action and 
 poor in rhythmic action. In general motor reliability she is superior. 
 Her capacity for striking the pitch of a note is inferior, although she 
 sings the common intervals with a moderate accuracy and her voice 
 control of pitch is fair. She has a fair register of voice, but the quality 
 is inferior. Her memory for tones is not quite up to the average. 
 Although she has very good capacity for visual-motor learning, her 
 auditory-motor learning curve is below average. Her musical associa- 
 tions are superficial, although she has a fertile mind and her mental 
 age is above normal. Although otherwise quite emotional, she is 
 but slightly moved by music. 
 
 Summarizing the characterization, we find that Rosabelle is of the 
 
Sense of Pitch 
 
 Sense of Intensity 
 
 Sense of Time 
 
 Sense of Consonance 
 
 Acuity of Hearing 
 
 Auditory Imagery 
 
 Motor Imagery 
 
 Visual Imagery ' 
 
 Motility 
 
 Grip 
 
 Ergogram 
 
 Precision of Movement 
 
 Simple Reaction 
 
 Complex Reaction 
 
 Auditory Serial Action , 
 
 Visual Serial Action 
 
 Timed Action 
 
 Rhythmic Action 
 
 Motor Reliability 
 
 Singing Key 
 
 Singing Interval 
 
 Voice Control 
 
 Register of Voice 
 
 * Quality of Voice 
 
 Tonal Memory 
 
 Visual Motor Learning 
 
 Auditory Motor Learning 
 
 * Musical Association 
 
 Intelligence Quotient 
 
 * Emotional Reaction to Music 
 
 TALENT CHART OF THEODORA 
 ( ^20 ) * Estimates. 
 
Sense of Pitch 
 
 Sense of Intensity 
 
 Sense of Time 
 
 Sense of Consonance 
 
 Acuity of Hearing 
 
 Auditory Imagery 
 
 Motor Imagery 
 
 Visual Imagery 
 
 Motility 
 
 Grip 
 
 Ergogram 
 
 Precision of Movement 
 
 Simple Reaction 
 
 Complex Reaction 
 
 Auditory Serial Action 
 
 Visual Serial Action 
 
 Timed Action 
 
 Rhythmic Action 
 
 Motor Reliability 
 
 Singing Key 
 
 Singing Interval 
 
 Voice Control 
 
 Register of Voice 
 
 * Quality of Voice 
 
 Tonal Memory 
 
 Visual Motor Learning 
 
 Auditory Motor Learning 
 
 * Musical Association 
 
 Intelligence Quotient 
 
 Emotional Reaction to Music 
 
 TALENT CHART OF ROSABELLE 
 * Estimates. 
 
 
 (421) 
 
42 2 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 intellectual-motor type, normally emotional. She is but slightly eax- 
 minded and does not live in a tonal world or respond effectively to 
 musical sounds and associations. 
 
 Rosabelle takes a superficial interest in music and associates with 
 musical children, but her musical reactions are scarcely emotional or 
 artistic* 
 
 Tests for Stenographic Ability. — Various tests have been 
 devised to diagnose ability in stenography and typewriting. 
 A considerable degree of correlation has been found between 
 ability to spell and success in stenography and typing. The 
 one who cannot spell cannot satisfy employers, and conse- 
 quently one's rating in a standardized spelling scale is quite 
 indicative of success in typing from dictation or from steno- 
 graphic notes. Ability in spelling would affect both accu- 
 racy and speed in the work. 
 
 Lough found that a substitution test, in which certain char- 
 acters had to be replaced by certain others, according to a 
 certain key, was a good index of typewriting ability. (See 
 Hollingworth, Vocational Psychology, p. 112.) 
 
 Some regard the Trabue completion tests as having special 
 significance in relation to diagnosing transcription ability. 
 For example, there Is a similarity between making out one's 
 notes in which some words are illegible and supplying missing 
 
 words In a mutilated sentence Hke ''The Is shining 
 
 and we may on our picnic." (See Link, Employ- 
 ment Psychology, p. 92.) For diagnosing speed and accuracy, 
 undoubtedly some form of reaction tests, both simple and 
 complex, would be very Important. After the processes have 
 become somewhat mechanized, the work is largely that of 
 reacting In a given way to a given stimulus. 
 
 Tests for Ability in Telegraphy. — Thurstone found that: 
 "The general Intelligence tests are not as valuable for diagnos- 
 ing ability to learn telegraphy as for measuring general In- 
 telligence. Ability In telegraphy Is probably a special abili- 
 ty." ("Mental Tests for Prospective Telegraphers," Jour, of 
 App. Psych., 3: 11Q-117, June, 1919.) 
 
 * Seashore, The Psychology of Musical Talent, pp. 18-21. 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 423 
 
 Proctor says: "Minute charting of abilities by means of 
 psychological and trade tests is not practicable at the present 
 time for the public school counsellor." {Psychological Tests 
 and Guidance of High School Pupils, p. 49.) In the National 
 Business Ability Tests an attempt is made to discover apti- 
 tudes by exercises that are as nearly like the types of business 
 experience as possible, that is, by an exercise in spelling, copy- 
 ing, following directions, arithmetic, etc. (Cody, Commercial 
 Tests and How to Use Them, 191 9.) 
 
 Relation between School Grades and Vocational Success. 
 — A general consideration of the correlation between school 
 grades and success in life careers was given in the chapter on 
 "Prophesying Performance." A recent study is here men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Kohs made a study of Reed College students "to determine 
 to what extent Reed College could have predicted the prog- 
 ress of 116 of its students who entered the service of the army 
 or the navy. The data upon which such predictions might 
 have been based would have been, (a) the quality of their col- 
 lege work, and {h) faculty estimates regarding, (i) their physi- 
 cal qualities, (2) their intelligence, (3) their leadership, (4) their 
 personal qualities, and (5) their general value to the service." 
 He compared the foregoing college success with their several 
 ratings in the army on Armistice Day. 
 
 On the basis of the foregoing comparisons, he concluded 
 that 
 
 (i) School marks are rather inefficient instruments for determining 
 whether a student will make good progress in the army. 
 
 (2) Human judges, with all their frailties, are, on the whole, more 
 efficient prognosticators of progress than the school marks which stu- 
 dents obtain. 
 
 (3) Of all the criteria for prophesying success, the safest are, first, 
 judges' estimates of value to the service, and, second, judges' estimates 
 of intelligence. (Kohs and Irle, ''Prophesying Army Promotion," 
 Jour, of App. Psych., 4: 73-87, March, 1920.) 
 
 In the search for artificial standardized tests have we not 
 somewhat overlooked the significance of the regular school 
 
424 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 curriculum and the records of grades made by pupils as a 
 means of determining vocational fitness? It is true that the 
 curriculum has been and often still is unrelated to life, but 
 are not the records of mastery in school work more closely 
 correlated with post-school performance than we have been 
 wont to think? 
 
 Several important investigations have been made with 
 rather significant results. Among them are those of Dearborn, 
 Miles, Smith, T. L. Kelley, and Foster. 
 
 All of these studies serve to show in a forceful manner that 
 the performance of a pupil in any given stage of school work 
 is a fairly good index of what his performance will be later on 
 in similar activities. Not only is this true, but the studies 
 by President Lowell and several others seem to show that 
 there is a positive and rather high correlation between accom- 
 plishment in school and in later life. 
 
 Because of these positive correlations between earlier and 
 later performance, the very best vocational test for any given 
 line of work is study and training in that work. The degree 
 of success attained in the initial stages is a fairly good index 
 of later probable success. Of course the preliminary test 
 must be carried on for a sufficiently long period of time to 
 test adequately. 
 
 While the study of the curriculum in school is quite differ- 
 ent in many respects from the work demanded in many voca- 
 tions, the correlations between school success and success in 
 later life seem to indicate that the school work is a fairly good 
 vocational test. Of course it would be still better if it could 
 include at least the elements of the fairly well standardized 
 vocations. Through their sampling of these their bent for a 
 variety of work could be studied fairly well. Such prevoca- 
 tional experience would be far superior to any of those usually 
 exploited in books on vocational guidance and by "character 
 analysis." 
 
 Brewer says: 
 
 School examinations may be much improved, and may in time be- 
 come the best of all "psychological tests." If the psychological inves- 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 425 
 
 tigations were made in the actual schoolroom in co-operation with the 
 teachers, it seems likely that much more progress would be made than 
 we can hope to make with researches apart from the school. Thus the 
 psychologist may study the interests of pupils as expressed in their 
 choices of studies, games, and subjects for oral and written composi- 
 tion; aid the teacher in grading for difficulty a series of lessons in 
 arithmetic; study the correlation between school marks in English and 
 in science; help the teacher in planning better examinations in geog- 
 raphy; plot individual learning curves for records in a series of exam- 
 inations in stenography. The co-operation of the trained psycholo- 
 gist, the vocational counsellor, the teacher, the employment supervisor, 
 and the employment manager, may in time yield some examina- 
 tions which wull aid in the work of selecting a vocation. (Brewer, 
 The Vocational Guidance Movement, p. 102.) 
 
 Brewer further says: 
 
 Laboratory tests may for the present be abandoned, so far as voca- 
 tional guidance is concerned, and actual standardized work tasks sub- 
 stituted. The records of the child in such tasks, and his capacity for 
 improvement, if a series of tests can measure it, may be taken as a 
 basis for forecasting the probable success. (See Thompson, 191 5, 
 Report of U. S. Com. of Educ, p. 291.) 
 
 What May be Done in Vocational Guidance. — In the ab- 
 sence of definite standardized tests which will indicate un- 
 equivocally the bent of a pupil's mind, what can be done to 
 provide vocational guidance? In the first place, all teachers 
 and others concerned with the future welfare of the child 
 should be studying him to gain even scraps of information or 
 suggestions concerning his interests and aptitudes. This 
 should not all be left to a vocational counsellor who is sup- 
 posed to possess such wizardry that he can pass all the chil- 
 dren in review and in a few minutes determine what each 
 one is destined to become. All teachers should regard it as 
 a part of their function to study each pupil with vocational 
 ends in mind. All should co-operate with parents and the 
 vocational counsellor in accumulating and evaluating as well 
 as possible the knowledge that will be helpful in the final de- 
 termination of a vocational choice. 
 
426 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Other Qualities besides Intellectual Ability. — It has been 
 assumed apparently by many writers on vocational guidance 
 that the general intelligence quotient is sufficient to determine 
 vocational aptitude. This is very fallacious because a given 
 general intelligence might be used in a variety of directions. 
 A high degree of intelligence is undoubtedly necessary for suc- 
 cess in law or medicine, but the same intelligence might suc- 
 ceed in engineering or finance. 
 
 For example, a successful stenographer needs good eyesight, 
 good hearing, quickness of perception, quickness of muscular 
 reaction, a good memory, ability to spell, a good knowledge 
 of English; the broader the knowledge of literature, history, 
 geography, science, current events the better; should know 
 how to write; should have mastered the technic of stenogra- 
 phy, the typewriter; should know how to file letters, manipu- 
 late the mimeograph, etc., etc. 
 
 But do the possession of all these abilities and skills insure 
 absolute success as a stenographer? Most stenographers are 
 in reality secretaries, and their success depends upon many 
 factors. In addition to intellectual ability and muscular skill 
 necessary to succeed, various other qualities have equally im- 
 portant places. Important among these are interest in the 
 work, state of health, habitual temper, punctuality, loyalty, 
 neatness, courtesy, tact, honesty, integrity of character, ability 
 to make friends and keep them. 
 
 Principal Jesse B. Davis, who has had such a rich experi- 
 ence In counselHng high-school pupils, writes very suggestively 
 of some of those other qualities demanded by business men. 
 He says: 
 
 Principals and teachers are constantly being asked to answer letters 
 of inquiry and to fill out blank forms regarding the qualifications of 
 some graduate or former pupil who has used their names for references 
 in applying for some position of trust or responsibility. Among the 
 questions asked are the following: 
 
 Has your acquaintance with the applicant been sufficiently intimate 
 for you personally to judge his character and habits? 
 
 To the best of your knowledge does the applicant use, or has he 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 427 
 
 ever in previous years used, intoxicating drinks, tobacco, morphine, or 
 opium ? 
 
 Does he use vulgar or profane language ? 
 
 Is he industrious, careful, thorough, honest, truthful, trustworthy? 
 
 Have you ever heard that the applicant was suspected of intem- 
 perance, gambling, speculating, extravagance, dishonorable conduct? 
 
 Do you consider the applicant a safe and proper person to be guar- 
 anteed by this company, and one whom you would yourself trust ? * 
 
 The character of these questions indicates the fact that employers 
 and bonding companies are vitally concerned with the moral qualities 
 of applicants. I have often been called upon to find a young man for 
 a certain position. When I asked the employer whether he wished 
 the applicant to know certain things, he invariably replied: ''We will 
 teach him the things we wish him to know. What I want you to do 
 is to help me find the right kind of a fellow." Further evidence of the 
 demand of industry and commerce for moral qualities is found in the 
 following questions taken from application blanks: 
 
 Are your habits sober and temperate ? Have they always been so ? 
 Do you use liquor or narcotics of any kind ? If so, what ? 
 
 Do you use tobacco? smoke cigarettes? 
 
 Have you ever played cards for money or engaged in any other 
 form of gambling? 
 
 Have you ever "played the races" or speculated, and do you now 
 occasionally speculate ? 
 
 Have you any tastes or habits which are extravagant in proportion 
 to your means? 
 
 Have you ever been convicted of any crime or misdemeanor or 
 arrested on any charge? 
 
 These application blanks would show from their content that the 
 employer is far more concerned with the character of the applicant 
 than with his record of scholarship. It suggests that we ask ourselves 
 the question: "With which are we more concerned?" (Davis, Jesse 
 B., Vocational and Moral Guidance, pp. 15, 16.) 
 
 Davis comments further: 
 
 To be a leader in one's vocation a man must be socially efficient. 
 In this age of co-operation, of combination, and of systematic organi- 
 zation, practically every occupation among men has its association for 
 the purpose of promoting the vocational interests of its members. 
 These societies need the direction of wise and competent leaders. The 
 management of great business enterprises, too, is demanding a large 
 number of men who are not only skilled and well informed regarding 
 
 * The Personal Record Press of Kansas City, Mo., has prepared a 
 splendid chart of these questions and others for the use of schools, etc. 
 
428 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 the business, but also able to handle men. In fact, wherever we look 
 in our present complex life we see the need of ef!icient leaders. 
 
 The public schools have neglected the development of people to 
 meet this need. In time past every effort was made b}^ school authori- 
 ties to suppress the social instincts of the pupils, in the blind beHef 
 that the schools existed for the instruction of the intellect alone. 
 (Davis, Jesse B., Vocational and Moral Guidance, p. 119.) 
 
 In vocational guidance the big thing is to stimulate and 
 awaken the boy or girl to a genuine desire to be somebody and 
 to do something worth while in life. As I have gone to many 
 commencement occasions I have seen mottoes over the stage 
 like ''Rowing, not Drifting." I have often wondered and 
 doubted a good deal whether the majority of high-school 
 graduates were really rowing. They were equipped with 
 much potentially useful knowledge and skill, but how much 
 desire had they to use it for the benefit of society ? 
 
 It is important to ask how much of that knowledge and 
 skill had been obtained by their own initiative and energy, 
 and how much by being compelled to be in school and to get 
 set lessons. No one is vocationally educated who acquires 
 his skill through external compulsion. On graduation day it 
 is more important to know how much zeal, earnestness, and 
 determination the boy has than to know how much learning 
 and skill he possesses. These latter acquisitions are not un- 
 important; they are potentially exceedingly valuable, but the 
 other qualities far outweigh them. The possession of skill 
 does not necessarily imply the self-determination neces- 
 sary for success. The development of a habit of initiative, 
 thoroughgoing honesty, kindliness, will enable one to over- 
 come the temporary handicap of lack of knowledge of a trade 
 or craft. 
 
 Consequently vocational guidance and training must not 
 overlook the psychological aspect. The development of an 
 attitude toward life, its problems, rights, and duties Is more 
 important than the skill or handicraft and Infinitely harder to 
 develop. A teacher can stand over a boy with a club and 
 make him acquire proficiency in learning arithmetic or a craft, 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 429 
 
 but no amount of compulsion can put him in the right atti- 
 tude toward life. The golden rule is learned in far more 
 subtle ways. 
 
 Who Should Give Vocational Counsel? — The task of voca- 
 tional guidance of youth should not rest upon a single indi- 
 vidual called the vocational counsellor. There may be one 
 director in a school system, but every teacher should regard 
 it as a part of his educational problem to help the pupil to 
 find his niche in life. The problem is so complex and impor- 
 tant that it requires the combined wisdom of all teachers, 
 friends, and the pupil himself to make a wise choice. 
 
 Ultimately the one to make the decision is the individual 
 himself. No other person can make it wisely for him. The 
 pupil should be assisted, stimulated, guided in every possible 
 way, but will can only be developed to the maximum by per- 
 sonal choice. Even if some mistakes are made, the personal 
 choices are better for his development than any prescriptions 
 furnished by outsiders, no matter how wise they may be. 
 Therefore, the most important function of vocational guid- 
 ance is to train the pupil to study himself. 
 
 One of the means of enabling the pupil to select wisely is to 
 give varied opportunity for sampling various lines of activity. 
 This is exactly what the real junior high school is intended to 
 accomplish. Instead of giving finished skill in any one line it 
 furnishes opportunity for trying many. In this way interests 
 and aptitudes are discovered. 
 
 Davis writes: 
 
 The problem of analyzing the applicant is possibly the most difficult 
 part of vocational counselling. It is the most dangerous phase of the 
 work, and the counsellor should enter upon it with fear and trembling. 
 Human judgment is frail, and experimental psychology has not yet 
 been reduced to an exact science. There are many psychological and 
 physiological tests that can be made to prove an applicant's unfitness 
 for certain occupations. Some special keenness of the senses may 
 serve to indicate fitness for a specific employment, but many are scep- 
 tical regarding the practical results that as yet have been obtained. 
 The field of experimentation is still open before us, and in time the 
 data gained may prove to be a most important adjunct to the equip- 
 ment of the vocational counsellor. 
 
430 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 The advice of the counsellor should rarely if ever be positive. By 
 this I mean that the process of counselling should be more often in the 
 negative, eliminating the various paths or vocations which are evidently 
 impossible for the applicant or for which he is without doubt unfit. 
 Then by being carefully guided through a process of self-analysis, he 
 may be led to catch a vision of his call to service. The counsellor must 
 draw out from his applicant his innermost desire; he must inspire him 
 with self-confidence and a lasting determination to make the most of 
 his opportunities. Faith, not in the counsellor but in himself, is the 
 essential factor. For this reason the counsellor must keep himself in 
 the background and skilfully guide his client toward the realization 
 of his own vocational aim. (Davis, Jesse B., Vocational and Moral 
 Guidance, p. 142.) 
 
 Age of Choosing a Career. — One of the most important 
 educational questions that could possibly be considered is 
 that concerning the most advantageous age for acquiring the 
 skill and technic necessary in one's life-work. There is 
 great divergence of opinion among educators and still greater 
 difference of opinion among nations. European nations have 
 all In practice begun vocational education at a very early age. 
 This has been especially true In the trades and crafts. Nat- 
 urally those who have been destined to enter the professions 
 have had a long preliminary training and have received their 
 special professional training later. But even in the case of 
 those who have gone Into the professions, the special training 
 has been secured at an earlier age In European countries than 
 in the corresponding profession In this country. Many of our 
 educators and professional men have considered that Euro- 
 pean practice was right and American practice was wrong. 
 Notably ex-PresIdent Eliot of Harvard has been convinced 
 that our young men In America get Into their professional 
 work several years later than they should. 
 
 The manufacturer Is very apt to decide the matter hastily 
 and from the standpoint of business Interests alone. He 
 wishes to employ operators who know how to do certain 
 mechanical things In the most efhclent manner. This Is, of 
 course, perfectly worthy. However, very frequently In his 
 short-sightedness he demands that the main effort of the pub- 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 431 
 
 lie school shall be directed toward producing trained and 
 skilled workmen. He often decries the public schools if pupils 
 do not measure up to this standard. He fails to measure 
 them by any other standards. 
 
 Even granting that skill and technic are desirable posses- 
 sions for every pupil when finally launched into the world of 
 competition, when is the appropriate time for their acquisi- 
 tion ? One of the most important fruits of education is to 
 teach the boy to want to stay in school as long as possible. 
 Will the early learning of a trade do this ? Usually one of the 
 motives stimulating the pupil to acquire a trade is the desire 
 to get into a gainful occupation. To plunge the boy or girl 
 into gainful occupations too early is to limit their possibilities 
 of development. Real education is to awaken and unfold 
 latent potentialities. Skill means acquired habits and fixed 
 ways of acting and behaving. Whenever a habit has been 
 fully developed it tends toward fixity instead of flexibility of 
 behavior. Real education should produce versatility instead 
 of fixity of action. Real education should promote plasticity. 
 
 Consequently from a biological standpoint education should 
 seek to give the individual a variety of experiences, only a few 
 of which most necessary to everyday existence should be 
 mechanized. How to walk, how to use a knife and fork, the 
 forms of the multiplication table, etc., should be thoroughly 
 mechanized, but the form of reasoning out a problem in arith- 
 metic, knowledge of history, geography, and literature, how 
 to deal with social situations, should never be learned in forms 
 and formulas. 
 
 Distinction between Vocational Guidance and SkilL — A 
 distinction should be made between vocational guidance and 
 the acquisition of finished vocational skill. As soon as mas- 
 tery of any process is secured, fixedness of habit is the result. 
 Fixedness is the opposite of education. Plasticity and ability 
 to take up new processes should be the end sought in all educa- 
 tion. Therefore too early entrance upon the acquisition of 
 vocational skill is contrary to the idea of education, i. e., the 
 unfoldment of all the powers and potentialities of the individ- 
 
432 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 ual. While every opportunity possible should be given for 
 coming in contact with and sampling a variety of vocations, 
 the acquisition of final skill should be postponed as late as 
 possible. We should aim to keep boys and girls in school as 
 long as possible, acquiring new ideas and skills, and postpone 
 the acquisition of skill in the life-work as late as possible. 
 This is really the underlying principle of the junior high 
 school. 
 
 Brewer says: 
 
 Counsellors are sometimes asked the question, "At what age should 
 the vocation be chosen?" by anxious parents or ''practical" friends 
 of the child. It is impossible to answer; generalization here is quite 
 gratuitous. Yet the dangers connected with too early or too late 
 choices are serious. 
 
 The enrichment of the school programme will undoubtedly furnish 
 an educational guidance which will disclose aims and abilities much 
 sooner than would the narrow programme. Yet the child has only a 
 child's experiences, and there are certain occupations whose require- 
 ments and opportunities can hardly be appreciated by a person under 
 twenty-one; for example, those of the lawyer, the statesman, the social 
 worker, the college teacher. 
 
 The problem can be solved only by opening wide the opportunity 
 for education and range of choice: by increasing the vocational infancy 
 of all those young persons who are likely to profit by the delay of 
 choice. The test to be applied should be progress in profitable lines 
 of applied study. The prevocational age for certain occupations may 
 be extended into the twenties. Note that the prevocational idea in- 
 volves work. There is only gain to the individual and to society from 
 profitable, supervised work, if such work is educational in its func- 
 tioning and effect. Thus, the future statesman may run errands, the 
 lawyer wire a house, the preacher lay a cement sidewalk, and the 
 college president work as clerk in a store, all with educational profit to 
 the individual and to society. (Brewer, The Vocational-Guidance 
 Movement, pp. 125-126.) 
 
 Opportunities for Rechoice. — The choice of a vocation by the pupil 
 should follow some study of the world's work and some attempt on 
 his part to ascertain his own aptitudes. He should make such a choice 
 early enough to enable him to make some preparation for that voca- 
 tion before leaving school. One of the main advantages of an early 
 choice is that it gives definite purpose to much school work and gives 
 the pupil vital interests around which he will organize many ideals 
 which otherwise would make but passing impressions upon him. 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 433 
 
 It is of the greatest importance that these early choices should be 
 regarded by both pupil and school as provisional. There should be 
 every encouragement for the pupil to revise his choice whenever in- 
 creased insight into either the world's work or his own aptitudes or a 
 new conception of service to be rendered indicates that some other 
 vocation would be preferable. For this reason, among others, curricu- 
 lums should be so organized as to permit change from one to another 
 with the minimum of loss, and all curriculums should be conducted in 
 the same high school, so that pupils may be encouraged and not hin- 
 dered in making desirable readjustments. {Vocational Guidance in 
 Secondary Education, U. S. Bu. of Educ. Bulletin, 1918, No. 19. 
 "Guidance in Choice and Rechoice of a Vocation," p. 20.) 
 
 "Do early choices persist?" Peixotto (p. 82) thinks that 
 vocational clews of a reliable sort begin to manifest themselves 
 between the ages of 11 and 14 years. Thorndike has com- 
 puted for 100 individuals the resemblance between relative 
 interests and relative capacities as 0.9, and between interest 
 in the last three years of the elementary school and capacity 
 in the college period as 0.6. He concludes: "These facts 
 unanimously witness to the importance of early interests." 
 
 It is always unsafe to apply conclusions based on averages — or on 
 60 or 90 per cent — to the individual case. We can never know which 
 is the exception. Too many ''average" boys and girls have broken 
 the rules of averages. A case from a current magazine illustrates the 
 way late choices are made. The Polish novelist Stanislaw Przyby- 
 szewski went to Berlin in 1889, at the age of 21, to study architecture. 
 He soon changed to the study of physiological psychology, but in 1891 
 became editor of the Berlin Arheiter-Zeitung and leader of strikes in 
 Silesia. In Berlin he began to write on philosophical subjects, at the 
 age of 30 became editor of a literary magazine in Cracow, and thence 
 went to Warsaw and devoted himself to drama. He is now engaged 
 in writing novels and in lecturing. 
 
 As we remarked in another place, a person's aim is likely to change 
 as he proceeds in study and work, and his period of vocational explora- 
 tion may be extended so long as he is occupying the time in ways 
 profitable to himself and society. A forced choice might lead to un- 
 happiness and disaster. (Brewer, The Vocational-Guidance Movement, 
 p. 127.) 
 
434 EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 SUMMARY 
 
 The guiding aim in education should be to enable the indi- 
 vidual (a) to reach the highest possible development of all his 
 powers, (b) to select a career of usefulness and happiness, and 
 (c) to be of the utmost service to society. In order to assist 
 individuals to accomplish these aims it is necessary for the 
 teacher to know (a) the aims of education, (b) to understand 
 the capabilities (and limitations) of each child, (c) the various 
 vocational needs and opportunities, and (d) to understand 
 how to utilize the various means of stimulating each individ- 
 ual to appropriate forms of response or behavior. 
 
 The foregoing chapters are designed to assist the beginning 
 teacher in accomplishing these complex results. To fully 
 comprehend the desirable ends of education demands much 
 careful analysis and constructive thinking. At the present 
 moment educational objectives are very vague and ill defined 
 in the minds of people at large. Many teachers do not con- 
 sider it their business to help clarify these. They should, 
 however, be sincerely concerned with such problems. The 
 clearness with which they think on these matters will deter- 
 mine largely their interest and usefulness in the profession. 
 Teachers usually assume that skill is necessary to impart in- 
 struction, but they often overlook the necessity of under- 
 standing the child as a means of acquiring skill in teaching. 
 They need to know in a scientific way the endowment of the 
 child and the psychological laws of the development of these 
 native powers and potentialities. In addition the teacher 
 should be a close student of society and its manifold activities 
 in order to help pupils to know in what directions they may 
 utilize most advantageously for themselves and society the 
 talents they possess. 
 
 SOME SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 
 
 I. Distinguish between vocation and merely getting a living. 2. Get 
 clearly in mind the meaning of vocational education, vocational training, 
 vocational guidance, vocational placement. 3. Enumerate the kinds of 
 knowledge a teacher would need for each. 4. Which objective seems to 
 
VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 435 
 
 be uppermost in the minds of people at the present time? 5. President 
 Farrand is reported as saying that "The schools must get rid of a great 
 deal of vocational nonsense." What did he probably mean? Evaluate. 
 6. Enumerate your own dominant traits and see if you know in what 
 occupations they would be advantageous. 7. Do the same for some ac- 
 quaintance. 8. What do you think of the "characterologists"? 9. 
 Enumerate the qualities that seem to contribute to achievement in learn- 
 ing: the multiplication table, geometry, philosophy, history, manual train- 
 ing. 10. Enumerate those qualities that make for success as a farmer, 
 private secretary, minister, actor, business manager, typewriter, architect, 
 lawyer. 11. What do you think the school could and should do in voca- 
 tional guidance ? 
 
 References for Further Reading 
 
 1. Brewer, The Vocational-Guidance Movement: Its Problems and Possibili- 
 
 ties. Entire book. 
 
 2. Book, The Intelligence of High School Seniors, chaps. VII, VIII, X, XI. 
 
 3. Hollingworth, Vocational Psychology. Entire book. 
 
 4. Foster, Should Students Study?, chaps. IV, V. 
 
 5. Bloomfield, Finding One's Place in Life. Entire book. 
 
 6. Miinsterberg, Psychology and Industrial Efficiency. Entire book. 
 
 7. Seashore, Vocational Guidance in Music. Entire book. 
 
 8. Snedden, Vocational Education. Entire book. 
 
 9. Hollingworth, Judging Human Character, chaps. IX, X, XI. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Ability tests : general intelligence, 346- 
 370; in music, 417-421; in stenog- 
 raphy, 422; in telegraphy, 422. 
 
 Achievement tests: samples, 373-392; 
 evaluation of, 392; limitations of, 
 393; pupil's interest in, 397. 
 
 Activity, instinct of, 86. 
 
 Adams, 166. 
 
 Adolescence: variations in, 49; and life 
 interests, 177. 
 
 Age-grade table, 47. 
 
 Age of choosing a career, 430. 
 
 Alexander the Great, 116. 
 
 Altruism, 162. 
 
 Analj^sis: in memory, 210; psychologi- 
 cal, 415. 
 
 Anger, 150. 
 
 Apprehension vs. comprehension, 207. 
 
 Aristotle, 116, 126, 269. 
 
 Arithmetic: how much necessary, 20; 
 instinct for, 91; scales, 382-390; 
 abilities distinct, 388. 
 
 Army: "alpha" tests, 353; prophesy- 
 ing promotion in, 423. 
 
 Arrested development, 94. 
 
 Association: definition, 195: in mem- 
 ory, 195; direction of, 196; purposive, 
 198; vividness of, 199; and atten- 
 tion, 200; natural, 202; and clear- 
 ness of ideas, 206; multiple, 215. 
 
 Attention: in study, 29; and associa- 
 tion, 200. 
 
 Ayres: criticism of tests, 367; hand- 
 writing scales, 375-379- 
 
 Bagehot, 16. 
 
 Bagley, 97, 155, 217, 304, 322, 329. 
 
 Baldwin, 239. 
 
 BaUiet, 280. 
 
 "Barefoot Boy," 123. 
 
 Barnes, 165. 
 
 Behavior: and modes of learning, 99- 
 
 341; and education, 101-112; the 
 
 direction of, 305-322. 
 Binet, 345-349- 
 Binet-Simon, 367. 
 Black and Davis, 299. 
 Blind alley jobs, 24. 
 Bloomfield, 435. 
 
 Bolton, II, 57, 97, 112, 124, 155, 181, 
 217, 239, 267, 284, 304, 322, 331, 
 341- 
 
 Book, 43, 371, 400, 410, 435. 
 
 Books and sensory experiences, 121. 
 
 Boys' public opinion through imita- 
 tion, 237. 
 
 Brewer, 424, 425, 432, 433, 435. 
 
 Bridges, 357. 
 
 Bridgman, Laura, 182. 
 
 Brooks, 397. 
 
 Bruno, 269. 
 
 Bryan, 89. 
 
 Bunyan, 282. 
 
 Burbank, 54. 
 
 Burnham, 190. 
 
 Burroughs, 247. 
 
 Butler, 14, 27. 
 
 Byron, 265. 
 
 Cameron, 57, 97, 124, 155, 217, 267, 
 284, 304, 321, 341, 397. 
 
 Career, age of choosing, 430. 
 
 Carpenter, 247. 
 
 Chance environment, 16. 
 
 Chicago, 150. 
 
 Child: importance of knowledge of, 6; 
 the centre, 18. 
 
 Children's: imagination, 249; induc- 
 tions, 286-292. 
 
 Chubb, 227. 
 
 Citizenship, the highest education, 23. 
 
 Classification in relation to concepts, 
 278. 
 
 Clearness of ideas, 20^^ , 
 
 Cobb, 43, 358. 
 
 College entrance examinations stand- 
 ardized, 361. 
 
 CoUoton, 399. 
 
 Columbus, 269. 
 
 Colvin, 97, 112, 124, 155, 181, 208, 
 217, 267, 284, 304, 321, 341. 
 
 Comenius, 264. 
 
 Comprehension vs. apprehension, 207. 
 
 Concepts: fundamental motor, 107; 
 psychological meaning of, 273; 
 genetic view of, 274; in relation to 
 language, 276; statement of, 277; in 
 relation to classification, 278. 
 
 437 
 
438 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Conklin, 63, 64, 65, 70, 72. 
 Conservation of experience, 182-217. 
 Construct! veness, instinct of, 86. 
 Control: directions of, 312; intel- 
 lectual, 314; emotional, 316; motor, 
 
 319. 
 
 Cook, Joseph, 205. 
 
 Coover, 326, 327. 
 
 Copernicus, 269. 
 
 Correlation between grades : (a) in dif- 
 ferent subjects, 401, 402; (b) in 
 lower and higher schools, 403; (c) 
 between school work and life-work, 
 408-410. 
 
 Courtis, 53, 54; arithmetic scales of, 
 382-384, 389. 
 
 Cramming for examination, 282. 
 
 Creed, Dewey's pedagogic, 95. 
 
 Crowd, imitation of, 222. 
 
 Curiosity, 85. 
 
 Curricula, differentiation of, 55. 
 
 Curriculum : purpose and constituents, 
 Ch. II; in relation to formal dis- 
 cipline, 337; as a vocational test, 
 
 423- 
 Curtis, 132, 139. 
 
 Darwin, 69, 116, 164. 
 
 Davenport, 75. 
 
 Davis, 426, 427, 429, 430. 
 
 Davis and Black, 299. 
 
 Deahl, 223, 225. 
 
 Dean, 114. 
 
 Dearborn, 35, 329, 403-405. 
 
 Deduction and induction, 285-304; 
 methods, 297-305; definition of de- 
 duction, 298; relation of laboratory, 
 302. 
 
 Delboeuf, 184. 
 
 Deliberation and will, 319. 
 
 Development, arrest of, 94. 
 
 DeVoss, 397. 
 
 Dewey, 8, 11, 12, 19, 20, 21, 27, 56, 95, 
 97, 112, 120, 124, 137, 139, 159, 181, 
 207, 217, 397. 
 
 Differentiation of curricula, 55. 
 
 Disease, heredity tendencies, 68. 
 
 Doll, 399. 
 
 Dramatization, 137. 
 
 Dream images and illusions, 244. 
 
 Dugdale, 65. 
 
 Dumont, 184. 
 
 Dutton, 214. 
 
 Dynamic side of life: will, 305, 
 
 Earhart, 35. 
 
 Ebbinghaus, 208. 
 
 Ebert, 329. 
 
 Education: meaning and purpose, Ch. 
 
 II; p)opular notion, 13; psychologic 
 
 foundations, 15; "bread and butter 
 
 idea," 19; "preparation for life," 20; 
 
 "is life," 20; Huxley's definition, 25; 
 
 relation to instinct, 82-97; and will, 
 
 321. 
 Edwards, Jonathan, 66. . 
 Egoism, 161. 
 Eliot, 178, 430. 
 Emotional control, 316. 
 Emotions, 140-155; importance in 
 
 education, 140; meaning, 141-142; 
 
 Lange- James theory of, 144; reflex 
 
 effect of expressing, 145; imitation 
 
 in, 147; of fear, 148; anger, 150; 
 
 sympathy, 152. 
 Endo\Mnent, native, 59-97. 
 Englehardt, 397. 
 Enrolment in schools, 93. 
 Environment, 16, 60. 
 Ethical ideals in education, 26. 
 Eugenics, 59. 
 Examinations: cramming for, 282; 
 
 standardized, college entrance, 361. 
 Experience: direct necessary, 113; 
 
 earliest, 115; need of varied, 339. 
 Experiments: lessons from scientific, 
 
 4; in memory, 189-195; in transfer 
 
 of training, 324-330. 
 Expression an index to mind, loi: of 
 
 emotions, 145. 
 
 Failures, some causes of, 5. 
 
 Farm life, 15. 
 
 Farrand, 435. 
 
 Faunce, 257, 258. 
 
 Fay, 69. 
 
 Fear, 148. 
 
 Feehng, meaning, 141. 
 
 Fernon, 399. 
 
 Field trips, 120. 
 
 Fiske, 40. 
 
 Fitch, 209. 
 
 Formal discipline, 323-344; experi- 
 ments in, 324-330; in relation to 
 individual differences, 330; biologi- 
 cal evidence, 331; appHcation in 
 curriculum making, 337. 
 
 Foster, Mabel, 401. 
 
 Foster, W. T., 406, 408, 410. 424, 435- 
 
INDEX 
 
 439 
 
 Franklin, 228. 
 
 Froebel, 126. 
 
 Fundamental acquisitions, 1 13-124. 
 
 Galileo, 269. 
 
 Garrison, 399. 
 
 Genetic view of will, 306-308. 
 
 Genetics, 60. 
 
 Geography: imagination in, 253; 
 
 scales, 390, 392. 
 Gesell, 39. 
 Gifted children, 53. 
 Gladstone, 310. 
 Goddard, 67. 
 
 Grammar school, adjustment to, 92. 
 Grand Rapids, 47-49. 
 Gray, 378. 
 
 Gray's "Elegy," 263. 
 Gregory- Spencer geography tests, 392. 
 Groszmann, 52. 
 Guiler, 370. 
 Guy, 358. 
 Guyer, 75. 
 
 Habit: relation to thinking, 279; re- 
 lation to will, 308; and character, 
 320. 
 
 Haggerty, 357. 
 
 Hall, 15, 81, 124, 256, 319. 
 
 Halleck, 124, 205. 
 
 Handwriting, 375-380; reasons for 
 scales in, 376; testing speed, 376; di- 
 rections for giving tests, 377; score 
 card, 378. 
 
 Hanus, 27. 
 
 Hard wick, 357. 
 
 Harris, 15, 84, 95, 327, 328. 
 
 Health, care for child's, 7. 
 
 Heck, 341. 
 
 Heredity, 59-75; meaning of, 61 ; phys- 
 ical, 62; mental, 63; in disease, 68; 
 relation to life insurance, 70; experi- 
 mental evidence, 71; relation to I. 
 Q., 71; educational bearings, 73. 
 
 Hering, 191. 
 
 High-school seniors, intelligence of, 
 400. 
 
 Hinsdale, 118. 
 
 History scales, 390-392. 
 
 Hoke, 377, 382, 395, 397. 
 
 Hollingworth, 72, 371, 409, 410, 422, 
 
 435- 
 Hollingworth and Pofifenberger, 72. 
 Holmes, 410. 
 
 Home as an educator, 13. 
 
 Ho wells, 237-239. 
 
 Hunt, 224. 
 
 Huxley's definition of education, 25. 
 
 Ideals and formal discipline, 336. 
 Ideas, clearness of, 206. 
 Ideo-motor action, 219. 
 Illusions, 244. 
 
 Imagination, 240-267; meaning, 240; 
 illustrations, 241; children's, 249; 
 meaning of training, 252; relation 
 to memory, 243; types, 245; limita- 
 tions, 246; individual differences, 
 246, 253; in geography, 253; ob- 
 jective basis, 255-259; in science, 
 260; and invention, 262; in study of 
 literature, 263; in everyday Ufe, 266. 
 
 Imitation: 218-239; recent recogni- 
 tion, 218; meaning, 218; not always 
 voluntary, 219; relation to ideo- 
 motor action, 219; illustrations, 220; 
 dramatic, 222; of the crowd, 222; in 
 literature, 224; educational value, 
 225; in language, 225; in children, 
 229; adolescent, 229; and person- 
 ality, 231; ideahstic, 233; and social 
 responsibilities, 233; in school gov- 
 ernment, 234; and public opinion 
 among boys, 237. 
 
 Individual differences, 39-58; in men- 
 tal achievements, 41-44; revealed 
 by school survey, 45; causes, 46; 
 shown by age-grade table, 47; how 
 discover, 49; ministration to, 50; in 
 memory, 186; in imagination, 246; 
 in relation to formal discipline, 330. 
 
 Individual's analysis, 415. 
 
 Induction: meaning, 285; and deduc- 
 tion, 285-304; perfect and imper- 
 fect, 286; children's, 286; exercises, 
 288; relation to text-books, 293; in 
 everyday life, 294; relation to labo- 
 ratory, 302. 
 
 Inhibition, 105. 
 
 Initiative, 34, 156-181. 
 
 Instinct, 76-97; not confined to lower 
 animals, 76; meaning, 76; defined, 
 77; modifiability, 78; maturing 
 periods, 80; educational applica- 
 tions, 82-97; basis of interest, 160. 
 
 Institutional influences. 14. 
 
 Instruction, order of, 292. 
 
 Intellectual control, 314. 
 
440 
 
 INDEX 
 
 InteUigence: scores, 42; I. Q., 71; tests, 
 uses of, 364; values of, 365; caution 
 in, 368; of high-school seniors, 400; 
 of seniors' and parents' occupation, 
 416; and vocational intentions, 416. 
 
 Interest: meaning, 156; as a means, 
 156; as an end, 157; and efifort, 158; 
 and instincts, 160; child's interest in 
 concrete, 163; in utility, 165; rela- 
 tion to imitation, 170; spontaneity 
 of, 170; in self-improvement, 174; 
 through co-operation, 174; in adoles- 
 cence, 177; children's in scales, 397; 
 and memory, 205. 
 
 I. Q-, 78, 350, 398-400. 
 
 Irving, 264. 
 
 James, 81, 88, 102, 116, 124, 144, 146, 
 149, 156, 181, 184, 185, 188, 189, 
 191, 192, 217, 222, 307, 308, 310, 
 
 324, 341- 
 James-Lange theory of emotions, 144. 
 Jennings, 75, 97- 
 Johnson, 139. 
 Jordan, 61. 
 
 Judd, 12, 27, 57, 329, 336, 337, 341. 
 Juke family, 65. 
 
 Kalevala, 224. 
 
 Kallikak family, 67. 
 
 Keats, 228. 
 
 Keller, Helen, 246. 
 
 Kelley, 424. 
 
 Kellogg, 71. 
 
 KeUv, 397- 
 
 Kiuson, 35. 
 
 Knowledge, origin of, 113. 
 
 Kohs, 423. 
 
 Kuhlmann, 346. 
 
 Laboratory: and motor training, 109; 
 in relation to induction and deduc- 
 tion, 302. 
 
 Lamarckians, 74. 
 
 Lange, 144, 146, 149. 
 
 Lange- James theory of emotions, 144; 
 educational suggestions from, 147. 
 
 Language: instinct, 84, 92; motor as- 
 pects of, no; relation to concepts, 
 276. 
 
 Laura Bridgman, 182. 
 
 Learning, modes cf, 99-341; by 
 "whole and cart." 194 
 
 Lecture method, 34. 
 
 Lee, 139. 
 
 Lesson preparation, 29. 
 
 Lewis, 78. 
 
 Life insurance and heredity, 70. 
 
 Life outside of school, 9. 
 
 Life: triangle of, 60; school of, 123. 
 
 Link, 422. 
 
 Literature: instinct for, 94; imitation 
 
 in, 224; imagination in, 263. 
 Locke, 126. 
 Lough, 422. 
 Love, 143. 
 Lowell, 407, 424. 
 Luther, 126, 181, 310. 
 
 McCall, 371, 397. 
 
 McLellan, 207. 
 
 McMurry, 35, 157, 272, 304. 
 
 Marshall, 77. 
 
 Measurement: 343-397; of mental 
 ability, 345-371 ; beginnings, 345; 
 Binet-Simon tests, 346-349; Ter- 
 man's revision, 349-353; army 
 ''alpha" tests, 353-357; Yerkes's 
 point scale, 357; national intel- 
 ligence tests, 357-361; Thurstone's 
 psychological examinations, 361- 
 363; uses of intelligence tests, 364; 
 value of tests, 365; caution in, 368; 
 of achievement, 372-397; compara- 
 tive methods, 372; Ayres's hand- 
 writing scale, 375; testing speed in 
 writing, 376; Gray's score-card, 380. 
 Scales: Ayres's spelling, 382; Cour- 
 tis's arithmetic, 382; Woody's 
 arithmetic, 384; Monroe's Illinois 
 arithmetic, 387-388; Van Wage- 
 nen's history, 390-392; Gregory- 
 Spencer geography, 392; evaluation 
 of, 392; limitations of, 393; chil- 
 dren's interest in, 397. 
 
 Memory: 182-217; meaning, 182; four 
 factors in, 182; physical, physiologi- 
 cal, mental, 182-186; analogy of 
 phonograph, 185; retention, 186; in- 
 dividual differences, 186; children's, 
 187; what should be remembered, 
 187; training, 188; experiments, 
 189-195; memorizing, 193; and as- 
 sociation, 195; ''whole-part" meth- 
 od, 194; repetition, 202; varieties, 
 203; and interest, 205; modes of re- 
 call, 208, 209; analysis in, 210; 
 
INDEX 
 
 441 
 
 selective, 210; and recitation, 211; 
 and thought, 214. 
 
 Mental relaxation in play, 128. 
 
 Meriam, 57, 138, 139, 181. 
 
 Method : determined by child psychol- 
 ogy, 7; lecture, 34. 
 
 Meumann, 329. 
 
 Meyer, 75, 97. 
 
 Michaelangelo, 224, 261. 
 
 Miles, 405, 424. 
 
 Miller, 27, 35, 181. 
 
 Milton, definition of education, 26, 
 282. 
 
 Mind revealed through expression, 
 
 lOI. 
 
 Miner, 114. 
 
 Monroe, 269, 397; arithmetic tests, 
 385-388._ 
 
 Montessori, 136. 
 
 Moral guidance, 427. 
 
 Morgan Lloyd, 86, 185. 
 
 Motivation, 156-181; relation to in- 
 stinct, 160; relation to utility, 165; 
 through results, 167. 
 
 Motor activity: significance, 101-112; 
 in relation to health and disease, 
 103; purpose of, 104; relation to in- 
 hibition, 105; in laboratory, 109; 
 means of training, 109; in language, 
 no. 
 
 Motor control, 109, 319. 
 
 M. Q.. 400. 
 
 Miiller, Max, 84. 
 
 Miinsterberg, 435. 
 
 Musical talent charts, 420-421. 
 
 Napoleon, 310. 
 
 National Business Ability Tests, 423. 
 National Intelligence Tests, 357-360. 
 National superiority, 25. 
 Native endowment, 59-97- 
 Norsworthy, 139, 155, 239, 267, 284. 
 Notes: taking, 32; card catalogue, ^y, 
 siunmaries, S3- 
 
 Objective illustrations basis of imagi- 
 nation, 255-259. 
 Objective teaching, 118. 
 Objective tests, evaluation of, 392. 
 Olney, 298. 
 
 Order of instruction, 292. 
 O'Shea, 97, 181, 239, 322. 
 Out-of-school experiences, 9. 
 
 Parker, 112, 181, 217, 284, 397. 
 
 Part-whole method, 194. 
 
 Paterson and Pintner, 357. 
 
 Patrick, 128, 139. 
 
 Pease, 190. 
 
 Peixotto, 433. 
 
 Performance, prophesying, 398-410, 
 
 Personal qualities and vocational suc- 
 cess, 426. 
 
 Pestalozzi, 140. 
 
 Phonograph, analogy to memory, 185. 
 
 Pintner and Paterson, 357. 
 
 Plato, 126, 225, 
 
 Play, 125-139; instinct of, 88; mean- 
 ing, 127; instinctive character of, 
 128; values, 130; in physical educa- 
 tion, 131; social values, 133; oppor- 
 tunities for, 134; through work, 136; 
 in dramatization, 138; in school sub- 
 jects, 138. 
 
 Playground, 16. 
 
 Plays contrasted with games, 127. 
 
 Poffenberger and Rolling worth, 72. 
 
 Point scale, 357. 
 
 Poull, 399. 
 
 Predicting performance, 398-410. 
 
 Pressey, 397. 
 
 Primitive arts and occupations, 17. 
 
 Proctor, 400, 423. 
 
 Professional training, recent, 3, 
 
 Promotions, 48, 54. 
 
 Prophesying performance, 398-410. 
 
 Psychologic foundations of education. 
 
 Psychological analysis, 415. 
 Psychological quacks, 414. 
 Psychology: vocational, 411-435; of 
 
 musical talent, 417-421. 
 Public opinion among boys, 237. 
 Pyle, 194, 217, 284. 
 
 Quacks, in psychology, 414. 
 
 Raphael, 224. 
 
 Reading as play, 129. 
 
 Realists, 118. 
 
 RecaU, 182, 208. 
 
 Rechoice of vocation, 432. 
 
 Recitation, importance in memory, 
 
 211. 
 Record-Herald, 150. 
 Reed, 328-330. 
 Registration, 182. 
 Remembering, 182, 187. 
 
442 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Repetition in memory, 202. 
 Responsibility and interest, 171. 
 Retention, 182, 186. 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 223. 
 Ribot, 62, 69, 8s, 146. 
 Riis, Mrs. Jacob A,, 237. 
 Roberts, 407, 410. 
 Rousseau, 21. 
 Royce, 305, 308, 322. 
 Ruger, 329. 
 Rugg, 326, 399. 
 
 Sachs, 70. 
 
 Sandwick, 35. 
 
 Scales, see Measurement. 
 
 Schaeffer, 117, 119, 284. 
 
 Schiller, 126. 
 
 School: an interpreter of experience, 
 18; enrolment in U. S., 93; and life, 
 123; government through imitation, 
 234; grades and vocational success, 
 423. 
 
 Science in all occupations, 3. 
 
 Scientific experiments, 4; results ap- 
 parent, 10. 
 
 Score-card in handwriting, 380, 381. 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, 246. 
 
 Search, 52. 
 
 Seashore, 417-421, 435. 
 
 Sense-perceptions: acquisition of, 113- 
 124; earliest, 115. 
 
 Sensory training: meaning of, 117; re- 
 lation to books, 121. 
 
 Shakespeare, 117, 119, 224. 
 
 Shinn, 87. 
 
 Shutts, 301. 
 
 Slichter and Van Velzer, 292. 
 
 Small, 250. 
 
 Smith, 27, 405. 
 
 Snedden, 435. 
 
 Snyder, 194. 
 
 Social: instinct, 89; values of play, 133; 
 customs through imitation, 233. 
 
 Spelling: associations, 204; scales, 381- 
 
 383- 
 Spencer, Herbert, 19, 20, 85, 157, 169, 
 
 171. 
 Spencer-Gregory geography tests, 392. 
 Spontaneity of interests, 170. 
 Starch, 57, 97, 217, 328, 332-334, 34i, 
 
 371- 
 Stenography, tests for ability in, 422. 
 Stenquist, 358, 399. 
 Stevenson, 228. 
 
 Strayer, 304, 397. 
 
 Strong, 58, 397. 
 
 Student initiative, 34. 
 
 Studies must be worth while, 337. 
 
 Study: how to, Ch. Ill; definite pro- 
 gramme of, 28; efficiency important, 
 28; adequate time for, 29; impor- 
 tance of surroundings, 29; analyze 
 problems in, 31; topical, 32; regular 
 schedule for, 213; supervised, 213; 
 in relation to thinking, 279-283. 
 
 Substance vs. summaries, 215. 
 
 Success in teaching based on scientific 
 knowledge, 3-12. 
 
 Suggestibility, 250. 
 
 Sully, 141. 
 
 Summaries vs. substance, 215. 
 
 Summary of this book, 434. 
 
 Supervised study, 213. 
 
 Survey reveals individual differences, 
 
 45. 
 Suzzallo, 27. 
 Sympathy, 152. 
 
 Teachers: should master subjects, 8; 
 must understand life, 9; problems 
 summarized, 10. 
 
 Teaching successful, see Success; ob- 
 jective, 118. 
 
 Telegraphy, tests for ability in, 422. 
 
 Tennyson, 247. 
 
 Terman, 6, 349-353, 357, 37i, 398, 
 399- 
 
 Tests: general discussion, see Meas- 
 urement; in music, 417-421. 
 
 Text-book in relation to induction, 
 
 293-. 
 
 Thinking: 268-304; definition, 268; 
 importance of, 268; independence in, 
 268; school should train in, 270; re- 
 lation to habit, 279; effective study, 
 279-283. 
 
 Thomas, 75, 97. 
 
 Thomson, 62. 
 
 Thorndike, 12, 44, 58, 59, 80, 82, 83, 
 97, 15s, 217, 284, 304, 324, 341, 357. 
 
 Thurstone, 361, 
 
 Titchener, 142, 241, 267. 
 
 Topical study, 32. 
 
 Town, 347. 
 
 Trabue, 368. 
 
 Training: role of, 60; supposed effects 
 of, 323; transfer of, 323-344. 
 
 Transfer of training: 323-344; ex- 
 
INDEX 
 
 443 
 
 periments in, 324-330; biological 
 evidence, 33 1 ; relation to individual 
 differences, 331; types of transfer, 
 334; effect of ideals, 336; application 
 in curriculum making, 337. 
 
 Tyler, 12, 75, 262. 
 
 Tyndall, 261. 
 
 Typewriting, tests for ability in, 422. 
 
 University education complex, 56. 
 Unscientific experience costly, 4. 
 Utility: relation to interest, 165; in 
 studies, 337. 
 
 Van Velzer and Slichter, 292. 
 
 Van Wagenen history tests, 390-392. 
 
 Venn, 182. 
 
 Vocabulary, extent of, 84. 
 
 Vocation, meaning of, 412. 
 
 Vocational: eflSciency, 22; training, 25; 
 psychology, 411; education, mean- 
 ing of, 411; guidance, 414; success 
 and school grades, 423; guidance, 
 what may be done, 425; success and 
 personal qualities, 426; guidance, 
 who should give, 429; skill, 431; re- 
 choice, 432. 
 
 VoUtion: meaning, 309; individual 
 variations in, 310. 
 
 Waddle, 75, 139. 
 Wallin, 329. 
 Walter, 60, 75. 
 
 Warner, 232. 
 
 Watson, 75, 77, 97, 112. 
 
 Weismannians, 74. 
 
 Welton, 272. 
 
 Whipple, 35, 53, 329, 357. 
 
 White, 118. 
 
 Whitley, 139, 155, 267, 284. 
 
 Whittier, 123. 
 
 ''Whole-part" method, 194. 
 
 Will: development in child, 306; defini- 
 tion, 308; and habit, 308; what is a 
 strong, 308; means accumulated 
 tendencies, 311; transfer of effects, 
 312; directions of control, 312; and 
 deliberation, 319; and character, 
 320; educational significance, 321. 
 
 Wilson, 181, 377, 382, 395, 397. 
 
 Winch, 329. 
 
 Winship, 66. 
 
 Witt, Robert, 266, 284. 
 
 Woodworth, 112, 155, 194, 217, 267, 
 284, 322, 324, 341. 
 
 Woody arithmetic scales, 384-385. 
 
 Woolley, 358. 
 
 Work through play, 136. 
 
 Xenophbn, 225. 
 
 Yerkes point scales, 357, 371. 
 Yoakum, 371. 
 
 Ziehen, 113.