The Crowd

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The crowd
Gustave Le Bon
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THE CROWD
A STUDY OF THE POPULAR MIND
BY
GUSTAVE LE BON
"
SECOND EDITION
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RARIES
THE CROWD
A STUDY OF THE POPULAR MIND
BY
GUSTAVE LE BON
"
SECOND EDITION
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NEW YORK
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6
RIES
PREFACE.
THE following work is devoted to an account of the

characteristics of crowds.
The whole of the common characteristics with which
heredity endows the individuals of a race constitute
the genius of the race. When, however, a certain
number of these individuals are gathered together in
a crowd for purposes of action, observation proves
that, from the mere fact of their being assembled,
there result certain new psychological characteristics,
which are added to the racial characteristics and differ
from them at times to a very considerable degree.
Organised crowds have always played an important
part in the life of peoples, but this part has never been
of such moment as at present. The substitution of the
unconscious action of crowds for the conscious activity
of individuals is one of the principal characteristics of
the present age.
I have endeavoured to examine the difficult problem
presented by crowds in a purely scientific manner—
that is, by making an effort to proceed with method,
and without being influenced by opinions, theories,
and doctrines. This, I believe, is the only mode of
arriving at the discovery of some few particles of truth,
especially when dealing, as is the case here, with a
vi PREFACE.
question that is the subject of impassioned controversy.

A man of science bent on verifying a phenomenon is
not called upon to concern himself with the interests
his verifications may hurt. In a recent publication an
eminent thinker, M. Goblet d'Alviela, made the remark
that, belonging to none of the contemporary schools,
I am occasionally found in opposition of sundry of the
conclusions of all of them. I hope this new work will
merit a similar observation. To belong to a school
is necessarily to espouse its prejudices and precon
ceived opinions .
Still I should explain to the reader why he will find
me draw conclusions from my investigations which
it might be thought at first sight they do not bear ;
why, for instance, after noting the extreme mental
inferiority of crowds, picked assemblies included, I
yet affirm it would be dangerous to meddle with their
organisation, notwithstanding this inferiority.
The reason is, that the most attentive observation
of the facts of history has invariably demonstrated to
me that social organisms being every whit as com
plicated as those of all beings, it is in no wise in our
power to force them to undergo on a sudden far
reaching transformations. Nature has recourse at
times to radical measures, but never after our fashion,
which explains how it is that nothing is more fatal to
a people than the mania for great reforms, however
excellent these reforms may appear theoretically.
They would only be useful were it possible to change
instantaneously the genius of nations. This power,
however, is only possessed by time. Men are ruled
by ideas, sentiments, and customs- matters which are
ARIES
PREFACE. vii
CE.
of the essence of ourselves. Institutions and laws
impassioned controversy.
rifying a phenomenon is are the outward manifestation of our character, the
mself with the interests expression of its needs. Being its outcome, institu
n a recent publication an tions and laws cannot change this character.
lviela, made the remark The study of social phenomena cannot be separated
⇒ contemporary schools, from that of the peoples among whom they have come
osition of sundry of the into existence. From the philosophic point of view
hope this new work will these phenomena may have an absolute value ; in
To belong to a school practice they have only a relative value.
prejudices and precon It is necessary, in consequence, when studying a

social phenomenon, to consider it successively under
reader why he will find two very different aspects. It will then be seen that
ns
investigatio which the teachings of pure reason are very often contrary
ght they do not bear ; to those of practical reason. There are scarcely any
the extreme mental data, even physical, to which this distinction is not
ssemblies included, I applicable. From the point of view of absolute truth
to meddle with their a cube or a circle are invariable geometrical figures,
rigorously defined by certain formulas. From the
his inferiority. n
attentive observatio point of view of the impression they make on our eye
ed
ably demonstrat to these geometrical figures may assume very varied
every whit as com shapes. By perspective the cube may be transformed
is in no wise in our into a pyramid or a square, the circle into an ellipse or
go on a sudden far a straight line. Moreover, the consideration of these
ture has recourse at fictitious shapes is far more important than that of
ver after our fashion, the real shapes, for it is they and they alone that we
hing is more fatal to see and that can be reproduced by photography or in
eat reforms, however pictures. In certain cases there is more truth in the
y To present objects with their
ppear theoreticall . unreal than in the real.
it possible to change exact geometrical forms would be to distort nature and

render it unrecognisable . If we imagine a world
ations. This power,
me. Men are ruled whose inhabitants could only copy or photograph
-matters which are objects, but were unable to touch them, it would be
viii PREFACE.
very difficult for such persons to attain to an exact

idea of their form. Moreover, the knowledge of this
form, accessible only to a small number of learned men,
would present but a very minor interest.
The philosopher who studies social phenomena
should bear in mind that side by side with their
theoretical value they possess a practical value, and
that this latter, so far as the evolution of civilisation
is concerned, is alone of importance. The recognition
of this fact should render him very circumspect with
regard to the conclusions that logic would seem at
first to enforce upon him.
There are other motives that dictate to him a like
reserve. The complexity of social facts is such, that
it is impossible to grasp them as a whole and to foresee
the effects of their reciprocal influence. It seems ,
too, that behind the visible facts are hidden at
times thousands of invisible causes. Visible social
phenomena appear to be the result of an immense,
unconscious working, that as a rule is beyond the
reach of our analysis. Perceptible phenomena may
be compared to the waves, which are the expression
on the surface of the ocean of deep-lying disturbances
of which we know nothing. So far as the majority of
their acts are considered, crowds display a singularly
inferior mentality ; yet there are other acts in which
they appear to be guided by those mysterious forces
which the ancients denominated destiny, nature, or
providence, which we call the voices of the dead, and
whose power it is impossible to overlook, although we
ignore their essence. It would seem, at times, as if
there were latent forces in the inner being of nations
PREFACE. ix
CE.
ns to attain to an exact which serve to guide them. What, for instance, can
be more complicated, more logical, more marvellous
r, the knowledge of this
1 number of learned men, than a language ? Yet whence can this admirably
organised production have arisen, except it be the
or interest.
outcome of the unconscious genius of crowds ? The
dies social phenomena
Ide by side with their most learned academics, the most esteemed gram
marians can do no more than note down the laws that
a practical value, and
evolution of civilisation govern languages ; they would be utterly incapable
of creating them. Even with respect to the ideas of
ance. The recognition
great men are we certain that they are exclusively the
very circumspect with
offspring of their brains? No doubt such ideas are
E logic would seem at
always created by solitary minds, but is it not the
genius of crowds that has furnished the thousands of
- dictate to him a like
grains of dust forming the soil in which they have
cial facts is such, that
a whole and to foresee sprung up?
Crowds, doubtless, are always unconscious, but this
nfluence. It seems,
very unconsciousness is perhaps one of the secrets of
facts are hidden at
Visible social their strength. In the natural world beings exclusively
ises. governed by instinct accomplish acts whose marvellous
sult of an immense,
complexity astounds us. Reason is an attribute of
rule is beyond the
humanity of too recent date and still too imperfect to
ɔle phenomena may
reveal to us the laws of the unconscious, and still more
ɩ are the expression
to take its place. The part played by the unconscious
p-lying disturbances
in all our acts is immense, and that played by reason
r as the majority of
very small. The unconscious acts like a force still
lisplay a singularly unknown.
>ther acts in which
If we wish, then, to remain within the narrow but
mysterious forces
safe limits within which science can attain to know
estiny, nature, or
ledge, and not to wander in the domain of vague
3 of the dead, and
conjecture and vain hypothesis, all we must do is
look, although we simply to take note of such phenomena as are
n, at times, as if
accessible to us, and confine ourselves to their
being ofnations
X PREFACE.
consideration. Every conclusion drawn from our

observation is, as a rule, premature, for behind the
phenomena which we see clearly are other phenomena
that we see indistinctly, and perhaps behind these
latter, yet others which do not see at all.
в
PAR
rawn from our

for behind the
ther phenomena
s behind these
CONTENTS.
all.
INTRODUCTION .
THE ERA OF CROWDS .
BOOK I.
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS
PSYCHOLOGICAL LAW OF THEIR MENTAL
... ... 1
UNITY
CHAPTER II.
THE SENTIMENTS AND MORALITY OF CROWDS 15
CHAPTER III.
THE IDEAS, REASONING POWER, AND IMAGI
NATION OF CROWDS ... ... 45
CHAPTER IV.
A RELIGIOUS SHAPE ASSUMED BY ALL THE
CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS ... 59
BOOK II.
THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.
CHAPTER I.
REMOTE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS AND
BELIEFS OF CROWDS ... ... ... 66
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
THE IMMEDIATE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS
OF CROWDS ...
... ... 94
CHAPTER III .
THE LEADERS OF CROWDS AND THEIR
MEANS OF PERSUASION
... ... 112
CHAPTER IV.
LIMITATIONS OF THE VARIABILITY OF THE
BELIEFS AND OPINIONS OF CROWDS
141
BOOK III.
THE CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION
OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CROWDS.
CHAPTER I.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF CROWDS
... ... 157
CHAPTER II.
CROWDS TERMED CRIMINAL CROWDS 7
... 163
S
CHAPTER III.
f
CRIMINAL JURIES
170 (
CHAPTER IV.
ELECTORAL CROWDS
... ... 180
CHAPTER V.
PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES
... 193
OPINIONS
... 94
INTRODUCTION .
THEIR THE ERA OF CROWDS.

112
The evolution of the present age-The great changes in

civilisation are the consequence of changes in National
OF THE
141 thought-Modern belief in the power of crowds- It
VDS transforms the traditional policy of the European states
--How the rise of the popular classes comes about, and
the manner in which they exercise their power- The
necessary consequences of the power of the crowd-
Crowds unable to play a part other than destructive-
CRIPTION The dissolution of worn-out civilisations is the work of
CROWDS. the crowd- General ignorance of the psychology of
crowds-Importance of the study of crowds for legis
lators and statesmen.
... 157
THE great upheavals which precede changes of civili
sation, such as the fall of the Roman Empire and the
163
foundation of the Arabian Empire, seem at first sight
determined more especially by political transforma
170 tions, foreign invasion, or the overthrow of dynasties.
But a more attentive study of these events shows that
behind their apparent causes the real cause is generally
80
... 1 seen to be a profound modification in the ideas of the
peoples. The true historical upheavals are not those
193 which astonish us by their grandeur and violence.
The only important changes whence the renewal of
civilisations results, affect ideas, conceptions and
beliefs. The memorable events of history are the
visible effects of the invisible changes of human
thought. The reason these great events are so rare is
xiv INTRODUCTION.
that there is nothing so stable in a race as the inherited

groundwork of its thoughts .
The present epoch is one of these critical moments
in which the thought of mankind is undergoing a
process of transformation.
Two fundamental factors are at the base of this
transformation. The first is the destruction of those
religious, political, and social beliefs in which all the
elements of our civilisation are rooted. The second is
the creation of entirely new conditions of existence and
thought as the result of modern scientific and industrial
discoveries.
The ideas of the past, although half destroyed,
being still very powerful, and the ideas which are to
replace them being still in process of formation, the
modern age represents a period of transition and
anarchy.
It is not easy to say as yet what will one day be
evolved from this necessarily somewhat chaotic period.
What will be the fundamental ideas on which the
societies that are to succeed our own will be built up ?
We do not at present know. Still it is already clear
that on whatever lines the societies of the future are
organised, they will have to count with a new power,
with the last surviving sovereign force of modern
times, the power of crowds. On the ruins of so
many ideas formerly considered beyond discussion, and
to-day decayed or decaying, of so many sources of
authority that successive revolutions have destroyed,
this power, which alone has arisen in their stead, seems
soon destined to absorb the others. While all our
ancient beliefs are tottering and disappearing, while
INTRODUCTION. XV
INTRODUCTION.
the old pillars of society are giving way one by one, the
is nothing so stable in a race as the inherited
power of the crowd is the only force that nothing
of its thoughts.
rk nt menaces, and of which the prestige is continually on
se epoch is one of these critical moments
the increase. The age we are about to enter will in
the thought of mankind is undergoing a
truth be the ERA OF CROWDS.
anen orlmationor
sfta Scarcely a century ago the traditional policy of
ndtram fact . s are at the base of this
ation . The first is the destruction of those European states and the rivalries of sovereigns were
political, and social beliefs in which all the the principal factors that shaped events. The opinion
f our civilisation are rooted. The second is of the masses scarcely counted, and most frequently
indeed did not count at all. To-day it is the traditions
n of entirely new conditions of existence and
the result ofmodern scientific and industrial which used to obtain in politics, and the individual
tendencies and rivalries of rulers which do not count ;
d while, on the contrary, the voice of the masses has
s of the past, although half destroye ,
r f u l s h become preponderant. It is this voice that dictates
very powe , and the idea whic are to
their conduct to kings, whose endeavour is to take
m being still in process of formation, the
ts note of its utterances. The destinies of nations are
e represen a period of transition and
elaborated at present in the heart of the masses, and
no longer in the councils of princes.
easy to say as yet what will one day be
rily omewhat haotic eriod The entry of the popular classes into political life
this necessa s c p .
ental deas n hich he -that is to say, in reality, their progressive transfor
be the fun md a i o w t
mation into governing classes- is one of the most
are to succeed our own will be built up ?
striking characteristics of our epoch of transition.
t present know. Still it is already clear
s The introduction of universal suffrage, which exercised
tever lines the societie of the future are
for a long time but little influence, is not, as might be
hey will have to count with a new power, thought, the distinguishing feature of this transference
ng gn
st survivi soverei force of modern
of political power. The progressive growth of the
On the ruins of so
y r e d on power of the masses took place at first by the propa
opromwer ofcocnrowds. beyond discussi , and
e r l s i d e
n g gation of certain ideas, which have slowly implanted
ed or decay , of so many sources of
i
themselves in men's minds, and afterwards by the
ive evolutions ave estroyed
at success r h d , gradual association of individuals bent on bringing
hich alone has arisen in their stead, seems
about the realisation of theoretical conceptions. It is
d to absorb the others. While all our
by association that crowds have come to procure ideas
ng aring hile
efs are totteri and disappe , w
xvi INTRODUCTION.
with respect to their interests which are very clearly

defined if not particularly just, and have arrived at a
consciousness of their strength. The masses are
founding syndicates before which the authorities
capitulate one after the other ; they are also founding
labour unions, which in spite of all economic laws tend
to regulate the conditions of labour and wages. They
return to assemblies in which the Government is vested,
representatives utterly lacking initiative and inde
pendence, and reduced most often to nothing else than
the spokesmen of the committees that have chosen
them. I
To-day the claims of the masses are becoming more
and more sharply defined , and amount to nothing less
than a determination to utterly destroy society as it r
now exists, with a view to making it hark back to that
primitive communism which was the normal condition
of all human groups before the dawn of civilisation. D
Limitations of the hours of labour , the nationalisation to
of mines, railways, factories, and the soil, the equal
distribution of all products, the elimination of all the h
upper classes for the benefit of the popular classes,
etc., such are these claims.
Little adapted to reasoning, crowds, on the contrary ,
are quick to act. As the result of their present
organisation their strength has become immense.
The dogmas whose birth we are witnessing will soon
have the force of the old dogmas ; that is to say, the
tyrannical and sovereign force of being above discus
sion. The divine right of the masses is about to
replace the divine right of kings.
The writers who enjoy the favour of our middle
INTRODUCTION. xvii
ON
INTRODUCTI .
classes, those who best represent their rather narrow
pect to their interests which are very clearly
ideas, their somewhat prescribed views, their rather
not particularly just, and have arrived at a
superficial scepticism, and their at times somewhat
The masses are
r fo th. h
rengwh
nesyssndic eseibe
ofatth stre ic the authorities excessive egoism, display profound alarm at this new
power which they see growing ; and to combat the
one after the other ; they are also founding
disorderin men's minds they are addressing despairing
ions, which in spite of all economic laws tend
appeals to those moral forces of the Church for which
e the conditions of labour and wages. They
nt they formerly professed so much disdain. They talk
ssemblies in which the Governme is vested,
to us ofthe bankruptcy of science, go back in penitence 1
tives utterly lacking initiative and inde
to Rome, and remind us of the teachings of revealed
and reduced most often to nothing else than
smen of the committees that have chosen truth. These new converts forget that it is too late.
Had they been really touched by grace, a like operation
could not have the same influence on minds less
g
the claims of the masses are becomin more
concerned with the preoccupations which beset these 7
sharp defin , and amou to noth ng less
l y e d n t i
on recent adherents to religion. The masses repudiate
erminati to utterly destroy society as it
to-day the gods which their admonishers repudiated
with a view to making it hark back to that
sm n yesterday and helped to destroy. There is no power,
ommuni which was the normal conditio
on Divine or human, that can oblige a stream to flow back
an groups before the dawn of civilisati .
is at ion to its source.
r s o u r
of the hou of lab , the nati on al
There has been no bankruptcy of science, and science
railways, factories, and the soil, the equal
ion of all the has had no share in the present intellectual anarchy,
of all products, the eliminat
nor in the making of the new power which is springing
es for the benefit of the popular classes,
up in the midst of this anarchy. Science promised us
truth, or at least a knowledge of such relations as our
oning ds rary,
rpettehdetsoercelaasims. , crow , onthe cont intelligence can seize : it never promised us peace or
t
As the result of their presen
t h e s e happiness. Sovereignly indifferent to our feelings, it
their streng has becom immen . is deaf to our lamentations. It is for us to endeavour
ts owhaocts. e birth we are witnessing will soon
to live with science, since nothing can bring back the
s
rce of the old dogma ; that is to say, the illusions it has destroyed .
i g n
and sovere force of being above discus Universal symptoms, visible in all nations, show us
div i n e rig of the masses is about to
h t
the rapid growth of the power of crowds, and do not
admit of our supposing that it is destined to cease
y ur le
ers who enjo the favo of our midd
divine right ofkings.
xviii INTRODUCTION.
growing at an early date. Whatever fate it may

visible
reserve for us, we shall have to submit to it. All
seems
reasoning against it is a mere vain war of words.
Certainly it is possible that the advent to power of Isth
the masses marks one of the last stages of Western grou
civilisation, a complete return to those periods of asyet i

confused anarchy which seem always destined to How
selves
precede the birth of every new society. But may this
result be prevented ? hasins
haveke
Up to now these thoroughgoing destructions of a
worn-out civilisation have constituted the most obvious Weh
task of the masses. It is not indeed to-day merely which
discussi
that this can be traced. History tells us, that from
harin
the moment when the moral forces on which a civilisa g
them, a
tion rested have lost their strength, its final dissolution
attentio
is brought about by those unconscious and brutal
the crim
crowds known, justifiably enough, as barbarians.
Civilisations as yet have only been created and adoubt
directed by a small intellectual aristocracy, never by crowds,
crowds. Crowds are only powerful for destruction. bemet
Their rule is always tantamount to a barbarian phase. a partic

constitu
A civilisation involves fixed rules, discipline, a passing
from the instinctive to the rational state, forethought a study
individ
for the future, an elevated degree of culture-all of
them conditions that crowds, left to themselves, have
invariably shown themselves incapable of realising. thefou
beliefs
In consequence of the purely destructive nature of
their power crowds act like those microbes which sphere
hasten the dissolution of enfeebled or dead bodies. alway
When the structure of a civilisation is rotten, it is an in
always the masses that bring about its downfall. It chara
is at such a juncture that their chief mission is plainly of th

estal
CTION
INTRODUC
TION
. INTRODU . xix
Whatever fate it may

visible, and that for a while the philosophy of number
at an ea rly dalte. All
or us, we shal have to submit to it.
seems the only philosophy of history.
against it is a mere vain war of words.
Is the same fate in store for our civilisation ? There
it is possible that the advent to power of
is ground to fear that this is the case, but we are not
es marks one of the last stages of Western
as yet in a position to be certain of it.
n, a complete return to those periods of
However this may be, we are bound to resign our
anarchy which seem always destined to
selves tothe reign of the masses, since want of foresight
he birth of every new society. But may this
has in succession overthrown all the barriers that might
ng have kept the crowd in check.
no w hesde thor oughgoi destruct
ions f
pr eventte ? d
o a
We have a very slight knowledge of these crowds
ti on u t e
civi li sa e
hav cons t i t the most obvious
which are beginning to be the object of so much
he masses. It is not indeed to-day merely discussion. Professional students of psychology,
can be traced. History tells us, that from
having lived far from them, have always ignored
ent when the moral forces on which a civilisa
n them, and when, as of late, they have turned their
d have lost their strength, its final dissolutio
i o u s attention in this direction it has only been to consider
at about by those unconsc and brutal
bl y ns the crimes crowds are capable of committing. Without
n o w n, ju st if ia e n o u g h, a barbaria .
s
a doubt criminal crowds exist, but virtuous and heroic
ons as yet have only been created and
crowds, and crowds of many other kinds, are also to
al acy
by a small intellectu aristocr , never by be met with. The crimes of crowds only constitute
on
Crowds are only powerfu for destructi .
l
t a particular phase of their psychology. The mental
un o arbarian hase
e is always tantamo t ab p . constitution of crowds is not to be learnt merely by
tion invo l v e s fixe rules, discipline, a passing
d
ght a study of their crimes, any more than that of an
ive
instinct to the rational state, forethou
individual by a mere description of his vices.
e
futur , an eleva t e d e
degre of cultu -all ofr e
es However, in point of fact, all the world's masters, all
ditions that crowds, left to themselv , have
the founders of religions or empires, the apostles of all
es e
y shown themselv incapabl of realising. beliefs, eminent statesmen, and, in a more modest
q u e n c e f
o t p h e u r e l y e s t r u c t ive ature f
d n o
s sphere, the mere chiefs of small groups of men have
wer crowds act like those microbe which
always been unconscious psychologists, possessed of
ion f nfeebled r ead odies
the dissolut o e o d b . an instinctive and often very sure knowledge of the
r e on
he structu of a civilisati is rotten, it is character of crowds, and it is their accurate knowledge
the masses that bring about its downfall. It of this character that has enabled them to so easily
ture hat heir hief ission s lainly
ajunc t t c m i p establish their mastery. Napoleon had a marvellous
14
h
XX INTRODUCTION.
insight into the psychology of the masses of the country

over which he reigned, but he, at times, completely
misunderstood the psychology of crowds belonging to
other races ; and it is because he thus misunderstood
it that he engaged in Spain, and notably in Russia, in
conflicts in which his power received blows which were
destined within a brief space of time to ruin it. A
knowledge of the psychology of crowds is to-day the
last resource of the statesman who wishes not to
govern them that is becoming a very difficult matter
-but at any rate not to be too much governed by
them .
It is only by obtaining some sort of insight into the
psychology of crowds that it can be understood how
slight is the action upon them of laws and institutions,
how powerless they are to hold any opinions other
than those which are imposed upon them, and that it
is not with rules based on theories of pure equity that
they are to be led, but by seeking what produces an
impression on them and what seduces them. For
instance, should a legislator, wishing to impose a new
tax, choose that which would be theoretically the most
just? By no means . In practice the most unjust
may be the best for the masses. Should it at the same
time be the least obvious, and apparently the least
burdensome, it will be the most easily tolerated.
I His most subtle advisers, moreover, did not understand

this psychology any better. Talleyrand wrote "" him that
"Spain would receive his soldiers as liberators.' It received
them as beasts of prey. A psychologist acquainted with the
hereditary instincts of the Spanish race would have easily
foreseen this reception.
PARUES
INTRODUCTION. xxi
INTRODUCTION.
It is for this reason that an indirect tax, however

ght into thepsychology ofthe masses ofthe country
exorbitant it be, will always be accepted by the crowd,
which he reigned, but he, at times, completely
because, being paid daily in fractions of a farthing on
understood the psychology of crowds belonging to
objects of consumption, it will not interfere with the
r races ; and it is because hethus misunderstood
habits of the crowd, and will pass unperceived. Replace
at he engaged in Spain, and notably in Russia, in
it by a proportional tax on wages or income of any
icts in which his power received blows which were
other kind, to be paid in a lump sum, and were this
brief space of time to ruin it. A
newimposition theoretically ten times less burdensome
ned wit
ledge hin
of the psychology of crowds is to-day the
resour of the statesman who wishes not to
ce than the other, it would give rise to unanimous protest.
This arises from the fact that a sum relatively high,
n them- that is becoming a very difficult matter
which will appear immense, and will in consequence
at any rate not to be too much governed by
strike the imagination, has been substituted for the
unperceived fractions of a farthing. The new tax
g
s only by obtainin some sort of insight into the
d would only appear light had it been saved farthing by
ology of crowds that it can be understoo how
ns farthing, but this economic proceeding involves an
is the action upon them of laws and institutio ,
e s s amount of foresight of which the masses are incapable.
pow e r l y
the are to hold any opin io ns other
d The example which precedes is of the simplest.
hose which are impose upon them, and that it
Its appositeness will be easily perceived. It did
with rules based on theories of pure equity that
not escape the attention of such a psychologist as
re to be led, but by seeking what produces an
Napoleon, but our modern legislators, ignorant as they
sion on them and what seduces them. For
are of the characteristics of a crowd, are unable to
or g
e, should alegislat , wishin to impose a new
lly appreciate it. Experience has not taught them as yet
oose that which would be theoretica the most
to a sufficient degree that men never shape their
In practice the most unjust
conduct upon the teaching of pure reason.
the best for the masses. Should it at the same
By no means. ly Many other practical applications might be made
e the least obvious, and apparent the least
of the psychology of crowds. A knowledge of this
some, it will be the most easily tolerated.
science throws the most vivid light on a great number
s er and of historical and economic phenomena totally incom
most subtle adviser , moreov , did not underst
o l o gy ny etter l e y r and ote prehensible without it. I shall have occasion to show
y c h a b . Ta l wr hi that
m
rs d
would receive his soldiers as libetrato ." It receive that the reason why the most remarkable of modern
a s t s e y y c h o l o gis u a i n t ed th e
be of pr . A ps ac q wi th historians, Taine, has at times so imperfectly under
ts h
ry instinc of the Spanis race would have easily stood the events of the great French Revolution is,
on
this recepti .
xxii INTRODUCTION.
that it never occurred to him to study the genius of

crowds. He took as his guide in the study of this
complicated period the descriptive method resorted to
by naturalists ; but the moral forces are almost absent
in the case of the phenomena which naturalists have
to study. Yet it is precisely these forces that con
stitute the true mainsprings of history.
In consequence, merely looked at from its practical
side, the study of the psychology of crowds deserved
to be attempted. Were its interest that resulting
GE.
from pure curiosity only, it would still merit attention .
It is as interesting to decipher the motives of the
actions of men as to determine the characteristics of
That
a mineral or a plant. Our study of the genius of
T
crowds can merely be a brief synthesis, a simple sum d
mary of our investigations. Nothing more must be 01
demanded of it than a few suggestive views. Others
will work the ground more thoroughly. To-day we 80
only touch the surface of a still almost virgin soil.
W
a
IN i
ath
prof
have
gica
quit
INTRODUCTION.
it never occurred to him to study the genius of

ls. He took as his guide in the study of this
lic d period the descriptive method resorted to
ate
turalists ; but the moral forces are almost absent
› case of the phenomena which naturalists have BOOK I.
dy. Yet it is precisely these forces that con
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
the true mainsprings ofhistory.
onsequence, merely looked at from its practical
CHAPTER I.
he study of the psychology of crowds deserved
attempted. Were its interest that resulting GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS.
PSYCHOLOGICAL LAW OF THEIR -
ure curiosity only, it would still merit attention.
us interesting to decipher the motives of the MENTAL UNITY.
ne ristics of
of men as to determi the characte What constitutes a crowd from the psychological point of
ral or a plant. Our study of the genius of view-A numerically strong agglomeration of individuals
1 n erely e rief ynthesis
, a simple sum does not suffice to form a crowd-Special characteristics
ca m b ab s
t i g ations i n g of psychological crowds-The turning in a fixed direc
u
fo i r n v e s . N o t h more must be
t i v e ews tion of the ideas and sentiments of individuals composing
a n
led of it th a fe su w g g e s vi . Others
l y such a crowd, and the disappearance of their personality
u n d e o u g h
rk the gro mor thor . To-day we -The crowd is always dominated by considerations of
which it is unconscious- The disappearance of brain
ich the surface of a still almost virgin soil.
activity and the predominance of medullar activity- The
lowering of the intelligence and the complete transforma
tion of the sentiments-The transformed sentiments may
be better or worse than those of the individuals of which
the crowd is composed-A crowd is as easily heroic as
criminal.
IN its ordinary sense the word " crowd " means a

gathering of individuals of whatever nationality,
profession, or sex, and whatever be the chances that
have brought them together. From the psycholo
gical point of view the expression " crowd " assumes
quite a different signification. Under certain given
2
2 THE MIND OF CROWDS.
circumstances, and only under those circumstances,

an agglomeration of men presents new characteristics .
very different from those of the individuals composing
it. The sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the
gathering take one and the same direction, and their

conscious personality vanishes. A collective mind is
formed, doubtless transitory, but presenting very
clearly defined characteristics. The gathering has
thus become what, in the absence of a better expres
sion, I will call an organised crowd, or, if the term is
considered preferable, a psychological crowd. It
forms a single being, and is subjected to the law o
the mental unity of crowds.
It is evident that it is not by the mere fact of
number of individuals finding themselves accidentall
side by side that they acquire the character of ar
organised crowd. A thousand individuals accidentall
gathered in a public place without any determine
object in no way constitute a crowd from th
psychological point of view. To acquire the specia
characteristics of such a crowd, the influence is neces
sary of certain predisposing causes of which we sha
have to determine the nature.
The disappearance of conscious personality and th
turning of feelings and thoughts in a definite directior
which are the primary characteristics of a crowd abou
to become organised, do not always involve the simu
taneous presence of a number of individuals on on
LIBRARIES
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. 3
THE MIND OF CROWDS.

spot. Thousands of isolated individuals may acquire
s
nstances, and only under those circumstance , at certain moments, and under the influence of certain
s
glomeration of men presents new characteristic . violent emotions such, for example, as a great
lifferent from those of the individuals composing national event-the characteristics of a psychological
he sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the crowd. It will be sufficient in that case that a mere
ing take one and the same direction, and their chance should bring them together for their acts to
ɔus personality vanishes. A collective mind is at once assume the characteristics peculiar to the acts
of a crowd. At certain moments half a dozen men
1, doubtless transitory, but presenting very
The gathering has might constitute a psychological crowd, which
s
defined characteristic . may not happen in the case of hundreds of men
"ecome what, in the absence of a better expres
will call an organised crowd, or, ifthe term is gathered together by accident. On the other hand,
It an entire nation, though there may be no visible
ered preferable, a psychological crowd.
agglomeration, may become a crowd under the action
a single being, and is subjected to the law o
of certain influences.
t tyhofcr
enit at it ow isds no. t by the mere fact of A psychological crowd once constituted, it acquires
itevalidun
a l s ves ccidentall
· of individu finding themsel a
certain provisional but determinable general charac
er
side that they acquire the charact of ar teristics. To these general characteristics there are
nd s
ual ccidentall adjoined particular characteristics which vary accord
ed crowd. Athousa individ a
P
n p u b l i c p l a c e w i t h o ut any determine ing to the elements of which the crowd is composed,
d i a
tute a crowd from th and may modify its mental constitution. Psychological
in no way consti
e crowds, then, are susceptible of classification ; and
ogical point of view. To acquir the specia
c s d e nce is neces when we come to occupy ourselves with this matter,
eristi of such a crow , the influ
posi n g we shall see that a heterogeneous crowd-that is, a
n causes of which we sha
certai predis
crowd composed of dissimilar elements - presents
e { certain characteristics in common with homogeneous
earaenc ous ersonality and th
ddiestapeprmin theonfactounrsec.i p
g s t s e ior 1 crowds-that is, with crowds composed of elements
offe e l i n n
a td h o u g h i a definit direct
n
c s
ry teristi of a crowd abou more or less akin (sects, castes, and classes)-and side
re the prima charac
sed s ve by side with these common characteristics particulari
me organi , do not alway invol the simu'
e r d uals n n
"resenc of a numbe of indivi o o
ties which permit of the two kinds of crowds being

differentiated.
But before occupying ourselves with the different

categories of crowds, we must first of all examine the
characteristics common to them all. We shall set to
work like the naturalist, who begins by describing
the general characteristics common to all the members
of a family before concerning himself with the par
ticular characteristics which allow the differentiation
1
of the genera and species that the family includes.
It is not easy to describe the mind of crowds with
exactness, because its organisation varies not only
according to race and composition, but also according
to the nature and intensity of the exciting causes to
which crowds are subjected . The same difficulty,
however, presents itself in the psychological study of
an individual. It is only in novels that individuals
are found to traverse their whole life with an unvarying

character. It is only the uniformity of the environ
ment that creates the apparent uniformity of charac
ters. I have shown elsewhere that all mental
constitutions contain possibilities of character which

may be manifested in consequence of a sudden change
of environment. This explains how it was that among
the most savage members of the French Convention
were to be found inoffensive citizens who, under
ordinary circumstances, would have been peaceable
notaries or virtuous magistrates. The storm past,
STICS
THE MIND OF CROWDS. GENERAL CHARACTERI OF CROWDS. 5
which permit of the two kinds of crowds being they resumed their normal character of quiet, law
abiding citizens. Napoleon found amongst them his
ed. cupying rselves th e fferent
atre
tifo
utenbe
er oc ou wi th di most docile servants.
go ri es of cr ow ds, w mu fi of all examine the
e st rs t
It being impossible to study here all the successive
acteristics common to them all. We shall set to
degrees of organisation of crowds, we shall concern
like the naturalist, who begins by describing ourselves more especially with such crowds as have
ics
eneral characterist common to all the members In
attained to the phase of complete organisation.
family before concerning himself with the par this way we shall see what crowds may become, but
ics ich low e fferentiation
r characterist wh al th di not what they invariably are. It is only in this
genera and species that the family includes. advanced phase of organisation that certain new and
is not easy to describe the mind of crowds with special characteristics are superposed on the unvarying
ness, because its organisation varies not only and dominant character of the race ; then takes place
n
ing to race and compositio , but also according that turning already alluded to of all the feelings and
F
nature and intensity of the exciting causes to thoughts of the collectivity in an identical direction.
The same difficulty, It is only under such circumstances, too, that what I
er, owes
crpr tseitsu
dsenar lfec
sebj d. e psychological study of
inteth have called above the psychological law of the mental
TM
ividual. It is only in novels that individuals unity of crowds comes into play.
nd to traverse their whole life with anunvarying Among the psychological characteristics of crowds
ter. It is only the uniformity ofthe environ there are some that they may present in common with
hat creates the apparent uniformity of charac isolated individuals, and others, on the contrary,
I have shown elsewhere that all mental which are absolutely peculiar to them and are only to
s
utions contain possibilitie of character which be met with in collectivities. It is these special
e
manifested in consequenc of a sudden change characteristics that we shall study, first of all, in order
ronment. This explains how it was that among to show their importance.
st savage members of the French Convention The most striking peculiarity presented by a
o be found inoffensive citizens who, under psychological crowd is the following : Whoever be
ces
y circumstan , would have been peaceable the individuals that compose it, however like or unlike
The storm past, be their mode of life, their occupations, their character,
s
or virtuous magistrate .
or their intelligence, the fact that they have been

transformed into a crowd puts them in possession of
a sort of collective mind which makes them feel , think,
and act in a manner quite different from that in which
each individual of them would feel, think, and act
were he in a state of isolation. There are certain ideas
and feelings which do not come into being, or do not

transform themselves into acts except in the case of
individuals forming a crowd. The psychological
crowd is a provisional being formed of heterogeneous
elements, which for a moment are combined, exactly as
the cells which constitute a living body form by their
reunion a new being which displays characteristics very
different from those possessed by each of the cells
singly.
Contrary to an opinion which one is astonished to
find coming from the pen of so acute a philosopher as
Herbert Spencer, in the aggregate which constitutes a
crowd there is in no sort a summing-up of or an average
struck between its elements. What really takes place
is a combination followed by the creation of new
characteristics, just as in chemistry certain elements ,
when brought into contact- bases and acids, for
example-combine to form a new body possessing
properties quite different from those of the bodies that
have served to form it.
It is easy to prove how much the individual forming
part of a crowd differs from the isolated individual,
**BRARIES

THE MIND OF CROWDS.
but it is less easy to discover the causes of this
their intelligence, the fact that they have been difference.
nsformed into a crowd puts them in possession of
To obtain at any rate a glimpse of them it is neces
ort of collective mind which makes them feel, think,
sary in the first place to call to mind the truth
I act in a manner quite different from that in which
established by modern psychology, that unconscious
h individual of them would feel, think, and act
phenomena play an altogether preponderating part
e he in a state of isolation. There are certain ideas
not only in organic life, but also in the operations of
feelings which do not come into being, or do not the intelligence. The conscious life of the mind is of
sform themselves into acts except in the case of !
small importance in comparison with its unconscious
The psychological life. The most subtle analyst, the most acute observer,
viduals form ing l a crowd. s
d is a provisiona being formed of heterogeneou
is scarcely successful in discovering more than a very
ts
en , wh ic h r
fo amo me nt are comb in ed tl
, exac asy
small number of the unconscious motives that deter
ells which constitute a living body form by their
mine his conduct. Our conscious acts are the outcome
s
ona new being which displays characteristic very
of an unconscious substratum created in the mind in
ent from those possessed by each of the cells
the main by hereditary influences. This substratum
consists of the innumerable common characteristics
ed
trary to an opinion which one is astonish to
handed down from generation to generation, which
her
ming from the pen of so acute a philosop as constitute the genius of a race. Behind the avowed
r te es
rt Spence , in the aggrega which constitut a
causes of our acts there undoubtedly lie secret causes
g
there is in no sort a summin -up of or an average that we do not avow, but behind these secret causes
n t s
betwee its elemen . What really takes place
there are many others more secret still which we
tion ollowed y he reation f ew
ombina f b t c o n ourselves ignore. The greater part of our daily
s ry
teristic , just as in chemist certain elements, actions are the result of hidden motives which escape
t
brough into contact- bases and acids, for our observation.
e ng
le-combin to form a new body possessi It is more especially with respect to those uncon
r e n t
ties quite diffe from those of the bodies that scious elements which constitute the genius of a race
that all the individuals belonging to it resemble each
ual g
easy toprove how much the individ formin
erved to form it. other, while it is principally in respect to the conscious
d ual
f a crowd differs from the isolate individ ,
elements of their character-the fruit of education,

and yet more of exceptional hereditary conditions
that they differ from each other. Men the most unlike
in the matter of their intelligence possess instincts,
passions, and feelings that are very similar. In the
case of everything that belongs to the realm of senti
ment-religion, politics, morality, the affections and
antipathies, etc.-the most eminent men seldom
surpass the standard of the most ordinary individuals.
From the intellectual point of view an abyss may exist
between a great mathematician and his bootmaker,
but from the point of view of character the difference
is most often slight or non-existent.
It is precisely these general qualities of character,
governed by forces of which we are unconscious, and
possessed by the majority of the normal individuals
of a race in much the same degree it is precisely
these qualities, I say, that in crowds become common
property. In the collective mind the intellectual
aptitudes of the individuals, and in consequence their

individuality, are weakened. The heterogeneous is
swamped by the homogeneous, and the unconscious
qualities obtain the upper hand.
This very fact that crowds possess in common
ordinary qualities explains why they can never
accomplish acts demanding a high degree of intelli
gence. The decisions affecting matters of general
interest come to by an assembly of men of distinction,
******** URARIES
THE MIND OF CROWDS. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. 9
ements of their character- the fruit of education, but specialists in different walks of life, are not sensibly
id yet more of exceptional hereditary conditions superior to the decisions that would be adopted by
at they differ from each other. [Menthe most unlike a gathering of imbeciles. The truth is, they can only
the matter of their intelligence possess instincts, bring to bear in common on the work in hand those
sions, and feelings that are very similar. In the mediocre qualities which are the birthright of every
e of everything that belongs to the realm of senti average individual. In crowds it is stupidity and not
it-religion, politics, morality, the affections and mother-wit that is accumulated. It is not all the
pathies, etc. -the most eminent men seldom world, as is so often repeated, that has more wit than
1
ass the standard of the most ordinary individuals. Voltaire, but assuredly Voltaire that has more wit than
n the intellectual point of view an abyss may exist all the world, if by " all the world " crowds are to be
een a great mathematician and his bootmaker, understood.

If the individuals of a crowd confined themselves
rom the point of view of character the difference
to putting in common the ordinary qualities of which
st often slight or non-existent. each of them has his share, there would merely result
; precisely these general qualities of character,
s the striking of an average, and not, as we have said is
ed by forces of which we are unconsciou , and
ed by the majority of the normal individuals actually the case, the creation of new characteristics.
How is it that these new characteristics are created ?
ce in much the same degree-it is precisely
This is what we are now to investigate.
alities, I say, that in crowds become common
In the collective mind the intellectual ✓ Different causes determine the appearance of these
s e
s of the individual , and in consequenc their characteristics peculiar to crowds, and not possessed
7.
ous by isolated individuals. The first is that the individual
ality, are weakened. The heterogene is
ous s
by the homogene , and the unconsciou forming part of a crowd acquires, solely from numerical
considerations, a sentiment of invincible power which
y in allows him to yield to instincts which, had he been

erta
ob cte tuhpapterchra
fath owndd.s possess in common
s alone, he would perforce have kept under restraint.
qualitie explains why they can never
ng He will be the less disposed to check himself from the
h acts demandi a high degree of intelli
s g consideration that, a crowd being anonymous, and in
The decision affectin matters of general
y n consequence irresponsible, the sentiment of responsi
me to by an assembl of men of distinctio ,
IO THE MIND OF CROWDS.
bility which always controls individuals disappears

entirely.
The second cause, which is contagion, also intervenes
to determine the manifestation in crowds of their
special characteristics, and at the same time the trend
they are to take. Contagion is a phenomenon of
which it is easy to establish the presence, but that it
is not easy to explain. It must be classed among
those phenomena of a hypnotic order, which we shall

shortly study. In a crowd every sentiment and act
is contagious, and contagious to such a degree that an
individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the
collective interest. This is an aptitude very contrary
to his nature, and of which a man is scarcely capable,
except when he makes part of a crowd.
A third cause, and by far the most important,
determines in the individuals of a crowd special
characteristics which are quite contrary at times to
those presented by the isolated individual. I allude
to that suggestibility of which, moreover, the con
tagion mentioned above is neither more nor less than
an effect.
To understand this phenomenon it is necessary to
bear in mind certain recent physiological discoveries.
We know to-day that by various processes an individual
may be brought into such a condition that, having
entirely lost his conscious personality, he obeys all the
suggestions of the operator who has deprived him of
> BRARIES
THE MIND OF CROWDS. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS . II
ity which always controls individuals disappears

it, and commits acts in utter contradiction with his
irely. character and habits. The most careful observations

The second cause, which is contagion, also intervenes
seem to prove that an individual immerged for some
determine the manifestation in crowds of their
length of time in a crowd in action soon finds himself
ial characteristics, and at the same timethe trend
-either in consequence of the magnetic influence given
are to take. Contagion is a phenomenon of out by the crowd, or from some other cause of which
"
h it is easy to establish the presence, but that it we are ignorant- in a special state, which much
ot easy to explain. It must be classed among resembles the state of fascination in which the hypno
e phenomena of a hypnotic order, which we shall tised individual finds himself in the hands of the
ly study. In a crowd every sentiment and act
hypnotiser. The activity of the brain being paralysed
atagious, and contagious to such a degree that an
in the case of the hypnotised subject, the latter
idual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the becomes the slave of all the unconscious activities of
tive interest. This is an aptitude very contrary his spinal cord, which the hypnotiser directs at will.
nature, and of which a man is scarcely capable, The conscious personality has entirely vanished ; will
and discernment are lost. All feelings and thoughts
when he makes part ofa crowd.
hird cause, and by far the most important, are bent in the direction determined by the hypnotiser.
s
ines in the individual of a crowd special Such also is approximately the state of the individual
teristics which are quite contrary at times to forming part of a psychological crowd. He is no
presented by the isolated individual. I allude longer conscious of his acts. In his case, as in the
lity
; suggestibi of which, moreover, the con case of the hypnotised subject, at the same time that
o n e d
ment i abov is neither more nor less than
e
certain faculties are destroyed, others may be brought
to a high degree of exaltation. Under the influence
nd enon t ry
ndersta this phenom i is necessa to of a suggestion, he will undertake the accomplishment
t.mind certain recent physiological discoveries. of certain acts with irresistible impetuosity. This
s al
wto-day that by various processe an individu impetuosity is the more irresistible in the case of
t on
brough into such a conditi that, having crowds than in that of the hypnotised subject, from the
us lity e beys ll he
lost his conscio persona ,h o a t fact that, the suggestion being the same for all the
r d
ions of the operato who has deprive him of individuals of the crowd, it gains in strength by
reciprocity. Х.The individualities in the crowd who

might possess a personality sufficiently strong to
resist the suggestion are too few in number to struggle
against the current. At the utmost, they may be
able to attempt a diversion by means of different
suggestions. It is in this way, for instance, that a
happy expression, an image opportunely evoked, have
occasionally deterred crowds from the most blood
thirsty acts.
We see, then, that the disappearance of the conscious
personality, the predominance of the unconscious
personality, the turning by means of suggestion and
contagion of feelings and ideas in an identical direction,
the tendency to immediately transform the suggested
ideas into acts ; these, we see, are the principal
characteristics of the individual forming part of a
crowd. He is no longer himself, but has become an
automaton who has ceased to be guided by his will.
+ Moreover, by the mere fact that he forms part of an

organised crowd, a man descends several rungs in the
ladder of civilisation . Isolated, he may be a cultivated
individual ; in a crowd, he is a barbarian-that is, a
creature acting by instinct. He possesses the spon
taneity, the violence, the ferocity, and also the
enthusiasm and heroism of primitive beings, whom
he further tends to resemble by the facility with which
he allows himself to be impressed by words and images
-which would be entirely without action on each of
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
12
s
eciprocity. The individualitie in the crowd who the isolated individuals composing the crowd- and to
light possess a personality sufficiently strong to be induced to commit acts contrary to his most obvious
interests and his best-known habits. An individual
sist the suggestion are too few in number to struggle
rainst the current. At the utmost, they may be in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand,
le to attempt a diversion by means of different which the wind stirs up at will.
gestions. It is in this way, for instance, that a It is for these reasons that juries are seen to deliver
opy expression, an image opportunely evoked, have verdicts of which each individual juror would disap
asionally deterred crowds from the most blood prove, that parliamentary assemblies adopt laws and
measures of which each of their members would dis
nce approve in his own person. Taken separately, the

th. en, that the disappeara
e, ts
stsyeac
Te of the conscious
an c e s men of the Convention were enlightened citizens of
onality, the predomin of the unconsciou
peaceful habits. United in a crowd, they did not
nality, the turning by means of suggestion and
hesitate to give their adhesion to the most savage
gion offeelings andideas in an identical direction,
ely ransform he ggested proposals, to guillotine individuals most clearly inno
ndency to immediat t t su
cent, and, contrary to their interests, to renounce their
into acts ; these, we see, are the principal
inviolability and to decimate themselves.
teristics of the individual forming part of a
It is not only by his acts that the individual in a
He is no longer himself, but has become an
crowd differs essentially from himself. Even before
ton who has ceased to be guided by his will.
he has entirely lost his independence, his ideas and
>ver, by the mere fact that he forms part of an
feelings have undergone a transformation, and the
d crowd, a man descends several rungs in the
on transformation is so profound as to change the miser
civilisati . Isolated, he may be a cultivated
into a spendthrift, the sceptic into a believer, the
n
il; in a crowd, he is a barbaria -that is, a
honest man into a criminal, and the coward into a
s
acting by instinct. He possesse the spon hero. The renunciation of all its privileges which the
the violence, the ferocity, and also the
nobility voted in a moment of enthusiasm during the
m and heroism of primitive beings, whom
celebrated night of August 4, 1789, would certainly
r tends to resemble by the facility with which never have been consented to by any of its members
d
himself to be impresse by words and images taken singly.
rould be entirely without action on each of
The conclusion to be drawn from what precedes is,

that the crowd is always intellectually inferior to the
isolated individual, but that, from the point of view
of feelings and of the acts these feelings provoke, the
crowd may, according to circumstances, be better or
worse than the individual. All depends on the nature
of the suggestion to which the crowd is exposed. This
is the point that has been completely misunderstood
by writers who have only studied crowds from the
criminal point of view. Doubtless a crowd is often
criminal, but also it is often heroic. It is crowds
rather than isolated individuals that may be induced
to run the risk of death to secure the triumph of a
creed or an idea, that may be fired with enthusiasm
for glory and honour, that are led on--almost without
bread and without arms, as in the age of the Crusades
-to deliver the tomb of Christ from the infidel, or, as
in '93, to defend the fatherland. Such heroism is
without doubt somewhat unconscious, but it is of such
heroism that history is made. Were peoples only to
be credited with the great actions performed in cold
blood, the annals of the world would register but few
of them .
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
14
that the crowd is always intellectually inferior tothe
isolated individual, but that, from the point of view
of feelings and ofthe acts these feelings provoke, the
s
crowd may, according to circumstance , be better or
CHAPTER II.
worse than the individual. All depends on the nature
of the suggestion to which the crowd is exposed. This THE SENTIMENTS AND MORALITY OF
d CROWDS.
s the point that has been completely misunderstoo
s d
y writer who have only studie crowds from the
§ 1. Impulsiveness, mobility, and irritability of crowds.
riminal point of view. Doubtless a crowd is often The crowd is at the mercy of all exterior exciting causes,
It is crowds and reflects their incessant variations-The impulses
riminal, but also it is ofteal
n heroic.
s which the crowd obeys are so imperious as to annihilate
ed
ther than isolat indivi du that may be induced the feeling of personal interest-Premeditation is absent
run the risk of death to secure the triumph of a from crowds- Racial influence. § 2. Crowds are credu
ed or an idea, that may be fired with enthusiasm lous and readily influenced by suggestion. The obe
dience of crowds to suggestions-The images evoked
glory and honour, that are led on-almost without in the mind of crowds are accepted by them as realities—
ad and without arms, as inthe age ofthe Crusades Why these images are identical for all the individuals
composing a crowd-The equality of the educated and the
deliver the tomb of Christ from the infidel, or, as
ignorant man in a crowd-Various examples of the
Such heroism is
illusions to which the individuals in a crowd are subject
93,
out to ndmeth
detfeso
doub wheat ther
faun nsnd
cola ci. ous, but it is ofsuch -The impossibility of according belief to the testimony
of crowds-The unanimity of numerous witnesses is one
ism that history is made. Were peoples only to
of the worst proofs that can be invoked to establish a
redited with the great actions performed in cold fact-The slight value of works of history. § 3. The
, the annals ofthe world would register but few exaggeration and ingenuousness of the sentiments of
crowds. Crowds do not admit doubt or uncertainty, and
always go to extremes-Their sentiments always exces
sive. § 4. The intolerance, dictatorialness, and con
servatism of crowds. The reasons of these sentiments-
em. The servility of crowds in the face of a strong authority
-The momentary revolutionary instincts of crowds do
not prevent them from being extremely conservative—
Crowds instinctively hostile to changes and progress.
§ 5. The morality of crowds. The morality of crowds,

according to the suggestions under which they act, may
be much lower or much higher than that of the individuals
composing them-Explanation and examples-Crowds
rarely guided by those considerations of interest which
are most often the exclusive motives of the isolated indi
vidual-The moralising role of crowds.
HAVING indicated in a general way the principal

characteristics of crowds, it remains to study these
characteristics in detail.
It will be remarked that among the special charac

teristics of crowds there are several-such as impul
siveness, irritability, incapacity to reason, the absence

of judgment and of the critical spirit, the exaggeration
of the sentiments, and others besides-which are
almost always observed in beings belonging to inferior
forms of evolution-in women, savages, and children,
for instance. However, I merely indicate this analogy
in passing ; its demonstration is outside the scope of
this work. It would, moreover, be useless for persons
acquainted with the psychology of primitive beings ,
and would scarcely carry conviction to those in
ignorance of this matter.
I now proceed to the successive consideration of the
different characteristics that may be observed in the
majority of crowds.
§ 1. IMPULSIVENESS , MOBILITY, AND IRRITABILITY

OF CROWDS.
When studying the fundamental characteristics of
THE SENTIMENTS AND MÕRALITY OF CROWDS. 17
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
6 a crowd we stated that it is guided almost exclusively
§ 5. The morality of crowds. The morality ofcrowds,
according to the suggestions under which they act, may by unconscious motives. Its acts are far more under
be much lower or much higher than that ofthe individuals In
the influence of the spinal cord than of the brain.
composing them-Explanation and examples-Crowds
rarely guided by those considerations of interest which this respect a crowd is closely akin to quite primitive
are most often the exclusive motives ofthe isolated indi beings. The acts performed may be perfect so far as
vidual-The moralising role of crowds. their execution is concerned, but as they are not
d directed by the brain, the individual conducts himself
AVING indicate in a general way the principal
st ic s according as the exciting causes to which he is sub
aracte ri of crowds, it remains to study these
mitted may happen to decide. A crowd is at the
s
ar l bsteicreimnardekta
Itacwitelri
edil. hat mong he pecial charac
t a t s
mercy of all external exciting causes, and reflects their
incessant variations. It is the slave of the impulses
istics of crowds there are several-such as impul
lity ity e which it receives. The isolated individual may be
eness, irritabi , incapac to reason, the absenc
t a t i o n submitted to the same exciting causes as the man in a
udgmen and of the critical spirit, the exagger
nts
the sentime , and others besides which are crowd, but as his brain shows him the inadvisability of
d ng r yielding to them, he refrains from yielding. This
ost always observe in beings belongi to inferio
t i o n n e s r e n truth may be physiologically expressed by saying that
18 of evolu - in wome , savag , and child ,
r e the isolated individual possesses the capacity of domi
ns t a n c e. Ho ve , I merely indicat this analogy
w e
t r a t i o n nating his reflex actions, while a crowd is devoid of
assing; its demon s e
is outsid the scope of
e r this capacity.
work. It woul , more d o v , be useless for persons
o y f rimitive eings
g The varying impulses which crowds obey may
ainted with the psychol o p b ,
y ion to those in be, according to their exciting causes, generous or
would scarcel carry convict
cruel, heroic or cowardly, but they will always be so
ion
ed ssive considerat ofthe
now proce to the rsucce imperious that the interest of the individual, even the
rance of thtiesrmisattitces . ved n he
c that may be obser interest of self-preservation, will not dominate them.
rent chara i t
The exciting causes that may act on crowds being so
ESS Y
SIVEN ITY ABILIT varied, and crowds always obeying them, crowds are
1. yIMPULowds , MOBIL , AND IRRIT
i t
r o cf r . in consequence extremely mobile. This explains how
al tics it is that we see them pass in a moment from the most
Then study
i ng amWeDnSt. characteris
thOeFfuCnRdO of 3
bloodthirsty ferocity to the most extreme generosity

and heroism. A crowd may easily enact the part of an
executioner, but not less easily that of a martyr. It
is crowds that have furnished the torrents of blood
requisite for the triumph of every belief. It is not
necessary to go back to the heroic ages to see what
crowds are capable of in this latter direction. They are
never sparing of their life in an insurrection, and not
long since a general, becoming suddenly popular, might
easily have found a hundred thousand men ready to
sacrifice their lives for his cause had he demanded it.
Any display of premeditation by crowds is in conse
quence out of the question. They may be animated in
succession by the most contrary sentiments , but they
will always be under the influence of the exciting
S
causes of the moment. They are like the leaves which
a tempest whirls up and scatters in every direction
and then allows to fall. When studying later on
certain revolutionary crowds we shall give some
P
examples of the variability of their sentiments.
a
This mobility of crowds renders them very difficult
f
to govern, especially when a measure of public
authority has fallen into their hands. Did not the
CO
necessities of everyday life constitute a sort of invisible
$6
regulator of existence, it would scarcely be possible
for democracies to last. Still, though the wishes of
m
crowds are frenzied they are not durable. Crowds are
ha
1 General Boulanger .
in
THE MIND OF CROWDS. E NTS TY OF CROWDS. 19
THE SENTIM AND MORALI
18
bloodthirsty ferocity to the most extreme generosity
as incapable of willing as of thinking for any length of
and heroism. A crowd may easily enact the part ofan
time.
executioner, but not less easily that of a martyr. It
A crowd is not merely impulsive and mobile. Like
is crowds that have furnished the torrents of blood
a savage, it is not prepared to admit that anything can
requisite for the triumph of every belief. It is not come between its desire and the realisation of its desire.
back to the heroic ages to see what
It is the less capable of understanding such an interven
ds
crow aryeto
capa bl e er ction. They are
necessar go of in this latt dire tion, in consequence of the feeling of irresistible power
never sparing of their life in an insurrection, and not
given it by its numerical strength. The notion of im
long since a general, becoming suddenly popular, might
possibility disappears for the individual in a crowd. An
easily have found a hundred thousand men ready to
isolated individual knows well enough that alone he
sacrifice their lives for his cause had he demanded it.
n cannot set fire to a palace or loot a shop, and should
y itatio y rowds s n onse
Any displa of premed b c i i c
n ed he be tempted to do so, he will easily resist the temp
quence out of the questio . They may be animat in
tation. Making part of a crowd, he is conscious of the
sion y he ost ontrary entiments ut hey
succes b t m c s ,b t power given him by number, and it is sufficient to
n c e g
l
wil al w a y s be un d e r e
th inf l u e of th excitin
e
suggest to him ideas of murder or pillage for him to
e s e n t y e s h
caus ofthe mom . The are like the leav whic
yield immediately to temptation. An unexpected
t s on
a tempes whirls up and scatter in every directi
g obstacle will be destroyed with frenzied rage. Did the
s i n
and then allow to fall. When study later on
a i n l u t i onary w d s l
human organism allow of the perpetuity of furious
cer t rev o cro we sha give some
l
passion, it might be said that the normal condition of
es lity f heir entiments
exampl of thteyvariabi o t s . a crowd baulked in its wishes is just such a state of
i s rs ult
Thi mobs i l of cro d rende them very diffic
w
furious passion.
rn ia l l y r e c
to gove , espec when a measu of publi
t y The fundamental characteristics of the race, which
o r i l e n o i r d s d t e
uth has fal int the han . Di no th
t ies day ife onstitute ort f nvisible constitute the unvarying source from which all our
ec e s s i of every l c as o i
tor f xistence t ould carcely be possible sentiments spring, always exert an influence on the
egula o e , i w s
s irritability of crowds, their impulsiveness and their
racie o ast till hough he wishes of
or democ t l . S ,t t
mobility, as on all the popular sentiments we shall
s ied le ds
rowd are frenz they are not durab . Crow are
have to study. All crowds are doubtless always
irritable and impulsive, but with great variations of
al nger.
1 Gener Boula
degree. For instance, the difference between a Latin

and an Anglo-Saxon crowd is striking. The most
recent facts in French history throw a vivid light on

this point. The mere publication, twenty-five years
ago, of a telegram, relating an insult supposed to have
been offered an ambassador, was sufficient to determine 1
an explosion of fury, whence followed immediately
a terrible war. Some years later the telegraphic
announcement of an insignificant reverse at Langson 0
provoked a fresh explosion which brought about the
instantaneous overthrow of the government. At the al
same moment a much more serious reverse undergone 8
by the English expedition to Khartoum produced only
a slight emotion in England, and no ministry was
overturned. Crowds are everywhere distinguished
by feminine characteristics, but Latin crowds are the S

most feminine of all. Whoever trusts in them may b
rapidly attain a lofty destiny, but to do so is to be
perpetually skirting the brink of a Tarpeian rock, with
the certainty of one day being precipitated from it.
§ 2. THE SUGGESTIBILITY AND CREDULITY OF CROWDS.
When defining crowds, we said that one of their

general characteristics was an excessive suggestibility,
and we have shown to what an extent suggestions are
contagious in every human agglomeration ; a fact
which explains the rapid turning of the sentiments of
a crowd in a definite direction. However indifferent
THE SENTIMENTS AND MORALITY OF CROWDS. 21
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
20
degree. For instance, the difference between a Latin it may be supposed, a crowd, as a rule, is in a state of
and an Anglo-Saxon crowd is striking. The most expectant attention, which renders suggestion easy.
recent facts in French history throw a vivid light on The first suggestion formulated which arises implants
this point. The mere publication, twenty-five years itself immediately by a process of contagion in the
ago, of a telegram, relating an insult supposed to have brains of all assembled, and the identical bent of the
been offered anambassador, was sufficient to determine sentiments of the crowd is immediately an accom
an explosion of fury, whence followed immediately plished fact.
Some years later the telegraphic As is the case with all persons under the influence
norr
ante
a ntr.of an insignificant reverse at Langson
lemewa
unibce of suggestion, the idea which has entered the brain
provoked a fresh explosion which brought about the tends to transform itself into an act. Whether the
s
instantaneou overthrow of the government. At the act is that of setting fire to a palace, or involves
same moment a much more serious reverse undergone self-sacrifice, a crowd lends itself to it with equal
on m g
by the English expediti to Khartou produced only facility.
d
All will depen on the nature of the excitin
a slight emotion in England, and no ministry was cause, and no longer, as in the case of the isolated
re hed
Crowds are everywhe distinguis individual, on the relations existing between the act
e stic s
by femuirnniend characteri , but Latin crowds are the suggested and the sum total of the reasons which may
overt .
most feminine of all. Whoever trusts in them may be urged against its realisation.
rapidly attain a lofty destiny, but to do so is to be In consequence, a crowd perpetually hovering on the
lly
perpetua skirting the brink of a Tarpeian rock, with borderland of unconsciousness , readily yielding to all
y ted
the certaint of one day being precipita from it. suggestions, having all the violence of feeling peculiar
to beings who cannot appeal to the influence of reason,
TY
TIBILI L ITY F ROWDS
§ 2. THE SUGGES AND CREDU O C . deprived of all critical faculty, cannot be otherwise
ng s than excessively credulous. The improbable does not
When defini crowd , we said that one of their
i c s
al teri s t ive ibility exist for a crowd, and it is necessary to bear this cir
gener charac was an excess suggest ,
n d e a v e h o w n o h a t n x t e n t u g g e s tions are cumstance well in mind to understand the facility with
a w h s t w a e s
on
ious n very uman gglomerati which are created and propagated the most improbable
contag i e h a ; a fact
n s n g ments of legends and stories.
which explai the rapid turni ofthe senti
te ion er erent I Persons who went through the siege of Paris saw
crowd in a defini direct . Howev indiff
The creation of the legends which so easily obtain

circulation in crowds is not solely the consequence of
their extreme credulity. It is also the result of the

prodigious perversions that events undergo in the
imagination of a throng. The simplest event that
comes under the observation of a crowd is soon totally
transformed. A crowd thinks in images , and the
image itself immediately calls up a series of other

images, having no logical connection with the first.
We can easily conceive this state by thinking of the
fantastic succession of ideas to which we are sometimes
led by calling up in our minds any fact. Our reason
shows us the incoherence there is in these images, but

a crowd is almost blind to this truth, and confuses
with the real event what the deforming action of its
imagination has superimposed thereon. A crowd
scarcely distinguishes between the subjective and the
objective. It accepts ? as real the images evoked in
its mind, though they most often have only a very
distant relation with the observed fact.
The ways in which a crowd perverts any event of

which it is a witness ought, it would seem, to be
innumerable and unlike each other, since the indivi
duals composing the gathering are of very different
numerous examples of this credulity of crowds. A candle

alight in an upper storey was immediately looked upon as a
signal given the besiegers , although it was evident, after a
moment of reflection, that it was utterly impossible to catch
sight of the light of the candle at a distance of several miles.
The creation of the legends which so easily obtain
temperaments . But this is not the case. As the
circulation in crowds is not solely the consequence of
result of contagion the perversions are of the same
their extreme credulity. It is also the result of the
kind, and take the same shape in the case of all the
prodigious perversions that events undergo in the assembled individuals.
imagination of a throng. The simplest event that
The first perversion of the truth effected by one of
comes under the observation of a crowd is soon totally
the individuals of the gathering is the starting-point
A crowd thinks in images, and the of the contagious suggestion. Before St. George
transformed.
image itself immediately calls up a series of other appeared on the walls of Jerusalem to all the Crusaders
images, having no logical connection with the first.
he was certainly perceived in the first instance by one
We can easily conceive this state bythinking ofthe
of those present. By dint of suggestion and contagion
fantastic succession of ideas to which we are sometimes
the miracle signalised by a single person was imme
led by calling up in our minds any fact. Our reason diately accepted by all.
shows us the incoherence there is in these images, but
Such is always the mechanism of the collective
a crowd is almost blind to this truth, and confuses
hallucinations so frequent in history-hallucinations
with the real event what the deforming action of its which seem to have all the recognised characteristics
A crowd
imagination has superimposed thereon. of authenticity, since they are phenomena observed by
scarcely distinguishes between the subjective and the thousands of persons.
objective. It accepts as real the images evoked in To combat what precedes, the mental quality of the
its mind, though they most often have only a very individuals composing a crowd must not be brought
distant relation with the observed fact. into consideration. This quality is without importance.
s
The ways in which a crowd pervert any event of From the moment that they form part of a crowd the
s s d
which it is a witne ought, it woul seem, to be learned man and the ignoramus are equally incapable
ble nd nlike ach ther ince he divi
nnumera a u e o ,s t in of observation.
i n g n g
uals compos the gatheri are of very different This thesis may seem paradoxical. To demonstrate
s es y it beyond doubt it would be necessary to investigate
umerou exampl of this credulit of crowds. A candle
tely ooked pon s
ight in an upper storey was immedia l u a a a great number of historical facts, and several volumes
e r s g h
n g
gnal give the besie , alth o u it was evident, after a would be insufficient for the purpose.
on ble
oment of reflecti , that it was utterly impossi to catch Still, as I do not wish to leave the reader under the
e
ht of the light of the candle at a distanc of several miles,
impression of unproved assertions, I shall give him
some examples taken at hazard from the immense

number of those that might be quoted .
The following fact is one of the most typical, because

chosen from among collective hallucinations of which
a crowd is the victim , in which are to be found indi
viduals of every kind, from the most ignorant to the
most highly educated. It is related incidentally by
Julian Felix, a naval lieutenant, in his book on “ Sea
Currents," and has been previously cited by the Revue
Scientifique.
The frigate, the Belle Poule, was cruising in the
open sea for the purpose of finding the cruiser Le

Berceau, from which she had been separated by a
violent storm . It was broad daylight and in full
sunshine. Suddenly the watch signalled a disabled
vessel ; the crew looked in the direction signalled, and
every one, officers and sailors , clearly perceived a

raft covered with men towed by boats which were
displaying signals of distress. Yet this was nothing
more than a collective hallucination . Admiral
Desfosses lowered a boat to go to the rescue of the

wrecked sailors . On nearing the object sighted , the
sailors and officers on board the boat saw "" masses of
men in motion, stretching out their hands, and heard

the dull and confused noise of a great number of
voices." When the object was reached those in the
boat found themselves simply and solely in the presence
THE MIND OF CROWDS. THE SENTIMENTS AND MORALITY OF CROWDS. 25
24
impression of unproved assertions, I shall give him of a few branches of trees covered with leaves that had
some examples taken at hazard from the immense been swept out from the neighbouring coast. Before
number ofthose that might be quoted. evidence so palpable the hallucination vanished.
The following fact is one ofthe most typical, because The mechanism of a collective hallucination of the
chosen from among collective hallucinations of which kind we have explained is clearly seen at work in this
a crowd is the victim, in which are to be found indi example. On the one hand we have a crowd in a state
viduals of every kind, from the most ignorant tothe of expectant attention, on the other a suggestion made
most highly educated. It is related incidentally by by the watch signalling a disabled vessel at sea, a
Julian Felix, a naval lieutenant, in his book on "Sea suggestion which, by a process of contagion, was
Currents," and has been previously cited by the Revue accepted by all those present, both officers and sailors.
It is not necessary that a crowd should be numerous
igue
e iffriq
iehnt
ScT at. e, the Belle Poule, was cruising in the for the faculty of seeing what is taking place before
open sea for the purpose of finding the cruiser Le its eyes to be destroyed and for the real facts to be
replaced by hallucinations unrelated to them. As
Berceau, from which she had been separated by a
It was broad daylight and in full soon as a few individuals are gathered together they
su hitnest
olen
vins . or . enly the watch signalled a disabled
Sumdd constitute a crowd, and, though they should be dis
vessel; the crew looked in the direction signalled, and tinguished men of learning, they assume all the
every one, officers and sailors, clearly perceived a characteristics of crowds with regard to matters outside
aft covered with men towed by boats which were their speciality. The faculty of observation and the
isplaying signals of distress. Yet this was nothing critical spirit possessed by each of them individually
n
ore than a collective hallucinatio . Admiral at once disappears. An ingenious psychologist, Mr.
Davey, supplies us with a very curious example in
sfosses lowered a boat to go to the rescue ofthe
point, recently cited in the Annales des Sciences
ecked sailors. On nearing the object sighted, the
ors and officers on board the boat saw "masses of Psychiques, and deserving of relation here. Mr.
in motion, stretching out their hands, and heard Davey, having convoked a gathering of distinguished
dull and confused noise of a great number of observers, among them one of the most prominent of
English scientific men, Mr. Wallace, executed in their
When the object was reached those in the
lves imply nd olely e presence, and after having allowed them to examine
found themse s a s in the presenc
"2
the objects and to place seals where they wished , all

the regulation spiritualistic phenomena, the materiali
sation of spirits, writing on slates , etc. Having
subsequently obtained from these distinguished obser
vers written reports admitting that the phenomena
observed could only have been obtained by super
natural means, he revealed to them that they were the
result of very simple tricks. " The most astonishing
feature of Monsieur Davey's investigation," writes the
author of this account, " is not the marvellousness of
the tricks themselves, but the extreme weakness of
the reports made with respect to them by the non
initiated witnesses . It is clear, then ," he says, " that
witnesses even in number may give circumstantial

relations which are completely erroneous , but whose
result is that, if their descriptions are accepted as
exact, the phenomena they describe are inexplicable by
trickery. The methods invented by Mr. Davey were
so simple that one is astonished that he should have
had the boldness to employ them ; but he had such a
power over the mind of the crowd that he could
persuade it that it saw what it did not see. " Here , as
always, we have the power of the hypnotiser over the
hypnotised. Moreover, when this power is seen in
action on minds of a superior order and previously
invited to be suspicious , it is understandable how easy
it is to deceive ordinary crowds .
Analogous examples are innumerable . As I write
26
the objects and to place seals where they wished, all these lines the papers are full of the story of two little
the regulation spiritualistic phenomena, the materiali girls found drowned in the Seine. These children, to
sation of spirits, writing on slates, etc. Having begin with, were recognised in the most unmistakable
subsequently obtained from these distinguished obser manner by half a dozen witnesses. All the affirma
tions were in such entire concordance that no doubt
vers written reports admitting that the phenomena
observed could only have been obtained by super remained in the mind of the juge d'instruction. He
natural means, he revealed tothem that theywere the had the certificate of death drawn up, but just as the
burial of the children was to have been proceeded with,
result of very simple tricks. "The most astonishing
feature ofMonsieur Davey's investigation," writes the a mere chance brought about the discovery that the
author of this account, "is not the marvellousness of supposed victims were alive, and had, moreover, but a
the tricks themselves, but the extreme weakness of remote resemblance to the drowned girls. As in
several of the examples previously cited, the affirma

the reports made with respect to them by the non
initiated witnesses. It is clear,then,"he says, "that tion of the first witness, himself a victim of illusion ,
had sufficed to influence the other witnesses.
witnesses even in number may give circumstantial
In parallel cases the starting-point of the suggestion
relations which are completely erroneous, but whose
is always the illusion produced in an individual by
result is that, if their descriptions are accepted as
more or less vague reminiscences, contagion following
ract, the phenomena they describe are inexplicable by
as the result of the affirmation of this initial illusion .
rickery. The methods invented by Mr. Davey were
simple that one is astonished that he should have If the first observer be very impressionable, it will
often be sufficient that the corpse he believes he recog
d the boldness to employ them; buthe had such a
wer over the mind of the crowd that he could nises should present-apart from all real resemblance
suade it that it saw what it did not see." Here,as -some peculiarity, a scar, or some detail of toilet
which may evoke the idea of another person. The
ays, wehave the power ofthe hypnotiser overthe
idea evoked may then become the nucleus of a sort of
notised. Moreover, when this power is seen in
crystallisation which invades the understanding and
on on minds of a superior order and previously
paralyses all critical faculty. What the observer then
ed to be suspicious, it is understandable how easy
sees is no longer the object itself, but the image evoked
ve easry rable. As I write
atolodgeocuesi exoarmdpiln acrreoiwndnsu. me in his mind. In this way are to be explained erroneous
recognitions of the dead bodies of children by their

own mother, as occurred in the following case, already
old, but which has been recently recalled by the news
papers. In it are to be traced precisely the two kinds
of suggestion of which I have just pointed out the
mechanism.
"The child was recognised by another child, who

was mistaken. The series of unwarranted recognitions
then began.
"An extraordinary thing occurred. The day after

a schoolboy had recognised the corpse a woman
exclaimed, ' Good Heavens, it is my child ! '
66 She was taken up to the corpse ; she examined the
clothing, and noted a scar on the forehead. ' It is
certainly,' she said, ' my son who disappeared last July.
He has been stolen from me and murdered.'
" The woman was concierge in the Rue du Four ;

her name was Chavandret. Her brother-in-law was
summoned, and when questioned he said, ' That is the
little Filibert.' Several persons living in the street
recognised the child found at La Villette as Filibert
Chavandret, among them being the boy's schoolmaster,
who based his opinion on a medal worn by the lad.
66
Nevertheless, the neighbours, the brother-in-law,
the schoolmaster, and the mother were mistaken. Six
weeks later the identity of the child was established.
The boy, belonging to Bordeaux, had been murdered
TS Y OF CROWDS. 29
THE MIND OF CROWDS. THE SENTIMEN AND MORALIT
28
recognitions of the dead bodies of children bytheir there and brought by a carrying company to
Paris."
own mother, as occurred in the following case, already
old, but which has been recently recalled by the news It will be remarked that these recognitions are most
pipers. In itare to be traced precisely the twokinds often made by women and children-that is to say, by
of suggestion of which I have just pointed out the precisely the most impressionable persons. They
show us at the same time what is the worth in law
mechanism. courts of such witnesses. As far as children, more
"The child was recognised by another child, who especially, are concerned, their statements ought
d
as mistaken. Theseries ofunwarrante recognitions never to be invoked. Magistrates are in the habit of
repeating that children do not lie. Did they possess a
y
en n
"A beex n. aordinar thing occurred. The day after
gatr psychological culture a little less rudimentary than is
schoolboy had recognised the corpse a woman the case they would know that, on the contrary, chil
laimed, 'Good Heavens, it is my child!' dren invariably lie ; the lie is doubtless innocent, but
She was taken up to the corpse; she examinedthe it is none the less a lie. It would be better to decide
'It is the fate of an accused person by the toss of a coin than,
ing, and noted a scar on the forehead.
o pp ea re d
e id y n
inly,'sh sa , 'm so wh di sa la July.
st as has been so often done, by the evidence of a child.
s been stolen from me and murdered.' To return to the faculty of observation possessed
e by crowds, our conclusion is that their collective
e woman was concierg in the Rue du Four ;
r e t
me was Chavand . Her brother-in-law was observations are as erroneous as possible, and that
ed
ned, and when question he said, 'That is the most often they merely represent the illusion of an
ilibert.' Several persons living in the street individual who, by a process of contagion, has sugges
ed the child found at La Villette as Filibert tioned his fellows. Facts proving that the most utter
aster, mistrust of the evidence of crowds is advisable might
ret, among them being the boy's schoolm
be multiplied to any extent. Thousands of men were
ed his opinion on a medal worn by the lad.
urs present twenty-five years ago at the celebrated cavalry
rtheless, the neighbo , the brother-in-law,
n
and the mother were mistake . Six charge during the battle of Sedan, and yet it is
y hed impossible, in the face of the most contradictory ocular
er the identi of the child was establis .
t
Imaster, ng ux d 1 L'Eclair, April 21, 1895.
belongi to Bordea , had been murdere
testimony, to decide by whom it was commanded. The

English general, Lord Wolseley, has proved in a recent
book that up to now the gravest errors of fact have
been committed with regard to the most important
incidents of the battle of Waterloo-facts that hun
dreds of witnesses had nevertheless attested.
Such facts show us what is the value of the testimony
of crowds. Treatises on logic include the unanimity
of numerous witnesses in the category of the strongest
proofs that can be invoked in support of the exactness
of a fact. Yet what we know of the psychology of
crowds shows that treatises on logic need on this point
to be rewritten. The events with regard to which
there exists the most doubt are certainly those which
have been observed by the greatest number of persons.
I Do we know in the case of one single battle exactly how

it took place ? I am very doubtful on the point. We know
who were the conquerors and the conquered, but this is pro
bably all. What M. D'Harcourt has said with respect to
the battle of Solferino, which he witnessed, and in which
he was personally engaged, may be applied to all battles-
" The generals (informed, of course, by the evidence of hun
dreds of witnesses) forward their official reports ; the orderly
officers modify these documents and draw up a definite narra
tive ; the chief of the staff raises objections and re-writes the
whole on a fresh basis. It is carried to the Marshal, who
exclaims, ' You are entirely in error, ' and he substitutes a
fresh edition. Scarcely anything remains of the original
report." M. D'Harcourt relates this fact as proof of the
impossibility of establishing the truth in connection with the
most striking, the best observed events.
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
30
To say that a fact has been simultaneously verified by
testimony, to decide by whom it was commanded. The
thousands of witnesses is to say, as a rule, that the
English general, Lord Wolseley, has proved in arecent
real fact is very different from the acepted account
book that up to now the gravest errors of fact have
of it.
been committed with regard to the most important
It clearly results from what precedes that works of
incidents of the battle of Waterloo -facts that hun
history must be considered as works of pure imagina
dreds of witnesses had nevertheless attested.¹
tion. They are fanciful accounts of ill-observed facts,
Such facts show us what is the value ofthetestimony
accompanied by explanations the result of reflection.
of crowds. Treatises on logic include the unanimity To write such books is the most absolute waste of
of numerous witnesses in the category ofthestrongest
time. Had not the past left us its literary, artistic,
roofs that can be invoked in support ofthe exactness and momumental works, we should know absolutely
f a fact. Yet what we know of the psychology of
nothing in reality with regard to bygone times. Are
owds shows that treatises onlogic need onthis point
we in possession of a single word of truth concerning
The events with regard to which
the lives of the great men who have played prepon
e ex
erbe teen.most doubt are certainly those which
reiswrtsitth
derating parts in the history of humanity—men such
ve been observed by the greatest number ofpersons. as Hercules, Buddha, or Mahomet ? In all probability
we are not. In point of fact, moreover, their real
Do we know in the case of one single battle exactly how
lives are of slight importance to us. Our interest is to
ok place? I amvery doubtful on the point. We know
were the conquerors and the conquered, but this is pro know what our great men were as they are presented
all. What M. D'Harcourt has said with respect to
by popular legend. It is legendary heroes, and not for
attle of Solferino, which he witnessed, and in which
as personally engaged, may be applied to all battles a moment real heroes, who have impressed the minds
generals (informed, of course, by the evidence ofhun of crowds.
of witnesses) forward their official reports ; the orderly Unfortunately, legends-even although they have
s
modify these document and draw up a definite narra
h ch of th st ra es objections and re-writes the
e ie f e af f is been definitely put on record by books- have in them
n a fresh basis. It is carried to the Marshal, who selves no stability. The imagination of the crowd
'You are entirely in error, ' and he substitutes a continually transforms them as the result of the lapse
ition. Scarcely anything remains of the original
rt
M. D'Harcou relates this fact as proof of the of time and especially in consequence of racial causes.
hi ng e th n
lity of esta bl is th tru in connectio with the There is a great gulf fixed between the sanguinary
king, the best observed events.

Jehovah of the Old Testament and the God of Love
of Sainte Thérèse, and the Buddha worshipped in

China has no traits in common with that venerated
in India.
It is not even necessary that heroes should be sepa

rated from us by centuries for their legend to be
transformed by the imagination of the crowd. The
transformation occasionally takes place within a few
years. In our own day we have seen the legend of one
of the greatest heroes of history modified several
times in less than fifty years. Under the Bourbons
Napoleon became a sort of idyllic and liberal philan
thropist, a friend of the humble who, according to the
poets, was destined to be long remembered in the
cottage. Thirty years afterwards this easy-going
hero had become a sanguinary despot, who, after
q
having usurped power and destroyed liberty, caused
e
the slaughter of three million men solely to satisfy
a
his ambition. At present we are witnessing a fresh
transformation of the legend. When it has undergone
01
the influence of some dozens of centuries the learned
d
men of the future, face to face with these contradictory
to
accounts, will perhaps doubt the very existence of the
a
hero, as some of them now doubt that of Buddha, and
m
will see in him nothing more than a solar myth or a
development of the legend of Hercules. They will
st
dcubtless console themselves easily for this uncer a
tainty, for, better initiated than we are to-day in the
THE MIND OF CROWDS. TS Y
THE SENTIMEN AND MORALIT OF CROWDS. 33
32
Jehovah of the Old Testament and the God of Love
characteristics and psychology of crowds, they will
of Sainte Thérèse, and the Buddha worshipped in
know that history is scarcely capable of preserving the
China has no traits in common with that venerated
memory of anything except myths.
ry
nIt
Inisdina.ot even necessa that heroes should be sepa § 3. THE EXAGGERATION AND INGENUOUSNESS OF THE
ted from us by centuries for their legend to be SENTIMENTS OF CROWDS.

ed ion
ransform by the imaginat of the crowd. The Whether the feelings exhibited by a crowd be good
o r m a t i o n on al ly
ran s f occa si take place within a few
s or bad, they present the double character of being very
years. In our own day we haveseen thelegend ofone simple and very exaggerated. On this point, as on so
of the greatest heroes of history modified several many others, an individual in a crowd resembles
mes in less than fifty years. Underthe Bourbons primitive beings. Inaccessible to fine distinctions ,
Napoleon became a sort of idyllic and liberal philan he sees things as a whole, and is blind to their inter
hropist, a friend of the humble who, according to the mediate phases. The exaggeration of the sentiments
ed
poets, was destined to be long remember in the of a crowd is heightened by the fact that any feeling
bttage. Thirty years afterwards this easy-going when once it is exhibited communicating itself very
ry
ero had become a sanguina despot, who, after quickly by a process of suggestion and contagion, the
ving usurped power and destroyed liberty, caused evident approbation of which it is the object consider
e slaughter of three million men solely to satisfy ably increases its force.
ambition. At present we are witnessing a fresh The simplicity and exaggeration of the sentiments
ion f he egend
nsformat o t l . When ithas undergone of crowds have for result that a throng knows neither
e
influenc of some dozens of centuries the learned doubt nor uncertainty. Like women, it goes at once
ory
h of the future, face to face with these contradict to extremes. A suspicion transforms itself as soon as
punts, will perhaps doubt the very existence ofthe announced into incontrovertible evidence. A com
a
as some ofthem now doubt that of Buddh , and mencement of antipathy or disapprobation, which in
ng
see in him nothi more than a solar myth or a the case of an isolated individual would not gain
They will strength, becomes at once furious hatred in the case of
nt d es
lopmse osofltehe lemgseenlveosf Hericluyl . an individual in a crowd.
tles con the eas for this uncer
ted
y, for, better initia than we are to-day in the The violence of the feelings of crowds is also
4
increased, especially in heterogeneous crowds, by the

absence of all sense of responsibility. The certainty
of impunity, a certainty the stronger as the crowd is
more numerous, and the notion of a considerable
momentary force due to number, make possible in the

case of crowds sentiments and acts impossible for the
isolated individual. In crowds the foolish, ignorant,
and envious persons are freed from the sense of their

insignificance and powerlessness, and are possessed
instead by the notion of brutal and temporary but
immense strength .
Unfortunately, this tendency of crowds towards

exaggeration is often brought to bear upon bad senti
ments. These sentiments are atavistic residuum of
the instincts of the primitive man, which the fear of
punishment obliges the isolated and responsible indi
vidual to curb. Thus it is that crowds are so easily
led into the worst excesses.
Still this does not mean that crowds, skilfully
influenced, are not capable of heroism and devotion
and of evincing the loftiest virtues ; they are even
more capable of showing these qualities than the
isolated individual. We shall soon have occasion to
revert to this point when we come to study the morality

of crowds.
Given to exaggeration in its feelings, a crowd is

only impressed by excessive sentiments. An orator
wishing to move a crowd must make an abusive use

TS
THE MIND OF CROWDS. THE SENTIMEN AND MORALITY OF CROWDS. 35
34
s
increased, especially in heterogeneou crowds, by the of violent affirmations. To exaggerate, to affirm, to
absence of all sense of responsibility. The certainty resort to repetitions, and never to attempt to prove
of impunity, a certainty the stronger as the crowd is anything by reasoning are methods of argument well
more numerous, and the notion of a considerable known to speakers at public meetings.
momentary force due to number, make possible inthe Moreover, a crowd exacts a like exaggeration in the
case of crowds sentiments and acts impossible forthe sentiments of its heroes . Their apparent qualities and
isolated individual. In crowds the foolish, ignorant, virtues must always be amplified. It has been justly
and envious persons are freed from the sense of their remarked that on the stage a crowd demands from the
s
insignificance and powerlessnes , and are possessed hero of the piece a degree of courage, morality, and
instead by the notion of brutal and temporary but virtue that is never to be found in real life.
Quite rightly importance has been laid on the special

ely
orteunat ngth
nfns is ndency of crowds towards standpoint from which matters are viewed in the
imUme stre , .th te
at i o n
exagger is often brought to bear upon bad senti theatre. Such a standpoint exists no doubt, but its
nts re avistic esiduum f
men . These sentime
t s a at r o rules for the most part have nothing to do with
s e
the instinct of the primitiv man, which the fear of common sense and logic. The art of appealing to
m e n t le crowds is no doubt of an inferior order, but it demands
punish obliges the isolated and responsib indi
l
vidua to curb. Thus it is that crowds are so easily quite special aptitudes. It is often impossible on
reading plays to explain their success . Managers of
ese. an that crowds, skilfully theatres when accepting pieces are themselves, as a
ledStiinltlo thhieswodrosets exncoetssm
c e d
influen , are not capable of heroism and devotion rule, very uncertain of their success , because to judge
g the matter it would be necessary that they should be
and of evincin the loftiest virtues ; they are even
e g s able to transform themselves into a crowd.I
more capabl of showin these qualitie than the
d u a l
iso l a t e ind i v i d . We shal soo hav occasion to
l n e Here, once more , were we able to embark on more
y extensive explanations , we should show the prepon
revert to this point when we come to study the moralit
ation n ts elings I It is understandable for this reason why it sometimes

Given to exagger i i fe , a crowd is
w d s happens that pieces refused by all theatrical managers obtain
of cr o . An orator
sed e nts a prodigious success when by a stroke of chance they are put
onlhyiinmgpres eby excessdiv setntimee .
wis to mov a crow mus mak an abusive use on the stage. The recent success of François Coppée's play ,
S
36 THE MIND OF CROWD .
derating influence of racial considerations. A play

which provokes the enthusiasm of the crowd in one
country has sometimes no success in another, or has
only a partial and conventional success, because it does
not put in operation influences capable of working on
an altered public.
I need not add that the tendency to exaggeration in
crowds is only present in the case of sentiments and
not at all in the matter of intelligence. I have already
shown that, by the mere fact that an individual forms
part of a crowd, his intellectual standard is immediately
and considerably lowered. A learned magistrate,
M. Tarde, has also verified this fact in his researches
on the crimes of crowds.It is only, then, with respect
to sentiment that crowds can rise to a very high or,
on the contrary, descend to a very low level.
"Pour la Couronne," is well known, and yet, in spite of the

name of its author, it was refused during ten years by the 8
managers of the principal Parisian theatres.
66
Charley's Aunt, " refused at every theatre, and finally
staged at the expense of a stockbroker, has had two hundred
representations in France, and more than a thousand in
London. Without the explanation given above of the im
possibility for theatrical managers to mentally substitute
themselves for a crowd, such mistakes in judgment on the
part of competent individuals, who are most interested not
to commit such grave blunders, would be inexplicable. This
is a subject that I cannot deal with here, but it might worthily
P
tempt the pen of a writer acquainted with theatrical matters,
and at the same time a subtle psychologist-of such a writer, r
for instance, as M, Francisque Sarcey.
TS AND MORALITY OF CROWDS. 37
THE MIND OF CROWDS. THE SENTIMEN
36
derating influence of racial considerations. A play 4. THE INTOLERANCE, DICTATORIALNESS, AND
which provokes the enthusiasm of the crowd in one CONSERVATISM OF CROWDS.
country has sometimes no success in another, or has
Crowds are only cognisant of simple and extreme
only a partial and conventional success, because itdoes
sentiments ; the opinions, ideas, and beliefs suggested
not put in operation influences capable of working on
to them are accepted or rejected as a whole, and con
sidered as absolute truths or as not less absolute errors.
d dnpu
eere
anIalnte dd. that the tendency to exaggeration in
otblaic
This is always the case with beliefs induced by a
crowds is only present in the case of sentiments and
process of suggestion instead of engendered by reason
ce
not at all in the matter of intelligen . Ihave already ing. Every one is aware of the intolerance that
shown that, bythe mere fact that an individual forms
accompanies religious beliefs, and of the despotic
al y
part of a crowd, his intellectu standard is immediatel
empire they exercise on men's minds.
A learned magistrate,
Being in doubt as to what constitutes truth or error,
asaballysolve
rdnse,idher
Ma.ndTaco d. this fact in his researches
owrierfieed
and having, on the other hand, a clear notion of its
on the crimes of crowds. It is only, then, with respect
strength, a crowd is as disposed to give authoritative
t
to sentimen that crowds can rise to a very high or,
effect to its inspirations as it is intolerant. An indi
on the contrary, descend to a very low level. vidual may accept contradiction and discussion ; a
e crowd will never do so. At public meetings the
"Pour la Couronn , " is well known, and yet, in spite of the
name of its author, it was refused during ten years by the slightest contradiction on the part of an orator is
immediately received with howls of fury and violent
ma"Cnaghaerrlseyo'fstheupnrtincipaefluPsaerdisitan tvheeraytrehs.eatre nd nally
A ," r a e r t , a fi
oke invective, soon followed by blows, and expulsion should
staged at thoensexpense of a stockbr , has had two hundred
nt a t i d
represe in France, and more than a thousan in the orator stick to his point. Without the restraining
n d o n t h o u t l a n a t i on e n v e
Lo . Wi the exp giv abo of the im presence of the representatives of authority the con
lity al s y
possibi s for theatric manager to mentall substitute
e l v e e s nt tradictor, indeed, would often be done to death.
the m s w d
for a cro , suc mis h t a k in jud e on the
g m
a r t f o m p e t ent ndividuals ho re ost nterested ot Dictatorialness and intolerance are common to all
p o c i , w a m i n
s able
to commit such grave blunder , would be inexplic . This categories of crowds, but they are met with in a
is a subject that I cannot deal with here, but it might worthily
ted l varying degree of intensity. Here, once more,
tempt the pen of a writer acquain with theatrica matters,
ogist f uch riter
and at the same time a subtle psychol -o s a w , reappears that fundamental notion of race which
dominates all the feelings and all the thoughts of men.
e que
for instanc , as M, Francis Sarcey.
D WDS
38 THE MIN OF CRO .
It is more especially in Latin crowds that authorita

tiveness and intolerance are found developed in the
highest measure. In fact, their development is such

in crowds of Latin origin that they have entirely
destroyed that sentiment of the independence of the
individual so powerful in the Anglo-Saxon. Latin
crowds are only concerned with the collective indepen
dence of the sect to which they belong, and the
characteristic feature of their conception of inde
pendence is the need they experience of bringing
those who are in disagreement with themselves into
immediate and violent subjection to their beliefs.
Among the Latin races the Jacobins of every epoch,
from those of the Inquisition downwards, have never
been able to attain to a different conception of liberty.
Authoritativeness and intolerance are sentiments of
which crowds have a very clear notion, which they
easily conceive and which they entertain as readily
as they put them in practice when once they are
imposed upon them. Crowds exhibit a docile respect
for force, and are but slightly impressed by kindness,
which for them is scarcely other than a form of
weakness. Their sympathies have never been bes
towed on easy-going masters , but on tyrants who
vigorously oppressed them. It is to these latter that
they always erect the loftiest statues. It is true that
they willingly trample on the despot whom they have
stripped of his power, but it is because, having lost his
THE MIND OF CROWDS.
38
It is more especially in Latin crowds that authorita strength, he has resumed his place among the feeble,
tiveness and intolerance are found developed in the who are to be despised because they are not to be
highest measure . In fact, their development is such feared. The type of hero dear to crowds will always
have the semblance of a Cæsar. His insignia attracts
in crowds of Latin origin that they have entirely
them, his authority overawes them, and his sword
destroyed that sentiment of the independence of the
instils them with fear.
individual so powerful in the Anglo-Saxon. Latin
A crowd is always ready to revolt against a feeble,
crowds are only concerned with the collective indepen
and to bow down servilely before a strong authority.
dence of the sect to which they belong, and the
Should the strength of an authority be intermittent,
characteristic feature of their conception of inde
the crowd, always obedient to its extreme sentiments,
pendence is the need they experience of bringing |
passes alternately from anarchy to servitude, and from
those who are in disagreement with themselves into
servitude to anarchy.
immediate and violent subjection to their beliefs.
However, to believe in the predominance among
Among the Latin races the Jacobins of every epoch,
crowds of revolutionary instincts would be to entirely
from those ofthe Inquisition downwards, have never
misconstrue their psychology. It is merely their
been able to attain to a different conception ofliberty.
ess d tolerance e ntiments tendency to violence that deceives us on this point.
Authoritativen an in ar se of
Their rebellious and destructive outbursts are always
which crowds have a very clear notion, which they
very transitory. Crowds are too much governed by
easily conceive and which they entertain as readily
unconscious considerations , and too much subject in
as they put them in practice when once they are consequence to secular hereditary influences not to be
imposed upon them. Crowds exhibit a docile respect extremely conservative. Abandoned to themselves,
for force, and are but slightly impressed bykindness,
they soon weary of disorder, and instinctively turn to
which for them is scarcely other than a form of
servitude. It was the proudest and most untractable
Their sympathies have never been bes of the Jacobins who acclaimed Bonaparte with greatest
towed on easy-going masters, but on tyrants who energy when he suppressed all liberty and made his
we ouss
orne
igak sl.y oppressedthem. Itis to these latter that
hand of iron severely felt.
hey always erect the loftiest statues. It is true that It is difficult to understand history, and popular
hey willingly trample on the despot whom they have revolutions in particular, if one does not take suffi
tripped ofhis power, but it is because, havinglost his
ciently into account the profoundly conservative

instincts of crowds. They may be desirous, it is true,
of changing the names of their institutions, and to
obtain these changes they accomplish at times even
violent revolutions, but the essence of these institu
tions is too much the expression of the hereditary
needs of the race for them not invariably to abide
by it. Their incessant mobility only exerts its
influence on quite superficial matters. In fact, they
possess conservative instincts as indestructible as those
of all primitive beings. Their fetish-like respect for
all traditions is absolute ; their unconscious horror of
all novelty capable of changing the essential conditions
of their existence is very deeply rooted. Had demo
cracies possessed the power they wield to-day at the
time of the invention of mechanical looms or of the
introduction of steam-power and of railways, the

realisation of these inventions would have been
impossible, or would have been achieved at the cost
of revolutions and repeated massacres. It is fortunate
for the progress of civilisation that the power of crowds
only began to exist when the great discoveries of
science and industry had already been effected.
§ 5. THE MORALITY OF CROWDS.
Taking the word " morality " to mean constant

respect for certain social conventions, and the perma
nent repression of selfish impulses, it is quite evident
ently into account the profoundly conservative that crowds are too impulsive and too mobile to be
stincts of crowds. They may bedesirous , it is true, moral. If, however, we include in the term morality
changing the names of their institutions, and to the transitory display of certain qualities such as
tain these changes they accomplish at times even abnegation, self-sacrifice, disinterestedness, devotion,
olent revolutions, but the essence of these institu and the need of equity, we may say, on the contrary,
Ons is too much the expression of the hereditary that crowds may exhibit at times a very lofty morality.
eds of the race for them not invariably to abide The few psychologists who have studied crowds have
-it. Their incessant mobility only exerts its only considered them from the point of view of their
fluence on quite superficial matters. In fact, they criminal acts, and noticing how frequent these acts
ssess conservative instincts as indestructible as those are, they have come to the conclusion that the moral
standard of crowds is very low.
all primitive beings . Their fetish-like respect for
traditions is absolute ; their unconscious horror of Doubtless this is often the case ; but why? Simply
novelty capable ofchangingthe essential conditions because our savage, destructive instincts are the
inheritance left dormant in all of us from the primitive
their existence is very deeply rooted. Had demo
ages. In the life of the isolated individual it would
cies possessed the power they wield to-day at the
le of the invention of mechanical looms or of the be dangerous for him to gratify these instincts, while
foduction of steam-power and of railways, the his absorption in an irresponsible crowd, in which in
isation of these inventions would have been consequence he is assured of impunity, gives him entire
ossible, or would have been achieved at the cost liberty to follow them. Being unable, in the ordinary
course of events, to exercise these destructive instincts
volutions and repeated massacres. Itis fortunate
on our fellow-men, we confine ourselves to exercising
heprogress ofcivilisation thatthepower ofcrowds
them on animals. The passion, so widespread, for
began to exist when the great discoveries of
the chase and the acts of ferocity of crowds proceed
ce and industry had already been effected. from one and the same source. A crowd which
TY F ROWDS slowly slaughters a defenceless victim displays a very
§ 5. THE MORALI O C .
y cowardly ferocity ; but for the philosopher this ferocity
n g
ki th wo e r d "mo r a l i t " to m e a n constant
t i o n s is very closely related to that of the huntsmen who
t for certain social conven , and the perma
i o n e s gather in dozens for the pleasure of taking part in the
epr e s s of sel f i s h im p u l s , it is quite evident
pursuit and killing of a luckless stag by their

hounds.
A crowd may be guilty of murder, incendiarism , and

every kind of crime, but it is also capable of very lofty
acts of devotion, sacrifice, and disinterestedness, of
acts much loftier indeed than those of which the
isolated individual is capable. Appeals to sentiments

of glory, honour, and patriotism are particularly likely
to influence the individual forming part of a crowd,
and often to the extent of obtaining from him the
sacrifice of his life. History is rich in examples
analogous to those furnished by the Crusaders and the
volunteers of 1793. Collectivities alone are capable
of great disinterestedness and great devotion. How
numerous are the crowds that have heroically faced
death for beliefs, ideas, and phrases that they scarcely
understood ! The crowds that go on strike do so far
more in obedience to an order than to obtain an
increase of the slender salary with which they make

shift. Personal interest is very rarely a powerful
motive force with crowds, while it is almost the
exclusive motive of the conduct of the isolated indi
vidual. It is assuredly not self-interest that has
guided crowds in so many wars, incomprehensible as

a rule to their intelligence-wars in which they have
allowed themselves to be massacred as easily as the
larks hypnotised by the mirror of the hunter.
Even in the case of absolute scoundrels it often
THE MIND OF CROWDS. MENTS ITY S
42 THE SENTI AND MORAL OF CROWD . 43
pursuit and killing of a luckless stag by their

happens that the mere fact of their being in a crowd
hounds. endows them for the moment with very strict principles
A crowd may be guilty of murder, incendiarism, and of morality. Taine calls attention to the fact that
every kind of crime, but it is also capable ofvery lofty
the perpetrators of the September massacres deposited
acts of devotion, sacrifice, and disinterestedness, of
on the table of the committees the pocket-books and
acts much loftier indeed than those of which the
jewels they had found on their victims, and with which
isolated individual is capable. Appeals to sentiments they could easily have been able to make away. The
of glory, honour, and patriotism are particularly likely howling, swarming, ragged crowd which invaded the
to influence the individual forming part of a crowd, Tuileries during the revolution of 1848 did not lay
and often to the extent of obtaining from him the hands on any of the objects that excited its astonish
History is rich in examples ment, and one of which would have meant bread for
narif
sac iceusof
logo thsoslif
to hi e. rnished bythe Crusaders andthe
e fu
many days.
olunteers of 1793. Collectivities alone are capable This moralisation of the individual by the crowd is
s
f great disinterestednes and great devotion. How not certainly a constant rule, but it is a rule frequently
umerous are the crowds that have heroically faced observed. It is even observed in circumstances much
eath for beliefs, ideas, and phrases that they scarcely less grave than those I have just cited. I have remarked
derstood ! The crowds that go on strike do so far that in the theatre a crowd exacts from the hero of
ore in obedience to an order than to obtain an the piece exaggerated virtues, and it is a commonplace
crease of the slender salary with which they make observation that an assembly, even though composed
Personal interest is very rarely a powerful of inferior elements, shows itself as a rule very prudish.
tive force with crowds, while it is almost the The debauchee, the souteneur, the rough often break
liflut.sive motive of the conduct of the isolated indi out into murmurs at a slightly risky scene or expres
It is assuredly not self-interest that has sion, though they be very harmless in comparison with
ded crowds in so many wars, incomprehensible as their customary conversation.
ual.
ale to their intelligence-wars in which they have If, then, crowds often abandon themselves to low
wed themselves to be massacred as easily asthe instincts, they also set the example at times of acts
of lofty morality. If disinterestedness , resignation ,
s hypnotisedbythe mirror ofthe hunter.
ven in the case of absolute scoundrels it often and absolute devotion to a real or chimerical ideal are
moral virtues, it may be said that crowds often possess

these virtues to a degree rarely attained by the wisest
philosophers . Doubtless they practice them uncon
sciously, but that is of small import. We should not
complain too much that crowds are more especially
guided by unconscious considerations and are not given
to reasoning. Had they, in certain cases, reasoned
and consulted their immediate interests, it is possible
that no civilisation would have grown up on our planet
and humanity would have had no history.

sess
sest
con CHAPTER III.
not
THE IDEAS, REASONING POWER, AND
lly
IMAGINATION OF CROWDS.
'en
§ 1. The ideas of crowds. Fundamental and accessory ideas
ed
-How contradictory ideas may exist simultaneously.-
le The transformation that must be undergone by lofty ideas
t before they are accessible to crowds-The social influence
of ideas is independent of the degree of truth they may
contain. § 2. The reasoning power of crowds. Crowds
are not to be influenced by reasoning-The reasoning of
crowds is always of a very inferior order- There is only
the appearance of analogy or succession in the ideas they
associate. § 3. The imagination of crowds. Strength
of the imagination of crowds-Crowds think in images, "
I and these images succeed each other without any con J
necting link- Crowds are especially impressed by the
marvellous-Legends and the marvellous are the real
pillars of civilisation- The popular imagination has
always been the basis of the power of statesmen- The
manner in which facts capable of striking the imagination
of crowds present themselves for observation.
§ 1. THE IDEAS OF CROWDS.
WHEN studying in a preceding work the part played

by ideas in the evolution of nations, we showed that
every civilisation is the outcome of a small number of
fundamental ideas that are very rarely renewed. We
showed how these ideas are implanted in the minds

of crowds, with what difficulty the process is effected,
and the power possessed bythe ideas in question
when once it has been accomplished. Finally we saw
that great historical perturbations are the result, as a

rule, of changes in these fundamental ideas.
Having treated this subject at sufficient length, I
shall not return to it now, but shall confine myself to
saying a few words on the subject of such ideas as are
accessible to crowds, and of the forms under which
they conceive them.
They may be divided into two classes . In one we
t
shall place accidental and passing ideas created by the b
influences of the moment ; infatuation for an individual
ta
or a doctrine, for instance. In the other will be classed
W
the fundamental ideas, to which the environment, the
th
laws of heredity and public opinion give a very great
stability ; such ideas are the religious beliefs of the to
past and the social and democratic ideas of to-day. th
These fundamental ideas resemble the volume of
th
the water of a stream slowly pursuing its course ; the it
transitory ideas are like the small waves, for ever CO
changing, which agitate its surface, and are more la
visible than the progress of the stream itself although th
without real importance .
At the present day the great fundamental ideas to
which were the mainstay of our fathers are tottering a
more and more. They have lost all solidity, and at th
the same time the institutions resting upon them are W
severely shaken. Every day there are formed a great al
many of those transitory minor ideas of which I have tc
THE IDEAS AND IMAGINATION OF CROWDS. 47
IW just been speaking ; but very few of them to all

a appearance seem endowed with vitality and destined
to acquire a preponderating influence.
I Whatever be the ideas suggested to crowds they can
0 only exercise effective influence on condition that they
e assume a very absolute, uncompromising, and simple
AUG
1 shape. They present themselves then in the guise of
images, and are only accessible to the masses under
this form. These imagelike ideas are not connected
by any logical bond of analogy or succession, and may
take each other's place like the slides of a magic-lantern
w
which the operator withdraws from the groove in which 4
they were placed one above the other. This explains
how it is that the most contradictory ideas may be seen
to be simultaneously current in crowds. According to
the chances of the moment, a crowd will come under
the influence of one of the various ideas stored up in
its understanding, and is capable, in consequence, of
committing the most dissimilar acts. Its complete
lack of the critical spirit does not allow of its perceiving
these contradictions.
This phenomenon is not peculiar to crowds. It is
to be observed in many isolated individuals, not only
among primitive beings, but in the case of all those
the fervent sectaries of a religious faith, for instance
who by one side or another of their intelligence are
akin to primitive beings. I have observed its presence
to a curious extent in the case of educated Hindoos
ND DS
E OW
48 TH MI OF CR .
brought up at our European universities and having

taken their degree. A number of Western ideas had
been superposed on their unchangeable and funda
mental hereditary or social ideas. According to the
chances of the moment, the one or the other set of
ideas showed themselves each with their special accom
paniment of acts or utterances, the same individual
presenting in this way the most flagrant contradictions.
These contradictions are more apparent than real, for
it is only hereditary ideas that have sufficient influence
over the isolated individual to become motives of
conduct. It is only when, as the result of the inter
mingling of different races, a man is placed between
different hereditary tendencies that his acts from one
moment to another may be really entirely contra
dictory. It would be useless to insist here on these
phenomena, although their psychological importance
is capital. I am of opinion that at least ten years of
travel and observation would be necessary to arrive at
a comprehension of them.
Ideas being only accessible to crowds after having
assumed a very simple shape must often undergo
the most thoroughgoing transformations to become
popular. It is especially when we are dealing with
somewhat lofty philosophic or scientific ideas that we 6
see how far-reaching are the modifications they require S

in order to lower them to the level of the intelligence 0
of crowds. These modifications are dependent on the 8

and having nature of the crowds, or of the race to which the crowds
rn ideas had belong, but their tendency is always belittling and in
and funda the direction of simplification. This explains the fact
-ding to the that, from the social point of view, there is in reality
other set of scarcely any such thing as a hierarchy of ideas- that

is to say, as ideas of greater or less elevation. How
cial accom
individual ever great or true an idea may have been to begin
tradictions. with, it is deprived of almost all that which constituted
an real, for its elevation and its greatness by the mere fact that it
atinfluence has come within the intellectual range of crowds and
motives of exerts an influence upon them.
the inter Moreover, from the social point of view the

hierarchical value of an idea, its intrinsic worth, is
between
from one without importance. The necessary point to consider
is the effects it produces. The Christian ideas of the
y contra
on these Middle Ages, the democratic ideas of the last century,
or the social ideas of to-day are assuredly not very
portance
elevated. Philosophically considered, they can only
years of
be regarded as somewhat sorry errors, and yet their
arrive at
power has been and will be immense, and they will
count for a long time to come among the most essential
having
factors that determine the conduct of States.
undergo
become Even when an idea has undergone the transforma
tions which render it accessible to crowds, it only
ng with
exerts influence when, by various processes which we
that we
shall examine elsewhere, it has entered the domain
require
of the unconscious, when indeed it has become a
lligence
sentiment, for which much time is required.
onthe
5
For it must not be supposed that merely because

the justness of an idea has been proved it can be
productive of effective action even on cultivated minds.
This fact may be quickly appreciated by noting how
slight is the influence of the clearest demonstration
on the majority of men. Evidence, if it be very plain,
may be accepted by an educated person, but the
convert will be quickly brought back by his uncon
scious self to his original conceptions. See him again
after the lapse of a few days and he will put forward
afresh his old arguments in exactly the same terms.
He is in reality under the influence of anterior ideas,
that have become sentiments, and it is such ideas alone
that influence the more recondite motives of our acts
and utterances. It cannot be otherwise in the case of
crowds.
When by various processes an idea has ended by

penetrating into the minds of crowds, it possesses an
irresistible power, and brings about a series of effects,
opposition to which is bootless. The philosophical
ideas which resulted in the French Revolution took
nearly a century to implant themselves in the mind
of the crowd. Their irresistible force, when once they
had taken root, is known. The striving of an entire
nation towards the conquest of social equality, and
the realisation of abstract rights and ideal liberties,
caused the tottering of all thrones and profoundly
disturbed the Western world. During twenty years
ely because
the nations were engaged in internecine conflict, and
it can Europe witnessed hecatombs that would have terrified
ated minds.
Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane. The world had never
moting how seen on such a scale what may result from the promul
n
monstratio gation of an idea.
veryplain, A long time is necessary for ideas to establish them
but the
1, selves in the minds of crowds, but just as long a time
his uncon is needed for them to be eradicated. For this reason
STANFORD
him again crowds, as far as ideas are concerned, are always several
at forward
generations behind learned men and philosophers.
me terms.
All statesmen are well aware to-day of the admixture
ior ideas, of error contained in the fundamental ideas I referred
deas alone
to a short while back, but as the influence of these
our acts
དེ ནི ད ན གྱི
ideas is still very powerful they are obliged to govern
e case of
in accordance with principles in the truth of which
they have ceased to believe.
སྲིན་ བས
ended by
Sesses an § 2. THE REASONING POWER OF CROWDS.
f effects,
It cannot absolutely be said that crowds do not
l
sophica reason and are not to be influenced by reasoning.
on took
However, the arguments they employ and those
ne mind
which are capable of influencing them are, from a
ce they logical point of view, of such an inferior kind that
1 entire
it is only by way of analogy that they can be described
ty, and
as reasoning.
s
bertie , The inferior reasoning of crowds is based, just as
y
Foundl is reasoning of a high order, on the association of ideas,
year s
but between the ideas associated by crowds there are
only apparent bonds of analogy or succession. The

mode of reasoning of crowds resembles that of the
Esquimaux who, knowing from experience that ice, a
transparent body, melts in the mouth, concludes that
glass, also a transparent body, should also melt in the
mouth ; or that of the savage who imagines that by
eating the heart of a courageous foe he acquires
his bravery ; or of the workman who, having been
exploited by one employer of labour, immediately
concludes that all employers exploit their men.
The characteristics of the reasoning of crowds are
the association of dissimilar things possessing a merely
apparent connection between each other, and the
immediate generalisation of particular cases. It is
arguments of this kind that are always presented to
crowds by those who know how to manage them.
They are the only arguments by which crowds are to
be influenced. A chain of logical argumentation is
totally incomprehensible to crowds, and for this reason
it is permissible to say that they do not reason or that
they reason falsely and are not to be influenced by
reasoning. Astonishment is felt at times on reading
certain speeches at their weakness, and yet they had
an enormous influence on the crowds which listened to
them, but it is forgotten that they were intended to

persuade collectivities and not to be read by philo
sophers. An orator in intimate communication with
a crowd can evoke images by which it will be seduced.
. The If he is successful his object has been attained, and

of the twenty volumes of harangues-always the outcome of
t ice, a reflection are not worth the few phrases which
es that appealed to the brains it was required to convince.
in the It would be superfluous to add that the powerlessness
hat by of crowds to reason aright prevents them displaying
equires any trace of the critical spirit, prevents them, that is,
been from being capable of discerning truth from error, or
Tn
STANFORD
diately of forming a precise judgment on any matter. Judg
ments accepted by crowds are merely judgments
-ds are forced upon them and never judgments adopted after
merely discussion. In regard to this matter the individuals

d the who do not rise above the level of a crowd are
It is numerous. The ease with which certain opinions

ted to obtain general acceptance results more especially from
Sale
them. the impossibility experienced by the majority of men
are to of forming an opinion peculiar to themselves and based
.
ion is on reasoning of their own.
reason
§ 3. THE IMAGINATION OF CROWDS.
r that
ed by Just as is the case with respect to persons in whom
ading the reasoning power is absent, the figurative imagina

yhad tion of crowds is very powerful, very active and very
ed to susceptible of being keenly impressed. The images
ed to evoked in their mind by a personage, an event, an
philo accident, are almost as lifelike as the reality. Crowds
with are to some extent in the position of the sleeper whose
uced. reason, suspended for the time being, allows the

arousing in his mind of images of extreme intensity

which would quickly be dissipated could they be sub
mitted to the action of reflection . Crowds, being
incapable both of reflection and of reasoning, are
devoid of the notion of improbability ; and it is to be
noted that in a general way it is the most improbable
things that are the most striking.
This is why it happens that it is always the mar
vellous and legendary side of events that more specially
strike crowds. When a civilisation is analysed it is
seen that, in reality, it is the marvellous and the
legendary that are its true supports. Appearances
have always played a much more important part than

reality in history, where the unreal is always of greater
moment than the real.
Crowds being only capable of thinking in images are

only to be impressed by images. It is only images
that terrify or attract them and become motives of
action.
For this reason theatrical representations, in which

the image is shown in its most clearly visible shape,
always have an enormous influence on crowds. Bread
and spectacular shows constituted for the plebeians of
ancient Rome the ideal of happiness, and they asked
for nothing more. Throughout the successive ages
this ideal has scarcely varied. Nothing has a greater
effect on the imagination of crowds of every category
than theatrical representations. The entire audience
1
tensity experiences at the same time the same emotions, and if

be sub these emotions are not at once transformed into acts,
being it is because the most unconscious spectator cannot
g, are ignore that he is the victim of illusions, and that he
to be has laughed or wept over imaginary adventures.
bable Sometimes, however, the sentiments suggested by the
images are so strong that they tend, like habitual
mar suggestions, to transform themselves into acts. The
ially story has often been told of the manager of a popular

theatre who, in consequence of his only playing sombre
the dramas, was obliged to have the actor who took the
nces part of the traitor protected on his leaving the theatre,
ban to defend him against the violence of the spectators,
ater indignant at the crimes, imaginary though they were,
which the traitor had committed. We have here, in
are my opinion, one of the most remarkable indications of
ges the mental state of crowds, and especially of the

facility with which they are suggestioned. The unreal
has almost as much influence on them as the real.
ch They have an evident tendency not to distinguish

between the two.
e,
d The power of conquerors and the strength of States
of is based on the popular imagination. It is more par
d ticularly by working upon this imagination that

crowds are led. All great historical facts, the rise of
3
Buddhism, of Christianity, of Islamism, the Reforma
tion, the French Revolution, and, in our own time, the
threatening invasion of Socialism are the direct or
D WDS
56 THE MIN OF CRO .
indirect consequences of strong impressions produced

on the imagination of the crowd.
Moreover, all the great statesmen of every age and
every country, including the most absolute despots,
have regarded the popular imagination as the basis
of their power, and they have never attempted to
govern in opposition to it. " It was by becoming a
Catholic," said Napoleon to the Council of State, “ that
I terminated the Vendéen war. By becoming a Mussul
man that I obtained a footing in Egypt. By becoming
an Ultramontane that I won over the Italian priests,
and had I to govern a nation of Jews I would rebuild
Solomon's temple." Never perhaps since Alexander
and Cæsar has any great man better understood how
the imagination of the crowd should be impressed.
His constant preoccupation was to strike it. He bore
it in mind in his victories, in his harangues , in his
speeches, in all his acts. On his deathbed it was still
in his thoughts .
How is the imagination of crowds to be impressed ?
We shall soon see. Let us confine ourselves for the
moment to saying that the feat is never to be achieved

by attempting to work upon the intelligence or reason
ing faculty, that is to say, by way of demonstration.
It was not by means of cunning rhetoric that Antony
succeeded in making the populace rise against the
murderers of Cæsar ; it was by reading his will to the
multitude and pointing to his corpse.
oduced Whatever strikes the imagination of crowds presents
itself under the shape of a startling and very clear

e and image, freed from all accessory explanation, or merely
spots, having as accompaniment a few marvellous or mys
basis terious facts ; examples in point are a great victory, a
ed to great miracle, a great crime, or a great hope. Things
nga must be laid before the crowd as a whole, and their
that genesis must never be indicated. A hundred petty
ssul crimes or petty accidents will not strike the
ing imagination of crowds in the least, whereas a
ests, single great crime or a single great accident
ild will profoundly impress them, even though the
der results be infinitely less disastrous than those of the
LOW hundred small accidents put together. The epidemic
ed. of influenza, which caused the death but a few years
Dre ago of five thousand persons in Paris alone, made very
is little impression on the popular imagination . The
reason was that this veritable hecatomb was not
embodied in any visible image, but was only learnt
1 from statistical information furnished weekly. An
e accident which should have caused the death of only
1 five hundred instead of five thousand persons, but on
the same day and in public, as the outcome of an acci
dent appealing strongly to the eye, by the fall, for
instance, of the Eiffel Tower, would have produced, on
the contrary, an immense impression on the imagina
tion of the crowd. The probable loss of a transatlantic
steamer that was supposed, in the absence of news,
to have gone down in mid-ocean profoundly impressed

the imagination of the crowd for a whole week. Yet
official statistics show that 850 sailing vessels and 203
steamers were lost in the year 1894 alone. The crowd,
however, was never for a moment concerned by these

successive losses, much more important though they
were as far as regards the destruction of life and
property, than the loss of the Atlantic liner in question
could possibly have been.
It is not, then, the facts in themselves that strike the
popular imagination, but the way in which they take
place and are brought under notice. It is necessary
that by their condensation, if I may thus express
myself, they should produce a startling image which
fills and besets the mind. To know the art of impress
ing the imagination of crowds is to know at the same
time the art of governing them.
ed
et
3
CHAPTER IV.
3 A RELIGIOUS SHAPE ASSUMED BY ALL THE

CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS.
What is meant by the religious sentiment-It is independent
of the worship of a divinity-Its characteristics—The
strength of convictions assuming a religious shape
Various examples-Popular gods have never disappeared
-New forms under which they are revived- Religious
forms of atheism-Importance of these notions from the
historical point of view-The Reformation, Saint Bartho
lomew, the Terror, and all analogous events are the result
of the religious sentiments of crowds and not of the will
of isolated individuals.
We have shown that crowds do not reason, that they

accept or reject ideas as a whole, that they tolerate
neither discussion nor contradiction, and that the sug
¦
gestions brought to bear on them invade the entire
field of their understanding and tend at once to trans
form themselves into acts. We have shown that
crowds suitably influenced are ready to sacrifice them
selves for the ideal with which they have been inspired.
We have also seen that they only entertain violent
and extreme sentiments, that in their case sympathy
quickly becomes adoration, and antipathy almost as
soon as it is aroused is transformed into hatred. These
general indications furnish us already with a presenti
ment of the nature of the convictions of crowds.
8
F
When these convictions are closely examined,
whether at epochs marked by fervent religious faith,

or by great political upheavals such as those of the
last century, it is apparent that they always assume a

peculiar form which I cannot better define than by
giving it the name of a religious sentiment.
This sentiment has very simple characteristics , such
as worship of a being supposed superior, fear of the
power with which the being is credited, blind submis
sion to its commands, inability to discuss its dogmas,
the desire to spread them, and a tendency to consider
as enemies all by whom they are not accepted.
Whether such a sentiment apply to an invisible God,
to a wooden or stone idol, to a hero or to a political
conception, provided that it presents the preceding
characteristics, its essence always remains religious.
The supernatural and the miraculous are found to be
present to the same extent. Crowds unconsciously
accord a mysterious power to the political formula or
the victorious leader that for the moment arouses their
enthusiasm .
A person is not religious solely when he worships a
divinity, but when he puts all the resources of his
mind, the complete submission of his will, and the
whole-souled ardour of fanaticism at the service of a
cause or an individual who becomes the goal and guide
of his thoughts and actions.
Intolerance and fanaticism are the necessary accom
THE CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS. 61
paniments of the religious sentiment. They are

‫ܝܪ‬
h, inevitably displayed by those who believe themselves

10 in the possession of the secret of earthly or eternal
a happiness. These two characteristics are to be found
in all men grouped together when they are inspired by
a conviction of any kind. The Jacobins of the Reign
I of Terror were at bottom as religious as the Catholics
of the Inquisition, and their cruel ardour proceeded
from the same source.
The convictions of crowds assume those characteris
tics of blind submission, fierce intolerance, and the
need of violent propaganda which are inherent in the
religious sentiment, and it is for this reason that it
may be said that all their beliefs have a religious form.
The hero acclaimed by a crowd is a veritable god for
that crowd. Napoleon was such a god for fifteen
years, and a divinity never had more frequent worship

pers or sent men to their death with greater ease.
The Christian and Pagan Gods never exercised a more
absolute empire over the minds that had fallen under
their sway .
All founders of religious or political creeds have

established them solely because they were successful
in inspiring crowds with those fanatical sentiments
which have as result that men find their happiness in
worship and obedience and are ready to lay down their
lives for their idol. This has been the case at all
epochs. Fustel de Coulanges, in his excellent work
on Roman Gaul, justly remarks that the Roman

Empire was in no wise maintained by force, but
by the religious admiration it inspired. " It would
be without a parallel in the history of the world," he
observes rightly, " that a form of government held
in popular detestation should have lasted for five cen
turies. It would be inexplicable that the
thirty legions of the Empire should have constrained
a hundred million men to obedience." The reason of
their obedience was that the Emperor, who personified
the greatness of Rome, was worshipped like a divinity
by unanimous consent. There were altars in honour
of the Emperor in the smallest townships of his realm.
"From one end of the Empire to the other a new
religion was seen to arise in those days which had for its
divinities the emperors themselves. Some years before
the Christian era the whole of Gaul, represented by
sixty cities, built in common a temple near the town
of Lyons in honour of Augustus. · Its priests ,
elected by the united Gallic cities, were the principal
personages in their country. · • • It is impossible
to attribute all this to fear and servility. Whole
nations are not servile, and especially for three cen
turies. It was not the courtiers who worshipped the
prince, it was Rome, and it was not Rome merely, but
it was Gaul, it was Spain, it was Greece and Asia."
To-day the majority of the great men who have
swayed men's minds no longer have altars, but they
THE CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS. 63
have statues, or their portraits are in the hands of

Я +
it their admirers, and the cult of which they are the

d object is not notably different from that accorded to
their predecessors. An understanding of the philo
1 sophy of history is only to be got by a thorough

appreciation of this fundamental point of the psycho
logy of crowds. The crowd demands a god before
1 everything else.
It must not be supposed that these are the supersti
tions of a bygone age which reason has definitely
banished. Sentiment has never been vanquished in
its eternal conflict with reason. Crowds will hear no
more of the words divinity and religion, in whose name

they were so long enslaved ; but they have never
possessed so many fetishes as in the last hundred
--`
~
years, and the old divinities have never had so many
2*
statues and altars raised in their honour. Those who
in recent years have studied the popular movement

known under the name of Boulangism have been able
to see with what ease the religious instincts of crowds
are ready to revive. There was not a country inn
that did not possess the hero's portrait. He was
credited with the power of remedying all injustices and

all evils, and thousands of men would have given their
lives for him. Great might have been his place in
history had his character been at all on a level with his
legendary reputation.
It is thus a very useless commonplace to assert that
64 THE MIND OF CROWD .
S
a religion is necessary for the masses, because all
political, divine, and social creeds only take root among

them on the condition of always assuming the religious
shape a shape which obviates the danger of discus
sion. Were it possible to induce the masses to adopt
atheism, this belief would exhibit all the intolerant
ardour of a religious sentiment, and in its exterior
forms would soon become a cult. The evolution of
the small Positivist sect furnishes us a curious proof
in point. What happened to the Nihilist whose story
is related by that profound thinker Dostoïewsky has
quickly happened to the Positivists. Illumined one
day by the light of reason he broke the images of

divinities and saints that adorned the altar of a
chapel, extinguished the candles , and, without losing

a moment, replaced the destroyed objects by the works
of atheistic philosophers such as Büchner and Moles
chott, after which he piously relighted the candles .
The object of his religious beliefs had been trans
formed, but can it be truthfully said that his religious
sentiments had changed ?
Certain historical events-and they are precisely the
most important-I again repeat, are not to be under
stood unless one has attained to an appreciation of the
religious form which the convictions of crowds always
assume in the long run. There are social phenomena
that need to be studied far more from the point of view
of the psychologist than from that of the naturalist.
THE MIND OF CROWDS. 65
use all The great historian Taine has only studied the Revolu
among tion as a naturalist, and on this account the real
genesis of events has often escaped him. He has
ligious
discus perfectly observed the facts, but from want of having
adopt studied the psychology of crowds he has not always

erant been able to trace their causes. The facts having
erior appalled him by their bloodthirsty, anarchic, and

on of ferocious side, he has scarcely seen in the heroes of
proof the great drama anything more than a horde of
epileptic savages abandoning themselves without
tory
has restraint to their instincts. The violence of the
one Revolution, its massacres, its need of propaganda, its

of declarations of war upon all things, are only to be
properly explained by reflecting that the Revolution
was merely the establishment of a new religious belief
ing
in the mind of the masses. The Reformation, the
-S massacre of Saint Bartholomew, the French religious
wars, the Inquisition, the Reign of Terror are phe
8 nomena of an identical kind, brought about by crowds
S animated by those religious sentiments which neces

sarily lead those imbued with them to pitilessly
extirpate by fire and sword whoever is opposed to the
establishment of the new faith. The methods of
the Inquisition are those of all whose convictions are

genuine and sturdy. Their convictions would not
deserve these epithets did they resort to other methods.
Upheavals analogous to those I have just cited are
only possible when it is the soul of the masses that
6
66 THE CONVICtions of crROWDS.
brings them about. The most absolute despots could

not cause them. When historians tell us that the
massacre of Saint Bartholomew was the work of a
king, they show themselves as ignorant of the psycho

logy of crowds as of that of sovereigns. Manifestations
of this order can only proceed from the soul of crowds.
The most absolute power of the most despotic monarch
can scarcely do more than hasten or retard the moment
of their apparition. The massacre of Saint Bartholo
mew or the religious wars were no more the work of
kings than the Reign of Terror was the work of
Robespierre, Danton, or Saint Just. At the bottom
of such events is always to be found the working
of the soul of the masses and never the power of
potentates.
could
at the
of a
sycho
tions BOOK II.
wds.
THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.
arch
ment
CHAPTER I.
olo
of REMOTE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS AND
BELIEFS OF CROWDS.
of
com Preparatory factors of the beliefs of crowds-The origin of
the beliefs of crowds is the consequence of a preliminary
ing
process of elaboration-Study of the different factors of
of
these beliefs. § 1. Race. The predominating influence
it exercises-It represents the suggestions of ancestors.
§ 2. Traditions. They are the synthesis of the soul of
the race Social importance of traditions- How, after
having been necessary, they become harmful- Crowds are
the most obstinate maintainers of traditional ideas. § 3.
Time. It prepares in succession the establishment of
beliefs and then their destruction. It is by the aid of
this factor that order may proceed from chaos. § 4.
Political and Social Institutions. Erroneous idea of
their part-Their influence extremely weak-They are
effects, not causes-Nations are incapable of choosing
what appear to them the best institutions-Institutions
are labels which shelter the most dissimilar things under
the same title-How institutions may come to be created
--Certain institutions theoretically bad, such as centrali
sation obligatory for certain nations. § 5. Institutions
and education. Falsity of prevalent ideas as to the in
fluence of instruction on crowds- Statistical indications
68 THE OPINIONS AND beliefs of CROWDS.
-Demoralising effect of Latin system of education

Part instruction might play-Examples furnished by
various peoples .
HAVING studied the mental constitution of crowds
and become acquainted with their modes of feeling,

thinking, and reasoning, we shall now proceed to
examine how their opinions and beliefs arise and
become established.
The factors which determine these opinions and

beliefs are of two kinds : remote factors and immediate
factors.
The remote factors are those which render crowds
capable of adopting certain convictions and absolutely

refractory to the acceptance of others. These factors
prepare the ground in which are suddenly seen to

germinate certain new ideas whose force and conse
quences are a cause of astonishment, though they are
only spontaneous in appearance. The outburst and
putting in practice of certain ideas among crowds
present at times a startling suddenness. This is only
a superficial effect, behind which must be sought a
preliminary and preparatory action of long duration.
The immediate factors are those which, coming on
the top of this long, preparatory working, in whose

absence they would remain without effect, serve as
the source of active persuasion on crowds ; that is,
they are the factors which cause the idea to take shape
and set it loose with all its consequences. The resolu
THE OPINIONS And beliefs of crowds. 69
tions by which collectivities are suddenly carried

away arise out of these immediate factors ; it is due
to them that a riot breaks out or a strike is decided
upon, and to them that enormous majorities invest

one man with power to overthrow a government.
The successive action of these two kinds of factors
is to be traced in all great historical events. The
French Revolution- to cite but one of the most
striking of such events- had among its remote factors
the writings of the philosophers, the exactions of the
nobility, and the progress of scientific thought. The
mind of the masses, thus prepared, was then easily
roused by such immediate factors as the speeches of
orators, and the resistance of the court party to insig
nificant reforms.
Among the remote factors there are some of a

general nature, which are found to underlie all the
beliefs and opinions of crowds. They are race, tradi
tions, time, institutions, and education.
We now proceed to study the influence of these
different factors.
§ 1. RACE.
This factor, race, must be placed in the first rank,

for in itself it far surpasses in importance all the others.
We have sufficiently studied it in another work ; it is
therefore needless to deal with it again. We showed,
in a previous volume, what an historical race is, and
70 THE OPINIONS AND Beliefs of croWDS.
how, its character once formed, it possesses, as the

result of the laws of heredity such power that its
beliefs, institutions, and arts-in a word, all the
elements of its civilisation are merely the outward
expression of its genius. We showed that the power
of the race is such that no element can pass from one
people to another without undergoing the most pro
found transformations.
Environment, circumstances , and events represent

the social suggestions of the moment. They may
have a considerable influence, but this influence is
always momentary if it be contrary to the suggestions
of the race ; that is, to those which are inherited by
a nation from the entire series of its ancestors.
We shall have occasion in several of the chapters
of this work to touch again upon racial influence, and
to show that this influence is so great that it dominates
the characteristics peculiar to the genius of crowds.
It follows from this fact that the crowds of different
countries offer very considerable differences of beliefs
and conduct and are not to be influenced in the same
manner.
I The novelty of this proposition being still considerable

and history being quite unintelligible without it, I devoted
four chapters to its demonstration in my last book (" The
Psychological Laws of the Evolution of Peoples ") . From it
the reader will see that, in spite of fallacious appearances,
neither language, religion, arts, or, in a word, any element
of civilisation, can pass, intact, from one people to another,
THE OPINIONs and beliefs of crowds. 71
} § 2. TRADITIONS.
I Traditions represent the ideas, the needs, and the

sentiments of the past. They are the synthesis of the
race, and weigh upon us with immense force.
The biological sciences have been transformed since
embryology has shown the immense influence of the
past on the evolution of living beings ; and the his
torical sciences will not undergo a less change when
this conception has become more widespread. As yet
it is not sufficiently general, and many statesmen are
still no further advanced than the theorists of the last
century, who believed that a society could break off
with its past and be entirely recast on lines suggested
solely by the light of reason.
A people is an organism created by the past, and,
like every other organism, it can only be modified by
slow hereditary accumulations.
It is tradition that guides men, and more especially "
so when they are in a crowd. The changes they can

effect in their traditions with any ease, merely bear,
as I have often repeated, upon names and outward
forms.
This circumstance is not to be regretted. Neither

a national genius nor civilisation would be possible
without traditions. In consequence man's two great
concerns since he has existed have been to create a
network of traditions which he afterwards endeavours
to destroy when their beneficial effects have worn
72 THE OPINIONS AND beliefs of crowds.
themselves out. Civilisation is impossible without

traditions, and progress impossible without the destruc
tion of those traditions. The difficulty, and it is an
immense difficulty, is to find a proper equilibrium
between stability and variability. Should a people
allow its customs to become too firmly rooted, it can
no longer change, and becomes, like China, incapable
of improvement. Violent revolutions are in this case
of no avail ; for what happens is that either the
broken fragments of the chain are pieced together
again and the past resumes its empire without change,
or the fragments remain apart and decadence soon
succeeds anarchy.
The ideal for a people is in consequence to preserve
the institutions of the past, merely changing them
insensibly and little by little. This ideal is difficult to
realise. The Romans in ancient and the English in
modern times are almost alone in having realised it.
It is precisely crowds that cling the most tenaciously
to traditional ideas and oppose their being changed
with the most obstinacy. This is notably the case
with the category of crowds constituting castes.
I have already insisted upon the conservative
spirit of crowds, and shown that the most violent
rebellions merely end in a changing of words and
terms. At the end of the last century , in the presence
of destroyed churches , of priests expelled the country

or guillotined, it might have been thought that the old
7 the opinions and beliefs of crowds. 73
hout religious ideas had lost all their strength, and yet a
truc fewyears had barely lapsed before the abolished system
san of public worship had to be re-established in deference
ium to universal demands."
ple Blotted out for a moment, the old traditions had

Can resumed their sway.
ble No example could better display the power of tradi

se tion on the mind of crowds. The most redoubtable
he idols do not dwell in temples, nor the most despotic

er tyrants in palaces ; both the one and the other can be
broken in an instant. But the invisible masters that
2,
1 reign in our innermost selves are safe from every effort
at revolt, and only yield to the slow wearing away of
centuries.
§ 3. TIME.
In social as in biological problems time is one of the
I The report of the ex-Conventionist, Fourcroy, quoted

by Taine, is very clear on this point.
"What is everywhere seen with respect to the keeping of
Sunday and attendance at the churches proves that the
majority of Frenchmen desire to return to their old usages,
and that it is no longer opportune to resist this natural ten
dency. • · The great majority of men stand in need of
religion, public worship, and priests. It is an error of some
modern philosophers, by which I myself have been led away,
to believe in the possibility of instruction being so general as
to destroy religious prejudices, which for a great number of
unfortunate persons are a source of consolation. The
mass of the people, then, must be allowed its priests, its altars,
and its public worship."
74 THE OPINIONS AND Beliefs of crOWDS.
most energetic factors. It is the sole real creator and

the sole great destroyer. It is time that has made
mountains with grains of sand and raised the obscure
cell of geological eras to human dignity. The
action of centuries is sufficient to transform any given
phenomenon. It has been justly observed that an

ant with enough time at its disposal could level Mont
Blanc. A being possessed of the magical force of
varying time at his will would have the power attri
buted by believers to God.
In this place, however, we have only to concern
ourselves with the influence of time on the genesis of
the opinions of crowds. Its action from this point of

view is still immense. Dependent upon it are the
great forces such as race, which cannot form themselves

without it. It causes the birth, the growth, and the
death of all beliefs. It is by the aid of time that they
acquire their strength and also by its aid that they
lose it.
It is time in particular that prepares the opinions
and beliefs of crowds , or at least the soil on which they
will germinate. This is why certain ideas are realisable
at one epoch and not at another. It is time that
accumulates that immense detritus of beliefs and
thoughts on which the ideas of a given period spring

up. They do not grow at hazard and by chance ; the
roots of each of them strike down into a long past.
When they blossom it is time that has prepared their
THE OPINIONs and beliefs of crowds. 75
and
blooming ; and to arrive at a notion of their genesis
nade
it is always back in the past that it is necessary to
cure
search. They are the daughters of the past and the
The mothers of the future, but throughout the slaves of
ven time.
an Time, in consequence, is our veritable master, and
ont it suffices to leave it free to act to see all things
of transformed. At the present day we are very uneasy
Eri with regard to the threatening aspirations of the masses
and the destructions and upheavals foreboded thereby.
rn Time, without other aid, will see to the restoration
of
ጁ
of equilibrium. " No form of government," M. Lavisse

of very properly writes, " was founded in a day. Political
ne and social organisations are works that demand cen
turies. The feudal system existed for centuries in a
e shapeless, chaotic state before it found its laws ; abso
y lute monarchy also existed for centuries before arriving

y at regular methods of government, and these periods
of expectancy were extremely troubled."
3
§ 4. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
The idea that institutions can remedy the defects of

societies, that national progress is the consequence of
the improvement of institutions and governments, and
that social changes can be effected by decrees-this
idea, I say, is still generally accepted. It was the
starting-point of the French Revolution, and the social
theories of the present day are based upon it.
76 THE OPINIOns and beliefs of crowds.
The most continuous experience has been unsuc

cessful in shaking this grave delusion. Philosophers
and historians have endeavoured in vain to prove its
absurdity, but yet they have had no difficulty in
demonstrating that institutions are the outcome of
ideas, sentiments, and customs, and that ideas, senti
ments, and customs are not to be recast by recasting
legislative codes. A nation does not choose its institu
tions at will any more than it chooses the colour of its
1
hair or its eyes. Institutions and governments are
the product of the race. They are not the creators of
an epoch, but are created by it. Peoples are not
governed in accordance with their caprices of the
moment, but as their character determines that they
shall be governed . Centuries are required to form a
political system and centuries needed to change it.
Institutions have no intrinsic virtue : in themselves
they are neither good nor bad. Those which are good
at a given moment for a given people may be harmful
in the extreme for another nation .
Moreover, it is in no way in the power of a people
to really change its institutions. Undoubtedly, at the
cost of violent revolutions, it can change their name,
but in their essence they remain unmodified. The
names are mere futile labels with, which an historian
who goes to the bottom of things need scarcely concern
himself. It is in this way, for instance, that England,"
I The most advanced republicans, even of the United States,

[
the opinions and beliefS OF CROWDS. 77
the most democratic country in the world, lives, never

theless, under a monarchical régime, whereas the
countries in which the most oppressive despotism is
rampant are the Spanish-American Republics, in spite
T of their republican constitutions. The destinies of
peoples are determined by their character and not by
their government. I have endeavoured to establish
this view in my previous volume by setting forth
STANEOPO
categorical examples.
To lose time in the manufacture of cut-and-dried
constitutions is, in consequence, a puerile task, the
useless labour of an ignorant rhetorician. Necessity
and time undertake the charge of elaborating consti
tutions when we are wise enough to allow these two
15-175
factors to act. This is the planthe Anglo-Saxons have
adopted, as their great historian, Macaulay, teaches us
in a passage that the politicians of all Latin countries
ought to learn by heart. After having shown all the
good than can be accomplished by laws which appear
from the point of view of pure reason a chaos of
absurdities and contradictions , he compares the scores
recognise this fact. The American magazine, The Forum,

recently gave categorical expression to the opinion in terms
which I reproduce here from the Review of Reviews for
December, 1894 : —
"It should never be forgotten, even by the most ardent
enemies of an aristocracy, that England is to-day the most
democratic country of the universe, the country in which the
rights of the individual are most respected, and in which
the individual possesses the most liberty. '
78 THE OPINIONS and beliefs of crowds.
of constitutions that have been engulphed in the

convulsions of the Latin peoples with that of England,
and points out that the latter has only been very slowly
changed part by part, under the influence of immediate
necessities and never of speculative reasoning.
"To think nothing of symmetry and much of con

venience ; never to remove an anomaly merely because
it is an anomaly ; never to innovate except when some
grievance is felt ; never to innovate except so far as to
get rid of the grievance ; never to lay down any propo
sition of wider extent than the particular case for which
it is necessary to provide ; these are the rules which
have, from the age of John to the age of Victoria,

generally guided the deliberations of our two hundred
and fifty Parliaments."
It would be necessary to take one by one the laws

and institutions of each people to show to what extent
they are the expression of the needs of each race and
are incapable, for that reason, of being violently
transformed. It is possible, for instance, to indulge
in philosophical dissertations on the advantages and
disadvantages of centralisation ; but when we see a
people composed of very different races devote a
thousand years of efforts to attaining to this centralisa
tion ; when we observe that a great revolution, having

for object the destruction of all the institutions of the
past, has been forced to respect this centralisation, and
1
S. THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS of crowDS. 79
the has even strengthened it ; under these circumstances

-land, we should admit that it is the outcome of imperious
owly needs, that it is a condition of the existence of the
liate nation in question, and we should pity the poor mental
range of politicians who talk of destroying it. Could
con they by chance succeed in this attempt, their success

Ι
use would at once be the signal for a frightful civil war,
me which, moreover, would immediately bring back a new
to system of centralisation much more oppressive than

the old.
¿ བུ

that it is not in institutions that the means is to be b
ch #
sought of profoundly influencing the genius of the
&,
masses. When we see certain countries, such as the A
d
United States, reach a high degree of prosperity under #
71HES
‫ܝ‬
T
1 If a comparison be made between the profound religious
and political dissensions which separate the various parties
in France, and are more especially the result of social ques
tions, and the separatist tendencies which were manifested
at the time of the Revolution, and began to again display
themselves towards the close of the Franco-German war, it
will be seen that the different races represented in France are
still far from being completely blended. The vigorous centra
lisation of the Revolution and the creation of artificial depart
ments destined to bring about the fusion of the ancient pro
vinces was certainly its most useful work. Were it possible
to bring about the decentralisation which is to-day preoccu
pying minds lacking in foresight, the achievement would
promptly have for consequence the most sanguinary disorders.
To overlook this fact is to leave out of account the entire
history of France.
80 THE OPINIONS AND beliefs of cROWDS.
democratic institutions, while others, such as the

Spanish-American Republics, are found existing in a
pitiable state of anarchy under absolutely similar insti
tutions, we should admit that these institutions are
as foreign to the greatness of the one as to the deca
dence of the others. Peoples are governed by their
character, and all institutions which are not inti
mately modelled on that character merely represent a
borrowed garment, a transitory disguise. No doubt
sanguinary wars and violent revolutions have been
undertaken , and will continue to be undertaken, to
impose institutions to which is attributed, as to the
relics of saints, the supernatural power of creating
welfare. It may be said, then, in one sense, that insti
tutions react on the mind of the crowd inasmuch as
they engender such upheavals. But in reality it is not

the institutions that react in this manner, since we
know that, whether triumphant or vanquished, they
possess in themselves no virtue. It is illusions and
words that have influenced the mind of the crowd, and
especially words words which are as powerful as they
are chimerical, and whose astonishing sway we shall
shortly demonstrate.
§ 5. INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION.
Foremost among the dominant ideas of the present

epoch is to be found the notion that instruction is
capable of considerably changing men, and has for its
THE OPINIONS AND Beliefs of croWDS. 81
unfailing consequence to improve them and even to
make them equal. By the mere fact of its being

constantly repeated, this assertion has ended by
becoming one of the most steadfast democratic
dogmas. It would be as difficult now to attack it
as it would have been formerly to have attacked the
dogmas of the Church.
On this point, however, as on many others, demo
NYI
cratic ideas are in profound disagreement with the
results of psychology and experience. Many eminent
philosophers, among them Herbert Spencer, have had
no difficulty in showing that instruction neither renders
V
a man more moral nor happier, that it changes neither
his instincts nor his hereditary passions, and that at 8
#
times forthis to happen it need only be badly directed
-it is much more pernicious than useful. Statisti
cians have brought confirmation of these views by

telling us that criminality increases with the gene f
ralisation of instruction, or at any rate of a certain
kind of instruction, and that the worst enemies of
society, the anarchists, are recruited among the
prize-winners of schools ; while in a recent work a
distinguished magistrate, M. Adolphe Guillot, made
the observation that at present 3,000 educated crimi
nals are met with for every 1,000 illiterate delinquents,
and that in fifty years the criminal percentage of the
population has passed from 227 to 552 for every
100,000 inhabitants, an increase of 133 per cent. He
7
82 THE OPINIONS and beliefs of CROWDS.
has also noted in common with his colleagues that

criminality is particularly on the increase among
young persons, for whom, as is known, gratuitous and
obligatory schooling has-in France- replaced appren
ticeship.
It is not assuredly-and nobody has ever maintained
this proposition-that well-directed instruction may
not give very useful practical results, if not in the
sense of raising the standard of morality, at least in
that of developing professional capacity. Unfortu
nately the Latin peoples, especially in the last twenty
five years, have based their systems of instruction on
very erroneous principles, and in spite of the observa
tions of the most eminent minds, such as Bréal, Fustel
de Coulanges, Taine, and many others, they persist
in their lamentable mistakes. I have myself shown,
in a work published some time ago, that the French
system of education transforms the majority of those
who have undergone it into enemies of society, and
recruits numerous disciples for the worst forms of
socialism.
The primary danger of this system of education

very properly qualified as Latin-consists in the fact
that it is based on the fundamental psychological error
that the intelligence is developed by the learning by
heart of text-books. Adopting this view, the endea
vour has been made to enforce a knowledge of as many
hand-books as possible. From the primary school till
THE OPINIONS and beliefs OF CROWDS. 83
he leaves the university a young man does nothing but

acquire books by heart without his judgment or
personal initiative being ever called into play. Educa
tion consists for him in reciting by heart and obeying.
"Learning lessons, knowing by heart a grammar or
a compendium, repeating well and imitating well
that," writes a former Minister of Public Instruction,
M. Jules Simon, " is a ludicrous form of education
whose every effort is an act of faith tacitly admitting
the infallibility of the master, and whose only results
are a belittling of ourselves and a rendering of us
impotent." W
Were this education merely useless, one might A
confine one's self to expressing compassion for the
STIK
unhappy children who, instead of making needful
studies at the primary school, are instructed in the
genealogy of the sons of Clotaire, the conflicts between
Neustria and Austrasia, or zoological classifications.
But the system presents a far more serious danger. It
gives those who have been submitted to it a violent
dislike to the state of life in which they were born, and
an intense desire to escape from it. The working man
no longer wishes to remain a working man, or the
peasant to continue a peasant, while the most humble
members of the middle classes admit of no possible
career for their sons except that of State-paid func
tionaries. Instead of preparing men for life French
schools solely prepare them to occupy public functions,
in which success can be attained without any necessity

for self-direction or the exhibition of the least glimmer
of personal initiative. At the bottom of the social
ladder the system creates an army of proletarians
discontented with their lot and always ready to revolt,
while at the summit it brings into being a frivolous
bourgeoisie, at once sceptical and credulous, having
a superstitious confidence in the State, whom it regards
as a sort of Providence, but without forgetting to
display towards it a ceaseless hostility, always laying
its own faults to the door of the Government , and
incapable of the least enterprise without the interven
tion of the authorities.
The State, which manufactures by dint of text-books

all these persons possessing diplomas, can only utilise
a small number of them, and is forced to leave the
others without employment. It is obliged in conse
quence to resign itself to feeding the first-mentioned
and to having the others as its enemies. From the
top to the bottom of the social pyramid, from the
humblest clerk to the professor and the prefect, the
immense mass of persons boasting diplomas besiege
the professions. While a business man has the
greatest difficulty in finding an agent to represent him

in the colonies, thousands of candidates solicit the
most modest official posts. There are 20,000 school
masters and mistresses without employment in the
department of the Seine alone, all of them persons
S
VDS. THE OPINION and beliefs of CROWDS. 85
necessity who, disdaining the fields or the workshops, look to the

glimmer State for their livelihood. The number of the chosen
he social
being restricted, that of the discontented is perforce
etarians immense. The latter are ready for any revolution,
o revolt, whoever be its chiefs and whatever the goal they aim
Frivolous at. The acquisition of knowledge for which no use
having can be found is a sure method of driving a man to
regards revolt.
tting to It is evidently too late to retrace our steps.
laying Experience alone, that supreme educator of peoples,
nt, and will be at pains to show us our mistake. It alone will
terven
I This phenomenon, moreover, is not peculiar to the Latin

t-books
peoples. It is also to be observed in China, which is also a
utilise country in the hands of a solid hierarchy of mandarins or
ve the functionaries, and where a function is obtained, as in France,
by competitive examination, in which the only test is the
conse
imperturbable recitation of bulky manuals. The army of
tioned educated persons without employment is considered in China
om the at the present day as a veritable national calamity. It is
the same in India, where, since the English have opened
m the
schools, not for educating purposes, as is the case in England
ct, the itself, but simply to furnish the indigenous inhabitants with
besiege instruction, there has been formed a special class of educated
persons, the Baboos, who, when they do not obtain employ
s the
ment, become the irreconcilable enemies of the English rule.
at him In the case of all the Baboos, whether provided with employ
it the ment or not, the first effect of their instruction has been to
chool lower their standard of morality. This is a fact on which I
have insisted at length in my book, " The Civilisations of
n the India " a fact, too, which has been observed by all authors
rsons who have visited the great peninsula.
be powerful enough to prove the necessity of replacing

our odious text-books and our pitiable examinations
by industrial instruction capable of inducing our
young men to return to the fields, to the workshop,
and to the colonial enterprise which they avoid to-day
at all costs.
The professional instruction which all enlightened

minds are now demanding was the instruction received
in the past by our forefathers. It is still in vigour at
the present day among the nations who rule the world
by their force of will, their initiative, and their spirit

of enterprise. In a series of remarkable pages, whose
principal passages I reproduce further on, a great
thinker, M. Taine, has clearly shown that our former
system of education was approximately that in vogue
to-day in England and America, and in a remarkable
parallel between the Latin and Anglo-Saxon systems
he has plainly pointed out the consequences of the
two methods.
One might consent, perhaps, at a pinch, to continue

to accept all the disadvantages of our classical educa
tion, although it produced nothing but discontented
men, and men unfitted for their station in life, did the
superficial acquisition of so much knowledge, the
faultless repeating by heart of so many text-books,
raise the level of intelligence. But does it really raise
this level ? Alas, no ! The conditions of success in
life are the possession of judgment, experience, initia

WDS. THE OPINIONS and beliefs of crowds. 87
replacing tive, and character-qualities which are not bestowed

minations by books. Books are dictionaries, which it is useful
acing our to consult, but of which it is perfectly useless to have
workshop, lengthy portions in one's head.
Did to-day How is it possible for professional instruction to

develop the intelligence in a measure quite beyond
the reach of classical instruction ? This has been well
lightened
received shown by M. Taine.
vigour at
66
che world " Ideas ," he says, are only formed in their natural
eir spirit and normal surroundings ; the promotion of the

es, whose growth is effected by the innumerable impressions
a great appealing to the senses which a young man receives

rformer daily in the workshop , the mine, the law court, the
In vogue study, the builder's yard, the hospital ; at the sight of

arkable tools, materials, and operations ; in the presence of
customers, workers, and labour, of work well or ill
systems
of the done, costly or lucrative. In such a way are obtained
those trifling perceptions of detail of the eyes, the ear,
ontinue the hands, and even the sense of smell, which, picked
educa up involuntarily, and silently elaborated , take shape
ntented within the learner, and suggest to him sooner or later
did the this or that new combination , simplification , economy,
e, the improvement, or invention . The young Frenchman
-books, is deprived, and precisely at the age when they are
yraise most fruitful , of all these precious contacts , of all these
Cess in indispensable elements of assimilation . For seven or
initia eight years on end he is shut up in a school , and is cut

off from that direct personal experience which would

give him a keen and exact notion of men and things
and of the various ways of handling them ."
.. At least nine out of ten have wasted their

time and pains during several years of their life—
telling, important, even decisive years. Among such
are to be counted, first of all, the half or two-thirds of
those who present themselves for examination— I refer
to those who are rejected ; and then among those who
are successful, who obtain a degree, a certificate, a
diploma, there is still a half or two-thirds-I refer to
the over-worked . Too much has been demanded of
them by exacting that on a given day, on a chair or
before a board, they should, for two hours in succes
sion, and with respect to a group of sciences, be living
repertories of all human knowledge. In point of fact
they were that, or nearly so, for two hours on that
particular day, but a month later they are so no longer.
They could not go through the examination again.
Their too numerous and too burdensome acquisitions
slip incessantly from their mind, and are not replaced.
Their mental vigour has declined, their fertile capacity
for growth has dried up, the fully- developed man
appears, and he is often a used-up man. Settled
down, married, resigned to turning in a circle, and
indefinitely in the same circle, he shuts himself up in
his confined function, which he fulfils adequately , but
THE OPINIONS And beliefs of CROWDS. 89
DOC
nothing more. Such is the average yield ; assuredly

Sp
the receipts do not balance the expenditure. In
England or America, where, as in France previous to

1789, the contrary proceeding is adopted, the outcome
obtained is equal or superior."
The illustrious psychologist subsequently shows us

b
the difference between our system and that of the
f
Anglo-Saxons. The latter do not possess our innu
merable special schools. With them instruction is not
based on book-learning, but on object lessons. The
F
engineer, for example, is trained in a workshop, and
never at a school, a method which allows of each indi N
vidual reaching the level his intelligence permits of. Sol
He becomes a workman or a foreman if he can get no

further, an engineer if his aptitudes take him as far. 1
N
This manner of proceeding is much more democratic
саны
and of much greater benefit to society than that of
making the whole career of an individual depend on T
an examination, lasting a few hours, and undergone
at the age of nineteen or twenty.
" In the hospital, the mine, the factory, in the

architect's or the lawyer's office, the student, who
makes a start while very young, goes through his
apprenticeship, stage by stage, much as does with us
a law clerk in his office, or an artist in his studio.
Previously, and before making a practical beginning,
he has had an opportunity of following some general
and summary course of instruction, so as to have a
framework ready prepared in which to store the obser

vations he is shortly to make. Furthermore he is
able, as a rule, to avail himself of sundry technical

courses which he can follow in his leisure hours, so as
to co-ordinate step by step the daily experience he is
gathering. Under such a system the practical capa
bilities increase and develop of themselves in exact
proportion to the faculties of the student, and in the
direction requisite for his future task and the special
work for which from now onwards he desires to fit
himself. By this means in England or the United

States a young man is quickly in a position to develop
his capacity to the utmost. At twenty-five years of
age, and much sooner if the material and the parts
are there, he is not merely a useful performer, he is
capable also of spontaneous enterprise ; he is not only
a part of a machine, but also a motor. In France,
where the contrary system prevails- in France, which

with each succeeding generation is falling more and
more into line with China-the sum total of the
wasted forces is enormous."
The great philosopher arrives at the following

conclusion with respect to the growing incongruity
between our Latin system of education- and the
requirements of practical life :
"In the three stages of instruction, those of child

DS. THE OPINIONS and beliefs of crowWDS. 91
have a hood, adolescence and youth, the theoretical and

obser pedagogic preparation by books on the school benches
eheis has lengthened out and become overcharged in view

chnical of the examination, the degree, the diploma, and the
, 80as certificate, and solely in this view, and by the worst
he is methods, by the application of an unnatural and

anti-social régime, by the excessive postponement of
сара
exact the practical apprenticeship, by our boarding-school
system, by artificial training and mechanical cram
In the
ming, by overwork, without thought for the time that
pecial
to fit
is to follow, for the adult age and the functions of the
man, without regard for the real world on which the
mited
young man will shortly be thrown, for the society in
velop
which we move and to which he must be adapted or
rs of
be taught to resign himself in advance, for the struggle
Darts
in which humanity is engaged, and in which to defend
eis
himself and to keep his footing he ought previously
Only
to have been equipped, armed, trained, and hardened.
ace,
This indispensable equipment, this acquisition of more
ich
importance than any other, this sturdy common sense
nd
and nerve and will-power our schools do not procure
he
the young Frenchman ; on the contrary, far from
qualifying him for his approaching and definite state,
they disqualify him. In consequence, his entry into
J
ニア the world and his first steps in the field of action are
most often merely a succession of painful falls, whose
effect is that he long remains wounded and bruised,
and sometimes disabled for life. The test is severe
and dangerous. In the course of it the mental and
moral equilibrium is affected, and runs the risk of not

being re-established. Too sudden and complete
disillusion has supervened. The deceptions have been

too great, the disappointments too keen."
Have we digressed in what precedes from the
psychology of crowds ? Assuredly not. If we desire
I Taine, “ Le Regime moderne," vol. ii. , 1894. These pages

are almost the last that Taine wrote. They resume admirably
the results of the great philosopher's long experience. Un
fortunately they are in my opinion totally incomprehensible
for such of our university professors who have not lived
abroad . Education is the only means at our disposal of in
fluencing to some extent the mind of a nation, and it is pro
foundly saddening to have to think that there is scarcely any
one in France who can arrive at understanding that our pre
sent system of teaching is a grave cause of rapid decadence ,
which instead of elevating our youth, lowers and perverts it.
A useful comparison may be made between Taine's pages
and the observations on American education recently made
by M. Paul Bourget in his excellent book, " Outre-Mer."
He, too, after having noted that our education merely pro
duces narrow-minded bourgeois, lacking in initiative and will
power, or anarchists—“ those two equally harmful types of
the civilised man, who degenerates into impotent platitude
or insane destructiveness "-he too, I say, draws a comparison
that cannot be the object of too much reflection between our
French lycées (public schools), those factories of degeneration,
and the American schools, which prepare a man admirably
for life. The gulf existing between truly democratic nations
and those who have democracy in their speeches, but in no
wise in their thoughts, is clearly brought out in this com
parison.
DS. THE OPINIONS AND Beliefs of croWDS. 93
al and to understand the ideas and beliefs that are germi

ofnot nating to-day in the masses, and will spring up
mplete to-morrow, it is necessary to know how the
ebeen ground has been prepared. The instruction given
the youth of a country allows of a knowledge of
1 the what that country will one day be. The education
desire accorded the present generation justifies the most
gloomy previsions. It is in part by instruction and
STANFORD52A
education that the mind of the masses is improved or
pages
rably deteriorated. It was necessary in consequence to
Un show how this mind has been fashioned by the system
sible
in vogue, and how the mass of the indifferent and the
lived
fin neutral has become progressively an army of the dis
pro. contented ready to obey all the suggestions of utopians
15E
Dy
ZI
and rhetoricians. It is in the schoolroom that socialists
-
ore
and anarchists are found nowadays, and that the way
it. is being paved for the approaching period of decadence
3
for the Latin peoples .

de
-"
"0"
].
1
CHAPTER II.
THE IMMEDIATE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS

OF CROWDS.
§ 1. Images, words, and formula. The magical power of

words and formula-The power of words bound up with
the images they evoke, and independent of their real
sense--These images vary from age to age, and from race
to race-The wear and tear of words-Examples of the
considerable variations of sense of much-used words- The
political utility of baptizing old things with new names
when the words by which they were designated produced
an unfavourable impression on the masses-Variations of
the sense of words in consequence of race differences
The different meanings of the word " democracy " in
Europe and America . § 2. Illusions. Their importance
-They are to be found at the root of all civilisations—
The social necessity of illusions-Crowds always prefer
them to truths. § 3. Experience. Experience alone
can fix in the mind of crowds truths become necessary and
destroy illusions grown dangerous-Experience is only
effective on the condition that it be frequently repeated
-The cost of the experiences requisite to persuade
crowds. § 4. Reason. The nullity of its influence on
crowds -Crowds only to be influenced by their uncon
scious sentiments-The role of logic in history--The
secret causes of improbable events.
WE have just investigated the remote and preparatory

factors which give the mind of crowds a special recep
tivity, and make possible therein the growth of certain
sentiments and certain ideas. It now remains for us
FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS OF CROWDS. 95
to study the factors capable of acting in a direct

manner. We shall see in a forthcoming chapter how
these factors should be put in force in order that they

may produce their full effect.
In the first part of this work we studied the senti

ments, ideas, and methods of reasoning of collective
bodies, and from the knowledge thus acquired it would
evidently be possible to deduce in a general way the
STANFORD
means of making an impression on their mind. We
already know what strikes the imagination of crowds,
and are acquainted with the power and contagiousness
of suggestions, of those especially that are presented
under the form of images. However, as suggestions
may proceed from very different sources, the factors
***AYNES
capable of acting on the minds of crowds may differ
considerably. It is necessary, then, to study them
separately. This is not a useless study. Crowds are
somewhat like the sphinx of ancient fable : it is neces
sary to arrive at a solution of the problems offered by
their psychology or to resign ourselves to being
devoured by them.
§ 1. IMAGES, WORDS, AND FORMULAS.
When studying the imagination of crowds we saw

that it is particularly open to the impressions produced
by images. These images do not always lie ready
to hand, but it is possible to evoke them by the
judicious employment of words and formulas. Handled
with art, they possess in sober truth the mysterious

power formerly attributed to them by the adepts of
magic. They cause the birth in the minds of crowds.
of the most formidable tempests, which in turn they

are capable of stilling. A pyramid far loftier than
that of old Cheops could be raised merely with the
bones of men who have been victims of the power of
words and formulas.
The power of words is bound up with the images

they evoke, and is quite independent of their real
significance. Words whose sense is the most ill-defined
are sometimes those that possess the most influence.
Such, for example, are the terms democracy, socialism ,
equality, liberty, etc., whose meaning is so vague that
bulky volumes do not suffice to precisely fix it. Yet
it is certain that a truly magical power is attached to
those short syllables, as if they contained the solution
of all problems. They synthesise the most diverse
unconscious aspirations and the hope of their
realisation.
Reason and arguments are incapable of combatting

certain words and formulas. They are uttered with
solemnity in the presence of crowds, and as soon as
they have been pronounced an expression of respect is
visible on every countenance, and all heads are bowed.
By many they are considered as natural forces, as
supernatural powers. They evoke grandiose and
vague images in men's minds, but this very vague
5.
rious
ness that wraps them in obscurity augments their
ts of
mysterious power. They are the mysterious divinities
owds
hidden behind the tabernacle, which the devout only
they
approach in fear and trembling.
than
The images evoked by words being independent of
the
their sense, they vary from age to age and from people
I of
to people, the formulas remaining identical. Certain
transitory images are attached to certain words : the
STANFORD
ges
word is merely as it were the button of an electric bell
-eal
that calls them up.
ed
All words and all formulas do not possess the power
ce.
of evoking images, while there are some which have
m,
once had this power, but lose it in the course of use,
at
and cease to waken any response in the mind. They
et
then become vain sounds, whose principal utility is to
* ARES
CO
relieve the person who employs them of the obligation
1
ofthinking. Armed with a small stock of formulas and
e
commonplaces learnt while we are young, we possess all
7
that is needed to traverse life without the tiring neces
sity of having to reflect on anything whatever.
If any particular language be studied, it is seen that
the words of which it is composed change rather slowly
in the course of ages, while the images these words
evoke or the meaning attached to them changes cease
lessly. This is the reason why, in another work, I
have arrived at the conclusion that the absolute
translation of a language, especially of a dead
language, is totally impossible. What do we do in
8
NS s S
98 THE OPINIO AND belief oF CROWD .
reality when we substitute a French for a Latin, Greek,

or Sanscrit expression, or even when we endeavour to
understand a book written in our own tongue two or
three centuries back ? We merely put the images and

ideas with which modern life has endowed our intelli
gence in the place of absolutely distinct notions and
images which ancient life had brought into being in
the mind of races submitted to conditions of existence
having no analogy with our own. When the men of
the Revolution imagined they were copying the Greeks

and Romans, what were they doing except giving to
ancient words a sense the latter had never had? What
resemblance can possibly exist between the institutions
of the Greeks and those designated to-day by corres
ponding words ? A republic at that epoch was an
essentially aristocratic institution, formed of a reunion
of petty despots ruling over a crowd of slaves kept
in the most absolute subjection. These communal
aristocracies, based on slavery, could not have existed
for a moment without it.
The word " liberty," again, what signification could

it have in any way resembling that we attribute to it
to-day at a period when the possibility of the liberty of
thought was not even suspected, and when there was
no greater and more exceptional crime than that of
discussing the gods, the laws and the customs of the
city? What did such a word as " fatherland " signify
to an Athenian or Spartan unless it were the cult of
Athens or Sparta, and in no wise that of Greece, com

posed of rival cities always at war with each other ?
What meaning had the same word " fatherland " among
the ancient Gauls, divided into rival tribes and races,
and possessing different languages and religions, and
who were easily vanquished by Cæsar because he
always found allies among them ? It was Rome that
made a country of Gaul by endowing it with political
STANFORD
and religious unity. Without going back so far,
scarcely two centuries ago, is it to be believed that
this same notion of a fatherland was conceived to have
the same meaning as at present by French princes
like the great Condé, who allied themselves with the
foreigner against their sovereign ? And yet again,
CAKES
the same word had it not a sense very different from
the modern for the French royalist emigrants, who
thought they obeyed the laws of honour in fighting
against France, and who from their point of view did
indeed obey them, since the feudal law bound the
vassal to the lord and not to the soil, so that where
the sovereign was there was the true fatherland ?
Numerous are the words whose meaning has thus
profoundly changed from age to age-words which
we can only arrive at understanding in the sense in
which they were formerly understood after a long
effort. It has been said with truth that much study
is necessary merely to arrive at conceiving what was

signified to our great grandfathers by such words as
100 THE OPINIONS And beliefs of crowDS.
the " king" and the " royal family." What, then, is
likely to be the case with terms still more complex?
Words, then, have only mobile and transitory signi
fications which change from age to age and people to
people ; and when we desire to exert an influence by
their means on the crowd what it is requisite to know
is the meaning given them by the crowd at a given
moment, and not the meaning which they formerly
had or may yet have for individuals of a different
mental constitution .
Thus, when crowds have come, as the result of
political upheavals or changes of belief, to acquire
a profound antipathy for the images evoked by certain
words, the first duty of the true statesman is to change
the words without, of course, laying hands on the
things themselves, the latter being too intimately
bound up with the inherited constitution to be trans
formed. The judicious Tocqueville long ago made the
remark that the work of the consulate and the empire
consisted more particularly in the clothing with new
words of the greater part of the institutions of
the past that is to say, in replacing words evoking
disagreeable images in the imagination of the crowd
by other words of which the novelty prevented such
evocations. The " taille " or tallage has become the
land tax ; the " gabelle," the tax on salt ; the " aids,"
the indirect contributions and the consolidated duties ;
the tax on trade companies and guilds, the license, etc.
factors of the OPINIONS OF CROWDS. 101
One of the most essential functions of statesmen

consists, then, in baptizing with popular or at any
L
rate, indifferent words things the crowd cannot endure I
to under their old names. The power of words isso . B
R
by great that it suffices to designate in well-chosen terms A
R
the most odious things to make them acceptable to
60 crowds. Taine justly observes that it was by invoking
T liberty and fraternity-words very popular at the
it time that the Jacobins were able " to install a
despotism worthy of Dahomey, a tribunal similar to
¡ that of the Inquisition, and to accomplish human
་་ ་་་
hecatombs akin to those of ancient Mexico." The art
of those who govern, as is the case with the art of

advocates, consists above all in the science of employing
words. One of the greatest difficulties of this art is, 穆
*
that in one and the same society the same words most nd
often have very different meanings for the different N

‫ܐܕܠܐ‬.
social classes, who employ in appearance the same ‫ܕܨܡܒܢܝܢ‬
words, but never speak the same language.
In the preceding examples it is especially time that
has been made to intervene as the principal factor in
the changing of the meaning of words. If, however,
we also make race intervene, we shall then see that, at
the same period, among peoples equally civilised but
of different race, the same words very often correspond
to extremely dissimilar ideas. It is impossible to under
stand these differences without having travelled much,
and for this reason I shall not insist upon them. I
102 THE OPINIONS AND BEliefs of crowds.
shall confine fryself to observing that it is precisely the

words most often employed by the masses which
among different peoples possess the most different
meanings. Such is the case, for instance, with the
‫ درد‬23
. CC
words " democracy " and " socialism " in such frequent
‫در‬
39‫ ردرد‬3
C
9‫د‬
use nowadays.
33
3
In reality they correspond to quite contrary ideas

and images in the Latin and Anglo-Saxon mind. For
the Latin peoples the word " democracy " signifies
more especially the subordination of the will and the
initiative of the individual to the will and the initiative
of the community represented by the State. It is the

State that is charged, to a greater and greater degree,
with the direction of everything, the centralisation, the
monopolisation, and the manufacture of everything.
To the State it is that all parties without exception,
radicals, socialists , or monarchists , constantly appeal.
Among the Anglo-Saxons and notably in America this.
same word " democracy " signifies, on the contrary,
the intense development of the will of the individual,
and as complete a subordination as possible of the
State, which, with the exception of the police, the
army, and diplomatic relations, is not allowed the
direction of anything, not even of public instruction.
It is seen, then, that the same word which signifies for
one people the subordination of the will and the
initiative of the individual and the preponderance of
the State, signifies for another the excessive develop
DS. FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS OF CROWDS. 103
ment of the will and the initiative of the individual

Selythe
and the complete subordination of the State.
fferent
§ 2. ILLUSIONS .
th the :
From the dawn of civilisation onwards crowds have
equent
always undergone the influence of illusions. It is to
ideas 1 the creators of illusions that they have raised more

temples, statues, and altars than to any other class of
For
men. Whether it be the religious illusions of the
nifies
འ
past or the philosophic and social illusions of the
ག་གྲངས
dthe
present, these formidable sovereign powers are always
found at the head of all the civilisations that have
s the
successively flourished on our planet. It is in their
gree,
Sikke
name that were built the temples of Chaldea and Egypt
the
and the religious edifices of the Middle Ages, and that
ing.
a vast upheaval shook the whole of Europe a century
ion,
ago, and there is not one of our political, artistic , or
Deal
social conceptions that is free from their powerful
this
impress. Occasionally, at the cost of terrible distur
ry,
bances, man overthrows them, but he seems condemned
ual,
to always set them up again. Without them he would
the
never have emerged from his primitive barbarian state,
he
and without them again he would soon return to it.
he
‫וו‬ 1 In my book, " The Psychological Laws of the Evolution
P
For of Peoples," I have insisted at length on the differences which

distinguish the Latin democratic ideal from the Anglo-Saxon
democratic ideal. Independently, and as the result of his
of travels, M. Paul Bourget has arrived , in his quite recent
"' book, " Outre- Mer, " at conclusions almost identical with mine.
Doubtless they are futile shadows ; but these children

of our dreams have forced the nations to create what
ever the arts may boast of splendour or civilisation of
greatness.
" If one destroyed in museums and libraries, if one
hurled down on the flagstones before the churches all
the works and all the monuments of art that religions
have inspired, what would remain of the great dreams
of humanity? To give to men that portion of hope
and illusion without which they cannot live, such is the
reason for the existence of gods, heroes, and poets.
During fifty years science appeared to undertake this
task. But science has been compromised in hearts
hungering after the ideal, because it does not dare to
be lavish enough of promises, because it cannot lie."
The philosophers of the last century devoted them
selves with fervour to the destruction of the religious,
political, and social illusions on which our forefathers
had lived for a long tale of centuries. By destroying
them they have dried up the springs of hope and resig
nation. Behind the immolated chimeras they came
face to face with the blind and silent forces of nature,
which are inexorable to weakness and ignore pity.
Notwithstanding all its progress, philosophy has
been unable as yet to offer the masses any ideal that
can charm them ; but, as they must have their illusions
at all cost, they turn instinctively, as the insect seeks
I Daniel Lesueur.
OWDS. FACTORS OF the opinionS OF CROWDS. 105
e children 1 the light, to the rhetoricians who accord them what
ate what they want. Not truth, but error has always been the
isation of chief factor in the evolution of nations, and the reason
why socialism is so powerful to-day is that it constitutes
es, ifone
the last illusion that is still vital. In spite of all
rches all scientific demonstrations it continues on the increase.
religions Its principal strength lies in the fact that it is cham
dreams pioned by minds sufficiently ignorant of things as they

are in reality to venture boldly to promise mankind
of hope
ch is the happiness. The social illusion reigns to-day upon all
the heaped-up ruins of the past, and to it belongs the
poets.
ke this future. The masses have never thirsted after truth.
hearts They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste,
dare to preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Who

ever can supply them with illusions is easily their
Tie. "
them master ; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is
always their victim.
igious,
Fathers
§ 3. EXPERIENCE.
roying
Experience constitutes almost the only effective
resig
process by which a truth may be solidly established
came
in the mind of the masses, and illusions grown too
ature,
dangerous be destroyed. To this end, however, it is
J. necessary that the experience should take place on a
has
very large scale, and be very frequently repeated.
that
The experiences undergone by one generation are
ions
useless, as a rule, for the generation that follows, which
eeks
is the reason why historical facts, cited with a view
to demonstration, serve no purpose. Their only
utility is to prove to what an extent experiences need

to be repeated from age to age to exert any influence,
or to be successful in merely shaking an erroneous
opinion when it is solidly implanted in the mind of
the masses.
Our century and that which preceded it will doubt

less be alluded to by historians as an era of curious
experiments, which in no other age have been tried in
such number.
The most gigantic of these experiments was the

French Revolution. To find out that a society is not
to be refashioned from top to bottom in accordance
with the dictates of pure reason, it was necessary that
several millions of men should be massacred and that
Europe should be profoundly disturbed for a period of

twenty years. To prove to us experimentally that
dictators cost the nations who acclaim them dear, two
ruinous experiences have been required in fifty years,
and in spite of their clearness they do not seem to
have been sufficiently convincing. The first, never
theless, cost three millions of men and an invasion,
the second involved a loss of territory, and carried in
its wake the necessity for permanent armies. A third
was almost attempted not long since, and will assuredly
be attempted one day. To bring an entire nation to
admit that the huge German army was not, as was
currently alleged thirty years ago, a sort of harmless
national guard, the terrible war which cost us so

I dear had to take place. To bring about the recogni
tion that Protection ruins the nations who adopt it,
at least twenty years of disastrous experience will

be needful. These examples might be indefinitely
multiplied.
§ 4. REASON.
In enumerating the factors capable of making an
MY ANSODD
impression on the minds of crowds all mention of
reason might be dispensed with, were it not necessary
to point out the negative value of its influence.
We have already shown that crowds are not to be
I The opinion of the crowd was formed in this case by
*** ANNE
those rough-and-ready associations of dissimilar things, the
mechanism of which I have previously explained. The French
national guard of that period, being composed of peaceable
shopkeepers, utterly lacking in discipline and quite incapable
of being taken seriously, whatever bore a similar name, evoked
the same conception and was considered in consequence as
harmless. The error of the crowd was shared at the time by
its leaders, as happens so often in connection with opinions
dealing with generalisations. In a speech made in the
Chamber on the 31st of December, 1867, and quoted in a
book by M. E. Ollivier that has appeared recently, a states
man who often followed the opinion of the crowd but was
never in advance of it-I allude to M. Thiers-declared that
Prussia only possessed a national guard analogous to that of
France, and in consequence without importance, in addition
to a regular army about equal to the French regular army ;
assertions about as accurate as the predictions of the same
statesman as to the insignificant future reserved for railways.
influenced by reasoning, and can only comprehend

rough-and-ready associations of ideas. The orators
who know how to make an impression upon them
always appeal in consequence to their sentiments and
never to their reason . The laws of logic have no action
on crowds. To bring home conviction to crowds it is
necessary first of all to thoroughly comprehend the
1 My first observations with regard to the art of impress

ing crowds and touching the slight assistance to be derived
in this connection from the rules of logic date back to the
siege of Paris, to the day when I saw conducted to the Louvre,
where the Government was then sitting, Marshal V—————,
whom a furious crowd asserted they had surprised in the act
of taking the plans of the fortifications to sell them to the
Prussians. A member of the Government (G. P- ), a very
celebrated orator, came out to harangue the crowd , which
was demanding the immediate execution of the prisoner.
I had expected that the speaker would point out the
absurdity of the accusation by remarking that the
accused Marshal was positively one of those who had
constructed the fortifications, the plan of which, more
over, was on sale at every bookseller's. To my immense
stupefaction-I was very young then the speech was on
quite different lines. " Justice shall be done," exclaimed
the orator, advancing towards the prisoner, " and pitiless
justice. Let the Government of the National Defence con
clude your inquiry. In the meantime we will keep the
prisoner in custody." At once calmed by this apparent
concession, the crowd broke up, and a quarter of an hour
later the Marshal was able to return home. He would
infallibly have been torn in pieces had the speaker treated
the infuriated crowd to the logical arguments that my
extreme youth induced me to consider as very convincing.
I
Send sentiments by which they are animated, to pretend

tors to share these sentiments, then to endeavour to modify
em them by calling up, by means of rudimentary associa
and tions, certain eminently suggestive notions, to be
ion capable, if need be, of going back to the point of view
tis from which a start was made, and, above all, to divine
he from instant to instant the sentiments to which one's
discourse is giving birth. This necessity of ceaselessly
DARCOD
SS varying one's language in accordance with the effect
ed
produced at the moment of speaking deprives from the
he
outset a prepared and studied harangue of all effica
7 ciousness. In such a speech the orator follows his own
line of thought, not that of his hearers, and from this J
MZI
de
fact alone his influence is annihilated.
T
Sakt
h Logical minds, accustomed to be convinced by a
chain of somewhat close reasoning, cannot avoid
.
having recourse to this mode of persuasion when
addressing crowds, and the inability of their arguments
Į
always surprises them. "The usual mathematical
consequences based on the syllogism—that is, on

associations of identities- are imperative
· ""
writes a logician. " This imperativeness would enforce

the assent even of an inorganic mass were it capable of
following associations of identities." This is doubt
less true, but a crowd is no more capable than an
inorganic mass of following such associations, nor even
of understanding them. If the attempt be made to
convince by reasoning primitive minds-savages or
IIO THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.
children, for instance the slight value possessed by

this method of arguing will be understood.
It is not even necessary to descend so low as
primitive beings to obtain an insight into the utter
powerlessness of reasoning when it has to fight against
sentiment. Let us merely call to mind how tenacious,
for centuries long, have been religious superstitions in
contradiction with the simplest logic. For nearly two
thousand years the most luminous geniuses have bowed
before their laws, and modern times have to be reached
for their veracity to be merely contested. The Middle
Ages and the Renaissance possessed many enlightened
men, but not a single man who attained by reasoning
to an appreciation of the childish side of his supersti
tions, or who promulgated even a slight doubt as to
the misdeeds of the devil or the necessity of burning
sorcerers.
Should it be regretted that crowds are never guided
by reason ? We would not venture to affirm it.
Without a doubt human reason would not have availed
to spur humanity along the path of civilisation with
the ardour and hardihood its illusions have done.
These illusions, the offspring of those unconscious
forces by which we are led, were doubtless necessary.
Every race carries in its mental constitution the laws
of its destiny, and it is, perhaps, these laws that it
obeys with a resistless impulse , even in the case of
those of its impulses which apparently are the most
ļ
I
FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS OF CROWDS. III
unreasoned. It seems at times as if nations were
submitted to secret forces analogous to those which

compel the acorn to transform itself into an oak or a
comet to follow its orbit.
What little insight we can get into these forces must

be sought for in the general course of the evolution of
a people, and not in the isolated facts from which this
evolution appears at times to proceed. Were these
ལྟར
facts alone to be taken into consideration, history
‫ܝܐܝܡ‬
would seem to be the result of a series of improbable
chances. It was improbable that a Galilean carpenter
should become for two thousand years an all-powerful
God in whose name the most important civilisations
were founded ; improbable, too, that a few bands of
Arabs, emerging from their deserts, should conquer
the greater part of the old Græco-Roman world, and
establish an empire greater than that of Alexander ;
improbable, again, that in Europe, at an advanced
period of its development, and when authority
throughout it had been systematically hierarchised,
an obscure lieutenant of artillery should have succeeded
in reigning over a multitude of peoples and kings.
Let us leave reason, then, to philosophers, and not
insist too strongly on its intervention in the governing
of men. It is not by reason, but most often in spite of
it, that are created those sentiments that are the main
springs of all civilisation-sentiments such as honour,
self-sacrifice, religious faith, patriotism, and the love of
glory.
CHAPTER III.
THE LEADERS OF CROWDS AND THEIR

MEANS OF PERSUASION.
§ 1. The leaders of crowds. The instinctive need of all

beings forming a crowd to obey a leader-The psycho
logy of the leaders of crowds-They alone can endow
crowds with faith and organise them-The leaders for
cibly despotic- Classification of the leaders-The part
played by the will. § 2. The means of action of the
leaders. Affirmation, repetition, contagion-The re
spective part of these different factors-The way in which
contagion may spread from the lower to the upper classes
in a society-A popular opinion soon becomes a general
opinion. § 3. Prestige. Definition of prestige and
classification of its different kinds-Acquired prestige and
personal prestige-Various examples-The way in which
prestige is destroyed .
WE are now acquainted with the mental constitution

of crowds, and we also know what are the motives
capable of making an impression on their mind. It
remains to investigate how these motives may be set
in action, and by whom they may usefully be turned
to practical account.
§ 1. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS.
As soon as a certain number of living beings are

gathered together, whether they be animals or men,
they place themselves instinctively under the authority
of a chief.
THE LEADERS OF CROWDS. 113
In the case of human crowds the chief is often
nothing more than a ringleader or agitator, but as

such he plays a considerable part. His will is the
nucleus around which the opinions of the crowd are

grouped and attain to identity. He constitutes the
first element towards the organisation of heterogeneous
crowds, and paves the way for their organisation in
sects ; in the meantime he directs them. A crowd is
a servile flock that is incapable of ever doing without

a master.
The leader has most often started as one of the led.
He has himself been hypnotised by the idea, whose
ཏྟཏོ, ཨ
apostle he has since become. It has taken possession
of him to such a degree that everything outside it
vanishes, and that every contrary opinion appears to
M.
him an error or a superstition. An example in point 15
is Robespierre, hypnotised by the philosophical ideas
of Rousseau, and employing the methods of the Inqui
sition to propagate them.
The leaders we speak of are more frequently men of
action than thinkers. They are not gifted with keen
foresight, nor could they be, as this quality generally
conduces to doubt and inactivity. They are especially
recruited from the ranks of those morbidly nervous,
excitable, half-deranged persons who are bordering on
madness. However absurd may be the idea they
uphold or the goal they pursue, their convictions are
so strong that all reasoning is lost upon them. Con
9
tempt and persecution do not affect them, or only serve

to excite them the more. They sacrifice their personal
interest, their family-everything. The very instinct
of self-preservation is entirely obliterated in them,
and so much so that often the only recompense they
solicit is that of martyrdom. The intensity of their

faith gives great power of suggestion to their words .
The multitude is always ready to listen to the strong
willed man, who knows how to impose himself upon it.
Men gathered in a crowd lose all force of will, and turn
instinctively to the person who possesses the quality
they lack.
Nations have never lacked leaders, but all of the
" latter have by no means been animated by those strong ·
convictions proper to apostles . These leaders are
often subtle rhetoricians, seeking only their own

personal interest, and endeavouring to persuade by
flattering base instincts. The influence they can
assert in this manner may be very great, but it is
always ephemeral. The men of ardent convictions
who have stirred the soul of crowds, the Peter the
Hermits, the Luthers, the Savonarolas, the men of the
French Revolution, have only exercised their fascina
tion after having been themselves fascinated first of all
by a creed. They are then able to call up in the souls
of their fellows that formidable force known as faith,
which renders a man the absolute slave of his dream .
The arousing of faith-whether religious, political,

DS. THE LEADERS of CROWDS. 115
aly serve or social, whether faith in a work, in a person, or an

personal idea-has always been the function of the great leaders
instinct of crowds, and it is on this account that their influence
them, is always very great. Of all the forces at the disposal
se they of humanity, faith has always been one of the most
of their tremendous, and the gospel rightly attributes to it the
words. power of moving mountains. To endow a man with
strong faith is to multiply his strength tenfold. The great

uponit. events of history have been brought about by obscure
པ་ རྣམས་ ལ་
and turn believers, who have had little beyond their faith in
quality their favour. It is not by the aid of the learned

or of philosophers, and still less of sceptics, that have
ཨཱ
I of the been built up the great religions which have swayed
estrong the world, or the vast empires which have spread from
*******
ders are one hemisphere to the other.
eir own In the cases just cited, however, we are dealing with
ade by great leaders, and they are so few in number that
ey can history can easily reckon them up. They form the
ut it is summit of a continuous series, which extends from
victions these powerful masters of men down to the workman
ter the who, in the smoky atmosphere of an inn, slowly fasci

ofthe nates his comrades by ceaselessly drumming into their
Fascina ears a few set phrases, whose purport he scarcely

t ofall comprehends, but the application of which, according
esouls to him, must surely bring about the realisation of all
faith, dreams and of every hope.

In every social sphere, from the highest to the
dream.
lowest, as soon as a man ceases to be isolated he
litical,
116 THE OPINIONS ANd beliefs of crowds.
speedily falls under the influence of a leader. The

majority of men, especially among the masses, do
not possess clear and reasoned ideas on any subject
whatever outside their own speciality. The leader
serves them as guide. It is just possible that he
may be replaced, though very inefficiently, by the
periodical publications which manufacture opinions
for their readers and supply them with ready-made
phrases which dispense them of the trouble of
reasoning.
The leaders of crowds wield a very despotic
authority, and this despotism indeed is a condition
of their obtaining a following. It has often been
remarked how easily they extort obedience, although
without any means of backing up their authority, from
the most turbulent section of the working classes.
They fix the hours of labour and the rate of wages,
and they decree strikes, which are begun and ended
at the hour they ordain.
At the present day these leaders and agitators
tend more and more to usurp the place of the public
authorities in proportion as the latter allow themselves
to be called in question and shorn of their strength.
The tyranny of these new masters has for result that
the crowds obey them much more docilely than they
have obeyed any government. If in consequence of
some accident or other the leaders should be removed
from the scene the crowd returns to its original state
The
of a collectivity without cohesion or force of resistance.
During the last strike of the Parisian omnibus
ject
employés the arrest of the two leaders who were
ader
directing it was at once sufficient to bring it to an end.
he
It is the need not of liberty but of servitude that is
the
always predominant in the soul of crowds. They are
ions
so bent on obedience that they instinctively submit to
made whoever declares himself their master.
e of
These ringleaders and agitators may be divided into
two clearly defined classes. The one includes the
potic men who are energetic and possess, but only inter
ition mittently, much strength of will, the other the men,
1.
been
far rarer than the preceding, whose strength of will is
ough
ici❤CA
enduring. The first-mentioned are violent, brave, and
from
→→
***
audacious. They are more especially useful to direct
isses. a violent enterprise suddenly decided on, to carry the
ages, masses with them in spite of danger, and to transform
nded into heroes the men who but yesterday were recruits.
Men of this kind were Ney and Murat under the First
ators Empire, and such a man in our own time was Garibaldi,
ublic a talentless but energetic adventurer who succeeded
elves with a handful of men in laying hands on the ancient
ngth kingdom of Naples, defended though it was by a
that disciplined army.
they Still, though the energy of leaders of this class is
e of a force to be reckoned with, it is transitory, and
red scarcely outlasts the exciting cause that has brought
tate it into play. When they have returned to their
118 THE OPINIONS ANd beliefs OF CROWDS.
ordinary course of life the heroes animated by energy

of this description often evince, as was the case with
those I have just cited, the most astonishing weakness
of character. They seem incapable of reflection and
of conducting themselves under the simplest circum
stances, although they had been able to lead others.
These men are leaders who cannot exercise their
function except on the condition that they be led

themselves and continually stimulated, that they have
always as their beacon a man or an idea, that they
follow a line of conduct clearly traced. The second
category of leaders, that of men of enduring strength
of will, have, in spite of a less brilliant aspect, a much
more considerable influence. In this category are
to be found the true founders of religions and

great undertakings ; St. Paul, Mahomet, Christopher
Columbus, and de Lesseps, for example. Whether
they be intelligent or narrow-minded is of no impor

tance : the world belongs to them. The persistent
will-force they possess is an immensely rare and
immensely powerful faculty to which everything yields.
What a strong and continuous will is capable of is not
always properly appreciated. Nothing resists it ;
neither nature, gods, nor man.

The most recent example of what can be effected by
a strong and continuous will is afforded us by the
illustrious man who separated the Eastern and Western
worlds, and accomplished a task that during three
thousand years had been attempted in vain by the

th greatest sovereigns. He failed later in an identical
SS enterprise, but then had intervened old age, to which
nd everything, even the will, succumbs.
m When it is desired to show what may be done by
-r's. mere strength of will, all that is necessary is to relate
eir in detail the history of the difficulties that had to be

Ted surmounted in connection with the cutting of the Suez
ave Canal. An ocular witness, Dr. Cazalis, has summed

up in a few striking lines the entire story of this great 1
hey If
ond work, recounted by its immortal author.
gth "From day to day, episode by episode, he told the

1
uch stupendous story of the canal. He told of all he had J
are had to vanquish, of the impossible he had made
and possible, of all the opposition he encountered, of the

her coalition against him, and the disappointments, the
her reverses, the defeats which had been unavailing to
Dor discourage or depress him. He recalled how England

C
ent had combatted him, attacking him without cessation ,
and how Egypt and France had hesitated , how the French
Consul had been foremost in his opposition to the early
ds.
10t stages of the work, and the nature of the opposition
he had met with, the attempt to force his workmen to
t;
desert from thirst by refusing them fresh water ; how
the Minister of Marine and the engineers , all respon
by
he sible men of experienced and scientific training, had
rn naturally all been hostile, were all certain on scientific
20 grounds that disaster was at hand , had calculated its

120 THE OPINIONS and beliefs of CROWDS.
coming, foretelling it for such a day and hour as an

eclipse is foretold. "
The book which relates the lives of all these great
leaders would not contain many names, but these
names have been bound up with the most important

events in the history of civilisation.
§ 2. THE MEANS OF ACTION OF THE LEADERS :

AFFIRMATION, REPETITION, CONTAGION.
When it is wanted to stir up a crowd for a short

space of time, to induce it to commit an act of any
nature to pillage a palace, or to die in defence of a
stronghold or a barricade, for instance the crowd
must be acted upon by rapid suggestion, among which

example is the most powerful in its effect. To attain
this end, however, it is necessary that the crowd should
have been previously prepared by certain circum
stances, and, above all, that he who wishes to work
upon it should possess the quality to be studied farther
on, to which I give the name of prestige.

When, however, it is proposed to imbue the mind of
a crowd with ideas and beliefs-with modern social
theories, for instance the leaders have recourse to
different expedients. The principal of them are three
in number and clearly defined-affirmation, repetition,
and contagion. Their action is somewhat slow, but
its effects, once produced, are very lasting.
Affirmation pure and simple, kept free of all
reasoning and all proof, is one of the surest means of

making an idea enter the mind of crowds. The
conciser an affirmation is, the more destitute of every
appearance of proof and demonstration, the more
weight it carries. The religious books and the legal
codes of all ages have always resorted to simple
affirmation. Statesmen called upon to defend a
political cause, and commercial men pushing the

sale of their products by means of advertising are
acquainted with the value of affirmation.
1 Affirmation, however, has no real influence unless
1 it be constantly repeated, and so far as possible in the
1 same terms. It was Napoleon, I believe, who said
1
that there is only one figure in rhetoric of serious 40
1 importance, namely, repetition. The thing affirmed
‫ܝ‬
comes by repetition to fix itself in the mind in such a
‫ܠ ܝ ܗ ܕ‬
way that it is accepted in the end as a demonstrated
truth.
‫ܐܥܝܒܨ ܚ‬
I The influence of repetition on crowds is compre

hensible when the power is seen which it exercises on
the most enlightened minds. This power is due to the
fact that the repeated statement is embedded in the
long run in those profound regions of our unconscious
? selves in which the motives of our actions are forged.
At the end of a certain time we have forgotten who
is the author of the repeated assertion, and we finish
by believing it. To this circumstance is due the
astonishing power of advertisements . When we have
122 THE OPINIONS AND beliefs of crowDS.
read a hundred, a thousand, times that X's chocolate

is the best, we imagine we have heard it said in many
quarters, and we end by acquiring the certitude that
such is the fact. When we have read a thousand times
that Y's flour has cured the most illustrious persons
of the most obstinate maladies, we are tempted at last
to try it when suffering from an illness of a similar
kind. If we always read in the same papers that A is
an arrant scamp and B a most honest man we finish
by being convinced that this is the truth, unless, indeed,
we are given to reading another paper of the contrary
opinion, in which the two qualifications are reversed.
Affirmation and repetition are alone powerful enough
to combat each other.
When an affirmation has been sufficiently repeated
and there is unanimity in this repetition- as has
occurred in the case of certain famous financial under
takings rich enough to purchase every assistance—

what is called a current of opinion is formed and the
powerful mechanism of contagion intervenes. Ideas,
sentiments, emotions, and beliefs possess in crowds a
contagious power as intense as that of microbes. This
phenomenon is very natural, since it is observed even
in animals when they are together in number. Should
a horse in a stable take to biting his manger the other
horses in the stable will imitate him. A panic that
has seized on a few sheep will soon extend to the whole
flock. In the case of men collected in a crowd all
1
emotions are very rapidly contagious, which explains

the suddenness of panics. Brain disorders, like mad
ness, are themselves contagious. The frequency of
333
madness among doctors who are specialists for the

mad is notorious. Indeed, forms of madness have
recently been cited-agoraphobia, for instance-which
are communicable from men to animals.
For individuals to succumb to contagion their simul
taneous presence on the same spot is not indispensable.
d The action of contagion may be felt from a distance
? under the influence of events which give all minds an 4

individual trend and the characteristics peculiar to 1
1 crowds. This is especially the case when men's minds 1
have been prepared to undergo the influence in

18
3 question by those remote factors of which I have made
1
a study above. An example in point is the revolu
.‫ܕ‬
tionary movement of 1848 , which, after breaking out
in Paris, spread rapidly over a great part of Europe .
and shook a number of thrones. f
Imitation, to which so much influence is attributed
in social phenomena, is in reality a mere effect of
contagion. Having shown its influence elsewhere, I
shall confine myself to reproducing what I said on the
subject fifteen years ago. My remarks have since
been developed by other writers in recent publications.
" Man, like animals, has a natural tendency to imita
tion. Imitation is a necessity for him, provided always
that the imitation is quite easy. It is this necessity
that makes the influence of what is called fashion so
powerful. Whether in the matter of opinions , ideas,

literary manifestations, or merely of dress, how many
persons are bold enough to run counter to the fashion ?
It is by examples not by arguments that crowds are

guided. At every period there exists a small number
of individualities which react upon the remainder and
are imitated by the unconscious mass. It is needful,
however, that these individualities should not be in
too pronounced disagreement with received ideas.
Were they so, to imitate them would be too difficult
and their influence would be nil. For this very reason
men who are too superior to their epoch are generally

without influence upon it. The line of separation is
too strongly marked. For the same reason, too,
Europeans, in spite of all the advantages of their civi
lisation, have so insignificant an influence on Eastern
people ; they differ from them to too great an extent.
"The dual action of the past and of reciprocal
imitation renders, in the long run, all the men of the
same country and the same period so alike that even in
the case of individuals who would seem destined to
escape this double influence, such as philosophers,
learned men, and men of letters, thought and style
have a family air which enables the age to which they
belong to be immediately recognised. It is not neces
sary to talk for long with an individual to attain to a
thorough knowledge of what he reads, of his habitual
DS. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS. 125
ion80 occupations, and of the surroundings amid which he

lives."
ideas,
mary Contagion is so powerful that it forces upon indi
viduals not only certain opinions, but certain modes
ds & of feeling as well. Contagion is the cause of the
umber contempt in which, at a given period, certain works
erand are held-the example of " Tannhäuser " may be cited

TEE
eedful -which, a few years later, for the same reason are
bein admired by those who were foremost in criticising

them.
t
The opinions and beliefs of crowds are specially
reason propagated by contagion, but never by reasoning.
1
erally The conceptions at present rife among the working 1
classes have been acquired at the public-house as the 4
, too, result of affirmation, repetition, and contagion, and

indeed the mode of creation of the beliefs of crowds
rcini
*****
ster of every age has scarcely been different. Renan justly
tent institutes a comparison between the first founders of GI

C
roal Christianity and " the socialist working men spreading
their ideas from public-house to public-house " ; while
the
Voltaire had already observed in connection with the
Christian religion that " for more than a hundred years
it was only embraced by the vilest riff-raff.”
ers
It will be noted that in cases analogous to those I
Tit
have just cited, contagion, after having been at work
ze
43
I Gustave le Bon, " L'Homme et les Sociétés, " vol. ii.

p. 116. 1881.
among the popular classes, has spread to the higher

classes of society. This is what we see happening at
the present day with regard to the socialist doctrines
which are beginning to be held by those who will yet

be their first victims. Contagion is so powerful a force
that even the sentiment of personal interest disappears

under its action.
This is the explanation of the fact that every opinion
adopted by the populace always ends in implanting

itself with great vigour in the highest social strata,
Th
however obvious be the absurdity of the triumphant
opinion. This reaction of the lower upon the higher
social classes is the more curious, owing to the circum
stance that the beliefs of the crowd always have their
origin to a greater or less extent in some higher idea,
which has often remained without influence in the
sphere in which it was evolved. Leaders and agitators,

subjugated by this higher idea, take hold of it, distort
it and create a sect which distorts it afresh, and then
propagates it amongst the masses, who carry the
process of deformation still further. Become a popular
truth the idea returns, as it were, to its source and
(
exerts an influence on the upper classes of a nation. In
the long run it is intelligence that shapes the destiny of
C
the world, but very indirectly. The philosophers who
evolve ideas have long since returned to dust, when, as
a
the result of the process I have just described, the fruit
8
of their reflection ends by triumphing.
'DS.
higher § 3. PRESTIGE.
ningat
Great power is given to ideas propagated by affir
vetrines
mation, repetition, and contagion by the circumstance
Fillyet
that they acquire in time that mysterious force known
aforce
as prestige.
ppears Whatever has been a ruling power in the world,
whether it be ideas or men, has in the main enforced its
pinion
authority by means of that irresistible force expressed
inting by the word " prestige." The term is one whose
trata meaning is grasped by everybody, but the word is
hant
employed in ways too different for it to be easy to
define it. Prestige may involve such sentiments as 1
Cum 1
admiration or fear. Occasionally even these senti
heir
ments are its basis, but it can perfectly well exist
dea without them. The greatest measure of prestige is 4
"
the possessed by the dead, by beings, that is, of whom we f
1HX
do not stand in fear-by Alexander, Cæsar, Mahomet, 4

f
ort and Buddha, for example. On the other hand, there
en are fictive beings whom we do not admire-the
monstrous divinities of the subterranean temples of
ar India, for instance-but who strike us nevertheless as
d endowed with a great prestige.
1 Prestige in reality is a sort of domination exercised
1
on our mind by an individual, a work, or an idea.
This domination entirely paralyses our critical faculty,
and fills our soul with astonishment and respect. The
sentiment provoked is inexplicable, like all sentiments,

but it would appear to be of the same kind as the

fascination to which a magnetised person is subjected.
Prestige is the mainspring of all authority. Neither
gods , kings, nor women have ever reigned without it.
The various kinds of prestige may be grouped under
two principal heads : acquired prestige and personal
prestige. Acquired prestige is that resulting from
name, fortune, and reputation. It may be indepen
dent of personal prestige. Personal prestige, on the
contrary, is something essentially peculiar to the
individual ; it may coexist with reputation, glory, and
fortune, or be strengthened by them, but it is perfectly
capable of existing in their absence.
Acquired or artificial prestige is much the most

common. The mere fact that an individual occupies
a certain position, possesses a certain fortune, or bears

certain titles, endows him with prestige, however slight
his own personal worth. A soldier in uniform, a judge
in his robes, always enjoys prestige. Pascal has very
properly noted the necessity for judges of robes and
wigs. Without them they would be stripped of half
their authority. The most unbending socialist is
always somewhat impressed by the sight of a prince or
a marquis ; and the assumption of such titles makes
the robbing of tradesmen an easy matter.I
I The influence of titles , decorations, and uniforms on

crowds is to be traced in all countries, even in those in which
the sentiment of personal independence is the most strongly
WDS. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS. 129
d asthe The prestige of which I have just spoken is exercised

abjected by persons ; side by side with it may be placed that
exercised by opinions, literary and artistic works, etc.
thout Prestige of the latter kind is most often merely the
dunder result of accumulated repetitions. History, literary
personal and artistic history especially, being nothing more than
gfrom the repetition of identical judgments, which nobody

adeper endeavours to verify, every one ends by repeating
onthe what he learnt at school, till there come to be names
to the and things which nobody would venture to meddle
F,and with. For a modern reader the perusal of Homer
rfectly
developed. I quote in this connection a curious passage from
a recent book of travel, on the prestige enjoyed in England by
most great persons.
cupies "I had observed, under various circumstances, the peculiar
sort of intoxication produced in the most reasonable English
bears
men by the contact or sight of an English peer.
66
--
light Provided his fortune enables him to keep up his rank,
he is sure of their affection in advance, and brought into
judge
contact with him they are so enchanted as to put up with
very
anything at his hands. They may be seen to redden with
ard pleasure at his approach, and if he speaks to them their sup
pressed joy increases their redness, and causes their eyes to
gleam with unusual brilliance. Respect for nobility is in
their blood, so to speak, as with Spaniards the love of dancing,
20 . with Germans that of music, and with Frenchmen the liking
for revolutions. Their passion for horses and Shakespeare is
less violent, the satisfaction and pride they derive from these
85
sources a less integral part of their being. There is a con

siderable sale for books dealing with the peerage, and go
where one will they are to be found, like the Bible, in all
h
hands."
10
results incontestably in immense boredom ; but who

"
would venture to say so? The Parthenon, in its
present state, is a wretched ruin, utterly destitute of
interest, but it is endowed with such prestige that it
does not appear to us as it really is, but with all its
(
accompaniment of historic memories. The special
characteristic of prestige is to prevent us seeing things
I
as they are and to entirely paralyse our judgment.
t
Crowds always, and individuals as a rule, stand in
8
need of ready-made opinions on all subjects. The
a
popularity of these opinions is independent of the
measure of truth or error they contain, and is solely
e
regulated by their prestige.
P
I now come to personal prestige. Its nature is very
g
different from that of artificial or acquired prestige,
with which I have just been concerned. It is a faculty r
independent of all titles, of all authority, and possessed r
by a small number of persons whom it enables to t
exercise a veritably magnetic fascination on those f
around them, although they are socially their equals, 0
and lack all ordinary means of domination. They b
force the acceptance of their ideas and sentiments on al
those about them, and they are obeyed as is the tamer
I
of wild beasts by the animal that could easily devour
him.
The great leaders of crowds, such as Buddha, Jesus, a
Mahomet, Joan of Arc, and Napoleon, have possessed }
this form of prestige in a high degree, and to this 0
5. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS. 131
endowment is more particularly due the position they

its
attained. Gods, heroes, and dogmas win their way in
e of
the world of their own inward strength. They are not
at it
to be discussed : they disappear, indeed, as soon as
its discussed.
cial
The great personages I have just cited were in
ngs possession of their power of fascination long before
ent.
they became illustrious, and would never have become
so without it. It is evident, for instance, that Napoleon
at the zenith of his glory enjoyed an immense prestige
The
by the mere fact of his power, but he was already
endowed in part with this prestige when he was without
power and completely unknown. When, an obscure
T general, he was sent, thanks to influential protection,
e, to command the army of Italy, he found himself among
J rough generals who were of a mind to give a hostile
d reception to the young intruder dispatched them by
ว the Directory. From the very beginning, from the
first interview, without the aid of speeches, gestures,
or threats, at the first sight of the man who was to
become great they were vanquished. Taine furnishes
a curious account of this interview taken from contem
porary memoirs.
"The generals of division, amongst others Augereau.

a sort of swashbuckler, uncouth and heroic, proud of
his height and his bravery, arrive at the staff
quarters very badly disposed towards the little
upstart dispatched them from Paris. On the strength

of the description of him that has been given them,
Augereau is inclined to be insolent and insubordinate ;
a favourite of Barras, a general who owes his rank to
the events of Vendémiaire, who has won his grade by
street-fighting, who is looked upon as bearish, because
he is always thinking in solitude, of poor aspect, and
with the reputation of a mathematician and dreamer.
They are introduced, and Bonaparte keeps them
waiting. At last he appears, girt with his sword ; he
"
puts on his hat, explains the measures he has taken,
gives his orders, and dismisses them. Augereau has
remained silent ; it is only when he is outside that he
regains his self-possession and is able to deliver himself
of his customary oaths. He admits with Masséna that
this little devil of a general has inspired him with awe ;
he cannot understand the ascendency by which from
the very first he has felt himself overwhelmed."
Become a great man, his prestige increased in pro

portion as his glory grew, and came to be at least
equal to that of a divinity in the eyes of those devoted
to him. General Vandamme, a rough, typical soldier
of the Revolution, even more brutal and energetic than
Augereau, said of him to Marshal d'Arnano in 1815,
as on one occasion they mounted together the stairs
of the Tuileries : " That devil of a man exercises a
fascination on me that I cannot explain even to myself,
POWDS. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS. 133
he strength and in such a degree that, though I fear neither God

iven them, nor devil, when I am in his presence I am ready to
bordinate; tremble like a child, and he could make me go through
is rank to the eye of a needle to throw myself into the fire.”
grade by
Napoleon exercised a like fascination on all who
,because
came into contact with him.
Spect, and
dreamer. Davoust used to say, talking of Maret's devotion
ps them and of his own : " Had the Emperor said to us, ' It is
word; he important in the interest of my policy that Paris should
as taken, be destroyed without a single person leaving it or

reau has escaping,' Maret I am sure would have kept the secret,
that he but he could not have abstained from compromising
himself himself by seeing that his family got clear of the city.
éna that I Thoroughly conscious of his prestige, Napoleon was

thawe ; aware that he added to it by treating rather worse than stable
ch from lads the great personages around him, and among whom
figured some of those celebrated men of the Convention of
whom Europe had stood in dread. The gossip of the period
abounds in illustrations of this fact. One day, in the midst
of a Council of State, Napoleon grossly insults Beugnot, treat
in pro ing him as one might an unmannerly valet. The effect pro
tleast duced, he goes up to him and says, “ Well, stupid, have you
evoted found your head again ? " Whereupon Beugnot, tall as a
oldier drum-major, bows very low, and the little man raising his
hand, takes the tall one by the ear, 66 an intoxicating sign of
than favour," writes Beugnot, "the familiar gesture of the master
1815 who waxes gracious." Such examples give a clear idea of
the degree of base platitude that prestige can provoke. They
tairs
enable us to understand the immense contempt of the great
ess despot for the men surrounding him- men whom he merely
ell looked upon as " food for powder. "
On the other hand, I, for fear of letting the truth leak

out, would have let my wife and children stay." C
It is necessary to bear in mind the astounding power I
exerted by fascination of this order to understand that I
marvellous return from the Isle of Elba, that lightning
like conquest of France by an isolated man confronted
by all the organised forces of a great country that
might have been supposed weary of his tyranny. He
had merely to cast a look at the generals sent to lay
hands on him, and who had sworn to accomplish their
mission. All of them submitted without discussion.
" Napoleon," writes the English General Wolseley, a

"lands in France almost alone, a fugitive from the small
island of Elba which was his kingdom, and succeeded
in a few weeks, without bloodshed, in upsetting all (
organised authority in France under its legitimate

king ; is it possible for the personal ascendency of a
man to affirm itself in a more astonishing manner ?
But from the beginning to the end of this campaign,
which was his last, how remarkable too is the ascen
dency he exercised over the Allies, obliging them to
follow his initiative, and how near he came to crushing
them ! "
His prestige outlived him and continued to grow.

It is his prestige that made an emperor of his obscure
nephew. How powerful is his memory still is seen in
OWDS. THE LEADers of CROWDS. 135
truth leak the resurrection of his legend in progress at the present
ay." day. Ill-treat men as you will, massacre them by
Hingpower millions, be the cause of invasion upon invasion, all is

stand that permitted you if you possess prestige in a sufficient
lightning degree and the talent necessary to uphold it.

onfronted I have invoked, no doubt, in this case a quite
try that exceptional example of prestige, but one it was useful
ny. He to cite to make clear the genesis of great religions,
t to lay great doctrines, and great empires. Were it not for

ish their the power exerted on the crowd by prestige, such
cussion. growths would be incomprehensible.
Prestige, however, is not based solely on personal
olseley, ascendency, military glory, and religious terror ; it

esmall may have a more modest origin and still be consider
ceeded able. Our century furnishes several examples. One
ngall of the most striking ones that posterity will recall from
imate age to age will be supplied by the history of the
of1 illustrious man who modified the face of the globe and
the commercial relations of the nations by separating
ner!
two continents. He succeeded in his enterprise owing
sign,
scen to his immense strength of will, but also owing to the
fascination he exercised on those surrounding him .
to
To overcome the unanimous opposition he met
hing
with, he had only to show himself. He would speak
briefly, and in face of the charm he exerted his oppo
nents became his friends. The English in particular
Te strenuously opposed his scheme ; he had only to put

in an appearance in England to rally all suffrages. In
136 THE OPINIons and beliefs of crowds.
later years, when he passed Southampton, the bells

were rung on his passage ; and at the present day a
movement is on foot in England to raise a statue in
his honour.
"Having vanquished whatever there is to vanquish,

men and things, marshes, rocks, and sandy wastes,"
he had ceased to believe in obstacles, and wished to
begin Suez over again at Panama. He began again
1
with the same methods as of old ; but he had aged,
and, besides, the faith that moves mountains does not ปี
move them if they are too lofty. The mountains
resisted, and the catastrophe that ensued destroyed

the glittering aureole of glory that enveloped the hero.
His life teaches how prestige can grow and how it can
vanish. After rivalling in greatness the most famous
heroes of history, he was lowered by the magistrates of 0
his country to the ranks of the vilest criminals. When a
he died his coffin, unattended, traversed an indifferent

crowd. Foreign sovereigns are alone in rendering
homage to his memory as to that of one of the greatest

men that history has known.I
1 An Austrian paper, the Neue Freie Presse, of Vienna, has

indulged on the subject of the destiny of de Lesseps in reflec
tions marked by a most judicious psychological insight. I
therefore reproduce them here :
:
"After the condemnation of Ferdinand de Lesseps one has
no longer the right to be astonished at the sad end of
Christopher Columbus. If Ferdinand de Lesseps were a rogue
every noble illusion is a crime. Antiquity would have
Still, the various examples that have just been cited

۲۱ represent extreme cases. To fix in detail the psycho
in
logy of prestige, it would be necessary to place them
1
crowned the memory of de Lesseps with an aureole of glory,
h
and would have made him drink from the bowl of nectar in
1
1 the midst of Olympus, for he has altered the face of the
earth and accomplished works which make the creation more
perfect. The President of the Court of Appeal has immor
talised himself by condemning Ferdinand de Lesseps, for the
nations will always demand the name of the man who was
not afraid to debase his century by investing with the con
vict's cap an aged man, whose life redounded to the glory of
his contemporaries.
"Let there be no more talk in the future of inflexible
justice, there where reigns a bureaucratic hatred of audacious
feats. The nations have need of audacious men who believe
in themselves and overcome every obstacle without concern
for their personal safety. Genius cannot be prudent ; by dint
of prudence it could never enlarge the sphere of human
activity.
"... Ferdinand de Lesseps has known the intoxication of
triumph and the bitterness of disappointment-Suez and
Panama. At this point the heart revolts at the morality of
success. When de Lesseps had succeeded in joining two seas
princes and nations rendered him their homage ; to- day, when
he meets with failure among the rocks of the Cordilleras, he
is nothing but a vulgar rogue. ... In this result we see a
war between the classes of society, the discontent of bureau
crats and employés, who take their revenge with the aid of
the criminal code on those who would raise themselves above
their fellows. . . . Modern legislators are filled with em
barrassment when confronted by the lofty ideas due to
human genius ; the public comprehends such ideas still less,
and it is easy for an advocate-general to prove that Stanley
is a murderer and de Lesseps a deceiver."
at the extremity of a series, which would range from

the founders of religions and empires to the private
individual who endeavours to dazzle his neighbours by
a new coat or a decoration.
Between the extreme limits of this series would find
a place all the forms of prestige resulting from the am

different elements composing a civilisation-sciences, Im
arts, literature, etc.—and it would be seen that prestige for
constitutes the fundamental element of persuasion. cal
Consciously or not, the being, the idea, or the thing the
possessing prestige is immediately imitated in conse dis
quence of contagion, and forces an entire generation the
to adopt certain modes of feeling and of giving expres cro
sion to its thought. This imitation, moveover, is, as ha
a rule, unconscious, which accounts for the fact that it
is perfect. The modern painters who copy the pale be

colouring and the stiff attitudes of some of the he
Primitives are scarcely alive to the source of their bo
inspiration. They believe in their own sincerity, ad
whereas, if an eminent master had not revived this of
form of art, people would have continued blind to all
but its naïve and inferior sides. Those artists who, th
after the manner of another illustrious master, he
inundate their canvases with violet shades do not see h
in nature more violet than was detected there fifty
B H
years ago ; but they are influenced, " suggestioned,"

by the personal and special impressions of a painter
who, in spite of this eccentricity, was successful in
THE LEADers of crOWDS. 139
acquiring great prestige. Similar examples might be

brought forward in connection with all the elements
of civilisation.
It is seen from what precedes that a number of
factors may be concerned in the genesis of prestige ;
among them success was always one of the most
important. Every successful man, every idea that
forces itself into recognition, ceases, ipso facto, to be
called in question. The proof that success is one of
the principal stepping-stones to prestige is that the
disappearance of the one is almost always followed by
the disappearance of the other. The hero whom the
crowd acclaimed yesterday is insulted to-day should he
have been overtaken by failure. The re-action, indeed,
will be the stronger in proportion as the prestige has
been great. The crowd in this case considers the fallen
hero as an equal, and takes its revenge for having
bowed to a superiority whose existence it no longer
admits. While Robespierre was causing the execution
of his colleagues and of a great number of his con
temporaries, he possessed an immense prestige. When
the transposition of a few votes deprived him of power,
he immediately lost his prestige, and the crowd followed
him to the guillotine with the self-same imprecations
with which shortly before it had pursued his victims.
Believers always break the statues of their former gods
1 with every symptom of fury.
Prestige lost by want of success disappears in a brief
space of time. It can also be worn away, but more

slowly by being subjected to discussion. This latter
power, however, is exceedingly sure. From the
moment prestige is called in question it ceases to be

prestige. The gods and men who have kept their
prestige for long have never tolerated discussion. For
the crowd to admire, it must be kept at a distance.
DS.
at more
8 latter
m the CHAPTER IV.
to be LIMITATIONS OF THE VARIABILITY OF THE

t their BELIEFS AND OPINIONS OF CROWDS.
For
§ 1. Fixed Beliefs. The invariability of certain general beliefs
ce. -They shape the course of a civilisation-The difficulty
of uprooting them-In what respect intolerance is a virtue
in a people-The philosophic absurdity of a belief cannot
interfere with its spreading. § 2. The Changeable
Opinions of Crowds. The extreme mobility of opinions
which do not arise from general beliefs-Apparent varia
tions of ideas and beliefs in less than a century-The
real limits of these variations--The matters effected by
the variation-The disappearance at present in progress of
general beliefs, and the extreme diffusion of the newspaper
press, have for result that opinions are nowadays more
and more changeable-Why the opinions of crowds tend
on the majority of subjects towards indifference-Govern
ments now powerless to direct opinion as they formerly
did- Opinions prevented to-day from being tyrannical on
account of their exceeding divergency.
§ 1. FIXED BELIEFS.
A CLOSE parallel exists between the anatomical and

psychological characteristics of living beings. In
these anatomical characteristics certain invariable, or
slightly variable, elements are met with, to change
which the lapse is necessary of geological ages. Side
by side with these fixed, indestructible features are to
be found others extremely changeable, which the art
of the breeder or horticulturist may easily modify, and
at times to such an extent as to conceal the fundamental

characteristics from an observer at all inattentive.
The same phenomenon is observed in the case of
moral characteristics. Alongside the unalterable
psychological elements of a race, mobile and changeable

elements are to be encountered. For this reason, in 0
b
studying the beliefs and opinions of a people, the
presence is always detected of a fixed groundwork 01
on which are engrafted opinions as changing as the is
surface sand on a rock. re
The opinions and beliefs of crowds may be divided, be
then, into two very distinct classes. On the one hand m
we have great permanent beliefs, which endure for a
several centuries, and on which an entire civilisation th

" may rest. Such, for instance, in the past were T
feudalism, Christianity, and Protestantism ; and such, a
in our own time, are the nationalist principle and

contemporary democratic and social ideas. In the do
its
second place, there are the transitory, changing
be
opinions, the outcome, as a rule, of general concep
tions, of which every age sees the birth and Su
disappearance ; examples in point are the theories ex
which mould literature and the arts-those, for

.9
instance, which produced romanticism , naturalism,

boo
mysticism, etc. Opinions of this order are as super

ficial, as a rule, as fashion, and as changeable. They th
may be compared to the ripples which ceaselessly arise up

and vanish on the surface of a deep lake. ne
DS. LIMITATIONS OF VARIABILITY. 143
mental The great generalised beliefs are very restricted in

number. Their rise and fall form the culminating
ve.
Case of points of the history of every historic race. They
erable constitute the real framework of civilisation.
geable It is easy to imbue the mind of crowds with a passing
on, in opinion, but very difficult to implant therein a lasting
e, the belief. However, a belief of this latter description
dwork once established, it is equally difficult to uproot it. It E
as the is usually only to be changed at the cost of violent

revolutions. Even revolutions can only avail when the
vided, belief has almost entirely lost its sway over men's
hand minds. In that case revolutions serve to finally sweep
e for away what had already been almost cast aside, though
ation the force of habit prevented its complete abandonment.
were The beginning of a revolution is in reality the end of

a belief.
such,
and The precise moment at which a great belief is
the doomed is easily recognisable ; it is the moment when

1
its value begins to be called in question. Every general
ging
belief being little else than a fiction, it can only
сер
survive on the condition that it be not subjected to
and
examination.
ries
But even when a belief is severely shaken, the
for
institutions to which it has given rise retain their
5m,
strength and disappear but slowly. Finally, when
er.
the belief has completely lost its force, all that rested
upon it is soon involved in ruin. As yet a nation has
never been able to change its beliefs without being
condemned at the same time to transform all the

elements of its civilisation. The nation continues this
process of transformation until it has alighted on and
accepted a new general belief ; until this juncture it is
perforce in a state of anarchy. General beliefs are the
indispensable pillars of civilisations ; they determine
the trend of ideas. They alone are capable of inspir
ing faith and creating a sense of duty.
"
Nations have always been conscious of the utility
of acquiring general beliefs, and have instinctively
understood that their disappearance would be the signal
for their own decline. In the case of the Romans, the
fanatical cult of Rome was the belief that made them
14 masters of the world, and when the belief had died

out Rome was doomed to die. As for the barbarians
who destroyed the Roman civilisation, it was only
when they had acquired certain commonly accepted
beliefs that they attained a measure of cohesion and
emerged from anarchy.
Plainly it is not for nothing that nations have always
displayed intolerance in the defence of their opinions.
This intolerance, open as it is to criticism from the
philosophic standpoint, represents in the life of a
people the most necessary of virtues. It was to found
or uphold general beliefs that so many victims were
sent to the stake in the Middle Ages and that so many
inventors and innovators have died in despair even if
they have escaped martyrdom. It is in defence, too , of
VDS. LIMITATIONS OF VARIABILITY. 145
such beliefs that the world has been so often the scene
ues this
of the direst disorder, and that so many millions of men
onand have died on the battle-field, and will yet die there.
ureit is There are great difficulties in the way of establishing
are the
a general belief, but when it is definitely implanted
ermine its power is for a long time to come invincible, and
inspir however false it be philosophically it imposes itself
upon the most luminous intelligence. Have not the
utility European peoples regarded as incontrovertible for
ctively more than fifteen centuries religious legends which,
signal closely examined, are as barbarous as those of Moloch ?
ns, the The frightful absurdity of the legend of a God who
them revenges himself for the disobedience of one of his
died creatures by inflicting horrible tortures on his son
arians remained unperceived during many centuries. Such
‫آستان‬ potent geniuses as a Galileo, a Newton, and a Leibnitz
epted never supposed for an instant that the truth of such
dogmas could be called in question. Nothing can be
more typical than this fact of the hypnotising effect of
general beliefs, but at the same time nothing can
MODS mark more decisively the humiliating limitations of
the our intelligence.
8 As soon as a new dogma is implanted in the mind of
und
rere I Barbarous, philosophically speaking, I mean. In practice
they have created an entirely new civilisation, and for fifteen
any
centuries have given mankind a glimpse of those enchanted
-it
realms of generous dreams and of hope which he will know
of no more.
11
146 THE OPINIONS and Beliefs of CROWDS.
crowds it becomes the source of inspiration whence are

evolved its institutions, arts, and mode of existence.
The sway it exerts over men's minds under these
circumstances is absolute. Men of action have no
thought beyond realising the accepted belief, legis

lators beyond applying it, while philosophers, artists,
and men of letters are solely preoccupied with its
expression under various shapes.
From the fundamental belief transient accessory
ideas may arise, but they always bear the impress of

the belief from which they have sprung. The Egyptian
civilisation, the European civilisation of the Middle S
Ages, the Mussulman civilisation of the Arabs are all k
116 the outcome of a small number of religious beliefs t
which have left their mark on the least important
elements of these civilisations and allow of their imme
diate recognition. I
Thus it is that, thanks to general beliefs, the men 81
of every age are enveloped in a network of traditions,
opinions, and customs which render them all alike, R
B
and from whose yoke they cannot extricate themselves . pi
Men are guided in their conduct above all by their re
beliefs and by the customs that are the consequence of
of those beliefs. These beliefs and customs regulate of
the smallest acts of our existence, and the most inde lit
pendent spirit cannot escape their influence. The TI
tyranny exercised unconsciously on men's minds is the re
105
only real tyranny, because it cannot be fought against.
Ads
ONS ITY
CROWDS. LIMITATI OF VARIABIL . 147
whence are Tiberius, Ghengis Khan, and Napoleon were assuredly

of existence. redoubtable tyrants, but from the depth of their
under these graves Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Mahomet have
on have no exerted on the human soul a far profounder despotism.
Delief, legis A conspiracy may overthrow a tyrant, but what can it
ers, artists avail against a firmly established belief? In its violent
ed with its struggle with Roman Catholicism it is the French
Revolution that has been vanquished, and this in
t accessory spite of the fact that the sympathy of the crowd was
impress of apparently on its side, and in spite of recourse to
eEgyptian destructive measures as pitiless as those of the Inqui
the Middle sition. The only real tyrants that humanity has
abs are all known have always been the memories of its dead or
ous beliefs the illusions it has forged itself.
important The philosophic absurdity that often marks general
heir imme beliefs has never been an obstacle to their triumph.
Indeed the triumph of such beliefs would seem impos
5, the men sible unless on the condition that they offer some
ns
traditio , mysterious absurdity. In consequence, the evident
all alike, weakness of the socialist beliefs of to-day will not
es
hemselv prevent them triumphing among the masses. Their
by their real inferiority to all religious beliefs is solely the result
ce
nsequen of this consideration, that the ideal of happiness
e
regulat offered by the latter being realisable only in a future
post inde life, it was beyond the power of anybody to contest it.
e. The The socialist ideal of happiness being intended to be
nds inthe realised on earth, the vanity of its promises will at
t once appear as soon as the first efforts towards their
agains
148 THE OPINIONS AND BEliefs of crowds.
realisation are made, and simultaneously the new

belief will entirely lose its prestige. Its strength, in
consequence, will only increase until the day when,
having triumphed, its practical realisation shall com
mence. For this reason, while the new religion exerts
to begin with, like all those that have preceded it, a
destructive influence, it will be unable, in the future, to
play a creative part.
0
§ 2. THE CHANGEABLE OPINIONS OF CROWDS. t
Above the substratum of fixed beliefs, whose power
we have just demonstrated, is found an overlying SU

growth of opinions, ideas, and thoughts which are be
incessantly springing up and dying out. Some of
p
them exist but for a day, and the more important th
scarcely outlive a generation. We have already
noted that the changes which supervene in opinions of F
E
this order are at times far more superficial than real, pe
and that they are always affected by racial considera. In
tions. When examining, for instance, the political be
institutions of France we showed that parties to ag
all appearance utterly distinct-royalists, radicals, gi
imperialists, socialists, etc.- have an ideal absolutely to
identical, and that this ideal is solely dependent on the th
mental structure of the French race, since a quite cl
contrary ideal is found under analogous names among al
other races. Neither the name given to opinions not as
deceptive adaptations alter the essence of things. The tl
i
TIONS ILITY
DS LIMITA OF VARIAB . 149
е дег men of the Great Revolution, saturated with Latin

th, in literature, who (their eyes fixed on the Roman
when, Republic) adopted its laws, its fasces, and its togas,
com did not become Romans because they were under the
exerts empire of a powerful historical suggestion. The task
it, & of the philosopher is to investigate what it is which
ure, to subsists of ancient beliefs beneath their apparent
changes, and to identify amid the moving flux of

opinions the part determined by general beliefs and
VDS.
the genius of the race.
powe In the absence of this philosophic test it might be
rlying supposed that crowds change their political or religious
hart beliefs frequently and at will. All history, whether
ne of political, religious, artistic, or literary, seems to prove
ortan that such is the case.
ready As an example, let us take a very short period of

Ons 0. French history, merely that from 1790 to 1820, a
real period of thirty years' duration, that of a generation.
dera In the course of it we see the crowd at first monarchical
itica become very revolutionary, then very imperialist, and

es to again very monarchical. In the matter of religion it
icals gravitates in the same lapse of time from Catholicism
utely to atheism, then towards deism, and then returns to

the the most pronounced forms of Catholicism. These
quite changes take place not only amongst the masses, but
also amongst those who direct them. We observe with
nong
no astonishment the prominent men of the Convention,
Th the sworn enemies of kings, men who would have

neither gods nor masters, become the humble servants

of Napoleon, and afterwards, under Louis XVIII.,
piously carry candles in religious processions.
Numerous, too, are the changes in the opinions of
the crowd in the course of the following seventy years.
The " Perfidious Albion " of the opening of the century
is the ally of France under Napoleon's heir ; Russia,
twice invaded by France, which looked on with satis
faction at French reverses, becomes its friend.
In literature, art, and philosophy the successive evo
lutions of opinion are more rapid still. Romanticism,
naturalism, mysticism, etc., spring up and die out in
turn. The artist and the writer applauded yesterday
are treated on the morrow with profound contempt.
When, however, we analyse all these changes in
appearance so far reaching, what do we find? All
those that are in opposition with the general beliefs

and sentiments of the race are of transient duration,
and the diverted stream soon resumes its course. The
opinions which are not linked to any general belief or

sentiment of the race, and which in consequence cannot
possess stability, are at the mercy of every chance, or,
if the expression be preferred, of every change in the
surrounding circumstances. Formed by suggestion
and contagion, they are always momentary ; they crop

up and disappear as rapidly on occasion as the sandhills
formed by the wind on the sea-coast.
At the present day the changeable opinions of crowds
JIK
S Y
VDS. LIMITATION OF VARIABILIT . 151
servants are greater in number than they ever were, and for
XVIII three different reasons.
The first is that as the old beliefs are losing their
nions of influence to a greater and greater extent, they are
yyears. ceasing to shape the ephemeral opinions of the moment
century as they did in the past. The weakening of general
Russia, beliefs clears the ground for a crop of haphazard

ch satis opinions without a past or a future.
The second reason is that the power of crowds being
ve evo on the increase, and this power being less and less
ticism, counterbalanced, the extreme mobility of ideas, which
out in we have seen to be a peculiarity of crowds, can manifest
itself without let or hindrance.
terday '
pt. Finally, the third reason is the recent development
ges in of the newspaper press, by whose agency the most

All contrary opinions are being continually brought before
beliefs the attention of crowds. The suggestions that might
ation, result from each individual opinion are soon destroyed
The by suggestions of an opposite character. The conse
lief or quence is that no opinion succeeds in becoming
annot widespread, and that the existence of all of them is

ephemeral. An opinion nowadays dies out before it has
e, or,
n the found a sufficiently wide acceptance to become general.
stion A phenomenon quite new in the world's history, and

most characteristic of the present age, has resulted
crop
from these different causes ; I allude to the powerless
hills
ness of governments to direct opinion.
wds In the past, and in no very distant past, the action

of governments and the influence of a few writers and
a very small number of newspapers constituted the

real reflectors of public opinion . To-day the writers
have lost all influence, and the newspapers only reflect
opinion. As for statesmen, far from directing opinion,
their only endeavour is to follow it. They have a dread
of opinion, which amounts at times to terror, and causes
them to adopt an utterly unstable line of conduct.
The opinion of crowds tends, then, more and more
to become the supreme guiding principle in politics.
It goes so far to-day as to force on alliances, as has
been seen recently in the case of the Franco-Russian
alliance, which is solely the outcome of a popular
movement. A curious symptom of the present time is
to observe popes, kings , and emperors consent to be

interviewed as a means of submitting their views on a
given subject to the judgment of crowds. Formerly it
might have been correct to say that politics were not a
matter of sentiment. Can the same be said to-day,
when politics are more and more swayed by the impulse
of changeable crowds, who are uninfluenced by reason
and can only be guided by sentiment ?
As to the press, which formerly directed opinion, it
has had, like governments, to humble itself before the
power of crowds. It wields, no doubt, a considerable
influence, but only because it is exclusively the reflec
tion of the opinions of crowds and of their incessant
variations. Become a mere agency for the supply of
L
ersand information, the press has renounced all endeavour to

ted the enforce an idea or a doctrine. It follows all the changes
writers of public thought, obliged to do so by the necessities
refect of competition under pain of losing its readers. The
old staid and influential organs of the past, such as the
dread Constitutionnel, the Débats, or the Siécle, which were
causes accepted as oracles by the preceding generation, have
ct. disappeared or have become typical modern papers, in
more which a maximum of news is sandwiched in between
litis light articles, society gossip, and financial puffs. There
can be no question to-day of a paper rich enough to
ssian allow its contributors to air their personal opinions,
lar and such opinions would be of slight weight with
me's readers who only ask to be kept informed or to be
amused, and who suspect every affirmation of being
on3 prompted by motives of speculation. Even the critics
have ceased to be able to assure the success of a book
ot8 or a play. They are capable of doing harm, but Lot

of doing a service. The papers are so conscious of the
uselessness of everything in the shape of criticism or
OD personal opinion, that they have reached the point of
suppressing literary criticism, confining themselves to
citing the title of a book, and appending a " puff " cf
two or three lines. In twenty years' time the same
fate will probably have overtaken theatrical criticism.
The close watching of the course of opinion has
t I These remarks refer to the French newspaper press.

Note of the Translator,
become to-day the principal preoccupation of the press

and of governments. The effect produced by an event,
a legislative proposal, a speech, is without intermission
what they require to know, and the task is not easy,
for nothing is more mobile and changeable than the
thought of crowds, and nothing more frequent than
to see them execrate to-day what they applauded
yesterday.
This total absence of any sort of direction of opinion,
and at the same time the destruction of general beliefs,
have had for final result an extreme divergency of
convictions of every order, and a growing indifference

on the part of crowds to everything that does not
plainly touch their immediate interests. Questions of
doctrine, such as socialism, only recruit champions
boasting genuine convictions among the quite illiterate
classes, among the workers in mines and factories, for
instance. Members of the lower middle class, and
working men possessing some degree of instruction,

have either become utterly sceptical or extremely
unstable in their opinions.
The evolution which has been effected in this direc
tion in the last twenty-five years is striking. During

the preceding period, comparatively near us though it
is, opinions still had a certain general trend ; they had
their origin in the acceptance of some fundamental
belief. By the mere fact that an individual was a
monarchist he possessed inevitably certain clearly
Lepress defined ideas in history as well as in science, while by

event the mere fact that he was a republican, his ideas were
ission quite contrary. A monarchist was well aware that
easy men are not descended from monkeys, and a republican
nthe was not less well aware that such is in truth their
than descent. It was the duty of the monarchist to speak
uded with horror, and of the republican to speak with
veneration, of the great Revolution. There were
그ion, certain names, such as those of Robespierre and Marat,

" that had to be uttered with an air of religious devotion,
d and other names, such as those of Cæsar, Augustus, or
Napoleon, that ought never to be mentioned unac
companied by a torrent of invective. Even in the
of French Sorbonne this ingenuous fashion of conceiving

history was general.
to At the present day, as the result of discussion and
DI analysis, all opinions are losing their prestige ; their

ď I There are pages in the books of the French official pro
fessors of history that are very curious from this point of
view. They prove too how little the critical spirit is
developed by the system of university education in vogue in
France. I cite as an example the following extracts from
the 66 French Revolution " of M. Rambaud, professor of
history at the Sorbonne :
" The taking of the Bastille was a culminating event in the
history not only of France, but of all Europe ; and in
augurated a new epoch in the history of the world ! "
With respect to Robespierre, we learn with stupefaction
that " his dictatorship was based more especially on opinion,
persuasion, and moral authority ; it was a sort of pontificate
in the hands of a virtuous man ! " (pp. 91 and 220.)
156 THE OPINIions and beliefs of crowds.
distinctive features are rapidly worn away, and few

survive capable of arousing our enthusiasm . The
man of modern times is more and more a prey to
indifference.
The general wearing away of opinions should
not be too greatly deplored. That it is a symptom of
decadence in the life of a people cannot be contested.
It is certain that men of immense, of almost super
natural insight, that apostles, leaders of crowds- men,
in a word, of genuine and strong convictions- exert
a far greater force than men who deny, who criticise,
or who are indifferent, but it must not be forgotten
that, given the power possessed at present by crowds,
were a single opinion to acquire sufficient prestige
to enforce its general acceptance, it would soon be
endowed with so tyrannical a strength that everything
His
would have to bend before it, and the era of free

discussion would be closed for a long time. Crowds
are occasionally easy-going masters, as were Helio

gabalus and Tiberius, but they are also violently
capricious . A civilisation, when the moment has
come for crowds to acquire a high hand over it, is at
the mercy of too many chances to endure for long. i
Could anything postpone for a while the hour of its
ruin, it would be precisely the extreme instability of
the opinions of crowds and their growing indifference
with respect to all general beliefs.
VDS.
and few
The
BOOK III.
prey to
THE CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION
should OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CROWDS.
tom of
CHAPTER I.
tested.
super THE CLASSIFICATION OF CROWDS.
-men, The general divisions of crowds-Their classification. § 1.

exert Hetergeneous crowds. Different varieties of them-
The influence of race-The spirit of the crowd is weak
iticise,
in proportion as the spirit of the race is strong-The
gotten spirit of the race represents the civilised state and the
owds, spirit of the crowd the barbarian state. § 2. Homo
geneous crowds. Their different varieties- Sects, castes,
estige
and classes.
on be
thing WE have sketched in this work the general charac
free teristics common to psychological crowds. It
owds remains to point out the particular characteristics
Helio which accompany those of a general order in the
ently different categories of collectivities, when they are

has transformed into a crowd under the influences of the
is at proper exciting causes. We will, first of all, set forth

in a few words a classification of crowds.
ong.
Our starting-point will be the simple multitude. Its
of most inferior form is met with when the multitude is
у
ence composed of individuals belonging to different races.
In this case its only common bond of union is the will,
more or less respected, of a chief. The barbarians
158 DIFFERENT KINDS OF CROWDS .
of very diverse origin who during several centuries

invaded the Roman Empire, may be cited as a specimen
of multitudes of this kind.
On a higher level than these multitudes composed of

different races are those which under certain influences
have acquired common characteristics, and have ended
by forming a single race. They present at times
characteristics peculiar to crowds, but these charac
teristics are overruled to a greater or less extent by
racial considerations.
These two kinds of multitudes may, under certain

influences investigated in this work, be transformed P
into organised or psychological crowds. We shall
break up these organised crowds into the following W

-:
divisions : U
1. Anonymous crowds (street

to
crowds, for example).
A. Heterogeneous h
2. Crowds not anonymous
crowds.
(juries, parliamentary as
by
semblies, etc.).
th
1. Sects (political sects, reli ac
gious sects, etc.). A

2. Castes (the military caste, ha
B. Homogeneous
the priestly caste, the di
crowds.
working caste, etc.). in
3. Classes (the middle classes, ot
the peasant classes , etc.). ex
L
A
THE CLASSIFICATION OF CROWDS. 159
DS.
eral centuries We will point out briefly the distinguishing charac
asaspecimen teristics of these different categories of crowds.
§ 1. HETEROGENEOUS CROWDS .
8composed of
ain influences It is these collectivities whose characteristics have •
nd have ended been studied in this volume. They are composed of
ent at times individuals of any description, of any profession, and
these charac any degree of intelligence.

We are now aware that by the mere fact that men
ess extent by
form part of a crowd engaged in action, their collective
under certain psychology differs essentially from their individual

rmed
transfo psychology, and their intelligence is affected by this
We shall differentiation. We have seen that intelligence is

without influence in collectivities, they being solely
he following
under the sway of unconscious sentiments.
A fundamental factor, that of race, allows of a
wds (street
tolerably thorough differentiation of the various
xample). heterogeneous crowds.
us
anonymo
We have often referred already to the part played
y
mentar as
by race, and have shown it to be the most powerful of
the factors capable of determining men's actions. Its
action is also to be traced in the character of crowds.
sects, reli
A crowd composed of individuals assembled at2hap
:.) hazard, but all of them Englishmen or Chinamen, will
tary caste,
differ widely from another crowd also composed of
caste, the
individuals of any and every description, but of
st.c). other races-Russians, Frenchmen, or Spaniards, for
le classes,
example.
ses,etc.).
160 DIFFERENT KINDS OF CROWDS.
The wide divergencies which their inherited mental

constitution creates in men's modes of feeling and
thinking at once come into prominence when, which
rarely happens, circumstances gather together in the
same crowd and in fairly equal proportions individuals
of different nationality, and this occurs, however
identical in appearance be the interests which provoked P
the gathering. The efforts made by the socialists to
assemble in great congresses the representatives of the g
working-class populations of different countries, have CO
always ended in the most pronounced discord. A Latin C

crowd, however revolutionary or however conservative ar
it be supposed, will invariably appeal to the interven ex
tion of the State to realise its demands. It is always Cr
distinguished by a marked tendency towards centrali th
sation and by a leaning, more or less pronounced, in re
favour of a dictatorship. An English or an American

crowd, on the contrary, sets no store on the State, and
only appeals to private initiative. A French crowd
lays particular weight on equality and an English crowd 3.
on liberty. These differences of race explain how it is

or
that there are almost as many different forms of
རྫ
g
༈༙བŚྲེ
in
socialism and democracy as there are nations.
The genius of the race, then, exerts a paramount pr
be
influence upon the dispositions of a crowd. It is the
ne
powerful underlying force that limits its changes
of humour. It should be considered as an essential
law that the inferior characteristics of crowds
THE CLASSIFICATION OF CROWDS. 161
VDS.
herited mental are the less accentuated in proportion as the spirit cf
of feeling and the race is strong . The crowd state and the domina
when, which tion of crowds is equivalent to the barbarian state, or
ogether inthe to a return to it. It is by the acquisition of a solidly

s
ons individual constituted collective spirit that the race frees itself
curs, however to a greater and greater extent from the unreflecting
which provoked power of crowds, and emerges from the barbarian state.
che socialists to The only important classification to be made of hetero
entatives ofthe geneous crowds, apart from that based on racial
s
countrie , have considerations , is to separate them into anonymous
scord. Alati crowds, such as street crowds, and crowds not

v
ver conservati anonymous-deliberative assemblies and
ity
juries, for
le ment f sponsibil t
tothe inte rv en examp . The senti o re absen from
's. Itis alway crowds of the first description and developed in those of
owards centra the second often gives a very different tendency to their
ced ctive cts
pronoun , respe a .
or an Ameri
§ 2. HOMOGENEOUS CROWDS .
the State,
Homogeneous crowds include : 1. Sects ; 2. Castes ;
AFrench c
3. Classes.
nEnglishcro
The sect represents the first step in the process of
xplainhowit
organisation of homogeneous crowds. A sect includes
erent forms
individuals differing greatly as to their education, their
ations.
professions, and the class of society to which they
ва paramou
belong, and with their common beliefs as the con
owd. Itisth
necting link. Examples in point are religious and
s its change
political sects.
As an essent
The caste represents the highest degree of organisa
crow
cs of 12
tion of which the crowd is susceptible. While the

sect includes individuals of very different professions,
degrees of education and social surrounding, who are
only linked together by the beliefs they hold in
common, the caste is composed of individuals of the
same profession, and in consequence similarly educated Cro
and of much the same social status. Examples in
point are the military and priestly castes.

The class is formed of individuals of diverse origin,
linked together not by a community of beliefs, as are
the members of a sect, or by common professional Ow
occupations, as are the members of a caste, but by mer
certain interests and certain habits of life and education stat
almost identical. The middle class and the agricul diff
ཞི་ བའི
1 tural class are examples. only
Being only concerned in this work with hetero bee
geneous crowds, and reserving the study of gica
homogeneous crowds (sects, castes, and classes) for ass
another volume, I shall not insist here on the charac but
teristics of crowds of this latter kind. I shall conclude ofa
this study of heterogeneous crowds by the examination to
of a few typical and distinct categories of crowds.
Po
pa
ha
be
113
WDS.
ole. While the
rent professions
inding, who are
CHAPTER II.
they hold in
CROWDS TERMED CRIMINAL CROWDS.
dividuals ofthe
milarly educated Crowds termed criminal crowds- A crowd may be legally yet
not psychologically criminal- The absolute unconscious
Examples in
ness of the acts of crowds-Various examples- Psycho
tes. logy of the authors of the September massacres—Their
f diverse origin reasoning, their sensibility, their ferocity, and their
morality.
f beliefs,as are
on professional OWING to the fact that crowds, after a period of excite

acaste, but by ment, enter upon a purely automatic and unconscious
e and education state, in which they are guided by suggestion, it seems

nd the agricul difficult to qualify them in any case as criminal. I
only retain this erroneous qualification because it has

tely rought nto ogue holo
with heter been defini b s i v t
by recen psyc
a t i o n
tig
he study of gical inves . Certain acts of crowds are
r e d l y i n al f considered merely n themselves
id classes)for a s s u c r i m , i i ,
al
onthe charac but crimin in that case in the same way as the act
ing o ng
shallconclud of a tiger devour a Hindo , after allowi its young
n men t
eexaminatio to maul him for their amuse .
The usual motive of the crimes of crowds is a
fcrowds.
powerful suggestion, and the individuals who take
part in such crimes are afterwards convinced that they
have acted in obedience to duty, which is far from
being the case with the ordinary criminal.
The history of the crimes committed by crowds
illustrates what precedes.
The murder of M. de Launay, the governor of the

I
Bastille, may be cited as a typical example. After the
Ic
taking of the fortress the governor, surrounded by a
very excited crowd , was dealt blows from every direc
P
tion. It was proposed to hang him, to cut off his head,
CI
to tie him to a horse's tail. While struggling , he
accidentally kicked one of those present. Some cne

20
proposed, and his suggestion was at once received with
acclamation by the crowd, that the individual who
Cr
had been kicked should cut the governor's throat.
m
“ The individual in question, a cook out of work,
th
whose chief reason for being at the Bastille was idle
curiosity as to what was going on, esteems, that since
S
such is the general opinion, the action is patriotic and
even believes he deserves a medal for having destroyed
CO
a monster. With a sword that is lent him he strikes
the bared neck, but the weapon being somewhat blunt

and not cutting, he takes from his pocket a small
pr
black-handled knife and (in his capacity of cook he
an
would be experienced in cutting up meat) successfully
Us
effects the operation. "
ch
The working of the process indicated above is clearly
seen in this example. We have obedience to a sugges
tion, which is all the stronger because of its collective
origin, and the murderer's conviction that he has
committed a very meritorious act, a conviction the
more natural seeing that he enjoys the unanimous bo
approval of his fellow-citizens. An act of this kind me
L
OWDS. CROWDS TERMED CRIMIN
A CROWDS. 165
governor ofthe
may be considered crime legally but not psycho
mple. After the
logically.
surrounded by s
The general characteristics of criminal crowds are
rom every direc precisely the same as those we have met with in all
cut off hishead
crowds : openness to suggestion, credulity, mobility,
struggling, be
the exaggeration of the sentiments good or bad, the
ent. Some cre
manifestation of certain forms of morality, etc.
ce receivedwi
We shall find all these characteristics present in a
individual wh
crowd which has left behind it in French history the
or's throat.
most sinister memories-the crowd which perpetrated
k out ofword
the September massacres. In point of fact it offers
Bastille was i
much similarity with the crowd that committed the
ems, that sir
Saint Bartholomew massacres . I borrow the details
is patriotic from the narration of M. Taine, who took them from
wingdestroye contemporary sources.
him he strik
It is not known exactly who gave the order or made
mewhat blu
the suggestion to empty the prisons by massacring the
ocket a smi
prisoners. Whether it was Danton, as is probable, or
yofcook!
another does not matter ; the one interesting fact for
successi
us is the powerful suggestion received by the crowd
charged with the massacre.
ove is clear The crowd of murderers numbered some three
to a sugg hundred persons, and was a perfectly typical hetero
its collecti
geneous crowd. With the exception of a very small
hat he b
number of professional scoundrels, it was composed in
viction the main of shopkeepers and artisans of every trade :
unanime bootmakers, locksmiths, hairdresesrs, masons, clerks ,
fthiski messengers, etc. Under the influence of the suggestion
received they are perfectly convinced, as was the cook 86

referred to above, that they are accomplishing a A
patriotic duty. They fill a double office, being at once p

judge and executioner, but they do not for a moment h
regard themselves as criminals.
Deeply conscious of the importance of their duty, t
they begin by forming a sort of tribunal, and in

connection with this act the ingenuousness of crowds
and their rudimentary conception of justice are seen ย
immediately. In consideration of the large number

of the accused, it is decided that, to begin with, the
nobles , priests, officers, and members of the king's
household-in a word, all the individuals whose mere
profession is proof of their guilt in the eyes of a good
patriot- shall be slaughtered in a body, there being no
need for a special decision in their case. The remainder
shall be judged on their personal appearance and their
reputation. In this way the rudimentary conscience
of the crowd is satisfied . It will now be able to proceed
legally with the massacre, and to give free scope to
those instincts of ferocity whose genesis I have set
forth elsewhere, they being instincts which collectivities
always have in them to develop to a high degree. These
instincts, however-as is regularly the case in crowds
will not prevent the manifestation of other and con
trary sentiments, such as a tenderheartedness often as
extreme as the ferocity.
"They have the expansive sympathy and prompt

CROWDS Termed CRIMINAL CROWDS. 167
&thecook sensibility of the Parisian working man. At the
lishing Abbaye, one of the federates, learning that the

gatonce prisoners had been left without water for twenty-six
moment hours, was bent on putting the gaoler to death, and
would have done so but for the prayers of the prisoners
eir duty, themselves. When a prisoner is acquitted (by the
and i improvised tribunal) every one, guards and slaugh

f crowd terers included , embraces him with transports of joy
are set and applauds frantically," after which the wholesale
number massacre is recommenced. During its progress a
ith, the pleasant gaiety never ceases to reign. There is dancing
king and singing around the corpses, and benches are

emere arranged " for the ladies," delighted to witness the
a good killing of aristocrats. The exhibition continues, more
ing over, of a special description of justice.

ainder A slaughterer at the Abbaye having complained that
the the ladies placed at a little distance saw badly, and
' that only a few of those present had the pleasure of
Ocea striking the aristocrats, the justice of the observation
@10 is admitted, and it is decided that the victims shall be

made to pass slowly between two rows of slaughterers,
who shall be under the obligation to strike with the
back of the sword only so as to prolong the agony. At
the prison de la Force the victims are stripped stark
I naked and literally " carved " for half an hour, after
which, when every one has had a good view, they are
finished off by a blow that lays bare their entrails .
The slaughterers, too, have their scruples and exhibit
that moral sense whose existence in crowds we have
already pointed out . They refuse to appropriate the zea

money and jewels of the victims, taking them to the
table of the committees. fac
Those rudimentary forms of reasoning, characteristic gro

of the mind of crowds, are always to be traced in all lat
their acts. Thus, after the slaughter of the 1,200 or des
1,500 enemies of the nation, some one makes the
remark, and his suggestion is at once adopted, that the
other prisons, those containing aged beggars, vaga
bonds, and young prisoners, hold in reality useless
mouths, of which it would be well on that account to
get rid. Besides, among them there should certainly
be enemies of the people, a woman of the name of
Delarue, for instance, the widow of a poisoner : " She
must be furious at being in prison ; if she could she
would set fire to Paris : she must have said so , she has
said so. Another good riddance." The demonstration
appears convincing, and the prisoners are massacred
without exception, included in the number being some
fifty children of from twelve to seventeen years of age ,
who, of course, might themselves have become enemies
of the nation, and of whom in consequence it was
clearly well to be rid.
At the end of a week's work, all these operations
being brought to an end, the slaughterers can think of
reposing themselves. Profoundly convinced that they
have deserved well of their country, they went to the
CROWDS Termed crIMINAL CROWDS. 169
wehave authorities and demanded a recompense. The most

jatethe zealous went so far as to claim a medal.
tothe The history of the Commune of 1871 affords several
facts analogous to those which precede. Given the
teris growing influence of crowds and the successive capitu

inal lations before them of those in authority, we are
200or destined to witness many others of a like nature.
in
atthe
Tags
de
53
d
8
CHAPTER III .
CRIMINAL JURIES.
Criminal juries-General characteristics of juries -Statistics

show that their decisions are independent of their com
position- The manner in which an impression may be
made on juries -The style and influence of argument
The methods of persuasion of celebrated counsel-The
nature of those crimes for which juries are respectively
indulgent or severe-The utility of the jury as an institu
tion, and the danger that would result from its place
being taken by magistrates.
BEING unable to study here every category of jury, I
shall only examine the most important-that of the
juries of the Court of Assize. These juries afford an
excellent example of the heterogeneous crowd that is
not anonymous. We shall find them display sugges
tibility and but slight capacity for reasoning, while
they are open to the influence of the leaders of crowds,
and they are guided in the main by unconscious senti
ments. In the course of this investigation we shall
have occasion to observe some interesting examples of
the errors that may be made by persons not versed in
the psychology of crowds.
Juries, in the first place, furnish us a good example
of the slight importance of the mental level of the
different elements composing a crowd, so far as the
decisions it comes to are concerned. We have seen
CRIMINAL JURIES. 171
that when a deliberative assembly is called upon to

give its opinion on a question of a character not
entirely technical, intelligence stands for nothing.
For instance, a gathering of scientific men or of artists ,
owing to the mere fact that they form an assemblage,
Statistic
will not deliver judgments on general subjects sensibly
heir com
different from those rendered by a gathering of masons
mar
aument or grocers . At various periods, and in particular
sel-T previous to 1848, the French administration instituted
spective
ninstit a careful choice among the persons summoned to form
its plas a jury, picking the jurors from among the enlightened
classes ; choosing professors, functionaries, men of
jur I letters, etc. At the present day jurors are recruited
of the for the most part from among small tradesmen, petty
Ford so capitalists, and employés. Yet, to the great astonish
thatis ment of specialist writers , whatever the composition of
s
su"6g6geC the jury has been, its decisions have been identical.
while Even the magistrates , hostile as they are to the institu
;
crowds tion of the jury, have had to recognise the exactness
ssenti of the assertion. M. Bérard des Glajeux, a former
eshall President of the Court of Assizes, expresses himself on
plesof the subject in his "Memoirs " in the following

terms :---
sed in
ample "The selection of jurymen is to-day in reality in the

ofthe hands of the municipal councillors, who put people
18 the down on the list or eliminate them from it in
seen accordance with the political and electoral preoccupa
172 DIFFERENT KINDS of crowds.
tions inherent in their situation. · • • The majority

of the jurors chosen are persons engaged in trade, but
persons of less importance than formerly, and employés

belonging to certain branches of the administration.
Both opinions and professions counting for
nothing once the rôle of judge assumed, many of the
jurymen having the ardour of neophytes, and men of
the best intentions being similarly disposed in humble
situations, the spirit of the jury has not changed : its
verdicts have remained the same."
Of the passage just cited the conclusions, which are

just, are to be borne in mind and not the explanations,
which are weak. Too much astonishment should not
be felt at this weakness, for, as a rule, counsel equally

with magistrates seem to be ignorant of the psychology
of crowds and, in consequence, of juries. I find a proof
of this statement in a fact related by the author just
quoted. He remarks that Lachaud, one of the most
illustrious barristers practising in the Court of Assize,
made systematic use of his right to object to a juror
in the case of all individuals of intelligence on the list.
Yet experience and experience alone- has ended by
acquainting us with the utter uselessness of these
objections. This is proved by the fact that at the
present day public prosecutors and barristers, at any
rate those belonging to the Parisian bar, have entirely
renounced their right to object to a juror ; still, as
M. des Glajeux remarks, the verdicts have not changed,

ajority ""
"they are neither better nor worse.'
He, b
Like all crowds, juries are very strongly impressed
ploye
by sentimental considerations, and very slightly by
ration
argument. " They cannot resist the sight," writes a
ng fr
barrister, " of a mother giving its child the breast, or of
ofth
orphans." " It is sufficient that a woman should be of
men
agreeable appearance," says M. des Glajeux, " to win
umble
the benevolence of the jury."
ed:
Without pity for crimes of which it appears possible
they might themselves be the victims-such crimes,
moreover, are the most dangerous for society-juries,
ch ar
on the contrary, are very indulgent in the case of
tions
breaches of the law whose motive is passion. They are
Id not
rarely severe on infanticide by girl-mothers, or hard on
Qual
the young woman who throws vitriol at the man who
olog
has seduced and deserted her, for the reason that they
proc
feel instinctively that society runs but slight danger
· jus
from such crimes, and that in a country in which the
mog
ssize I It is to be remarked, in passing, that this division of
juro crimes into those dangerous and those not dangerous for
society, which is well and instinctively made by juries, is far
list
from being unjust. The object of criminal laws is evidently
1b to protect society against dangerous criminals and not to
hes avenge it. On the other hand, the French code, and above
all the minds of the French magistrates, are still deeply im
the
bued with the spirit of vengeance characteristic of the old
an primitive law, and the term “ vindicte ” (prosecution, from
rel the Latin vindicta, vengeance) is still in daily use. A proof
of this tendency on the part of the magistrates is found in the
al
law does not protect deserted girls the crime of the girl
who avenges herself is rather useful than harmful,
inasmuch as it frightens future seducers in advance.
Juries, like all crowds, are profoundly impressed by
prestige, and President des Glajeux very properly
remarks that, very democratic as juries are in their
composition, they are very aristocratic in their likes
and dislikes : " Name, birth, great wealth, celebrity,
the assistance of an illustrious counsel, everything in
the nature of distinction or that lends brilliancy to the
accused, stands him in extremely good stead."
The chief concern of a good counsel should be to
work upon the feelings of the jury, and, as with all
crowds, to argue but little, or only to employ rudi
mentary modes of reasoning. An English barrister,
famous for his successes in the assize courts, has well
set forth the line of action to be followed ·:--
"While pleading he would attentively observe the

jury. The most favourable opportunity has been
reached. By dint of insight and experience the
refusal by many of them to apply Bérenger's law, which allows

of a condemned person not undergoing his sentence unless he
repeats his crime. Yet no magistrate can be ignorant, for the
fact is proved by statistics, that the application of a punish
ment inflicted for the first time infallibly leads to further
crime on the part of the person punished . When judges set
free a sentenced person it always seems to them that society
has not been avenged. Rather than not avenge it they prefer
to create a dangerous, confirmed criminal.
counsel reads the effect of each phrase on the faces of

2 the jurymen, and draws his conclusions in consequence.
His first step is to be sure which members of the jury
are already favourable to his cause. It is short work
to definitely gain their adhesion, and having done so he
turns his attention to the members who seem , on the
contrary, ill-disposed, and endeavours to discover why
they are hostile to the accused. This is the delicate
E
part of his task, for there may be an infinity of reasons

for condemning a man, apart from the sentiment of
justice."
1 These few lines résumé the entire mechanism of the
art of oratory, and we see why the speech prepared in

11
advance has so slight an effect, it being necessary to be

able to modify the terms employed from moment to
FF
we
moment in accordance with the impression produced.
The orator does not require to convert to his views
4
all the members of a jury, but only the leading spirits

Jed
among it who will determine the general opinion. As
in all crowds, so in juries there are a small number of
lons individuals who serve as guides to the rest. " I have

3be found by experience," says the counsel cited above,
"C
that one or two energetic men suffice to carry the
rest of the jury with them." It is those two or three
whom it is necessary to convince by skilful suggestions.
$7 First of all, and above all, it is necessary to please
them. The man forming part of a crowd whom one
has succeeded in pleasing is on the point of being

convinced, and is quite disposed to accept as excellent
any arguments that may be offered him. I detach
the following anecdote from an interesting account of
tha
➖
M. Lachaud, alluded to above :
" It is well known that during all the speeches he

Jur
would deliver in the course of an assize sessions,
It
Lachaud never lost sight of the two or three jurymen
for
whom he knew or felt to be influential but obstinate.
We
As a rule he was successful in winning over these
refractory jurors. On one occasion, however, in the
provinces, he had to deal with a juryman whom he tid
plied in vain for three-quarters of an hour with his most VO
cunning arguments ; the man was the seventh juryman, ha
all
the first on the second bench. The case was desperate.
W
Suddenly, in the middle of a passionate demonstration,
Lachaud stopped short, and addressing the President
fr
of the court said : ' Would you give instructions for the
to
curtain there in front to be drawn? The seventh
01
juryman is blinded by the sun.' The juryman in b
question reddened, smiled, and expressed his thanks.
Ir
He was won over for the defence." 14
Many writers, some of them most distinguished, C

W
have started of late a strong campaign against the
I
institution of the jury, although it is the only protec tl
tion we have against the errors , really very frequent, C
F
1

of being
of a caste that is under no control. A portion of these
excellen
writers advocate a jury recruited solely from the ranks
Ideta
of the enlightened classes ; but we have already proved
accountof
that even in this case the verdicts would be identical
with those returned under the present system. Other

writers, taking their stand on the errors committed by
weeches he
juries, would abolish the jury and replace it by judges.
sessions,
It is difficult to see how these would-be reformers can
jurymen
forget that the errors for which the jury is blamed
obstinate.
were committed in the first instance by judges, and that
ver these
er, inthe
I The magistracy is, in point of fact, the only administra
whomhe
tion whose acts are under no control. In spite of all its re
h hismost volutions, democratic France does not possess that right of
habeas corpus of which England is so proud. We have banished
jury ,
all the tyrants, but have set up a magistrate in each city
desperate
who disposes at will of the honour and liberty of the citizens.
astratio,n An insignificant juge d'instruction (an examining magistrate
President who has no exact counterpart in England. -Trans. ) , fresh
is forthe from the university, possesses the revolting power of sending
to prison at will persons of the most considerable standing,
seventh
on a simple supposition on his part of their guilt, and without
man being obliged to justify his act to any one. Under the pre
thanks text of pursuing his investigation he can keep these persons
in prison for six months or even a year, and free them at last
without owing them either an indemnity or excuses. The
warrant in France is the exact equivalent of the lettre de
uished, cachet, with this difference, that the latter, with the use of
which the monarchy was so justly reproached, could only be
ist the
resorted to by persons occupying a very high position, while
protec the warrant is an instrument in the hands of a whole class of
quent citizens which is far from passing for being very enlightened or
very independent .
13
when the accused person comes before a jury he has

already been held to be guilty by several magistrates,
by the juge d'instruction, the public prosecutor, and
the Court of Arraignment. It should thus be clear
that were the accused to be definitely judged by magis
trates instead of by jurymen, he would lose his only
chance of being admitted innocent. The errors of
juries have always been first of all the errors of magis

trates. It is solely the magistrates, then, who should
be blamed when particularly monstrous judicial errors
crop up, such, for instance, as the quite recent con
demnation of Dr. L who, prosecuted by a juge
d'instruction, of excessive stupidity, on the strength of
the denunciation of a half-idiot girl, who accused the
doctor of having performed an illegal operation upon
her for thirty francs, would have been sent to penal
servitude but for an explosion of public indignation ,
which had for result that he was immediately set at
2
liberty by the Chief of the State. The honourable
C
character given the condemned man by all his fellow.
W
citizens made the grossness of the blunder self-evident. to

The magistrates themselves admitted it, and yet out of
caste considerations they did all they could to prevent re
the pardon being signed. In all similar affairs the th
jury, confronted with technical details it is unable of
to understand, naturally hearkens to the public ca
prosecutor, arguing that, after all, the affair has been CO
investigated by magistrates trained to unravel the
VDS. CRIMINAL JURIES.
179
ajurybe l most intricate situations. Who, then, are the real
magistrate authors of the error-the jurymen or the magistrates ?
osecutor, We should cling vigorously to the jury. It constitutes ,
hus be cle perhaps, the only category of crowd that cannot be
ged bymag replaced by any individuality. It alone can temper
ose his the severity of the law, which, equal for all, ought in
he errors o principle to be blind and to take no cognisance of par
Ors ofmagi ticular cases. Inaccessible to pity , and heeding nothing
who shoul but the text of the law, the judge in his professional
dicial error severity would visit with the same penalty the burglar
recent con guilty of murder and the wretched girl whom poverty
by aju and her abandonment by her seducer have driven to
strengtho infanticide . The jury , on the other hand , instinctively
ccused th feels that the seduced girl is much less guilty than the
tion upon seducer, who , however, is not touched by the law, and
topenal that she deserves every indulgence .
dignation Being well acquainted with the psychology of castes,
ely setat and also with the psychology of other categories of
onourable
crowds, I do not perceive a single case in which,
isfellow
wrongly accused of a crime, I should not prefer to have
f-evident
to deal with a jury rather than with magistrates. I
et outof
should have some chance that my innocence would be
prevent recognised by the former and not the slightest chance
fairsthe
that it would be admitted by the latter. The power
le
unab
of crowds is to be dreaded, but the power of certain
i
publ castes is to be dreaded yet more .
Crowds are open to
as been conviction castes never are
; .
vel the
CHAPTER IV.
ELECTORAL CROWDS.
General characteristics of electoral crowds- The manner of

persuading them—The qualities that should be possessed
by a candidate-Necessity of prestige-Why working
men and peasants so rarely choose candidates from their
own class-The influence of words and formulas on the
elector-The general aspect of election oratory-How the
opinions of the elector are formed--The power of political
committees They represent the most redoubtable form of
tyranny-The committees of the Revolution-Universal
suffrage cannot be replaced in spite of its slight psycho
logical value -Why it is that the votes recorded would
remain the same even if the right of voting were re
stricted to a limited class of citizens-Of what universal
suffrage is the expression in all countries.
ELECTORAL crowds-that is to say, collectivities invested

with the power of electing the holders of certain func
tions-constitute heterogeneous crowds, but as their
action is confined to a single clearly determined matter ,
namely, to choosing between different candidates, they
present only a few of the characteristics previously
described. Of the characteristics peculiar to crowds,
they display in particular but slight aptitude for
reasoning, the absence of the critical spirit, irritability,
credulity, and simplicity. In their decision, moreover ,
is to be traced the influence of the leaders of crowds
and the part played by the factors we have enume

rated : affirmation, repetition, prestige, and contagion.
ELECTORAL CROWDS. 181
Let us examine by what methods electoral crowds

are to be persuaded. It will be easy to deduce their
psychology from the methods that are most successful.
It is of primary importance that the candidate
manner
should possess prestige. Personal prestige can only
bepossessed
hy working be replaced by that resulting from wealth. Talent and
es from their even genius are not elements of success of serious
mulas on
importance.
y-Howthe
ofpolitical Of capital importance, on the other hand, is the
able form of necessity for the candidate of possessing prestige, of
-Universal
being able, that is, to force himself upon the electorate
ghtpsycho
rded would without discussion . The reason why the electors, of
ngwerere whom a majority are working men or peasants, so
l
at universa rarely choose a man from their own ranks to represent
them is that such a person enjoys no prestige among
invested them. When, by chance, they do elect a man who is
tainfunc their equal, it is as a rule for subsidiary reasons—for
as their instance, to spite an eminent man, or an influential
d matter, employer of labour on whom the elector is in daily
tes, they dependence, and whose master he has the illusion he

reviously becomes in this way for a moment.
crowds, The possession of prestige does not e suffice, however,

re the uccess of idat
tude for to assu s a cand . The elector
bi li ty i c k l es n articular r h e l a t t ery f his reed nd
ta , s t i p f o t f o g a
y
oreover vanit . He must be over
nt s whel med with the most
vagan
t ishme
crowds extra bland , and ther
e must
be
enume no hesitation in making him the most fantastic

tagion promises.
If he is a working man it is impossible to go too far in

insulting and stigmatising employers of labour. As
for the rival candidate, an effort must be made to

destroy his chance by establishing by dint of affirma
tion, repetition , and contagion that he is an arrant
scoundrel, and that it is a matter of common knowledge
that he has been guilty of several crimes. It is, of

course, useless to trouble about any semblance of
proof. Should the adversary be ill-acquainted with
the psychology of crowds he will try to justify himself
by arguments instead of confining himself to replying
to one set of affirmations by another ; and he will have
no chance whatever of being successful.
The candidate's written programme should not be
too categorical, since later on his adversaries might
bring it up against him ; in his verbal programme,
however, there cannot be too much exaggeration. The
most important reforms may be fearlessly promised.
At the moment they are made these exaggerations
produce a great effect, and they are not binding for the
future, it being a matter of constant observation that
the elector never troubles himself to know how far the
candidate he has returned has followed out the electoral
programme he applauded, and in virtue of which the
election was supposed to have been secured.
In what precedes, all the factors of persuasion which
we have described are to be recognised. We shall come
across them again in the action exerted by words and
ELECTORAL CROWDS. 183
too far in formulas, whose magical sway we have already insisted

our. A upon. An orator who knows how to make use of these
made to means of persuasion can do what he will with a crowd.

faffirms Expressions such as infamous capital, vile exploiters,
n arra the admirable working man, the socialisation of wealth,
nowled etc. , always produce the same effect, although already
It is i somewhat worn by use. But the candidate who hits on
lanced a new formula as devoid as possible of precise meaning,
ed will and apt in consequence to flatter the most varied
himse aspirations, infallibly obtains a success. The san
plying guinary Spanish revolution of 1873 was brought about

illb by one of these magical phrases of complex meaning
on which everybody can put his own interpretation.
notb A contemporary writer has described the launching of
-
mid this phrase in terms that deserve to be quoted :
amm
"The radicals have made the discovery that a
mised centralised republic is a monarchy in disguise, and to

tion humour them the Cortes had unanimously proclaimed
orthe a federal republic, though none of the voters could
the have explained what it was he had just voted for. This
3
2
3
rth formula, however, delighted everybody ; the joy was
tor intoxicating, delirious. The reign of virtue and happi

ness had just been inaugurated on earth. A republican
whose opponent refused him the title of federalist
BTL
considered himself to be mortally insulted. People

addressed each other in the streets with the words :
‫מ‬
' Long live the federal republic ! ' After which the
U
praises were sung of the mystic virtue of the absence

of discipline in the army, and of the autonomy of the
soldiers. What was understood by the ' federal
republic ' There were those who took it to mean the

emancipation of the provinces, institutions akin to
those of the United States and administrative decen
tralisation ; others had in view the abolition of all
authority and the speedy commencement of the great

social liquidation . The socialists of Barcelona and
Andalusia stood out for the absolute sovereignty of the

communes ; they proposed to endow Spain with ten
thousand independent municipalities, to legislate on

their own account, and their creation to be accom
panied by the suppression of the police and the army.

In the southern provinces the insurrection was soon
seen to spread from town to town and village to village.
Directly a village had made its pronunciamiento its
first care was to destroy the telegraph wires and the
railway lines so as to cut off all communication with its
neighbours and Madrid. The sorriest hamlet was
determined to stand on its own bottom. Federation
had given place to cantonalism, marked by massacres,

incendiarism, and every description of brutality, and
bloody saturnalia were celebrated throughout the
length and breadth of the land."
With respect to the influence that may be exerted by

reasoning on the minds of electors, to harbour the least
DS. ELECTORAL CROWDS. 185
the sheer doubt on this subject can only be the result of never
nomy af having read the reports of an electioneering meeting.
The fe In such a gathering affirmations, invectives, and some
omeant times blows are exchanged, but never arguments.
ns akin Should silence be established for a moment it is because
ire des some one present, having the reputation of a " tough
ion ofs customer," has announced that he is about to heckle
the g the candidate by putting him one of those embarrassing

lona and questions which are always the joy of the audience.
tyofthe The satisfaction, however, of the opposition party is

ith ten shortlived, for the voice of the questioner is soon
lateon drowned in the uproar made by his adversaries. The
accom following reports of public meetings, chosen from
army. hundreds of similar examples, and taken from the daily

SOOD papers, may be considered as typical :
Mage
"6
One of the organisers of the meeting having asked
the assembly to elect a president, the storm bursts.
Sit The anarchists leap on to the platform to take the
committee table by storm. The socialists make an
energetic defence ; blows are exchanged, and each
party accuses the other of being spies in the pay of
the Government, etc. · A citizen leaves the
# hall with a black eye.

"The committee is at length installed as best it may
be in the midst of the tumult, and the right to speak
devolves upon ' Comrade 'X.
"The orator starts a vigorous attack on the socialists,
186 DIFFERENt kinds of CROWDS.
who interrupt him with shouts of ' Idiot, scoundrel,

blackguard ! ' etc. , epithets to which Comrade X. replies
by setting forth a theory according to which the
999
socialists are ' idiots ' or ' jokers .'
"The Allemanist party had organised yesterday
evening, in the Hall of Commerce, in the Rue du
Faubourg-du-Temple, a great meeting, preliminary to

the workers' fête of the 1st of May. The watchword
of the meeting was ' Calm and Tranquillity ! '
" Comrade G alludes to the socialists as ' idiots ' 1
and 'humbugs.'
"At these words there is an exchange of invectives
and orators and audience come to blows. Chairs,
tables, and benches are converted into weapons,"
etc., etc.
It is not to be imagined for a moment that this

description of discussion is peculiar to a determined
class of electors and dependent on their social position.
In every anonymous assembly whatever, though it be
composed exclusively of highly educated persons, dis
cussion always assumes the same shape. I have shown
that when men are collected in a crowd there is a
tendency towards their mental levelling at work, and
proof of this is to be found at every turn. Take, for

example, the following extract from a report of a
meeting composed exclusively of students, which I
-
borrow from the Temps of 13th of February, 1895 :
1
S. ELECTORAL CROWDS. 187
Scoundre "The tumult only increased as the evening went

eX.repla on ; I do not believe that a single orator succeeded in
which the uttering two sentences without being interrupted. At
every instant there came shouts from this or that direc
Festendy tion or from every direction at once. Applause was
Rued intermingled with hissing, violent discussions were in
minary progress between individual members of the audience,
atchword sticks were brandished threateningly, others beat a
tattoo on the floor, and the interrupters were greeted
"idiots' with yells of ' Put him out ! ' or ' Let him speak ! '
"M. Clavished such epithets as odious and
rectives cowardly, monstrous, vile, venal and vindictive, on the
Chairs Association, which he declared he wanted to destroy,"
¿pons," etc., etc.
How, it may be asked, can an elector form an opinion

under such conditions ?. To put such a question is to
mined harbour a strange delusion as to the measure of liberty
ition that may be enjoyed by a collectivity. Crowds have
itbe opinions that have been imposed upon them, but they
never boast reasoned opinions. In the case under
OT consideration the opinions and votes of the electors are
is1 in the hands of the election committees, whose leading

spirits are, as a rule, publicans, their influence over the
working men, to whom they allow credit, being great.
"Do you know what an election committee is ? " writes
M. Schérer, one of the most valiant champions of
present-day democracy. " It is neither more nor less
than the corner-stone of our institutions, the master S

piece of the political machine. France is governed
to-day by the election committees." 0
To exert an influence over them is not difficult, tl
provided the candidate be in himself acceptable and
possess adequate financial resources. According to 01
the admissions of the donors, three millions of francs C1
sufficed to secure the repeated elections of General SU
Boulanger. p
Such is the psychology of electoral crowds. It is ti
identical with that of other crowds : neither better m
nor worse. ca
In consequence I draw no conclusion against in
universal suffrage from what precedes. Had I to D
Ve
I Committees under whatever name, clubs, syndicates, etc. ,
constitute perhaps the most redoubtable danger resulting from
W
the power of crowds. They represent in reality the most
impersonal and, in consequence, the most oppressive form of th
tyranny . The leaders who direct the committees being sup m
posed to speak and act in the name of a collectivity, are
freed from all responsibility, and are in a position to do just
.9 .8
as they choose. The most savage tyrant has never ventured In

even to dream of such proscriptions as those ordained by the in
committees of the Revolution. Barras has declared that they
fo
decimated the Convention, picking off its members at their
pleasure. So long as he was able to speak in their name, 01
Robespierre wielded absolute power. The moment this fright
p
ful dictator separated himself from them , for reasons of per
A
sonal pride, he was lost. The reign of crowds is the reign
of committees, that is, of the leaders of crowds . A severer
despotism cannot be imagined.
VDS. ELECTORAL CROWDS. 189
the ma settle its fate, I should preserve it as it is for practical
is gorac reasons, which are to be deduced in point of fact from

our investigation of the psychology of crowds. On
not diff this account I shall proceed to set them forth.

eptablea No doubt the weak side of universal suffrage is too
ccording t obvious to be overlooked. It cannot be gainsaid that

offre civilisation has been the work of a small minority of
of Gene superior intelligences constituting the culminating
point of a pyramid, whose stages, widening in propor
ds. It's tion to the decrease of mental power, represent the
er better masses of a nation. The greatness of a civilisation

cannot assuredly depend upon the votes given by
agains inferior elements boasting solely numerical strength.
IndIt Doubtless, too, the votes recorded by crowds are often

very dangerous. They have already cost us several
ites, etc. invasions, and in view of the triumph of socialism, for
ingfrom which they are preparing the way, it is probable that
he most
the vagaries of popular sovereignty will cost us still
formof
more dearly.
ngsp
iST. Excellent, however, as these objections are in theory,
dojas in practice they lose all force, as will be admitted if the
enture!
byth invincible strength be remembered of ideas trans
formed into dogmas. The dogma of the sovereignty
of crowds is as little defensible, from the philosophical
JAD
員
point of view, as the religious dogmas of the Middle

Ages, but it enjoys at present the same absolute power
they formerly enjoyed. It is as unattackable in conse
quence as in the past were our religious ideas. Imagine
a modern freethinker miraculously transported into the

midst of the Middle Ages. Do you suppose that, after
having ascertained the sovereign power of the religious it

ideas that were then in force, he would have been YO
tempted to attack them ? Having fallen into the hands th

of a judge disposed to send him to the stake, under the al
imputation of having concluded a pact with the cCC
H
devil, or of having been present at the witches'
sabbath, would it have occurred to him to call in q
question the existence of the devil or of the sabbath ? b
‫ܩ‬
It were as wise to oppose cyclones with discussion as tl
the beliefs of crowds. The dogma of universal suffrage u

possesses to-day the power the Christian dogmas for th
merly possessed. Orators and writers allude to it

with a respect and adulation that never fell to the share a
of Louis XIV. In consequence the same position must n
be taken up with regard to it as with regard to all

(
religious dogmas. Time alone can act upon them.
Besides, it would be the more useless to attempt
to undermine this dogma, inasmuch as it has ar
appearance of reasonableness in its favour. " In an
era of equality,” Tocqueville justly remarks, “ men have
no faith in each other on account of their being all
alike ; yet this same similitude gives them an almost

limitless confidence in the judgment of the public, the
reason being that it does not appear probable that, all
men being equally enlightened , truth and numerical
superiority should not go hand in hand.”
OWDS. ELECTORAL CROWDS. 191
sportedinto Must it be believed that with a restricted suffrage
pose that a suffrage restricted to those intellectually capable if

of the religiit be desired-an improvement would be effected in the
uld have votes of crowds ? I cannot admit for a moment that
into thehas this would be the case, and that for the reasons I have
ke, under the already given touching the mental inferiority of all
t with the collectivities , whatever their composition. In a crowd
the witches men always tend to the same level, and, on general
to calli questions, a vote recorded by forty academicians is no
e sabbath! better than that of forty water-carriers. I do not in

cussion as the least believe that any of the votes for which
al suffrage universal suffrage is blamed-the re-establishment of
ymas for the Empire, for instance- would have fallen out
de to it differently had the voters been exclusively recruited
he share among learned and liberally educated men. It does
On must not follow because an individual knows Greek or mathe
to all matics, is an architect, a veterinary surgeon, a doctor,

or a barrister, that he is endowed with a special intelli
em.
gence of social questions. All our political economists
tempt
are highly educated, being for the most part professors
as a
or academicians, yet is there a single general question
In ar
-protection, bimetallism, etc.-on which they have
have
succeeded in agreeing ? The explanation is that their
gal
science is only a very attenuated form of our universal
most
ignorance. With regard to social problems, owing to
the number of unknown quantities they offer, men are
substantially, equally ignorant.
In consequence, were the electorate solely composed
of persons stuffed with sciences their votes would be

no better than those emitted at present. They would
be guided in the main by their sentiments and by party
spirit. We should be spared none of the difficulties we
now have to contend with, and we should certainly be
subjected to the oppressive tyranny of castes.
Whether the suffrage of crowds be restricted or
general, whether it be exercised under a republic or
a monarchy, in France, in Belgium, in Greece, in
Portugal, or in Spain, it is everywhere identical ; and,
when all is said and done, it is the expression of the
unconscious aspirations and needs of the race. In each
country the average opinions of those elected represent
the genius of the race, and they will be found not to
alter sensibly from one generation to another.
It is seen, then, that we are confronted once more
by the fundamental notion of race, which we have
come across so often, and by this other notion, which
is the outcome of the first, that institutions and govern
ments play but a small part in the life of a people.

Peoples are guided in the main by the genius of their
race, that is, by that inherited residue of qualities of
which the genius is the sum total. Race and the
slavery of our daily necessities are the mysterious

master-causes that rule our destiny.
OS.
28 would!
Theywo
CHAPTER V.
nd bypar
Ticulties PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES.
ertainly
Parliamentary crowds present most of the characteristics
8. common to heterogeneous crowds that are not anony
tricted mous-The simplicity of their opinions- Their suggesti
public bility and its limits—Their indestructible, fixed opinions
and their changed opinions— The reason of the predomi
reece, i nance of indecision-The role of the leaders-The reason
cal; and of their prestige-They are the true masters of an
n ofth assembly whose votes, on that account, are merely those
of a small minority-The absolute power they exercise
Inest
-The elements of their oratorical art- Phrases and
preser images-The psychological necessity the leaders are under
nott of being in a general way of stubborn convictions and
narrow-minded-It is impossible for a speaker without
prestige to obtain recognition for his arguments- The
more exaggeration of the sentiments, whether good or bad, of
har assemblies-At certain moments they become automatic
whic -The sittings of the Convention- Cases in which an
assembly loses the characteristics of crowds- The in
ver fluence of specialists when technical questions arise
ople The advantages and dangers of a parliamentary system
in all countries-It is adapted to modern needs ; but it
the
involves financial waste and the progressive curtailment
es of all liberty-Conclusion.
IN parliamentary assemblies we have an example

OD
of heterogeneous crowds that are not anonymous.
Although the mode of election of their members varies
from epoch to epoch, and from nation to nation, they
present very similar characteristics. In this case the
14
194 DIFFERENT kinds of crowds.
influence of the race makes itself felt to weaken or exag

gerate the characteristics common to crowds , but not
to prevent their manifestation. The parliamentary
assemblies of the most widely different countries, of
Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, and America
present great analogies in their debates and votes, and
leave the respective governments face to face with

identical difficulties.
Moreover, the parliamentary system represents the

ideal of all modern civilised peoples. The system is
the expression of the idea, psychologically erroneous,
but generally admitted, that a large gathering of men
is much more capable than a small number of coming
to a wise and independent decision on a given subject.
The general characteristics of crowds are to be met
with in parliamentary assemblies : intellectual sim
plicity, irritability, suggestibility, the exaggeration of

the sentiments and the preponderating influence of a
few leaders. In consequence, however, of their special
composition parliamentary crowds offer some distinc
tive features, which we shall point out shortly.
Simplicity in their opinions is one of their most
important characteristics. In the case of all parties,
and more especially so far as the Latin peoples are con
cerned, an invariable tendency is met with in crowds of
this kind to solve the most complicated social problems

by the simplest abstract principles and general laws
applicable to all cases. Naturally the principles vary
PARLIAMENTARY Assemblies. 195
en orerg with the party ; but owing to the mere fact that the
, butnot individual members are a part of a crowd, they are
amentary always inclined to exaggerate the worth of their prin
ntries,c ciples, and to push them to their extreme consequences.
America In consequence parliaments are more especially repre
otes,and sentative of extreme opinions.
ace wit The most perfect example of the ingenuous simplifi
cation of opinions peculiar to assemblies is offered by
ents the the Jacobins of the French Revolution . Dogmatic
ystemi and logical to a man, and their brains full of vague
roneous generalities, they busied themselves with the applica
ofmes tion of fixed principles without concerning themselves
coming with events. It has been said of them, with reason,
bject that they went through the Revolution without

be mer witnessing it. With the aid of the very simple dogmas
al sim that served them as guide, they imagined they could
tion of recast society from top to bottom, and cause a highly
ce ofs refined civilisation to return to a very anterior phase of
the social evolution. The methods they resorted to to
isting realise their dream wore the same stamp of absolute
ingenuousness. They confined themselves, in reality,
most to destroying what stood in their way. All of them,
rties moreover-Girondists, the Men of the Mountain, the
Con Thermidorians, etc. —were alike animated by the same
dsof spirit.
Jems Parliamentary crowds are very open to suggestion ;
and, as in the case of all crowds, the suggestion comes
Targ from leaders possessing prestige ; but the suggestibility
of parliamentary assemblies has very clearly defined

limits, which it is important to point out.
On all questions of local or regional interest every
member of an assembly has fixed, unalterable opinions,
which no amount of argument can shake . The talent
of a Demo sthe nes would be powerless to change the
vote of a Deputy on such questions as protection or the
privilege of distilling alcohol, questions in which the
interests of influential electors are involved. The
suggestion emanating from these electors and under
gone before the time to vote arrives, sufficiently
outweighs suggestions from any other source to annul
them and to maintain an absolute fixity of opinion.
On general questions- the overthrow of a Cabinet,

the imposition of a tax, etc.- there is no longer any
fixity of opinion, and the suggestions of leaders can
exert an influence , though not in quite the same way
as in an ordinary crowd. Every party has its leaders ,
who possess occasionally an equal influence. The
result is that the Deputy finds himself placed between
two contrary suggestions, and is inevitably made to
hesitate. This explains how it is that he is often seen
I The following reflection of an English parliamentarian of

long experience doubtless applies to these opinions, fixed
beforehand , and rendered unalterable by electioneering
necessities : " During the fifty years that I have sat at West
minster, I have listened to thousands of speeches ; but few
of them have changed my opinion, not one of them has
changed my vote."
Y
CROWDS PARLIAMENTAR ASSEMBLIES. 197
ery clearlyd to vote in contrary fashion in an interval of a quarter

out. of an hour or to add to a law an article which nullifies
nal intereste
it ; for instance, to withdraw from employers of labour
Iterable the right of choosing and dismissing their workmen,
ke. Th and then to very nearly annul this measure by an
to chec amendment.
rotectionart It is for the same reason that every Chamber that is
th
In Wh returned has some very stable opinions, and other
volved D opinions that are very shifting. On the whole, the
'sand d general questions being the more numerous, indecision
sufficient is predominant in the Chamber- the indecision which
S
rcetoan results from the ever-present fear of the elector, the
opinia suggestion received from whom is always latent, and
a Cabine tends to counterbalance the influence of the leaders.
longerant Still, it is the leaders who are definitely the masters
eaderscan in those numerous discussions, with regard to the
Sameway subject-matter of which the members of an assembly
leaders are without strong preconceived opinions.
The necessity for these leaders is evident, since,
between under the name of heads of groups, they are met with
made to in the assemblies of every country. They are the real
ensee rulers of an assembly. Men forming a crowd cannot
do without a master, whence it results that the votes
rianof
fred of an assembly only represent, as a rule, the opinions
A
3
Pering of a small minority.

West The influence of the leaders is due in very small
fer
measure to the arguments they employ, but in a large
degree to their prestige. The best proof of this is that,
should they by any circumstance lose their prestige,

their influence disappears .
The prestige of these political leaders is individual,

and independent of name or celebrity : a fact of which
M. Jules Simon gives us some very curious examples in
his remarks on the prominent men of the Assembly of
1848, of which he was a member :
:
"Two months before he was all- powerful, Louis

Napoleon was entirely without the least importance.
" Victor Hugo mounted the tribune. He failed to

achieve success . He was listened to as Félix Pyat was
listened to, but he did not obtain as much applause.

'I don't like his ideas , ' Vaulabelle said to me , speaking
of Félix Pyat, ' but he is one of the greatest writers
and the greatest orator of France .' Edgar Quinet , in
spite of his exceptional and powerful intelligence, was
held in no esteem whatever. He had been popular for
awhile before the opening of the Assembly ; in the
Assembly he had no popularity.
" The splendour of genius makes itself less felt in

political assemblies than anywhere else. They only
give heed to eloquence appropriate to the time and
place and to party services , not to services rendered the
country. For homage to be rendered Lamartine in
1848 and Thiers in 1871 , the stimulant was needed of
urgent, inexorable interest. As soon as the danger
OF CROWDS PARLIAMENTARY ASSemblies. 199
e losetheirpast was passed the parliamentary world forgot in the same

instant its gratitude and its fright."
eaders is indi
tyafaofi I have quoted the preceding passage for the sake of
urious examples in the facts it contains, not of the explanations it offers,

their psychology being somewhat poor. A crowd
of theAssembly f
would at once lose its character of a crowd were it to
credit its leaders with their services, whether of a party
l w nature or rendered their country. The crowd that

owerfu,Lo
obeys a leader is under the influence of his prestige,
importance.
and its submission is not dictated by any sentiment of
He failed interest or gratitude.
élixPyat In consequence the leader endowed with sufficient
ich applaus prestige wields almost absolute power. The immense
me,speaki influence exerted during a long series of years, thanks
testwriter
to his prestige, by a celebrated Deputy, beaten at the
Quineti last general election in consequence of certain financial
gence, events, is well known. He had only to give the signal
opularfr and Cabinets were overthrown. A writer has clearly
inthe indicated the scope of his action in the following
lines :-
felt
B
r auf "It is due, in the main, to M. X- that we paid

me and three times as dearly as we should have done for
edthe Tonkin, that we remained so long on a precarious
nein footing in Madagascar, that we were defrauded of an
ed of
1 M. Clemenceau.-Note of the Translator.
ger
empire in the region of the Lower Niger, and that we

have lost the preponderating situation we used to
octupy in Egypt. The theories of M. X- have cost
us more territories than the disasters of Napoleon I."
We must not harbour too bitter a grudge against the

leader in question. It is plain that he has cost us very
dear ; but a great part of his influence was due to the
fact that he followed public opinion, which, in colonial
matters, was far from being at the time what it has
since become. A leader is seldom in advance of public
opinion ; almost always all he does is to follow it and
to espouse all its errors.
The means of persuasion of the leaders we are
dealing with, apart from their prestige, consist in the
factors we have already enumerated several times. To
make a skilful use of these resources a leader must have
arrived at a comprehension, at least in an unconscious
manner, of the psychology of crowds, and must know
how to address them. He should be aware, in parti
cular, of the fascinating influence of words, phrases,
and images. He should possess a special description
of eloquence, composed of energetic affirmations
unburdened with proofs-and impressive images,
accompanied by very summary arguments. This is a
kind of eloquence that is met with in all assemblies, the
English Parliament included, the most serious though
it is of all.
OFCROWDS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES. 201
er Niger,and fi "Debates in the House of Commons," says the

situation weuse English philosopher Maine, “ may be constantly read
of MI- re in which the entire discussion is confined to an
sters of Napla exchange of rather weak generalities and rather violent
personalities. General formulas of this description
grudge against exercise a prodigious influence on the imagination of a

hehascostus pure democracy. It will always be easy to make a
ce was due to crowd accept general assertions, presented in striking
which, in cole terms, although they have never been verified, and are
time whatit perhaps not susceptible of verification.”
drance ofp
Too much importance cannot be attached to the
tofollowits ((
striking terms " alluded to in the above quotation .
We have already insisted, on several occasions, on the
eaders wer
special power of words and formulas. They must be
consist int
chosen in such a way as to evoke very vivid images.
altimes. I
The following phrase, taken from a speech by one
ermusth
of the leaders of our assemblies, affords an excellent
unconscion
example :
mustkno
, inpar "When the same vessel shall bear away to the

phrases fever-haunted lands of our penitentiary settlements the
escripti politician of shady reputation and the anarchist guilty
nations of murder, the pair will be able to converse together,
and they will appear to each other as the two comple
mentary aspects of one and the same state of society."
The image thus evoked is very vivid, and all the

hough
adversaries of the speaker felt themselves threatened
by it. They conjured up a double vision of the fever

t
haunted country and the vessel that may carry them C
away ; for is it not possible that they are included in

the somewhat ill-defined category of the politicians to
menaced? They experienced the lurking fear that the
men of the Convention must have felt whom the vague S
speeches of Robespierre threatened with the guillotine
and who, under the influence of this fear, invariably e
yielded to him. H
It is all to the interest of the leaders to indulge in
the most improbable exaggerations. The speaker of a
whom I have just cited a sentence was able to affirm I
without arousing violent protestations, that bankers
and priests had subsidised the throwers of bombs, and
that the directors of the great financial companies a
deserve the same punishment as anarchists. Affirma }
tions of this kind are always effective with crowds.
The affirmation is never too violent, the declamation
never too threatening. Nothing intimidates the
audience more than this sort of eloquence. Those
present are afraid that if they protest they will be put

down as traitors or accomplices.
As I have said, this peculiar style of eloquence has
ever been of sovereign effect in all assemblies. In
times of crisis its power is still further accentuated.

The speeches of the great orators of the assemblies of
the French Revolution are very interesting reading
from this point of view. At every instant they thought
S OFCROWDS PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES. 203
uble vision ofthe themselves obliged to pause in order to denounce

I that maycar crime and exalt virtue, after which they would burst
they are ind forth into imprecations against tyrants, and swear
ry of the pto live free men or perish. Those present rose to their
lurking fear feet, applauded furiously, and then, calmed, took their
felt whomthe seats again.
withtheguit On occasion, the leader may be intelligent and highly
his fear, educated, but the possession of these qualities does
him, as a rule, more harm than good. By showing
ders to ind how complex things are, by allowing of explanation
The speak and promoting comprehension, intelligence always
sableto renders its owner indulgent, and blunts, in a large
that bank measure, that intensity and violence of conviction
3,
ofbonis needful for apostles. The great leaders of crowds of
ial comp all ages, and those of the Revolution in particular,
sts. Aff have been of lamentably narrow intellect ; while it is
with precisely those whose intelligence has been the most
declamati restricted who have exercised the greatest influence.
idates t The speeches of the most celebrated of them ,
e. The of Robespierre, frequently astound one by their
will bepr incoherence by merely reading them no plausible
explanation is to be found of the great part played by
Lence the powerful dictator :
es. !
tuste "The commonplaces and redundancies of pedagogic
blies eloquence and Latin culture at the service of a mind
eadi childish rather than undistinguished, and limited in its
notions of attack and defence to the defiant attitude
do
of schoolboys. Not an idea, not a happy turn of
phrase, or a telling hit : a storm of declamation that Ca
leaves us bored. After a dose of this unexhilarating
reading one is tempted to exclaim ' Oh ! ' withthe mi
amiable Camille Desmoulins."
It is terrible at times to think of the power that

pr
strong conviction combined with extreme narrowness In
of mind gives a man possessing prestige. It is none WO
the less necessary that these conditions should be
E
:
satisfied for a man to ignore obstacles and display CO
strength of will in a high measure. Crowds instinc 80
tively recognise in men of energy and conviction the
masters they are always in need of. ne
In a parliamentary assembly the success of a speech
depends almost solely on the prestige possessed bythe
speaker, and not at all on the arguments he brings
forward. The best proof of this is that when for one
cause or another a speaker loses his prestige, he loses
simultaneously all his influence, that is, his power of
influencing votes at will.
fr
When an unknown speaker comes forward with a b
speech containing good arguments, but only argu al
ments, the chances are that he will only obtain a
g
hearing. A Deputy who is a psychologist of insight, ก
M. Desaubes, has recently traced in the following lines
the portrait of the Deputy who lacks prestige :
"When he takes his place in the tribune he draws a

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES. 205
DSOFCROWDS
document from his portfolio, spreads it out methodi

, not abig
cally before him, and makes a start with assurance.
orm ofdeclam
"He flatters himself that he will implant in the
ofthis m
minds of his audience the conviction by which he is
claim 'Oh!'
himself animated. He has weighed and re-weighed
his arguments ; he is well primed with figures and
k of thep proofs ; he is certain he will convince his hearers.
extreme na In the face of the evidence he is to adduce all resistance
restige. It would be futile. He begins, confident in the justice of
ditions shar his cause, and relying upon the attention of his
cles and colleagues, whose only anxiety, of course, is to sub

Crowds scribe to the truth.
dconviction "He speaks, and is at once surprised at the restless
ness of the House, and a little annoyed by the noise
es that is being made.
"How is it silence is not kept ? Why this general
nts be inattention ? What are those Deputies thinking about
Then it who are engaged in conversation ? What urgent motive
ige, hel has induced this or that Deputy to quit his seat ?
ispower " An expression of uneasiness crosses his face ; he
frowns and stops. Encouraged by the President, he
rdwill begins again, raising his voice. He is only listened to
all the less. He lends emphasis to his words, and
gesticulates the noise around him increases. He can
no longer hear himself, and again stops ; finally, afraid
that his silence may provoke the dreaded cry, ' The
Closure ! ' he starts off again. The clamour becomes
unbearable."
bed
When parliamentary assemblies reach a certain pitch
two
of excitement they become identical with ordinary
the
heterogeneous crowds, and their sentiments in conse
the
quence presentthe peculiarity of being always extreme.
Theywill be seen to commit acts of the greatest heroism
or the worst excesses. The individual is no longer
wit
himself, and so entirely is this the case that he will ver
vote measures most adverse to his personal interests.
The history of the French Revolution shows to what
"C
an extent assemblies are capable of losing their self
onl
consciousness, and of obeying suggestions most
contrary to their interests. It was an enormous -t
frie
sacrifice for the nobility to renounce its privileges,
mo
yet it did so without hesitation on a famous night
Da
during the sittings of the Constituent Assembly. By
lea
renouncing their inviolability the men of the Con
vention placed themselves under a perpetual menace gre
Vot
of death, and yet they took this step, and were not
me
afraid to decimate their own ranks, though perfectly
and
aware that the scaffold to which they were sending
Syr
their colleagues to-day might be their own fate
pie
to-morrow. The truth is they had attained to that
re
completely automatic state which I have described
wh
elsewhere, and no consideration would hinder them
the
from yielding to the suggestions by which they were
hypnotised. The following passage from the memoirs
mi
E.
2.
&
of one of them, Billaud-Varennes, is absolutely typical

2
on this score : "The decisions with which we have Sui

PARLIAMENTARY ASsemblies. 207
DS OFCROWDS
(6
been so reproached ," he says, were not desired by us
bliesreachat
two days, a single day before they were taken : it was
identical with
the crisis and nothing else that gave rise to
irsentiments
them ." Nothing can be more accurate.
being alger
of the grease The same phenomena of unconsciousness were to be
Frida is witnessed during all the stormy sittings of the Con
he caseth vention.
personal inters
"They approved and decreed measures," says Taine,
tion showst
"which they held in horror-measures which were not
losing the
only stupid and foolish, but measures that were crimes
uggestions
-the murder of innocent men, the murder of their
an enor
friends. The Left, supported by the Right, unani
its prin
mously and amid loud applause, sent to the scaffold
famous
Danton, its natural chief, and the great promoter and
Assembly.
leader of the Revolution. Unanimously and amid the
ofthe
greatest applause the Right, supported by the Left,
te ualm
votes the worst decrees of the revolutionary govern
ndwere!
ment. Unanimously and amid cries of admiration
zhperfe
and enthusiasm, amid demonstrations of passionate
Tose
sympathy for Collot d'Herbois, Couthon, and Robes
ONZ#
pierre, the Convention by spontaneous and repeated
dtoth
re-elections keeps in office the homicidal government
desert
which the Plain detests because it is homicidal, and
erthe
the Mountain detests because it is decimated by it.
The Plain and the Mountain, the majority and the
emoc
minority, finish by consenting to help on their own
suicide. The 22 Prairial the entire Convention offered
itself to the executioner ; the 8 Thermidor, during the

first quarter of an hour that followed Robespierre's
speech, it did the same thing again."
This picture may appear sombre. Yet it is accurate.

Parliamentary assemblies, sufficiently excited and
hypnotised, offer the same characteristics . They
become an unstable flock, obedient to every impulsion.
The following description of the Assembly of 1848 is
due to M. Spuller, a parliamentarian whose faith in
democracy is above suspicion. I reproduce it from the
Revue littéraire, and it is thoroughly typical. It offers
an example of all the exaggerated sentiments which I
have described as characteristic of crowds, and of that
excessive changeableness which permits of assemblies
passing, from moment to moment, from one set of
sentiments to another entirely opposite.
"The Republican party was brought to its perdition

by its divisions, its jealousies, its suspicions, and, in
turn, its blind confidence and its limitless hopes. Its
ingenuousness and candour were only equalled by its
universal mistrust. An absence of all sense of legality,
of all comprehension of discipline, together with

boundless terrors and illusions ; the peasant and the
child are on a level in these respects. Their calm is as
great as their impatience ; their ferocity is equal to
their docility. This condition is the natural conse
quence of a temperament that is not formed and of the
ARY
FCROWDS AMENT blies
PARLI ASSEm . 209
Dermite lack of education. Nothing astonishes such persons,

lowed Role and everything disconcerts them. Trembling with
fear or brave to the point of heroism, they would go
through fire and water or fly from a shadow.
Tetiti
"C
' They are ignorant of cause and effect and of the
ntlyexcited
cteristics connecting links between events. They are as promptly
discouraged as they are exalted, they are subject to
every inge
every description of panic, they are always either too
mblyof19
highly strung or too downcast, but never in the mood
whose
or the measure the situation would require. More
oveitfor
ical I fluid than water they reflect every line and assume
mentsw every shape. What sort of a foundation for a govern

ment can they be expected to supply? "
and
ofassem
Fortunately all the characteristics just described as
One&
to be met with in parliamentary assemblies are in no
wise constantly displayed. Such assemblies only
$pene constitute crowds at certain moments. The individuals
arc composing them retain their individuality in a great
Opex. number of cases, which explains how it is that an
assembly is able to turn out excellent technical laws.
It is true that the author of these laws is a specialist
who has prepared them in the quiet of his study,
ndd and that in reality the law voted is the work of an
‫ܬܐ‬ individual and not of an assembly. These laws
al: are naturally the best. They are only liable to have
ODE disastrous results when a series of amendments has
converted them into the outcome of a collective effort.
15
The work of a crowd is always inferior, whatever its

nature, to that of an isolated individual. It is specialists
who safeguard assemblies from passing ill-advised or
unworkable measures. The specialist in this case is a
temporary leader of crowds. The Assembly is without
influence on him, but he has influence over the
Assembly.
In spite of all the difficulties attending their
working, parliamentary assemblies are the best form
of government mankind has discovered as yet, and
more especially the best means it has found to escape
the yoke of personal tyrannies. They constitute
assuredly the ideal government at any rate for philo
sophers, thinkers, writers, artists, and learned men
in a word, for all those who form the cream of a
civilisation.
Moreover, in reality they only present two serious

dangers, one being inevitable financial waste, and the
other the progressive restriction of the liberty of the
individual.
The first of these dangers is the necessary conse
quence of the exigencies and want of foresight of
electoral crowds.Should a member of an assembly
propose a measure giving apparent satisfaction to
democratic ideas, should he bring in a Bill, for
instance, to assure old-age pensions to all workers, and
to increase the wages of any class of State employés,
the other Deputies, victims of suggestion in their
PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES. 211
WDS.
Or, whateve dread of their electors, will not venture to seem to
Itisspeci disregard the interests of the latter by rejecting the

ill-adid proposed measure, although well aware they are
thiscase imposing a fresh strain on the Budget and necessi
bly t tating the creation of new taxes. It is impossible for
Ice Over them to hesitate to give their votes. The consequences

of the increase of expenditure are remote and will not
entail disagreeable consequences for them personally,
ending
while the consequences of a negative vote might clearly
e best
come to light when they next present themselves for
asJetz
re-election.
dtoest
In addition to this first cause of an exaggerated
consti
expenditure there is another not less imperative-the
fiel
necessity of voting all grants for local purposes. A
nedme
Deputy is unable to oppose grants of this kind because
eamof
they represent once more the exigencies of the electors,
Oseris and because each individual Deputy can only obtain

what he requires for his own constituency on the con
dition of acceding to similar demands on the part of
ofth
his colleagues .
COR
I In its issue of April 6, 1895, the Economiste published a
curious review of the figures that may be reached by expendi
ture caused solely by electoral considerations, and notably of
emb
the outlay on railways. To put Langayes (a town of 3,000 in
habitants, situated on a mountain) in communication with
f Puy, a railway is voted that will cost 15 millions of francs.
Seven millions are to be spent to put Beaumont (3,500 in
habitants) in communication with Castel-Sarrazin ; 7 millions
to put Oust (a village of 523 inhabitants) in communication
The second of the dangers referred to above-the

inevitable restrictions on liberty consummated by
parliamentary assemblies-is apparently less obvious,

but is, nevertheless, very real. It is the result of the
innumerable laws-having always a restrictive action
which parliaments consider themselves obliged to vote
and to whose consequences, owing to their shortsighted
ness , they are in a great measure blind.
The danger must indeed be most inevitable, since
with Seix (1,200 inhabitants) ; 6 millions to put Prade in

communication with the hamlet of Olette (747 inhabitants),
etc. In 1895 alone 90 millions of francs were voted for rail
ways of only local utility. There is other no less important
expenditure necessitated also by electioneering considerations.
The law instituting working-men's pensions will soon involve
a minimum annual outlay of 165 millions, according to the
Minister of Finance, and of 800 millions according to the
academician M. Leroy-Beaulieu. It is evident that the con
tinued growth of expenditure of this kind must end in bank
ruptcy. Many European countries-Portugal, Greece, Spain,
Turkey-have reached this stage, and others, such as Italy,
will soon be reduced to the same extremity. Still too much
alarm need not be felt at this state of things, since the public
has successively consented to put up with the reduction of
four-fifths in the payment of their coupons by these different
countries. Bankruptcy under these ingenious conditions
allows the equilibrium of Budgets difficult to balance to be
instantly restored. Moreover, wars, socialism, and economic
conflicts hold in store for us a profusion of other catastrophes
in the period of universal disintegration we are traversing,
and it is necessary to be resigned to living from hand to
mouth without too much concern for a future we cannot
control.
Y
MENTAR IES
CROWDS PARLIA ASSEMBL . 213
red to abor even England itself, which assuredly offers the most
te
consumma popular type of the parliamentary régime, the type in
entlyless t which the representative is most independent of his
theresul elector, has been unable to escape it. Herbert Spencer
strictiveatt has shown, in a work already old, that the increase
sobligedto of apparent liberty must needs be followed by the
eir short decrease of real liberty. Returning to this contention

66
in his recent book, The Individual versus the State,"
he thus expresses himself with regard to the English
evitable -:
Parliament :
potPa
7inhabit "Legislation since this period has followed the
votedfor course I pointed out. Rapidly multiplying dictatorial
lessimpar
measures have continually tended to restrict individual
onsidersta
SoonLinge liberties, and this in two ways. Regulations have been
rdingtos established every year in greater number, imposing a
ding to constraint on the citizen in matters in which his acts
hat the
andinh were formerly completely free, and forcing him to
ec,e Sp accomplish acts which he was formerly at liberty to
asLa accomplish or not to accomplish at will. At the same
too m
time heavier and heavier public, and especially local,
Thepo
burdens have still further restricted his liberty by
n diminishing the portion of his profits he can spend as

alitio
etot he chooses, and by augmenting the portion which is
ODO taken from him to be spent according to the good
zophy pleasure of the public authorities."
NA
10 This progressive restriction of liberties shows itself
in every country in a special shape which Herbert
Spencer has not pointed out ; it is that the passing

of these innumerable series of legislative measures,
all of them in a general way of a restrictive order,

conduces necessarily to augment the number, the
power, and the influence of the functionaries
charged with their application. These functionaries

tend in this way to become the veritable masters of
civilised countries. Their power is all the greater
owing to the fact that, amidst the incessant transfer
of authority, the administrative caste is alone in
being untouched by these changes, is alone in
possessing irresponsibility, impersonality, and perpe
tuity. There is no more oppressive despotism than
that which presents itself under this triple form.
This incesant creation of restrictive laws and regula
tions, surrounding the pettiest actions of existence with
the most complicated formalities, inevitably has for its
result the confining within narrower and narrower
limits of the sphere in which the citizen may move
freely. Victims of the delusion that equality and
liberty are the better assured by the multiplication
of laws, nations daily consent to put up with trammels
increasingly burdensome. They do not accept this
legislation with impunity. Accustomed to put up
with every yoke, they soon end by desiring servitude,
and lose all spontaneousness and energy. They are
then no more than vain shadows, passive, unresisting
and powerless automata.
Y
MENTAR ies
FCROWDS PARLIA Assembl . 215
is thatthep Arrived at this point, the individual is bound to seek

egislative mes outside himself the forces he no longer finds within
arestrictive him. The functions of governments necessarily
the number,th increase in proportion as the indifference and help

the funeris lessness of the citizens grow. They it is who must
ese functi necessarily exhibit the initiative, enterprising, and
table masters guiding spirit in which private persons are lacking.
all thegreat It falls on them to undertake everything, direct every
Cessanttrand thing, and take everything under their protection. The
e is alone State becomes an all-powerful god. Still experience
is alone ! shows that the power of such gods was never either
very durable or very strong.
7, andper
Spotismthe This progressive restriction of all liberties in the case
of certain peoples, in spite of an outward license that
form.
andrenk gives them the illusion that these liberties are still in
Stencewill their possession, seems at least as much a consequence
hasforda of their old age as of any particular system. It consti

E
DATOT tutes one of the precursory symptoms of that decadent
phase which up to now no civilisation has escaped.
aymore
Judging by the lessons of the past, and by the
lityand
symptoms that strike the attention on every side,
licati
several of our modern civilisations have reached that
phase of extreme old age which precedes decadence.
It seems inevitable that all peoples should pass through
identical phases of existence, since history is so often
seen to repeat its course.
It is easy to note briefly these common phases ofthe
BU
the
evolution of civilisations, and I shall terminate this
work with a summary of them. This rapid sketch

will perhaps throw some gleams of light on the causes
of the power at present wielded by crowds.
If we examine in their main lines the genesis of

the greatness and of the fall of the civilisations that
preceded our own, what do we see ?
At the dawn of civilisation a swarm of men of various
origin, brought together by the chances of migrations,
invasions, and conquests. Of different blood, and of
equally different languages and beliefs, the only

common bond of union between these men is the
half-recognised law of a chief. The psychological
characteristics of crowds are present in an eminent
degree in these confused agglomerations. They have
the transient cohesion of crowds, their heroism, their
weaknesses, their impulsiveness, and their violence.
Nothing is stable in connection with them. They are
barbarians.
At length time accomplishes its work. The identity

of surroundings, the repeated intermingling of races,
the necessities of life in common exert their influence.
The assemblage of dissimilar units begins to blend into
a whole, to form a race ; that is, an aggregate
possessing common characteristics and sentiments to
which heredity will give greater and greater fixity. The
crowd has become a people, and this people is able to
emerge from its barbarous state. However, it will
73 PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES. 217
only entirely emerge therefrom when, after long efforts,

struggles necessarily repeated, and innumerable recom
mencements, it shall have acquired an ideal. The
nature of this ideal is of slight importance ; whether

it be the cult of Rome, the might of Athens, or the
Exactingthe triumph of Allah, it will suffice to endow all the

individuals of the race that is forming with perfect
franar unity of sentiment and thought.

ities At this stage a new civilisation, with its institutions,
its beliefs, and its arts, may be born. In pursuit of its
the ot ideal, the race will acquire in succession the qualities
en isthe necessary to give it splendour, vigour, and grandeur.

At times no doubt it will still be a crowd, but hence
Ammert forth, beneath the mobile and changing characteristics

of crowds, is found a solid substratum, the genius of the
er have
race which confines within narrow limits the transfor
ther
mations of a nation and overrules the play of chance.
olence.
After having exerted its creative action, time begins
heyare
that work of destruction from which neither gods
nor men escape. Having reached a certain level of
ntity
strength and complexity a civilisation ceases to grow,
races
and having ceased to grow it is condemned to a speedy
enc.e
decline. The hour of its old age has struck.
into
This inevitable hour is always marked by the
ate
weakening of the ideal that was the mainstay of
・to
the race. In proportion as this ideal pales all the
religious, political, and social structures inspired
by it begin to be shaken.
Fl
218 DIFFERENt kinds of CROWDS.
With the progressive perishing of its ideal the race

loses more and more the qualities that lent it its
cohesion, its unity, and its strength. The personality
and intelligence of the individual may increase, but at
the same time this collective egoism of the race is
replaced by an excessive development of the egoism
of the individual, accompanied by a weakening of
character and a lessening of the capacity for action.
What constituted a people, a unity, a whole, becomes
in the end an agglomeration of individualities lacking
cohesion, and artificially held together for a time by its
traditions and institutions. It is at this stage that
men, divided by their interests and aspirations, and
incapable any longer of self-government, require
directing in their pettiest acts, and that the State
exerts an absorbing influence.
With the definite loss of its old ideal the genius of
the race entirely disappears ; it is a mere swarm of
isolated individuals and returns to its original state
that of a crowd. Without consistency and without a
future, it has all the transitory characteristics of

crowds. Its civilisation is now without stability,
and at the mercy of every chance. The populace is
• sovereign, and the tide of barbarism mounts. The

civilisation may still seem brilliant because it possesses
an outward front, the work of a long past, but it is in
reality an edifice crumbling to ruin, which nothing
supports, and destined to fall in at the first storm.
Y
NTAR ES
IAME MBLI
PARL ASSE . 219
DS.
deal therace Το pass in pursuit of an ideal from the barbarous to
Jent itis the civilised state , and then , when this ideal has lost
personality its virtue, to decline and die, such is the cycle of the
se, but t life of a people.
the race is
The egoism
keningit
or action
becomes
slacking
meby s
age that
Us,and
Jaymie
e State
inst
rm of
Fate
Out&
s of
e18
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1 D
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LELAND STANFORD JVNIOR VNIVERSITY

"
PSYCHOLOGY
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
BY
CHARLES HUBBARD JUDD

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AND DIRECTOR OF THE
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
SECOND COMPLETELY REVISED EDITION
GINN AND COMPANY

BOSTON · NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON
ATLANTA . DALLAS . COLUMBUS · SAN FRANCISCO
COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY CHARLES HUBBARD JUDD
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
317.9
245681
VRAMELL GROTATZ
The Athenæum Press

GINN AND COMPANY PRO
PRIETORS BOSTON U.S.A.
81
ļ
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
This revised edition has been very largely rewritten . The

emphasis which was laid on motor processes in the volume
when it appeared in 1907 has been more than justified by
recent developments of " behaviorism " in psychology. The
present edition goes further than did the first in working out
the doctrines of functional psychology, especially in so far as
these use motor processes in explaining mental organization .
The doctrine of attitudes which was presented in the
first edition has been much expanded .
The applications of psychology have been elaborated,
especially through a new chapter on mental hygiene.
The view with regard to the importance of consciousness
in evolution which was set forth in my paper before the Amer
ican Psychological Association in 1909 has been adopted as
a guiding principle in this volume. In keeping with this
view, the chapter on volition has been wholly rewritten, and
several earlier sections have been largely worked over.
Perhaps the simplest method of economizing the time
of those who are interested merely in the new parts will
be to enumerate the chapters which are not greatly modi
fied. These are Chapters I , II , III , V, VIII , IX, X, XI,
XIV, and XVII . The remainder of the volume includes
liberal revisions . Chapters IV, VI , VII , XII , XV, and
XVI are new or very largely so. The book has been freed
so far as possible from technical controversial discussions,
with the result that some chapters, notably Chapter XIII,
have been reduced.
iii
iv PSYCHOLOGY
Many new obligations have accumulated since the first

edition appeared . Those who have used the book in
class or have read it in individual study have in many
instances sent to the author helpful criticisms . All of
these have been kept in mind in the revision and are
here gratefully acknowledged .
C. H. J.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
= first
ok in
many
All of PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
are
J. There is very general agreement as to the main topics

which must be treated in a textbook on psychology. There
is, however, no accepted method of approaching these
topics, and, as a result, questions of emphasis and propor
tion are always matters of individual judgment. It is,
accordingly, not out of place for one to attempt in his
preface to anticipate the criticism of those who take up
the book, by offering a general statement of the princi
ples which have guided him in his particular form of
treatment. This book aims to develop a functional view
of mental life. Indeed, I am quite unable to accept the
contentions or sympathize with the views of the defenders
of a structural or purely analytical psychology. In the
second place, I have aimed to adopt the genetic method
of treatment. It may be well to remark that the term
"genetic " is used here in its broad sense to cover all that
relates to general evolution or individual development. In
the third place, I have attempted to give to the psycho
logical conditions of mental life a more conspicuous place
than has been given by recent writers of general textbooks
on psychology. In doing this I have aimed to so coördi
nate the material as to escape the criticism of producing
a loose mixture of physiology and introspective description.
In the fourth place, I have aimed to make as clear as
possible the significance of ideation as a unique and final
stage of evolution . The continuity running through the
evolution of the sensory and motor functions in all grades
of animal life is not, I believe, the most significant fact for
psychology. The clear recognition of this continuity which
V
vi PSYCHOLOGY
the student reaches through studies of sensation and habit,

and even perception, is the firmest possible foundation on
which to base an intelligent estimate of the significance
of human ideational processes . The clear comprehension
of the dominant importance of ideational processes in man's
life is at once the chief outcome of our study and the com
plete justification for a science of psychology, distinct from
all of the other special disciplines which deal with life and
its variations. The purpose of this book may therefore be
stated in terms which mark as sharp a contrast as possible
with much that has been said and written of late regarding
the advantages of a biological point of view in the study
of consciousness . This work is intended to develop a
point of view which shall include all that is given in the
biological doctrine of adaptation, while at the same time it
passes beyond the biological doctrine to a more elaborate
principle of indirect ideational adaptation .
In the preparation of this book I am under double obli
gation to A. C. Armstrong. As my first teacher in psy
chology, he has by his broad sympathies and critical insight
influenced all of my work. Furthermore, he has given me
the benefit of his judgment in regard to all parts of this
book while it was in preparation . Two others I may men
tion as teachers to whom I am largely indebted . The
direct influence of Wilhelm Wundt will be seen at many
points in this book. As the leader in the great advances
in modern psychology, especially in the adoption of experi
mental methods, and as the most systematic writer in this
field, he has left his impression on all who have worked
in the Leipzig laboratory to an extent which makes such
a book as this in a very large sense of the word an expres
sion of his teaching . Finally, I am indebted to William
James. I have received instruction from him only through
his writings, but take this opportunity of acknowledging his
unquestioned primacy in American psychological thought
PREFACE vii
and the influence of his genius in turning the attention of

habit,
all students to the functional explanations of mental life
on on
which it is one of the aims of this book to diffuse.
icance
My colleagues, Dr. R. P. Angier and Dr. E. H. Cameron,
ension
read the manuscript and gave me many valuable sugges
man's
tions which have been incorporated into the text. Mr. C. H.
com
Smith assisted me in the preparation of the figures.
from
C. H. J.
e and
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
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ssible
rding
study
op a
the
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orate
obli
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ight
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I
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I. THE SCOPE AND METHODS OF
PSYCHOLOGY I
Psychology a study of conscious processes. The motive of wonder.
Discovery of individual differences as motive. Differences between
experience and physical facts. Place of consciousness in evolution.
The first method of psychology. Nervous processes as conditions of •
consciousness. Studies of behavior. Overemphasis of slower forms
of mental activity through introspection . Experiment in psychology.
Explanation at variance with mere observation. Subdivisions of
psychology. Summary and definition of psychology. Definitions of
certain general psychological terms .
CHAPTER II. THE BODILY CONDITIONS OF BE

HAVIOR AND EXPERIENCE 14
The introspective approach. Indirect method of approach to psy
chological facts. Characteristics of unicellular animals. Simplest
types of behavior. Consciousness no more complex than behavior.
Behavior more limited than sensitivity. Specialization of cell struc
tures and functions in higher animals . Specialized nervous processes.
Nervous processes of three distinct types. Behavior varied and much
more complex. Progressive evolution in both structure and behavior.
Centralized nervous system. Coördinating center of the body. Com
plex paths within the nervous system. Experience comparable to
the lower forms of human experience. Differentiation of vertebrate
central nervous system. Two types of higher centers : first, higher
sensory centers ; second, indirect centers. Large indirect centers
characteristic of highest animals. Traces of past impressions also
present. Meaning of evolution of complex organisms. Inner organi
zation essential to highest forms of personal behavior. Characteristics
of behavior of higher animals .
CHAPTER III . THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM • 38

External plan like that of all vertebrates. General plan of the minute
nervous structure as related to consciousness. The nerve cell and its
parts. Complexity of structure related to forms of action. Synapses
as paths of organization . Paths in spinal cord. Reflex tracts. Trans
mission to higher centers. All nervous organs in part independent
ix
X PSYCHOLOGY
PAGE
centers. Cerebellum. Cerebrum and its systems of fibers. Structure
of cerebrum as indicating way in which impulses are organized. Cere
bral cortex complex. Localization of functions. Stimulation the first
method of discovering cerebral localization. Extirpation and com
parison of pathological cases . Embryological methods. Association
areas . Significance of the central position of the general motor area.
Speech centers. Broca's convolution an association center. Phre
nology not in accord with clearly known facts. Frontal association
area. General principles of nervous action. Active organs as termini
of all nervous impulses. Principle of facilitation . Principle of asso
ciation of centers of high tension. Diffusion as opposed to organiza
tion. Principle of progressive organization.
CHAPTER IV. CLASSIFICATION OF CONSCIOUS

PROCESSES • 61
Classification derived from study of nervous organs . Classification
from observation superficial. Historical threefold classification . His
torical twofold classification. Classification according to nervous
processes. Example of scientific analysis and classification. Relation
of classification to introspection. Sensations. Reactions and atti
tudes. Fusion and perception. Memory. The process of ideation.
Higher forms of action . Relation to historic classification. Practical
applications.
CHAPTER V. SENSATIONS 71
Sensations not copies of external forces. Laws of sensation as one
of the first problems in psychology. Relation of sensations to sen
sory nervous processes. Sensations as elements. Psycho- physics as
a division of psychology . Meaning of term " quality. ” Chromatic
(or color) series and achromatic (or gray) series. Fundamental color
names. The color spectrum and circle. Saturation, brightness, and
mixtures. External light. Comparison of physical and mental series.
Relation between the physical and the psychical facts dependent in
part on the organs of sense. Evolution of organ of vision. Organ of
sense as selective organ. The human eye- its muscles. The outer
wall and the lens. Transparent media. Choroid coat. The retina.
Rods and cones and their functions. Color blindness. Color-mixing.
Pigment-mixing subject to physical law. After-images. Contrasts.
Theories of color vision. Mrs. Franklin's genetic theory of processes
in the retina. Physical sound. Pitch, or tonal quality. Intensity, or
loudness. Complexity of a regular type the source of differences in
timbre. Noise due to irregular vibrations . Evolution of the ear. The
human ear, pinna, and meatus . The tympanic membrane. Air cham
ber on inner side of the tympanic membrane . Chain of ossicles. The
inner ear. The semicircular canals. The cochlea and sensory areas
麵
E CONTENTS
xi
in the vestibule. Sensory cells in the cochlea. Contrast between PAGE

auditory and visual processes. Beats, difference tones. Summation
tones. Harmony not a matter of sensation. Absence of after- images
in auditory sensations . Tone deafness . Taste and smell differenti
ations of a primitive chemical sense. Position of olfactory organ in
the nasal cavity. Structure and function of the olfactory surface.
Olfactory stimuli . Smell a rudimentary sense in man . Taste quali
ties and taste organs specialized . Organs of taste. Gustatory stimuli .
Organs of touch. Differentiation of the tactual fibers ; temperature
spots . Pressure spots. Other " spots." Relativity of temperature
sense ; chemical and mechanical senses . Organs of touch at the
periphery. Muscle sensations and organic sensations . Intensity a
general characteristic . Weber's Law. General statement of the law.
Mechanical explanation of Weber's Law. Other views regarding
Weber's Law.
CHAPTER VI . EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOR .
All consciousness complex and selective . The selective character 130

of conscious processes related to sensory impressions . Selective
consciousness related to behavior . Common interests and their re
lation to behavior. Study of evolution of organs of action as impor
tant as study of senses . Evolution from gross muscles to highly
differentiated muscles . Behavior dependent on nervous control.
Coördination as necessary counterpart of differentiation. Individual
development in behavior . Inherited coördinations or instincts .
Glands as active organs .
constant tensiosen
ning of n of iveresorg
soryactimp sioans
as background of all behaviA or . Mea ns
dependent upon inner conditions. Sensory processes and the
equilibrium of action . Importance of sensations dependent on
organization . Sensations unduly emphasized through introspection .
Attitudes. Attitudes not related to sensations but to behavior .
Relation of sensation to reaction .
CHAPTER VII.
CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL ATTI
TUDES
Reactions toward objects and reactions away from objects . Pleasure 146
and displeasure . Cultivated feelings. Fear as a typical emotion.
How to change the attitude of fear. Fear an emotion of complex
beings . Fear and pathology. Parental love and altruism . Anger.
Other emotions . Emotions as fundamental forms of experience.
Higher forms of experience as related to behavior. Feelings of
organic type. Flexor and extensor movements related to character
istic attitudes. Changes in circulatory movements as parallels of
conscious changes. Disappointment as negative emotion. External
attitudes . Attention as an attitude. Experiment to demonstrate
xii PSYCHOLOGY
PAGE
tension. Various forms of attention. Sympathy with fellow beings.
Sympathy involved in all recognition of objects . Illusion due to
muscular tension. Such muscular tensions common to many experi
ences. All consciousness a form of sympathetic attention. Attitudes
as related to higher processes of recognition.
CHAPTER VIII. COMBINATION AND ARRANGE

MENT OF SENSATIONS . 162
Sensory experience always complex. Sensation combinations or
fusions. Space not a sensation, but a product of fusion. Tactual
space as a simple example of fusion. Subjective and objective
space. Perception and training. Development of spatial arrange
ments in the course of individual experience. Vision and move
ment as aids to touch. Tactual percepts of the blind. Wundt on the
tactual perception of the blind. Lotze's local signs . Inner tactual
factors. Space not attached to any single sense . General conclu
sions regarding tactual space. Auditory recognition of location.
Influence of movements in auditory experience of position. Quali
tative differences and localization . Distance of sounds recognized
only indirectly. Unfamiliar sounds difficult to locate . Visual space
and optical illusions. Effects of practice. Percepts always complex.
Contrast. Common facts showing size to be a matter of relations.
Physiological conditions of visual perception . Psychological state
ment. Photographic records of percepted movements. Relation
between size and distance. Definite optical relation between the
distance and the size of an object and the size of the retinal image
from this object. Berkeley's statement of the problem of visual
depth perception. Experiments on binocular vision. Difference
between the images in the two eyes. Stereoscopic figures and
appearance of solidity. Retinal rivalry. Factors other than those
contributed by the two eyes. Aërial perspective. Geometrical per
spective and familiarity. Shadows. Intervening objects. Depth a
matter of complex perception. Relation to movements. General
movements as conditions of fusion of retinal sensations. Space
a system of relations developed through fusion. Movement and
mechanical laws. Perception of individual objects. Mere coexist
ence of sensations no explanation of unity in the percepts of
objects. Range of fusion determined by practical considerations.
Changes in percepts through repetition. Parallel development of
perception and habit. Time as a general form of experience. Ex
perimental determination of the scope of " the present." Scope of
"the present " and its varying conditions . Time relations in verse
and related systems of experience. Time arrangement as condi
tioned by the rhythmical changes in nervous processes. Perception
more than the flux of sensations. Discussions of perception.
CONTENTS xiii
AGE PAGE
CHAPTER IX. HABITS 195
Organic retentiveness. Remoter conditions of retention. Instincts.
Protective instincts. Food-taking instinct. Instincts established
through selection. Delayed instincts common. Impossibility of dis
tinguishing instincts from later-acquired forms of behavior. Habits
from instincts and from independent conditions. Development of
habit through conflict of instincts. Nervous development concerned
inthe selection of instincts. Habit as a modified instinct. Importance
of heredity in explaining consciousness. Diffusion a mark of lack
of organization. Development of habit from diffusion. Undeveloped
movements. Diffusion analogous to all forms of overproduction.
Conscious correlates of habit. Instinct, habit, and mental attitudes.
Applications of the doctrine of attitudes to social science.
CHAPTER X. SPEECH AS A FORM OF BEHAVIOR . 209

Speech as a highly important special habit. Speech and ideas closely
interrelated. Speculations regarding the nature and origin of speech.
The special creation theory. The imitation theory. The interjection
theory. Roots of language in natural emotional expressions and their
imitation. Imitation. Other imitative communications of animals and
man. Value of sounds as means of social communication. Limita
tion of forms of animal communication. The first stages of human
articulation like animal cries. Articulations selected from the sum
of possible activities. Evolution of ideas and speech. Gestures and
broad scope of attention. Evolution of gestures in direction of sim
plification. Speech a highly specialized mode of behavior. Conse
quences of specialization. Speech an indirect form of behavior.
Evolution of writing. Writing at first direct in form. Images
reduced to lowest terms as powers of reader increase. Written
symbols and their relation to sounds. The alphabet. Social motives
essential to the development of language . Social system as source
ofthe form of words. Social usage and the domination of individual
thought. Social ideas dominate individual life. Experimental evi
dence of importance of words. Number terminology as a device
for recording possessions. Symbols for groups of tallies. Parallel
growth of number names and system of ideas. Development of
arithmetic depends on an appropriate system of numerals. Social
world unified through common forms of thought. Changes in words
as indications of changes in individual thought and social relations.
Illustration of change in words. Words as instruments of thought
beyond immediate experience. Images and verbal ideas . Mental
attitudes as characteristic phases of verbal ideas. Other illustrations
of thought relations. Concrete words. Examples of words arousing
tendencies toward action. Abstract words. Contrast between con
crete images and abstract ideas. Particular images as obstructions to
thought. Ideas or indirect forms of experience characteristic of man.
xiv PSYCHOLOGY 1
PAGE
CHAPTER XI .. MEMORY AND IDEAS 240
The problem of describing ideas. Ideas not derived from present
impressions. Ideas as revivals . Advantages of relative independ
ence of sensory impressions. Individual variations in imagery. The
accidents of individual experience and mental imagery. Dependence
on vividness and recency. The training of memory. Retention as
distinguished from recall. Association by contiguity. Association
by similarity. Association by contrast. New products evolved in
ideation. Ideas not all images. Tendency to revert to imagery type.
Advantages of indirect forms of experience . Animal behavior direct
and perceptual, human behavior indirect and ideational. Influence
of ideas on things . Tool-consciousness. Knowledge of nervous
process limited. Consciousness as product of evolution.
CHAPTER XII. IMAGINATION AND THE FORMA

TION OF CONCEPTS 251
Adaptation through ideas. Early stages of barter. Barter perceptual.
Standard values. Symbolic values. Evolution from perception to
ideas. Higher controls of conduct. Ideational attitudes. Ideas as
substitutes for impressions. Imagination as reorganization of ideas.
Personifying imagination. Imaginations occasions of useless activi
ties. Critical tests of imaginations. Empirical test often inapplica
ble. The test of internal agreement. The criterion of coherency a
product of development. The demand for coherency as exhibited
in constructive scientific ideas. Uncritical imaginations. Literary
imagination and the canon of coherency. The uncritical forms of
thought which preceded science . First sciences limited to facts
remote from life. Scientific concepts. Validity of concepts. Abstrac
tion. Generalization. Judgments and reasoning. Logic. Primitive
belief. Belief after hesitation . Belief a positive psychological fact.
Spurious verbal belief. Habitual belief. Religious belief not in
stinctive. Sentiments not instinctive. Social life and the higher
mental processes. Fields for the application of psychology of ideas.
CHAPTER XIII . THE IDEA OF THE SELF 269

The idea of self sometimes regarded as matter of direct knowledge.
Idea of self a concept. First stages of personal development not
self-conscious. Gradual discrimination of self from things . Child's
early notion of self largely objective . The idea of self as related to
discrimination between the objective and subjective. The self dis
covered by contrast with not-self. Social consciousness and self
consciousness. The self at first not a scientific concept, but a
practical concept. Cultivated self- consciousness . The religious
motive for self-consciousness . Scientific idea of personality. The
chief item in the concept of life the abstract idea of organization.
CONTENTS XV
PAGE
PAGE
• 240
Unity of self. The self as an efficient cause. Self as a valid scien
it tific concept. Concept of unity. The self a concept.
1.
e CHAPTER XIV. DISSOCIATION . • 278
2
3 Disorganized personality in contrast with normal self. Illusions and
hallucinations. Sleep, the influence of drugs, hypnosis, and insanity
as forms of disorganization. The physiological conditions of sleep.
The closing of avenues of stimulation in sleep. Various degrees of
dissociation. Dissociation in the central processes. Dreams as dis
sociated groups of ideas. Dreams impressive only because they are
uncriticized. Motor processes suspended by dissociations in sleep.
Narcotic drugs dissociative in their effects. Effect of alcohol on
the nervous system. Overexcitation is also dissociative. Toxic
effects of certain diseases. These negative cases as evidences ofthe
relation between normal consciousness and organization. Hypnosis
251 a form of dissociation closely allied to sleep. Hypnosis as partial
dissociation. Methods of inducing hypnosis. Hypnosis more readily
induced after it has once been established in a subject. Various
characteristics of the hypnotized subject. Ideas not subjected to
criticism in hypnosis. Dual personalities in hypnosis. Dual per
sonalities in other than hypnotic conditions. Dual and multiple per
sonalities analogous to the various selves of normal life. Hypnosis
a transient condition, insanity permanent. Movements sometimes
normal in hypnosis, because the lower centers are not dissociated.
The after-effects of hypnosis tend to become permanent. Insanity
a permanent form of disorganization, introduced in many cases by
dissociation and settling into an abnormal reorganization. Melan
cholia as a typical form of dissociation. Excessive excitation as a
second typical case of insanity. Fundamental disturbances of in
stinctive and emotional life. Relation of psychiatry to psychology.
CHAPTER XV. VOLUNTARY ACTION AND VOLUN

TARY ATTENTION . 301
Voluntary action a special form of behavior. Instinctive behavior
different from voluntary action. Impulsive acts distinct from higher
forms of voluntary action . Impulsive acts as phases of general mus
cular tension. Impulsive acts explicable through nervous organiza
tion. Impulse comparable to involuntary attention. Impulse and
involuntary attention related to perception and habit. Simple case
of choice. Behavior of the higher types dependent on ideas. Volun
tary action and its complex background as contrasted with lower
forms of behavior. Decision a process of balancing ideas. Decision
largely influenced by organization built out of past experiences.
The meaning of prevision. The problem of the freedom of the will.
Voluntary choice guided by purposes. Behavior of a higher type
xvi PSYCHOLOGY
PAGE
is related to education . Early scientific studies of behavior purely
external. Purely external investigations not productive. Recent
investigations and their stress on introspection and analysis of
movement. Analysis of the form of movement. Concept of organ
ization as fundamental in all psychological studies.
1
CHAPTER XVI . MENTAL HYGIENE . 314
Hygiene a suggestive term for psychology. Relation of psycho
logical hygiene to physiological. Coördination of bodily activities.
Control of excessive stimulations . Perceptual analysis. Perceptual
synthesis. Dangers of specialization . Control of perceptual atti
tudes. Control of attitudes as a case of volition. Rules of whole
some ideation. Economy of mental effort. Preparation as aid to
memory. Organization the key to all correct thought. The domi
nation of thought by some leading idea. Language of great im
portance in furnishing central ideas. The ineffectiveness of a
detached verbal idea. Higher organization as a cure for verbalism .
Self-directed organization as the goal of the higher mental life.
CHAPTER XVII . APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY . 325

Psychology a basis of scientific thinking about human conduct.
Design in art as a psychological fact. Freedom in art. Architectural
harmony analogous to musical rhythm and harmony. Literary art
and psychological laws. Prose rhythms as related to the personal 10
organization of writers. Verse another example of the same type. D
Literary content controlled by psychological laws. Feeling and
intuition. Many of the social sciences predominantly objective in
their methods. Introspective psychology and its limited support
to social science. Interrelation of psychology and social science.
Human evolution psychical. An hypothesis to explain the break be
tween man and the animals. Spencer's application of psychology to
sociology. Relation of educational practices to scientific psychology.
Psychology as a preparation for the intelligent diagnosis of particular
situations which arise in educational practice. A curve illustrating
the process of learning. Significance of a " plateau ” in development.
Other examples of the same type of development. Motor habits in
termittent. School training in its relation to the stage of develop
ment attained by the mind. Significance of scientific studies often
indirect. Expression as an essential condition of mental life. Psy
chology historically a part of philosophy. Relation of psychology to
philosophy closer than that of any of the special sciences. Psy I
chology and logic . Psychology and æsthetics . Psychology and
ethics. Psychology and metaphysics.
INDEX . 349
PAGE
purely
Recent
ysis of
organ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE PAGE
314 1. Diagram for use in demonstration of the blind spot 9
sycho 2. Movements of a unicellular animal 16
vities. 3. The hydra 18
eptual
4. Much-enlarged section of a muscle cell and a sensory cell of a
! atti
2220
-hole hydra, together with the connecting cells which lie between
id to them · ·
domi 5. Outline of a starfish, and nervous system of the same 24
: im 6. A stag beetle, showing the outline of the body and the dis
of a tribution of the nerve cells and fibers 25
lism.
7. The nervous system of a frog as it would appear if the skin
and muscles and protecting bone were removed 28
www
Y. 325 8. Plate showing successive stages in the evolution of the verte
ཏྟཉྫཎྜ
uct. brate nervous system . 31

ཋཋ
ཊྛཙི
.
ཉྩི
ural 9. General form and position of central nervous organs

–༠
38
art 10. Two nerve cells 39
nal
11. A number of different types of connection between nerve fibers
and cells . 40
nd
12. The development in complexity of nerve cells in the course of
animal evolution and in the course of the development of a
single individual · 41
2
13. Transverse section across the spinal cord 42
0
14. A diagram to illustrate the course of the sensory stimulation
when it passes upward from the level of the spinal cord at
which it is received • 44
15. A diagrammatic section through a part of one of the folds in
the cerebellum . · 45
16. The brain seen from below and cut open to show the paths of
fibers from the cortex of the cerebrum to the lower organs 46
17. Sketch showing some of the association fibers connecting vari
ous parts of the cortex of the cerebrum with one another 47
18. A transverse section across the two hemispheres in a plane
passing vertically through the cheek bones parallel to a
349 line connecting the two ears 48
xvii
xviii PSYCHOLOGY
FIGURE PAGE
19. Two sections representing portions of the cerebral cortex from
two areas of the human brain 1 49
20. A diagrammatic section showing the structure of the cortex
of the cerebrum . • 50
21. The outline of the lateral surface of the cerebrum with the
typical convolutions, as given by Flechsig 52
22. The median surface of the human cerebrum showing, as in
3853
Fig. 21 , the various areas
23. Color circle 76
24. Wave forms 77 4
25. A series of eyes which have reached various levels of
development
ឌ
អា៩
26. Diagrammatic section of the human eye
27. A diagrammatic section of the retina 88
28. Diagrammatic section showing the structure of the ear 104
29. Diagrammatic section of the sensory cells in the vestibule 108
30. The structure in the cochlea as seen when a transverse sec
tion is made across the canal . 109
31. Diagram to represent the formation of beats 113
32. The inner cavity of the nose 116
33. Section showing the different cells which compose the mucous
lining of the nose in the olfactory region . 117
34. Olfactory cells and supporting cells . 118
35. The depression between the sides of two papillæ on the sur
face of the tongue 119
36. A diagrammatic section of a single taste bulb showing the
character of the different cells I20
37. A diagrammatic sketch showing two neighboring taste bulbs 121
38 A. Tactual end organs 124
38 B. A Pacinian corpuscle . 124
38 C. A Missenian corpuscle 124
39. Two Golgi-Mazzoni corpuscles of the type found by Ruffini
in the cutaneous connective tissue of the tip of the
human finger . · 125
40. The complex distribution of a tactual nerve fiber in the
immediate vicinity of a hair . 126
41. Tooth of Gobinus showing distribution of nerve fiber through
out the canal of the tooth . 127
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix
PAGE FIGURE PAGE
m 42. A highly developed muscle cell • 134
49 43. The contracted and relaxed state of a muscle . 135
X 44. Diagram showing relation of sensory impressions to reactions 143
30
45. Involuntary hand movements made by the right and left hands
e of an observer who is thinking of a building situated in
52 front of him • 157
1 46. Unæsthetical balance 158
47. Müller-Lyer illusion 172
76 48. Illusion of contrast 174
77 49. Zöllner illusion 176
50. Poggendorff illusion . 176
82 51. Figures showing the path followed by the eye of an observer
85 in examining certain of the foregoing illusions 177
88 52. Relation of retinal image to objects . 179
182
104 53. Binocular parallax
108 54. An Ojibwa love letter 220
55. Ancient and modern Chinese writing 221
109 56. Derivation of the Roman letter M from the ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphic owl . 222
113
116 57. Association by similarity 245
58. Fatigued cells • 280
17 59. Curve showing the intensity of sound necessary to awaken a

sleeper at different periods of sleep . 282
18
60. Curves for sending and receiving telegraphic messages 338
19 61. Analysis of the receiving curve . 340
-0
I
+
|
1
PSYCHOLOGY :
CHAPTER I
THE SCOPE AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology a study of conscious processes. " The under

standing, like the eye, whilst it makes us see and perceive
all other things, takes no notice of itself ; and it requires
art and pains to set it at a distance, and make it its own
object." Thus did one of the earliest English psychologists
point out the distinction between ordinary experience and
the scientific study of mental processes. A man may be
afraid, or enthusiastic, or lost in reverie ; in each case his
mind will be full of emotions and ideas, but he will not be
led by the intensity of his experiences to make them sub
jects of analysis and explanation . Indeed, the more he is
absorbed in the experience itself, the less likely he is to
psychologize about himself. We all have the raw materials
for a science of mental processes within us, but we require
special motives to lead us to that careful study of these
processes which gives rise to the science of psychology.
The motive of wonder. The motives which have led men
to make a scientific study of their conscious processes are
numerous and varied in character. Perhaps the most com
mon of these motives is to be found in the exceptional and
baffling experiences through which one passes from time to
time. I think I hear a voice, but find on examination that
no one spoke. I try to grasp an object, but find that for
¹ John Locke, Essay concerning Human Understanding, Bk. I , chap. i,

sect. I.
I
PSYCHOLOGY
my sense of touch the thing is not what it seems to be for

my sense of vision. Such experiences as these require some
a
explanation, and even the most superficial observer is likely
to become interested, at least for the moment, in their inter
pretation: Popular psychology seldom gets beyond this ex
artination of striking and unique experiences ; consequently
the notion has gained wide currency that psychology is
"devoted entirely to the investigation of occult phenomena.
Discovery of individual differences as motive . Interest in
exceptional experiences is hardly a sufficient motive, how
d
ever, to lead to long-continued systematic study . It is to be
doubted whether psychology would ever have developed into
a serious science unless other more fundamental motives
had arisen to turn the attention of men to the examination
and explanation of their conscious processes. The more
fundamental motives began to appear as far back as the time
of the Greeks. These early thinkers found themselves in
bitter intellectual controversies . Given the same facts and
Of
the same earnest effort to use these facts in the establish
ment of truth , the Greeks found that two individuals often
arrive at opposite conclusions. This made it clear that like
facts may lead in two different minds to entirely different
e
processes of thought. So striking were the individual dif
ferences that early thinkers despaired of finding any general
laws. Gradually, however, as the way in which men remem
ber and the way in which men relate their ideas were studied,
it became apparent that back of the seeming variety there
are certain common forms of consciousness , certain funda
mental laws of mental activity which can be discovered and
systematically arranged into a science of mental life . To this
task the Greek philosophers set themselves with enthusiasm,.
though with inadequate methods, and out of their efforts arose
the earliest schools of serious psychological investigation .
Differences between experience and physical facts . An
other fundamental motive appeared early in the modern
SCOPE AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY 3
period as a direct outgrowth of the discovery that there is

or
8
a disparity between the facts discovered by physical science

ne
and the direct testimony of consciousness. Thus Sir Isaac
ly
Newton discovered that he could break up white light into
all the colors of the rainbow. Conscious experience of
8
white light is, on the contrary, absolutely simple and unana
lyzable. Even among the students of physical science there
had never been any hesitation up to the time of Newton
1.
in assuming that external white light is just as simple as
1
human consciousness of whiteness . The ancients had a
definite explanation of vision which shows that they explic
itly believed in the simplicity of external white light. Light
was for them a series of particles emanating from the object
and entering the eye. When they saw white, they believed
that the experience was due to white particles in the eye,
and that these white particles came from a white body. All
was uninterrupted likeness from the physical object to con
sciousness. Such an explanation of white light as that
offered by the ancients was rendered utterly untenable by
Newton's discovery. When further investigations led physi
cists to define light and other forms of physical energy
as modes of vibration, the breach between conscious experi
ence and external reality became so wide that men felt com
pelled to study conscious experience as well as physical facts.
It is noteworthy that the period during which Newton and
his successors were making their discoveries in physics was
a period of the profoundest interest in psychological problems.
Place of consciousness in evolution. As reënforcements
to the impetus given to psychological study by discoveries
in physics, new motives for such study arose with the
development of physiology, and especially with the estab
lishment of the biological doctrine of evolution . Every
highly developed function of an animal is recognized in
biology as having its relation to the struggle for existence.
If an animal can run well, we find this ability serviceable
4 PSYCHOLOGY
in saving the animal from enemies, or in helping it to

procure food. If an animal has keen vision, we find that
the animal depends on this sense in the essential activities
of life. With such facts clearly before us, we cannot escape
the question, What part does consciousness play in the
economy of life ? From the lower forms of animal life up
to the highest, we find a steady increase in the scope of
intelligence . In the highest animals we find mental evolu
tion carried so far that intelligence is very often of more
significance than any other single function or even group
of functions. Certainly this is true of man . The digestive
functions of a man differ very little from those of the
higher animals ; the muscles and bones and organs of cir
culation in man are very much like those of his near rela
tives in the animal kingdom. In matters of intelligence, on
the other hand, man has never been in any doubt as to the
wide difference between himself and even the highest of
the animals . Man lives in a world of ideas from which
animals are excluded by their lack of intelligence and by
their lack of that means of social intercourse which is the
possession of man alone, namely, language. Furthermore,
in his dealings with the physical world man discovered the
use of tools through which he has been able to reshape his
environment. Man has, in short, through his conscious
activities, attained to a mode of struggle for existence which
is unique. We cannot understand and explain human life
and human institutions without studying the facts and laws
of consciousness, without raising the question of the relation
of consciousness to all of man's other attributes.
The first method of psychology. The methods of psy
chological investigation have progressed with the rise of
each new motive for the study of conscious life . At first,
the method was one of direct self-observation . This method
is known as introspection . When one has an emotion, others
may see its external expressions, but only the man himself
2
to can observe the conscious state which constitutes the emo

hat tion . In looking inward and observing this conscious state,
2 2 2 ÷ 8 =1
ies one is said to introspect .

pe The early psychologists were so impressed with the
he importance of introspection that they regarded it as the
up sole method of collecting facts for their science. They thus
of seriously limited the scope of their studies . Mental proc
esses are fully understood only when the relations of these
e inner events to the outer world are taken into account.
P When a man meets his friend and greets him, the psychol
e ogist is interested not only in the inner fact of conscious
? recognition but also in the impression made on the eye, for
it is in this impression that recognition originates ; further
more, the psychologist must study the bodily activities of
greeting which follow recognition. Indeed, the most pro
ductive discoveries of modern psychology have come from
a study of the setting in which conscious processes belong.
Nervous processes as conditions of consciousness . Thus
we see that among the facts which are not open to intro
spection but are of importance in explaining consciousness
are the processes which go on in the organs of sense and
in other parts of the nervous system . One cannot introspect
brain processes, but much light has been thrown on the way
in which men think by a study of both the structure and
action of the brain.
Studies of behavior. Another type of indirect or non
introspective investigation which has of late been culti
vated with very great advantage to psychology deals with
the facts of human and animal behavior. Here, as in the
examination of the nervous activities, it is possible to dis
cover certain stages of development and to relate these to
the well-recognized general fact that there are progressive
stages of intelligence in the animal kingdom.
If these and other modes of indirect study of mental life
are judiciously added to introspective observations of one's
6 PSYCHOLOGY
own conscious processes, psychology loses nothing of its

directness, and it gains much in breadth.
Overemphasis of slower forms of mental activity through
introspection. A further advantage which is secured by rec
ognizing that introspection is not the only possible method
of collecting psychological facts is that the experiences most
directly open to introspection are thrown into a truer per
spective by the combination of indirect and direct examina
tion . The student who depends solely on introspection will
give the largest share of his attention to that which is in the
foreground of consciousness, usually to some complex mental
process which passes slowly across the stage of conscious
ness . He will often give undue weight to some single
experience because it is so clear, adopting this clear experi
ence as typical, and depending upon it for the explanation
of many of the less obvious facts of mental life . For exam
ple, when one hears a word and stops to consider deliber
ately the conscious process by which he interprets the word,
he is very likely to experience a series of memory images
which follow upon the word and give it meaning . Thus, let
the reader ask himself what he thinks of when he sees the
word " house." The more carefully he searches in his con
sciousness, the more he becomes aware of trains of memory
images. Many psychologists having made this introspective
observation set it down as a general fact of all mental life
that the process of recognition always consists in the revival
of trains of memory images. If the skeptical observer ven
tures to say that he does not find in his ordinary recognition
of words such attendant trains of memory images, he is
reproved for incomplete introspection. When we come to
the problem of recognition of words in our later discussions ,
this question will be taken up in detail, and it will be shown
that what is needed is not a formula borrowed from the
more elaborate, easily introspected case, in which recogni
tion is slow and long drawn out. What is needed is a
its
formula derived from a study of habit . When we become
28
very familiar with an object we are less and less likely to

og
gh attach to it trains of images ; we respond to it promptly and

ec
skillfully without waiting for a full picture to be developed
od in the mind. So it is also with words. The more familiar
st
the word, the less the mind delays and pictures its mean
T
ings. This example shows that psychology must not adopt
2
as its chief bases for explanation the long-drawn-out mental
11
processes which furnish the most content for introspection.
e
Experiment in psychology. When psychology is recog
1
nized as a broad science, dealing with many facts related
to consciousness as well as with consciousness itself, it will
be understood why recent studies in this field have made
liberal use of experimental methods . Experiment became
a conspicuous method in psychology about fifty years ago.
Prior to that time the observations of psychologists were
limited by the opportunities of personal experience.
Let us see the advantages of deliberate experimentation
by canvassing an example. A psychologist is studying
memory. He notes, when he tries to recall objects which
he has observed, that there is a certain incompleteness in
his mental reproduction and that this incompleteness be
comes increasingly impressive with the passage of time. He
will hardly fail to find out by this sort of self-observation
much that will help him in describing his processes of
memory. Suppose, however, that he wishes to find out
with definiteness the law which memory exhibits in its
decay, or suppose that he wishes some final decision as to
the best way of examining groups of objects in order that
he may carry away a complete and permanent memory of
them . He will find it advantageous for this more complete
study to arrange the objects with a view to the questions
which he wishes to answer. He will observe the objects
during a fixed period, and after a known interval will
submit his memory to a definite test. This illustration is
8 PSYCHOLOGY
sufficient to show that there are advantages in the precise

control of the conditions of observations, which is the first
step in experimentation . If, now, the psychologist adds
certain aids in the way of apparatus which will make it
easy to record the time intervals and to present the matter
to be memorized in absolutely uniform fashion, it will be
recognized at once that the more fully developed and pre
cise method of investigation leads to a degree of accuracy
in ascertaining the facts which is otherwise quite impos;
sible. The experimental method also makes it possible for
observers remote from one another to collect their observa
tions under the same conditions, so that they can compare
their results and generalize the information which they have
gathered.
There has been much discussion as to the exact place of
experiment in psychology, some holding that it is the only
true scientific method, others holding that it is very limited
in its application . Those who are most devoted to experi
mental methods have sometimes gone so far as to assert
that experimental psychology is a separate discipline. Those
who criticize the method point out that the profounder
emotions, such as intense sorrow, and the higher forms of
abstract thought, such as are involved in a scientific dis
covery, cannot be produced and modified at will. Both
extreme positions are to be avoided . Carefully prearranged
observation under controlled conditions, wherever this is
possible, is the true ideal of scientific psychology. Where
experiment is not possible , other forms of observation must
and should be employed .
Explanation at variance with mere observation . It may
be well, both for the sake of defining the scope of psychol
ogy and for the purpose of illustrating its methods, to call
attention to the fact that this science, like other sciences,
frequently brings out in its explanations facts which seem
to run counter to direct observation . Thus, before we study
ecise any of the physical sciences, we observe that the surface of

first the earth about us is apparently flat. As we progress in
adds science we come on facts which are incompatible with the
ze it notion that the earth is flat. We note all these observations
atter and compare them, and finally accept as our general scien
be tific conclusion the statement that the earth is spherical and
pre not flat, as it seems to ordinary observation . Again, we do
acy not hesitate to accept the dictum of science that the earth is
DOS; moving at a tremendous rate, although we do not observe
for the movement directly. These illustrations go to show
va that scientific conclusions are broader in scope than single
are observations, and frequently so different from the single
ve observations as to constitute essentially new facts.
of
X
ly
d
j FIG. 1. Diagram for use in demonstration of the blind spot (see page 10)
t
When we leave physical science where we have learned
e
I easily to accept the results of inference, and turn to psy
f chology, we do well to remember that earlier generations
less trained in the methods of science found it difficult,
indeed quite impossible, to substitute inferences about the
shape and motion of the earth for the facts of sense ex
perience. We should therefore be prepared by the con
sideration of these analogies to recognize the necessity of
comparison and interpretation in our psychology and to
overcome our own hesitation in accepting psychological
inferences as substitutes for introspective observations .
A simple mental experience which offers an excellent
opportunity for the application of the principle of inference
is as follows : Let an observer close one eye and look with
the open eye at the printed page before him. He will
undoubtedly observe what seems to be an uninterrupted
10 PSYCHOLOGY
series of impressions coming to him from all parts of the

page. This is , however, quite as incomplete a description
of the facts as is the description of the earth's surface
based upon direct observation . To demonstrate this, let
the observer close or cover the left eye and look steadily
with the right eye at the small cross in Fig. 1. Now let
him move the book backward and forward from seven to
eight inches in front of his face until the black circle dis
appears. He will thus discover that a certain part of the
page is not yielding an uninterrupted series of impressions.
The explanation of the facts here involved cannot be ob
tained through introspective observation, for it depends on
the structure of the eye, there being in the sensory surface
of the eye an area that cannot receive impressions . This
is the area where the optic nerve leaves the eye . This illus
tration should prepare the student to find in the science of
psychology many statements about the nature of his conscious
processes which he cannot expect to verify by a simple proc
ess of observation . Observation is indispensable, but the sci
entific understanding of consciousness requires an elaborate
interpretation of all the facts which can be obtained.
Subdivisions of psychology . Psychology as a science
dealing in a broad way with conscious processes and with
the conditions and results of these processes has proved
to be most fruitful in its applications . Wherever human
nature is to be influenced, whether it be in the writing of
an advertisement or in convincing a jury, the psychology of
the process is worth understanding . If the study of the
process can be made exact through experimentation and
comparison, applications will be the safer and more effec
tive . There has been in recent years a vigorous cultivation
of psychology in all its possible forms and in all its possible
applications. Thus, there is a psychology of animal con
sciousness. There is a psychology of the child's conscious
ness, especially cultivated by those who wish to ascertain
SCOPE AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY II
of the the laws of mental development which underlie education.

ription There is a psychology of abnormal human minds known by
urface the special name of psychiatry. There is a psychology of the
s, let products of human minds when they act in social groups,
eadily as in the development of language, customs, and institutions.
w let This is called social psychology or folk psychology. Certain
en to other lines of subdivision are sometimes drawn . Thus,
dis experimental psychology has sometimes been marked off
the from other forms of investigation . Physiological psychology
ions. has also been treated as a separate science . Finally, it is
ob not uncommon to meet such titles as the psychology of art,
S on or of literature ; the psychology of religion, of the crowd ;
face and so on through a long list of highly differentiated
his specialties.
Jus Some confusion has resulted because of the tendency
of of psychology to break up into so many minor disciplines .
Dus The confusion disappears, however, as soon as one recog
ㅎㅎ
OC nizes that in methods and subject matter all the special

ci psychologies are merely parts of the general science. The
te explanation of the subdivisions is partly historical. As new
interests or new methods have asserted themselves, the
ce traditions of the earlier stage of psychology have often
h resisted the innovation to such a degree that a new disci
d pline was for a time necessary to accomplish the develop
1 ment of the science . In addition to these historical reasons,
the breadth of human interests in the study of experience
is so great that the mastery of any single phase of mental
life involves a concentration somewhat more pronounced
than that which is required in many sections of the physical
sciences .
Summary and definition of psychology. The special de

partments of psychology cannot all be fully treated in a
general course, such as that which is to be given in the
following chapters. Much can be touched upon only by way
of illustration. The general treatment must confine itself to
12 PSYCHOLOGY
the establishment of broad principles applicable in greater

or less degree to all of the special fields. With this neces
sity of general exposition in mind, the statement with which
this introductory chapter began may be amplified as follows :
The legitimate function of a course in general psychology
is to consider the typical processes of mental life with refer
ence to their internal constitution and also with reference to
their external conditions ; to examine these processes with
the aid of experiments and observations from both the intro
spective and impersonal points of view ; and, finally, to relate
consciousness to the other phases of life , especially to human
and animal behavior, and also to external reality in such a
way as to furnish the basis for an adequate understanding
not only of individual consciousness but also of the experi
ence of all conscious beings.
Definitions of certain general psychological terms. In this
statement and throughout the chapter the terms " conscious
ness," " mental life, " and " experience " have been used with
out any effort to define them. Complete critical definitions
of these terms presuppose a knowledge of the results of
psychological study, for it is the function of psychology to
ascertain the characteristics of consciousness . In the mean
time there is no danger of confusion in the preliminary use
of the terms . Consciousness is what each one of us has
when he sees and hears, when he feels pleasure or sorrow,
when he imagines or reasons, or decides to pursue a line of
action . Experience is a general word which may conven
iently be used to cover the same group of facts. Stones do
not experience impressions or emotions. Man, on the other
hand, lives in a world of experiences. His inner life is not
made up of objects, but of experiences of objects . When
ever we think, or remember, or try to understand an object
presented to the senses, we have an experience . As pointed
out in the discussion of introspection , conscious processes
may be distinguished from other facts by the possibility of
greater self-observation or introspection, by which method alone

is neces these conscious facts can be directly observed. Facts of
h which external reality are open to general observation by many
follows: different individuals ; conscious experiences are purely per
sonal, open to introspective observation only. We sometimes
chology
h refer express the contrast between the facts of conscious experi
ence to ence and the facts of external reality by the use of the terms
es with "subjective " and " objective." Whatever belongs exclusively
e intro to the world of experience is called subjective. Thus, ideas
O relate and feelings are subjective. The facts with which physics
human and chemistry deal are not exclusively subjective ; they have
such a objective, external characteristics . Indeed, physics and chem
anding istry are interested in facts only in so far as they are objec
experi tive. For these natural sciences the subjective ideas of the
individual physicist or chemist are merely the means to an
In this end, which end is the intelligent comprehension of the ob
cious. jective world. The same antithesis which is expressed by
with the terms " subjective " and " objective " is expressed by the
tions terms " psychical facts " and " physical facts." The former
ts of are the directly known conscious processes ; the latter are
the facts of the external world as known through the senses
By to
Dean and as studied in the objective sciences . These remarks on
use the various terms which are used in defining the sphere of
has psychology serve to indicate, in a sufficiently unambiguous
way, the direction in which our studies must turn .
TOW,
of
en
do
her
not
en
ect
ed
es
CHAPTER II
THE BODILY CONDITIONS OF BEHAVIOR

AND EXPERIENCE
The introspective approach. There are two lines of pro

cedure which may be adopted in the study of mental proc
esses. On the one hand , we can begin with the description
of some personal experience and from this central fact move
outward until we arrive at a full explanation of all the causes
and conditions of this experience . Thus, when I try to re
member the name of a person whom I met some time ago,
I find that I can recall the vague general fact that it was
a short name, beginning with the letter " E, " but it requires
time and effort to fill in the rest. The questions which im
mediately arise are such as these : Where is the storehouse
in which these memories were locked up ? Why did one
part of the name drop away and another part persist ? What
kind of effort is necessary to bring out the missing part ?
Evidently it will be necessary, before these questions can
be answered, to go outside of immediate consciousness .
Indirect method of approach to psychological facts . The
second line of procedure is the reverse of that just de
scribed. We can approach personal experience from without,
reviewing briefly the conditions which make such experi
ence possible and gradually coming to the particular facts
which at this moment fill the observer's mind . This mode
of taking up the study has the disadvantage of leaving'
the student with the impression that psychology is very
remote from his inner experiences . On the other hand, it
has the advantage of supplying him from the first with a
14
BODILY CONDITIONS 15
body of facts which he is not able to contribute out of his

direct observation of himself. Some patience will be required
in coming thus indirectly to the study of mental processes,
and the student will need to keep in thought, with very little
aid from the text, the goal toward which the preliminary
study is leading.
: The indirect method is the one with which we shall be
gin. We shall take up, first, the facts of animal behavior
and nervous organization and shall thus lay the foundations
pro for an explanation of the facts of personal experience. Later
proc we shall review the facts of consciousness itself in the light
ption of this preliminary indirect study.
move Characteristics of unicellular animals. Our method car
Causes ries us back to the most primitive forms of animal life.
Here we find minute microscopic beings whose whole body
ago, consists of a single cell. This cell is made up of a mass
was of living tissue known as protoplasm. Such a unicellular
ires animal is capable of moving about by contracting its tissue ;
it is capable of reproducing itself by cell division ; it is capa
*
use ble of digesting food and throwing out waste matter ; and,
one finally, it is irritable when acted upon by external forces.
hat When the student examines life reduced to the low terms
which are exhibited in a unicellular animal, he realizes
can more fully than he is likely to realize when examining
higher forms how thoroughly interdependent are all the
The phases of an animal's life . Consider how impossible life
de would be without the new supply of energy which comes
through digestion ; how limited in scope life would be with
out movement to bring the animal to new sources of food
ts and carry it out of danger, or without cell division to in
crease the number of members in the species ; and how
utterly out of contact with the rest of the world the indi
vidual would be without irritability. The fact that all these
functions appear in the simplest unicellular forms shows
3 how fundamental they are.
16 PSYCHOLOGY
Simplest types of behavior . The only facts on which we

can base a judgment with regard to the inner processes in
such an animal are the facts of behavior. These appear to
be very simple. The animal has three forms of movement.
It swims forward and takes in food . If it encounters a
stimulus which is unfavorable, such as heat or acid, it darts
backward and swings around in a direction which takes its
mouth opening away from the stimulus. Fig. 2 shows a
series of movements as exe
cuted by such an animal. The
figure represents one end of
1 a microscope slide which is
heated at the upper edge.
3 A unicellular organism, Oxyt
richa, in the position I is
reached by the heat coming
from the upper part of the
10
slide . The animal reacts by
11 turning to the right (position
13 2). This intensifies the exci
tation caused by the heat, and
14 the animal backs to position 3 .
It then turns (position 4) and
FIG. 2. Movements of a unicellular
animal. (After Jennings) swims forward (position 5),
again encountering the heat.
It then darts back (position 6) , turns (position 7) , and swims
forward until it comes against the wall of the trough (posi
tion 8) . It then reacts as before, by backing (positions 8-9) ,
and turning to the right (positions 9-10). This type of
reaction continues as long as its movements carry it either
against the wall or into the heated region . When it finally
gets away, as it must in time if it continues its reactions ,
it swims forward, taking food as it did before disturbed .
Thus we see that there are in the lowest animals very limited
possibilities of behavior.
3.5
Ich we Consciousness no more complex than behavior. This

ses in meager repertoire of behavior betokens a relatively undif
ear to ferentiated inner life . Yet even this animal is influenced
ment. by the impressions made upon it by the outer world. We
cers a may think of the heat as setting up a commotion among
darts the molecules which make up the body, and this inner
esits commotion results in a recoil. We distinguish between the
Ws a irritability of the animal and its power of movement, but in
exe reality these two functions are one. The animal recoils
The because it is internally aroused by the heat. Once the
d of extraordinary condition is removed, the animal begins to
h is exhibit its more peaceful form of behavior, namely, that
dge. of swimming forward, this evidently being the natural ex
xyt pression of its calmer inner condition.
is It is hardly possible for us to imagine, in terms of our
ing own consciousness, what must be the inner experience of
the such an animal, if, indeed, we have any right to think of
by it as having experience. Certainly a unicellular animal can
ion have discriminations only of the grossest sort. When all is
ci well and the animal is swimming forward and taking food,
nd the inner state must be one of well-being. When the shock
3. of a strong stimulus comes, there must be a kind of vague
nd inner excitement. The two inner states probably differ just
5), in the degree in which the forms of behavior differ.
t. Behavior more limited than sensitivity. If we study such
animals with respect to irritability, we find that they respond
to various forms of external energy. Thus, if light falls on
the water, some species will collect in the darkness, others
in the light, in such numbers as to indicate clearly in either
I case that they are affected by the light. Again, pressure
due to contact with external objects, as shown above, and
also vibrations of the water are effective in producing more
or less intense movements . Acids or other strange chemical
substances in the water will produce reactions similar to
those called out by heat. In all these cases the animal
18 PSYCHOLOGY
exhibits only a few fixed forms of reaction. Our inference

is that the inner processes aroused by all the different
forms of energy are alike . The further inference is that the
animal discriminates between that which calls for forward
movement and that which calls for
T T T
withdrawal, but is not able to make
any finer discriminations .
The study of unicellular organ.
Τ
T isms leaves us, then, with four
important general facts on which
M to base our study. Irritability is
a fundamental function of even
R
R the lowest forms of protoplasm ;
it is at first very little differenti
ated ; it is the function which
R
R guides the animal in its responses
to its environment ; and, finally,
the description of behavior is a
FIG. 3. The hydra very direct means of arriving at
The figure shows a section through an understanding of the inner
the body and exhibits the two cellu processes of irritability.
lar layers with a neutral layer
between. The general body cavity Specialization of cell structures
G is lined by cells which are and functions in higher animals.
devoted entirely to the special Turning now from the unicellular
function of digestion (the mouth
opening is at M), R, R, R, R animal to a form somewhat higher
are the reproduction cells . The
outer wall of the body is made in the scale, we find that structur
up of muscle cells and specialized ally the more highly developed
sensitive cells. 7, 7, 7 are the
tentacles. (Adapted from Haller) animals are characterized by the
fact that their bodies, instead of
consisting of a single cell, consist of an aggregation of cells ;
this we express by the statement that they are multicellular or
ganisms. Fig. 3 represents a section of a simple multicellular
animal which lives in fresh water and is known as a hydra.
The animal is sack-shaped, with a mouth opening and ten
tacles at its upper end. The figure shows the walls of the
erence sack-shaped body much magnified. The inner lining of this

ferent wall is made up of a layer of cells which are specialized to per
form the function of digestion . The outer wall is specialized
at the
rward in certain of its cells for the reception and transmission of
Ils for stimulations, and in other cells for the performance of move
make ments. The processes of reproduction are provided for at
special points in the body wall as indicated at R, R, R, R,
in Fig. 3. Between the inner and outer layers there is an
rgan .
intermediate layer of tissue, in which cells sometimes appear
four
from one of the primary layers. The intermediate layer is not
hich
sufficiently developed to constitute a separate series of organs.
ty is
even The multiplication of cells and specialization of functions
here exhibited have advantages familiar to anyone who has
sm;
observed the analogous fact of division of labor in social
nti
organizations. The cells of the body which are set apart for
hich
special purposes do not lose the general characteristics which
ses
belong to all living protoplasmic cells. For example, all the
ally,
cells of the body absorb the necessary nutrition to support
sa
their individual lives, but the cells outside of the digestive
at
layer do not take their nutrition from the external world ; ·
ner
they derive it from the digestive cells which alone perform
the special function of digesting foreign particles . So also
Tes
with the function of irritability. This is not lost by the
1s.
specialized contractile cells and digestive cells ; it is merely
ar
reduced in these cells to a very low point and is very highly
er
developed in the specialized sensitive or irritable cells, so
=
ar
that the movement cells or muscle cells and all other parts
-d
of the body come ultimately to receive their impressions
‫ه هب‬
e
from the outer world, not directly, but through the neural
of
or sensory cells. The neural cells or nerve cells are special
ized cells which take over the function of irritability. They
are placed in the outer body wall, where they are in the
I
most favorable position to be acted upon by external forces
or stimuli, as forms of energy which affect the nervous sys
tem are technically called. They develop a more complex
20 PSYCHOLOGY
chemical structure than the other cells of the body, so that

they are more easily set in action by external forces . They
are, accordingly, highly important, but by no means inde
pendent factors in the organic economy. They are developed,
not for some remote and separate life of mere irritability or
sensitivity, but as essential parts of the developing organism,
acting as paths through which external forces enter the body It
and cause inner states which will adapt the animal in its activ
ities to the world in which it lives.
M S Even in the simple organism
under consideration, the process
of specialization has advanced so
far that there begin to appear
various classes of neural or irri We
table cells , each serving a special
function . Certain of these cells
serve the direct function of receiv tra
C ing impressions from the outer
FIG. 4. Much-enlarged section world, and are known as sensory Q
of a muscle cell and a sensory cells, while others serve the func Sec
cell of a hydra, together with
the connecting cells which lie tion of transmitting the impulse to fati
between them oth
the muscle cells. Fig. 4 shows a
M, muscle cell ; S, sensory cell ; much-enlarged section of the outer at t
C, intermediate cells ; F, fiber
connecting the sensory cells with body wall of a hydra. M is a mus SUIT
the central cells. (Adapted from cle cell, heavy and elongated to the
Haller)
make more effective the contractile ISCO
function . S is a sensory cell which receives impressions.
C, C, C, C are intermediate transmitting cells, and F, together glan
with the other fibers shown, carry the impression through C ass
from S to M. Curr
Specialized nervous processes . The process which goes
on in the neural cells may be described as follows : Some duc
form of external energy acts upon the cells. The external ene
energy, as noted above, is called a stimulus . This sets up eff
a chemical process in the cell which is known as a process Fir

of excitation or a stimulation . The process of excitation

liberates energy which was stored up in the cell. This
liberated energy is transmitted to other cells in the body,
either to the secondary transmitting neural cells, C, C, or to
the active contractile cells such as M. This current of
nervous energy has been compared to an electric current.
It is, however, much slower than an electric current, its rate
of transmission being in the higher animals about one
hundred meters per second or less. We do not know its
exact character, but probably it is more like the succession
of combustions which takes place along the line of a fuse
of gunpowder. Our ignorance of the exact nature of the
nervous current need not delay the discussion, however, for
we shall find that the importance of nervous currents
for our further study depends upon their paths of trans
mission rather than on their chemical nature. The path of
transmission will be determined primarily by the direction
and connections of the fibers which unite the cell in which
a given excitation originated with other parts of the body ;
secondarily, the path of transmission will depend on the
fatigued or unfatigued condition of the cells and on the
other currents of energy which are flowing through the system
at the same time. All these complex possibilities may be
summed up in the statement that in its transmission through
the neural organs every nervous excitation is directed and
is combined with other impulses, and is ultimately determined
in its effects by its path of transmission to the muscles or
glands and by its relation to other impulses . Furthermore,
as soon as it is recognized that nervous impulses consist in
currents of energy which have been liberated by the stimulus,
it will be recognized that every nervous current must pro
duce some effect before it is dissipated ; for a current of
energy must do some work it cannot disappear. The
effects produced by nervous impulses are of two kinds.
First, the energy may be absorbed in the course of its
22 PSYCHOLOGY
transmission, in which case it will produce changes in the

condition of the nervous tissue, thus contributing to the
modification of the structure of that tissue . Second, it may
be carried to the natural outlet of all nervous excitations,
namely, the active organs of the body, where it will produce
some form of behavior. If it contributes to changes in
structure, these changes in structure will ultimately influ
ence new incoming impulses which are on the way to the
active organs. We may therefore say that, directly or in
directly, all incoming nervous impulses are transmitted to
the active organs of the body after being more or less
completely redirected or partially used to produce structural
changes in the nervous organs .
Nervous processes of three distinct types. The range of
nervous processes possible in the simple structures of a
hydra is extremely limited ; for this very reason the funda
mental characteristics of nervous processes are all the more
apparent. We can distinguish clearly the first step which
is the reception of the external stimulus . This first step
is commonly described as a sensory nervous process. The
cell on which the stimulus acts is a receiving cell . The in
termediate cells placed between the receiving cell and the
muscle are called transmitting cells or central cells . The
fibers passing from the central cells to the muscle or gland
are motor fibers . It will be seen that the sensory, central ,
and motor processes cannot be sharply distinguished from
each other ; they are all phases of a single continuous
process, the end of which is always some active process in
the muscles ; but for purposes of scientific explanation it is
necessary to distinguish them as three distinct types .
Behavior varied and much more complex . If we contrast
the hydra with the unicellular organism studied in earlier para
graphs, we are at once impressed by the fact that the hydra
has a greater variety of forms of behavior. To be sure, all
these forms of behavior belong under two fundamental types,
in the namely, that of moving forward to capture food and that of

o the withdrawing from danger. But each of these fundamental
may forms of action has been developed so that it is more
tions, elaborate and varied than it was in the unicellular animal.
ɔduce Thus the tentacles move in such a way as to sweep food
es in into the mouth, and they contract in the presence of
nflu unfavorable stimuli, even when the body as a whole is not
the in full action. The body moves sideways, now in one
-in direction, now in another. In short, the more complex
d to animal is characterized by an increasing variety of action .
less Not only so, but an action often consists of a series of
ural related movements, making a complex chain of acts, all
directed toward a single end. The body, for example,
of comes in contact with a piece of food . The animal swings
fa around, the tentacles seize the particle, sweep it into the
da. mouth, and the inner digestive canal closes in on it and
re begins its ingestion . Such a chain of coöperating acts
ch shows that a high level of evolution of behavior has been
ep reached where single elements of behavior are united into
he complex coördinations.
From this point on we shall dwell chiefly on the structural
e growth of the nervous system, but the statements made
regarding the behavior of hydra should be thought of as
repeated and even as amplified to correspond to each
progressive complication of nervous structures .
Progressive evolution in both structure and behavior.
When we turn from the hydra to the higher forms of life,
we find that the multiplication and specialization of cells go
on to the highest degree, producing in the animals at the
upper end of the scale a variety of forms of sensitivity and
of behavior which culminate in such capacities as those
exhibited in man.
Centralized nervous system. We must confine our survey
to a few of the major facts in this process of evolution. As
we ascend the scale, there is a grouping of the central cells
24 PSYCHOLO
GY
into complex organs and, second, a differentiation of the

receptive or sensory cells resulting in the production of
special organs for the reception of a great variety of stimuli C
such as light, sound, tastes, odors, and other forms of
energy. These two types of development may advantageously
be considered in succession . For the remainder of this 1
0
chapter, the differentiation of the sense organs will be
passed over and the evolu
tion of the central organs
will be briefly sketched.
HHHH
The nerve cells of the
hydra are scattered diffusely
5 P8 E È 2 2 8
throughout the body wall ;
there is no special part of
1777
7777 the body in which the cen
ww7777777
w 77 tral cells are massed. The
higher animals all have a
more or less highly cen
tralized nervous system. A
simple type of centralization
FIG. 5. Outline of a starfish, and nerv is seen in the starfish.
ous system of the same Fig. 5 shows the general d
Each arm of the starfish is supplied with outline of this animal's body her
a series of nerve cells indicated by the
lines passing through the various arms. and the distribution of the
From these nerve cells, fibers extend to central nervous cells . Each
the surface and receive sensory impulses
and send out motor impulses. (After Loeb) double line represents a Ser
group of cells . It will be
seen that there is for each arm a central group of cells, to
32
which sensory excitations come from the surface of the body

and from which motor impulses go out to the muscles. cen
2º
°
§§
There is also a central ring which binds together the differ

ent arms and centralizes in a still higher degree the whole
animal . This ring is in the neighborhood of the mouth
opening, and its function is undoubtedly that of controlling tha
the whole animal in taking food .
Another type of centralization appears in any one of the

segmented animals, such as an insect. Fig. 6 shows such a
centralized nervous system. Each segment has its group of
central cells, and all the segmental centers are related by
connecting fibers to one another and to the highly developed
group of cells in the first segments,
which are near the mouth opening.
Coördinating center of the body.
The development of a complex cen
tral nervous system is of the high
-F
est importance in animal life. As F G
we have seen, the body cells of
F
the higher animals are specialized.
There must be some central con
trolling group of cells or the body
would not be able to carry on its G
manifold functions in a unified and
FIG. 6. A stag beetle, show
harmonious fashion. The central ing the outline of the body
nervous system is the controlling and the distribution of the
nerve cells and fibers
and unifying organ. The arms of
the starfish are made to serve the Each segment of the body has
a ganglion of cells G, G, G,
mouth because the mouth ring of from which fibers F, F, F are
distributed to the surface of
nerve cells is the dominating organ
the body for the reception of
of the body. In the beetle all the stimulations and the distribu
organs of locomotion are made to tion of motor impulses. The
ganglion in the front section
serve the head, which is both the of the body is double and of
greater importance than those
entrance to the alimentary canal and in the posterior segments
the seat of the important special
organs of sense, namely, the eyes and the feelers. The
central nervous system reproduces in outline the whole body
and is a connecting tract through which stimulations are
carried from one organ to the other.
It is hardly necessary to reiterate the statement made above
that this evolution of nervous structures is paralleled by an
evolution in behavior. The number of acts of which an insect
26 PSYCHOLOGY
is capable, the complexity of its methods of locomotion, of

protection, and of reproduction , — all attest the intimacy of
the relation between nervous structure and behavior.
Complex paths within the nervous system. Not only so,
but the central group of nerve cells begins to have certain
internal paths which take on the largest significance for the
animal's life . The energy which comes in at the sense
organ of a beetle sets up through the central nervous system
a most complex chain of acts . Think, for example, of such
an insect aroused by the smell of food . It first flies to the
spot, guided by the increasing intensity of the odor ; it lights
on the food and then seizes it. In such a series of acts
the nervous system has acted in the most complicated way to
control and keep in action the various muscles of the body
in the interests of the whole organism which is dependent
for its life on its ability to find food and absorb it .
Such considerations lead us to think of the nervous system
itself as a complex organ made up of dominant centers and
secondary centers with paths running between them . Our
later study will fully justify such a conception.
When the nervous system reaches this stage of organiza
tion, many of its inner paths and centers are determined by
the animal's inheritance . Just as a starfish inherits arms and
a mouth from its race, and a beetle inherits legs and wings,
so each animal inherits certain paths through its central
nervous system . These inherited paths play a large part in
controlling the life of the individual animal. The insect takes
a certain type of food because its inherited sensory cells
respond in a certain definite way to certain odors . Other
special activities , such as depositing eggs and special modes
of flight designed to carry the animal away from enemies,
are due also to the organized tracts which run through the
nervous system . Indeed, it appears in the study of insects.
and animals at the lower levels of evolution that practically all
their modes of behavior are determined through inheritance.
हल
Experience comparable to the lower forms of human

on, of
experience. If we try to guess what are the experiences of
acy of
such an animal, we must not draw on our own experiences
of meditation and deliberation. Deliberate casting about in
lyso,
ertain thought for a course of action is far from characteristic of an
rthe insect. The analogy which we should borrow from human
Sense experience is the analogy of a fully organized habit or, better,
stem the analogy of one of our own inherited modes of action ,
uch such as that exhibited in the winking of the eye or jerking
the the head aside when an object moves rapidly toward the face,
hts threatening to strike it. Conscious experience is made up
acts in such cases, not of clearly defined knowledge of the thing
to which gives rise to the experience, but rather of a vague
dy excitement, followed by unrest when the instinctive winking

ent or dodging does not adequately meet the requirements of
the situation, and by satisfaction when the activity proves
sufficient .
8
Differentiation of vertebrate central nervous system.

nd
ur Passing by long steps up the scale of life, we may next
consider the nervous system of one of the lower vertebrates.
Here we find that the centralized organization has gone be
yond that seen in the insects, but it is yet relatively simple.
Fig. 7 shows the general form of the frog's nervous
system looked at from above. In all of the vertebrates the
nervous system is incased in the bones of the vertebral
column and skull, so that the view here presented shows
the appearance of the nervous organs after the bones and
muscles and skin which cover these organs in the normal
animal have been removed . The frog's nervous system may
be roughly divided into two main sections . The first part
lying behind the cerebellum consists of the long cylindrical
spinal cord with the medulla, which is essentially an enlarge
ment at the upper end of the cord. The cord and medulla
are directly connected with the surface of the body by means
of a great number of fibers. The incoming sensory impulses
28 PSYCHOLOGY
from the skin are received through certain of these fibers,

and motor impulses are distributed to the muscles through
others. There are many cells
in the cord and medulla, their
E
chief function being to form
-C links of connection between
B
the incoming sensory fibers
and the outgoing motor fibers.
A If the cord and medulla are
-A separated from the higher cen

ters by a cut just below the
cerebellum, the animal con
tinues to live and is capable
of certain simple responses to
sensory stimuli, the only depar
ture from the normal being that
FIG. 7. The nervous system of a
frog as it would appear if the skin activities called out by stimuli
and muscles and protecting bone show a machine-like regularity.
were removed
Thus, if a drop of acid is
A, spinal cord with some of the nerve applied to the skin of the frog's
fibers which extend from this organ
to the surface of the body (in the trunk, the nearest leg brushes
posterior region a plexus of fibers
extends to each of the posterior ex off the excited spot. The acid
tremities ; in the anterior region, a sets up a sensory process ; this
plexus extends to each of the anterior
extremities) ; B, medulla ; C, cerebel travels up to the cord and
lum; D, optic lobes, which are con there passes through certain
nected with the eyes by optic fibers that central cells and is sent back
pass underneath the brain ; E, optic
thalami ; F, cerebral hemisphere. The along motor fibers to the mus
anterior portions of the hemispheres cles . The whole process is
constitute what are known as the olfac
tory lobes. These lobes are directly like that described a few pages
connected by means of the fibers shown
in the figure with the olfactory region. back as taking place in the
Many of the nerve fibers which extend hydra. There is no evidence
from the medulla to the surface ofthe
that a frog having its spinal
body are omitted in this drawing
cord severed from the higher
centers has any ability to carry on the higher processes of
discriminating reaction which involve intelligence.
fibers, If the frog is normal, — that is, if the connection be

rough tween the spinal cord and the higher centers is intact,— the
cells impulses received by the cord, in addition to circulating
their through the lower centers, are carried up to the higher
form centers. Here they are influenced by the action of higher
ween centers.
fibers Two types of higher centers : first, higher sensory centers ;

bers second, indirect centers . The centers above the cord and
are medulla, which constitute the higher group of structures in
cen the frog's central nervous system, are of two kinds . First,
the there are certain sensory centers, namely, the large optic
con lobes and the olfactory lobes. These connect respectively
able with the eyes and nose of the frog and receive sensory
sto impulses from these higher senses . The large size and
par forward position of these two centers indicate the impor

hat tance of the functions which they perform in the animal's
uli life. Especially, the large size of the optic lobes is directly
related to the fact that the frog uses its sense of sight in
capturing the insects on which it subsists. Second, there
are, as will be seen from an examination of the figure,
certain parts of the upper brain which have no direct
connection with the surface of the body. Thus there are
large masses of tissue in the cerebrum and in the optic
55
thalami which lie between the olfactory and optic centers,

1 These are higher centers, where the processes which
1.3 are received in the sensory centers may flow together
and fuse into higher and more complex forms of nervous
activity.
The meaning of these higher centers will be understood
if we use an analogy. In a large business concern there are
minor clerks and managers who attend to all the immediate
details. These lower officers are in contact with the outer
world. Far removed from such direct contact, in a quiet,
central office is a central manager, to whom the minor offi
cers report when they need to bring other workers in the
30 PSYCHOLOGY
establishment into coöperation or when they have problems

requiring greater deliberation and broader views than they
can command.
The indirect nervous centers are fusion centers or associa
tion centers, to which all the lower centers refer their activi
ties when these activities need a higher coördination . There
is thus developed within the nervous system a higher level,
which is of superior importance .
Large indirect centers characteristic of highest animals.
If we follow the evolution of the nervous system from the
frog up to man, the most impressive fact is that these in
direct centers are the ones which show marked enlarge
ment. A study of Fig. 8 will bring out the facts . A,
in the upper left-hand corner of this plate, shows the
brain of a codfish . At the right is the cord, enlarging
under the cerebellum into the medulla . The cerebellum is
much more fully developed than in the case of the frog.
This is one of the indirect centers referred to in the open
ing sentence of this paragraph . The midbrain , which is
the optical center, is very large, and at the extreme left
the olfactory region can be seen . The cerebrum consists
in this case solely of the corpus striatum , an organ which
in the higher brains is subordinated to the cortex of the
cerebrum .
B, in the plate, needs no special discussion . The in
crease in relative importance of the cerebrum is unmistak
able. In C the preponderance of the indirect centers is
even more evident. The surface of the cerebellum is folded
so as to make more room at the surface of this organ for
the nerve cells .
Finally, D shows the final type of brain which is char
acteristic of the highest animals. The cerebrum literally
covers all the forward organs . It is folded or convoluted on
its surface for the same reason as the cerebellum. The
cord, medulla, and other lower organs are present and,
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considering the size of the animal's body, are organs of about
31
32 PSYCHOLOGY
the enormous development of his cerebrum. It is in the

indirect centers of the cerebrum that those nervous processes
take place which condition intelligence and the correspond
ing types of behavior . In the lower animals a sensory im
pulse passes very directly through a relatively small amount
of central tissue to the organs of action . In these lower
animals, also, most of the paths of transmission are in
herited . In the higher forms, on the other hand, there is a
vast amount of tissue, and the sensory impulse may be greatly
modified by traveling along a complicated route before it is
discharged into the muscles . In the course of this long
journey it may be united with many sensory impulses from
other sources, so that the final action is the resultant of
many coöperating impulses .
Traces of past impressions also present. Not only so,
but this complex tissue becomes a storehouse for a great
variety of changes in structure which result from the recep
tion of sensory impressions and the sending out of motor
impulses . The phrase " tablets of memory " begins to take
on a very vivid meaning to the student of brain anatomy.
Here in the central masses of tissue to which the rest of
the nervous system reports are the real seats of organized
personal life, the records of which are deposited in the
course of experience.
Meaning of evolution of complex organisms . The pro
found significance of this increasing inner complexity of the
nervous system can be understood only when we recognize
that increased inner complexity has always been the outcome
of animal evolution in every organ and every function .
Let us study, for example, the evolution of those organs
of the body that produce the temperature which is charac
teristic of the higher, so-called warm -blooded , animals . The
simple organism is without the power of generating a con
stant inner temperature and is therefore utterly dependent
for its body temperature on the environment. As a result,
such an animal cannot carry on vigorous life in the cold.

The complex organism, on the other hand, has purchased
self-sufficiency in matters of temperature by the evolution
of a complex set of temperature-producing organs. The
range of such an organism's life is consequently enormously
increased.
Another striking example of increasing self-sufficiency is
furnished by studies of the reproductive processes . In the
simple forms of life the offspring is exposed very early to
the mercies of the environment. The parent organism has
no adequate means of protecting the young. Gradually the
parent grows more complex and in the same degree better
able to protect the offspring. There is an increase in the
food supply deposited with the egg and an increase in pro
tective devices . The goal of this line of evolution is reached
when the parent becomes sufficiently complex in structure
to provide for the elaborate development of the offspring
within the parent organism. The whole process of evolution
is here seen to lead in the direction of self-sufficiency on
the part of the organism . Instead of depending on the
chances of environmental conditions, the organism builds
up an environment of its own within which its reproductive
processes may be brought to a high degree of completion
before exposing the product to the external world .
Every organ of the complex animal bears witness to the
truth that inner self-sufficiency is the end toward which
organic evolution has been progressing . There are organs
for the storing of energy, so that the individual shall be
relatively free from the necessity of securing immediate
nutrition. There are organs for the secretions of chemical
reagents which shall convert the raw material used as food
into proper ingredients for the building up of body tissues.
Organisms have always exhibited in their higher forms
organs of mobility, which make them free to move at their
own initiative.
34 PSYCHOLOGY
In all these cases the obvious significance of increasing

complexity is increasing autonomy of the individual . The
process of evolution has resulted in a more stable set of
inner conditions, which make it possible for the vital proc
esses to go on without interruption or hazard from fluctua
tions in the outer world .
Inner organization essential to highest forms of personal
behavior. The meaning of a complex nervous system thus
becomes clear. Nature is evolving an organism in which
inner processes are to be of prime importance . Impressions
must be received from the outer world, but the important
question now is , What will be done with these impressions
in the inner nervous system, where the impression is distrib
uted and combined with other impressions and with traces
of past impressions ?
We are thus brought to the point where we realize the
meaning of the sharp antithesis between inner personality
and sensory impressions. Two men receive the same im
pression ; to one it means much, to the other little . The
reason for the difference is that in one case there is a highly
organized central response, in the other there is no such
response.
Our later chapters will have much to say about the inner
organization of the nervous system . In the meantime, it
should be kept in mind that behavior runs parallel with this
highest evolution . Man is not only complex in his inner
nervous life, but he is complex in his acts . When one
thinks of the complexity of speech or of the forms of skill
exhibited in the arts, one realizes that behavior and nervous
organization go hand in hand at the highest levels of life
as well as at the lower levels , which were studied in the
opening paragraphs of this chapter .
Characteristics of behavior of higher animals . The pur
poses of our present discussion will be best served, there
fore, by reviewing briefly some of the characteristics of the
behavior of the higher animals. First, the variety of move

ments is vastly increased. Up to a certain point in animal
evolution the number of organs of movement, of limbs and
oral muscles for example, increases to meet the increasing
needs of the animal ; but ultimately a point is reached where
development of movement goes forward without any corre
sponding development of new limbs or muscles. This later
stage is characterized by the development of nervous struc
tures which make it possible to use the given muscles in a
greater variety of combinations. Thus a skilled artisan de
pends for his perfected movements, not on the development
of new arm muscles or finger muscles, but on the develop
ment of finer coördinations of those muscles which all human
beings possess .
A second striking fact of behavior which parallels the
development of complex nervous centers is that slight stim
uli may set up the most elaborate processes. The value of
the stimulus in such a case is determined not by the in
tensity or quality which it has in itself but by the complex
organization which it arouses to action. Conversely, a strong
stimulus may be absorbed in the elaborate organization and
produce no immediate effect. These statements can be illus
trated by the behavior of a frog under the two kinds of
conditions discussed above, namely, when the animal has
been deprived of its higher centers and when its nervous
system is intact. If a stimulus is applied under the former
and simpler conditions, a response will follow immediately
with mechanical regularity. This response will be of a very
simple and direct type, usually consisting in a movement of
one of the legs up to the point of irritation . In a second
case we may apply the same stimulus to a frog in which the
cord and medulla are connected with the higher centers.
The reaction in this case will be of an entirely different
character. It will usually not come immediately, and its
form will depend on a great variety of complex conditions.
GY
36 PSYCHOLO
Thus, the frog may jump away, it may croak, or there may be
a complete absence of apparent reaction . If such results as
these appear in so simple an animal as a frog, the complexity
of possible organization in a human being can be imagined .
Third, as perhaps the most important result of the de
velopment of indirect nervous centers, is the fact that the
impressions and activities which appear in the course of
individual life are stored up and enter very largely into
the determination of nervous organization . As pointed out
above, the lower direct centers are in the main determined
in structure by heredity ; the higher centers, on the other
hand, are found to be undeveloped at birth, so that the
stimuli which act upon the individual find at the beginning
of life a mass of undeveloped tracts through which they
may be transmitted .It has long been recognized that the
infancy of all the higher animals, especially human infancy,
is very much longer than the infancy of the lower forms.
The reason for this appears as soon as we recognize that
the higher centers of the nervous system are not mapped
out by heredity and require time to mature.
SUMMARY
The statements which have been made throughout the chapter

may be summarized in a table. This table shows the steady growth
in the complexity of animal structure and animal behavior and
opens the way for an understanding of the place of consciousness
in the economy of life .
LOWEST FORMS INTERMEDIATE HIGHEST FORMS

HYDRA
FORMS
Very simple Increasingly Most complex
Body Unicellular multicellular complex
Nervous Specialized Organized Characterized
System None cells diffused and central by the great
through wall ized development
of body of indirect
centers
HYDRA INTERMEDIATE HIGHEST FORMS

LOWEST FORMS FORMS
Organs Very little, if Increasingly Further dif
of Sense None indeed at all, differentiated ferentiated,
differentiated reaching com
plete differen
tiation (see
later chapter )
Behavior Simplest Simple Grows more Most complex
and more
complex
a, limited in a, increasing a, shows va a, specialized
variety in variety riety of in movements of
as compared stinctive acts great variety
with unicellu
lar forms
b, made up of b, made up of b, made up of b, long coördi

single acts simple series combinations nated trains
of factors
c, very little c, very little c, somewhat c, guided

modified by modified by modified by chiefly by
experience experience experience experience
d, follows d, direct, as in d, for the d, chiefly indi

very directly unicellular most part rect, as shown
on stimulus forms direct, but in in man in such
higher forms activity as
includes indi speech
rect or mem
ory factors
Type of Something Vague feel Possibly vague Instinctive

Experi like vague ings recognition of recognitions
ence feelings those objects and feelings
which call for present, but
instinctive re overlaid by
actions, but intelligent
chiefly affec consideration
tive ; that is,
made up of
feeling
Ca
ex
CHAPTER III
m
THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM
External plan like that of all vertebrates. The structural

of
plan of the human nervous system is the same as that of all O
vertebrates. Fig. 9 shows the out
lines of the whole system. Through ma
C the vertebral column runs the cord.
Cas
This enlarges at the upper end into
M
C' the medulla. These two organs are,
in proportion to the size of the body,
about the same in all vertebrates .
Above the medulla can be seen only
the cerebellum and the cerebrum .
The parts corresponding to the optic
lobes and other minor centers of the
upper brain are wholly covered by
the enormous cerebrum . The sig
up
nificance of this development of the
cerebrum and cerebellum has been plas
and
indicated in the foregoing chapter.
General plan of the minute nerv are
ous structure as related to conscious
Or
ness. The inner structure of this
duc
nervous system is of importance to
the student of conscious processes. Can
It is, to be sure, impossible to trace cell
FIG. 9. General form and with the microscope the inner struc teri
position of central nervous tures which are set in action when
organs of
any given mental process takes place. fibe
For example, when one sees the letters of a printed page, there of
38
Į
THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM 39
must be parts of the nervous system which are aroused, but we

cannot trace the exact paths along which travels the nervous
energy. We can trace the general plan of inner organization.
We can see the broad avenues, but A B
must infer most of the details. The
problem presented to the student of
psychology is not unlike the problem X
of planning a journey with a map .

One sees where there is a passage and D C
where one cannot go . Sometimes the
map is not complete . But in many
cases the map gives a general view
of the journey and some idea of its
probable details.
The nerve cell and its parts . The
study of inner organization must begin
FIG. 10. Two nerve cells
with a description of the elements out
Two nerve cells, A and B,
of which the nervous system is made . are here represented with
The elements are cells of a highly theirtends axones C and D. C
from the ex
cell to a mus
specialized structure. These cells are cle ; shortly after leaving the
called neurones . Each one is made cell the axone is surrounded
by a heavy protecting sheath,
up of a nucleus, a cell body of proto as indicated in the figure,
plasmic tissue surrounding the nucleus, and known as the medullary
sheath. At XX there ap
and a series of processes extending pears an outer sheath, known
from the cell body. The processes as the Sheath of Schwann.
The medullary sheath ends
are of two kinds ; namely, dendrites, at the point where the fiber
or branching arms, which usually con divides into a fine network
duct impulses toward the cell body, and The passes
axone D into the muscle.
communicates
and a single long nerve fiber which with another cell. (After
Testute)
carries the impulse outward from the
cell body. Fig. 10 shows two neurones with all their charac
teristic parts. It will be noted that the long fiber is made up
of several parts . There is a sheath around most of the long
fibers of the nervous system. This is not an essential part
of the nervous structure, but an external protecting structure .
40 PSYCHOLOGY
The neurones are organized into chains. An impulse

acting on one cell is transmitted to other connected neurones
net
until, finally, the impulse
A reaches a cell connected
with a muscle fiber. The
contact between neurones
of
in the higher nervous sys
tems is indirect, as shown
of
Α' -B in Fig. II ; that is, the fiber
from one cell does not pass
Crea
directly into another cell, but eac
breaks up into a fine net
S
work of fibrils and inter
zati
laces with the dendrites from
other cells . The connections
家 of
of a single cell may be very
E numerous by virtue of the

branching of the dendrites. Syna
and because of the indirect
Imp
relations between neurones.
FIG. II. A number of different types The point of relation be
of connection between nerve fibers and
tween two neurones is known
and cells nerv
as a synapse . At the syn
A and A' represent incoming sensory pare
fibers which bring stimulations from apses , impulses are redistrib
different directions to the cell B. All of uted in the greatest possible
the stimulations acting upon B are trans excit
mitted along the fiber C, and at the end variety of directions .
cells
of this fiber may affect various cells, such Complexity of structure mus
as D and E. From the cells D and E
related to forms of action.
the stimulations may pass in different way
directions, as indicated by the arrows. An examination of neurones
The stimulations from A and A' fuse in
the cell B. The stimulation from the cell in various animals and at
with
B is subdivided and redistributed from different stages of individual Comb
D and E. All connections are indirect
development shows clearly the
or synaptic
that the number of branches
of the cell is an important factor in determining the com
plexity of the nervous organization into which the neurones
B
THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM 4I
pulse may enter. Fig. 12 shows the increasing complexity of

irones neurones as we ascend the scale of animal life, and also
111829
the increasing complexity of neurones of a single human

ected being as the nervous structures mature. The lesson to be
The learned from these two series
132
rones
of figures is clear. The com
52
plexity of a cell and the number

÷
2
§
of systems of connections into

which the cell may enter in
crease in direct proportion to
each other.
Synapses as paths of organi
zation. Whether they are units
in one of the lower centers
of the nervous system or FIG. 12. The development in com
plexity of nerve cells in the course
in a higher center, the cells of animal evolution and in the
are always connected through course of the development of a
single individual
synapses and always transmit
ext A is the nerve cell of a frog ; B, a
impulses indirectly, thus com
lizard ; C, a rat; D, man. The possi
bining them and distributing bility of developing definite paths
‫در‬. between various neurones increases
and redistributing them. The in proportion to the increase in the
nervous system has been com number and complexity of the den
drites from the cells. a is a neuroblast
pared to a telephone switch
without dendrites, from the earlier
board. The senses send in embryonic development of a human
excitations and the central brain. shows the beginnings of den
drites at the upper end of the cell.
cells send these to the various In c, in d, and in e the dendrites
increase. The form of the mature cell
muscles of the body. On the
can be seen by referring to D in the
way to the muscles one set upper series. (After Cajal)
of sensory excitations unites
with another set from some second organ of sense. The
combinations and distributions are somewhat like those of
the switchboard, only infinitely more complex. How com
plex they are, one can imagine from the statement that
the total number of cells in the human nervous system
has been estimated as somewhat more than 12,000,000,000 .
42 PSYCHOLOGY
Paths in spinal cord. Let us follow a sensory impulse

through the lower paths of connection in the spinal cord.
Fig. 13 shows a magnified section across the cord . The
left side of the figure shows the appearance of the section :
as seen under the microscope, while the right side is dia C

grammatic and allows one to trace some of the paths
through the tissue . The figure shows that the cord is
bilateral ; that is, made up of two similar parts, one for ga
each side of the body. The nervous system throughout is
G
A
a
5
Var
to
Con
Sun
sen
Thi
FIG. 13. Transverse section across the spinal cord
Jere
bilateral, just as are the nostrils and eyes and arms . In the inco
middle of the cord is a mass of cells. They have a gray ulati
color and are called, collectively, gray matter. Around the ent
mass of cells are bundles of fibers which, because of their pass
glistening white color, are clearly distinguishable from the fiber
cells . Some fibers are seen running into the cord and out cate
of it at the level of the section ; some are running back cere
and forth within the cord ; the majority appear as mere one
spots because they run in a direction perpendicular to the latio
plane of this section and are cut squarely across in making

the section. and
On the right side of the figure at A is seen a nerve

trunk, or cable-like bundle made up of many nerve fibers.
This bundle of fibers breaks up into two roots ; the root P
is a sensory root along which sensory impulses enter the
cord ; the root M is a motor root along which impulses
leave the cord on their way to the muscles. At G is a
group of cells outside the cord, constituting an independent
ganglion. These are the cells which send their fibers to the
skin and receive the impression of touch. If one has the
patience to trace the fibers 1 , 2, 3, and 4, one will find
typical paths across the cord . This diagram alone is not
adequate, however, for many of the fibers must be shown in
a flat section of this kind as abruptly broken off. They
pass in reality out of the level of this section. Fig. 14 is
therefore added to give an idea of the way in which the
various levels of the cord are related to each other and
to the cerebrum. B represents a section of the spinal
cord ; A, a portion of the cerebral cortex. D,1 represents
a region of the skin in which the sensory ending of a
tactual fiber from the cell D is distributed. A pressure
stimulation acting upon D,1 will excite the nerve cell and
send a stimulation inward, as indicated by the arrows.
This stimulation will pass upward and downward to various
levels of the cord, as indicated by the branching of the
incoming fiber at e. Certain portions of this incoming stim
ulation will be distributed through the spinal cord at differ
ent levels, as indicated by the small collateral branches
passing horizontally out of the branches of the sensory
fiber (see also Fig. 13) . At ƒ the incoming fiber communi
cates with a nerve cell which, in turn , connects with the
cerebrum. This diagram is much too simple, more than
one cell being necessary for the transmission of this stimu
lation to the higher centers. When the stimulus reaches g
in the cerebral cortex, it acts upon the large cell there shown,
and is transformed into a motor impulse. It then passes
44 PSYCHOLOGY
downward along the fiber a, which gives off horizontal

collaterals at different levels of the cord . Through one of
these collaterals or through the termination of the centrif
ugal fiber, as indicated at b, the stimulus is transmitted to
a motor cell in the
spinal cord, and
A
from this cell is
carried outward to
the muscles indi
cated at C. e
Reflex tracts.
α
When a sensory
stimulation passes
through the cord C
D and comes out in CO
e
an immediate reac
tion, the process of
is called a reflex.
Thus, when one
touches a hot iron
)+
and jerks back the

B hand, such a proc
ess is exhibited .
The nerve cells in
D1
the cord are in this
FIG. 14. A diagram to illustrate the course of the fashion in control
sensory stimulation when it passes upward from of many of the
the level of the spinal cord at which it is received .
(After Cajal) simplest forms of Su
behavior, such as
the organic processes involved in digestion, and the simpler
protective movements, such as the withdrawing of the
hand above referred to . The nerve cells of the cord are the
larger than in other parts of the system, hence do not
fatigue as readily ; they watch over the body when the cells
in the higher centers are asleep. Sm
izontal Transmission to higher centers. In addition to serving

one of as a seat for the reflex centers, the cord is a communicating
entrif cable, as was shown in Fig. 14, carrying up to the brain
edto messages from the surface of the body and carrying back
inthe messages to the muscles.
and All nervous organs in part inde
pendent centers. The higher nervous
rdto centers above the cord are more
inci elaborate organs, but they are in
essential structure the same as the
acts cord. Below the cerebrum every
ISOF organ of the nervous system may be

Isses said to consist, like the cord, of a
cord combination of relatively independent
FIG. 15. A diagrammatic
ti cell centers and transmitting tracts . section through a part of
Cac In the cerebrum the whole surface one of the folds in the
cerebellum
Jess of the organ is made up of inde
pendent cell centers. A fiber, a, entering from
some other part of the cen
Cerebellum. In the cerebellum the tral nervous system, distrib
utes its impulse to the small
central function predominates. This cells and to the larger
can be shown by examining a section cell b. From b, the stimu
of this organ. Fig. 15 shows one of lus is carried outward along
the descending fiber. d also
the lamellæ, or folds of the cere shows the termination of an
bellum, much enlarged. It will be incoming fiber. The organs
here figured serve to redis
seen from this section that the cells tribute impulses from other
lie, not in the center of the organ as parts of the nervous system.
(After Cajal)
in the spinal cord, but at the outer
surface. Fibers enter the cerebellum in bundles and termi
nate in a fine network of fibrils about the cells which are
situated on the surface . The surface, which is technically
known as the cortex, is increased very greatly in extent by
the folding, which can be seen in any figure representing
this organ. The result of the folding is that provision is
made for an enormous number of cells in a relatively
small cubical space. Through the action of the cells in
GY
46 PSYCHOLO
the cerebellar cortex, an impulse which comes into the

cerebellum as a single impulse from one of the higher
centers, as, for example, from the cerebrum, may be sub
divided into a great number of currents so as to arouse,
Corpus Callosum
Cerebrum
Peduncular
Fibers
Cerebrum
Peduncular
Fibers
Cerebellum
FIG. 16. The brain seen from below and cut open to show the paths of
fibers from the cortex of the cerebrum to the lower organs
In the lower part of the figure near the middle is the medulla. One side of the
cerebellum is shown on the left. Sections of the cerebral cortex constitute the chief
part of the figure, especially at the left above and below. From the cortex peduncular
fibers pass downward. Near the top of the figure the heavy band of fibers constituting
the corpus callosum crosses from one hemisphere to the other. (After Edinger)
when distributed to the active organs, a whole system of

muscles. Indeed, there is evidence that the cells of the
cerebellum contribute in the way indicated to muscular
coördinations in all parts of the body.
Cerebrum and its systems of fibers. From the cord and

cerebellum and the other minor centers of the nervous sys
tem we turn to the cerebrum. Our study of the evolution
of the nervous system showed the dominating importance
of this organ in all of the higher animals. The cerebrum
is a complex organ to which sensory impulses come from
all parts of the body and from which motor impulses are
sent out to all the voluntary muscles. It is not directly
FIG. 17. Sketch showing some of the association fibers connecting various
parts of the cortex of the cerebrum with one another. (After Edinger)
connected with the surface of the body, but is indirectly

the organ in control of all parts of the body. It is a cen
tral clearing house for the organism. It is the part of the
body most intimately related to consciousness.
In structure the cerebrum consists of an external folded
or convoluted layer of cells known as the cortex. This cor
tex is from one eighth to one twelfth of an inch in thick
ness and shows many variations in structure in its different
parts. To these variations in the structure of the cortex
OGY
C HOL
48 PSY
further reference will be made later. The central mass of

the cerebrum is composed of fibers which provide for the
connection of each point of the cerebral cortex with every
other part of the nervous system. The general structure of
the cerebrum may, perhaps, be comprehended most easily
by referring to the systems of cerebral fibers. There are
three types or systems of
fibers.
First, there are great
bundles of fibers connect
ing the cerebrum with the
lower centers and constitut
ing the paths along which
motor impulses descend.
These constitute the pe
duncular tract . Some of
these fibers were shown
in the diagram illustrating
FIG. 18. A transverse section across the the paths in the spinal
two hemispheres in a plane passing verti cord ( Fig . 14) ; the whole
cally through the cheek bones parallel
to a line connecting the two ears system is shown in Fig. 16.
Second, there are fibers, as
This section shows the fibers which establish
communication between the two hemispheres. shown in Fig. 17, which
When the fibers in this figure are supple- connect the different points
mented by those represented in the two ex of one hemi
preceding figures, it will be seen that every of the cort
point on the cortex of the cerebrum is in sphere with other points
communication with all other parts of the
nervous system. (After Edinger) in the same hemisphere .
These fibers are techni
cally known as association fibers . The third bundle of fibers
extends from one hemisphere of the cerebrum to the other
hemisphere . The fibers of this group are known as the
commissural fibers , and go to make up the corpus callosum ,
or bridge of fibers , conspicuous in any median section of
the cerebrum and shown in Fig. 18. This bridge was also
shown in Fig . 16.
Structure of cerebrum as indicating way in which impulses

are organized. No clearer evidence of the function of the
cerebrum can be found than that which is given in the
structure of its systems of fibers. An impulse which reaches
the cells of the cerebral cortex through the sensory, or
incoming, fibers of the peduncular tract is brought to the
cortex for the purposes of redistribution and combination
with other impulses. The elaborate system of interconnect
ing tracts provides for infinite recombinations of nervous
FIG. 19. Two sections representing portions of the cerebral cortex from
two areas of the human brain
On the left there are shown the sixth and seventh layers of the visual center. The
horizontal distribution of the dendrites of the large pyramidal cells is characteristic ፡
ofthis region. On the right is a part of the motor center, showing giant pyramidal
cells which in size and distribution of dendrites differ from those in other centers.
(After Cajal)
impulses. We shall refer in all of our later discussions to

the organization of nervous processes which goes on in the
cerebrum. The term " organization, " so used, refers to the
fact that a nervous impulse, when it reaches the cerebrum,
is united with other impulses and is carried along complex
series of paths, until finally it is discharged into the motor
channels which pass outward to the muscles. No impulse
which reaches the cerebrum can escape combination with
other impulses ; the purpose of the whole structure is to
provide channels for the most complete interrelating of all
the higher nervous processes .
50 PSYCHOLOGY
Cerebral cortex complex. The cortex of the cerebrum

has a structure of such complexity that it has been impos
Tangentialfar sible, until very recently, to define with
anything like certainty its various parts.
Fig. 19 represents two typically different
areas. An examination of these dia
grams shows that the cells are of differ
ent types and the mode of interlacing
of their dendrites is different. Fig. 20
shows a diagrammatic representation of
some of the different elements which
are characteristic of the cerebrum . By
means of this figure the cells and fibers.
which in reality are interlaced can be
distinguished from each other.
Localization of functions. Though we
are ignorant of the meaning of many of
the details of cortical structure, we are
well informed as to the functions of
many areas of the cortex . The cortex
FIG. 20 . A dia may be divided into three kinds of areas
gram
matic section showing
or centers ; these are sensory areas,
the structure of the
cortex ofthe cerebrum motor areas, and association areas. The
On the left-hand side of sensory areas are those which have the
the figure the cells alone most direct relations to the various
are shown. On the right organs of sense ; the motor areas are
hand side of the figure
the fiber systems alone those which stand in most direct rela
are indicated . The figure tions to the active organs . There is no
does not represent ade
quately the complexity of part of the cerebrum which has simple
the structure. Many small and immediate relations to the surface
cells are not here repre
sented . A general impres of the body, so that the terms " sensory "
sion, however, can be
gained from the figure of and " motor " are merely relative terms,
the complexity of the cor- the sensory centers being those points.
tex. (After Edinger) at which the stimulations from the organs
of sense are first received in the cerebrum , the motor areas
being those points from whichthe stimulations pass out of

the cerebrum on their way to the muscles. The association
areas, as the name indicates, are areas of a still more indi
rect character, in which sensory impulses, after being received
in the sensory areas, are recombined and redistributed. In a
very proper sense of the term, all cerebral areas are associ
ative areas, for they all serve the function of indirect com
bination and distribution of nervous impulses. Those which
are specifically designated as associative have claim to the
specific name because they perform a function of even higher
combination than do the others. Figs. 21 and 22 show the
centers of these types which appear on the surfaces of the
human cerebrum.
Stimulation the first method of discovering cerebral locali
zation. It may be interesting to digress for a moment from
the structure of the cortical centers for a discussion of the
methods by which these centers have been located. A great
number of experiments have been tried on the higher
animals. Certain of the areas have been artificially stimulated,
and when muscles in different parts of the body have
responded promptly and regularly to these stimulations, the
connection between the areas stimulated and the muscles
thrown into action has been recorded . Evidently, artificial
stimulations of this kind would be of little value in locating
sensory or association areas, for there are no clearly marked
muscular effects when the stimulus is applied to areas other
than those directly related to the muscles. For example,
the stimulation of the visual center would show only the
motor effects of such stimulation and would not give any
clear indication of the sensory character of the area.
Extirpation and comparison of pathological cases . A sec
ond type of experiment which has been productive of results
depends upon extirpation of the tissues. Certain areas of the
cerebral cortex of animals are cut or burned out, and the loss
in function resulting from this removal of the nervous tissue
52 PSYCHOLOGY
is carefully studied . This method can be used in locating

both sensory and motor centers . There are cases of disease i
of the human nervous system analogous to these cases of S
el
G
B
13
FIG. 21. The outline of the lateral surface of the cerebrum with the typical
convolutions, as given by Flechsig
The shaded portions indicating the sensory and motor centers, and the small circles
indicating certain well-defined association areas, are given according to Tschermak
in Nagel's " Handbuch der Physiologie des Menchen." Vertical lines in the shaded
areas indicate motor areas ; horizontal lines indicate sensory areas ; oblique lines
indicate sensory-motor areas. I, I, I, I, I are the motor areas for the toes and
foot ; 2, 2, 2 are the motor areas for the shoulder, elbow, and wrist ; 3, 3, 3, 3 are
the areas for the fingers and thumbs ; 4, 4, 4, 4 are the motor areas for the eye 10
and other parts of the face ; 5 is the center for the vocal cords ; 6, for the tongue ;
7 is the sensory area for the head ; 8, 8, 8, 8 are the sensory areas for the regions
to which motor stimulations are distributed by the areas 1-6 ; 9, 9 are the sensory
motor areas of the trunk ; 11 , visual area and occipital area for the eye movements ;
12, auditory area and temporal center for visual fixation ; 13 , olfactory bulb ; 14,
probably olfactory area. The area where vertical and horizontal lines cross between
the motor areas 1-6 and the sensory areas 7, 8 is probably connected with the
n
muscle sense. A, motor writing center ; B, Broca's motor speech center ; C, prob
ably memory-motor speech center ; D, sensory music center ; E, Wernicke's sensory
speech center ; F, memory-sensory speech center ; G, memory reading center ; H, +
sensory reading center. All of these lettered areas are associational centers
extirpation in animals, and careful study of the loss of

human functions shows that the human cortex is subdivided
in much the same way as that of the higher mammals .
Embryological methods. There are other methods of

investigating cerebral areas which deal with the internal
structures . One of the most productive of these methods
depends upon the fact that the different areas of the cere
brum do not develop at exactly the same period in the
embryological or infant life of a human being. The human
10
13
16
15 A
FIG. 22. The median surface of the human cerebrum showing, as in Fig. 21 ,
the various areas
8, sensory area for the lower extremities ; 9, 9, sensory-motor areas for the trunk ;
ro, motor area of the lower extremities ; 11, visual area and occipital motor area for
visual fixation ; 13, olfactory bulb ; 14, probably olfactory area ; 15, 15, 15, 15, olfactory
areas ; 16, 16, probably gustatory areas. (For reference to authorities for this figure,
see Fig. 21)
embryo exhibits in its early stages a development of the

nervous system about the central fold or fissure, known as
the fissure of Rolando. This area of earliest development
is in the region marked in Fig. 21 as the motor area and
the area of tactual sensitivity. Later, the nervous system
matures in the remaining sensory centers in such sequence
that it is possible, by the study of the microscopic anatomy,
to secure a fairly complete chronological account of the
54 PSYCHOLOGY
development of the different regions. The association areas

are the latest to develop . Indeed, in the association areas
the development can be traced for a period after birth, and
indirect evidence seems to make it clear that the development
goes forward well on into mature life.
Association areas. The visual area in the occipital region,
as indicated in Figs . 21 and 22 , is the area through which
impulses resulting from retinal stimulation are first intro
duced into the cerebrum. A similar area for the reception
of auditory impulses appears, as indicated in Fig. 21 , just
below the Sylvian fissure. Without entering further into a
discussion of the various centers, it will be enough to call
attention to the relation between the visual and auditory
areas and the association area lying between them. The
association area in question , known as the parietal associa
tion area, has developed in the course of the evolution of
the cerebrum between the visual and the auditory centers as
the area in which the stimulations from these two centers
may be brought together and combined . There are many
evidences that the combinations of visual and auditory im ma
pulses do, as a matter of fact, go on in the parietal associa m
tion center. For example, there is in this parietal region cer
one area which is of great importance in the function of tou
speech. If this association area involved in speech is dis to
turbed, the individual may remain quite capable of receiving
visual impressions through his eyes and of receiving audi
tory impressions through his ears. He may even be capable
of articulation, which is a motor function , but he will lack
no
the ability to interpret the impressions which he receives
when he hears or sees words or to give expression to a
coherent series of ideas . The area in question has there Cer
fore been designated as the ideational area. It is ideational
rather than sensory, because it is the seat of a series of
5
8
9
.
functions more elaborate than those which are involved in

the mere reception of impressions. It is the center for the
combination of visual or auditory impressions. More than

this, the association area is a center which becomes more
and more highly organized in its inner structures through
use, so that its influence on any present impulses is, doubt
less, such that we are justified in saying that it adds to
these impulses the effects of past experience. In an im
portant sense it associates present impressions with past
impressions, as well as combines present impressions from
different senses . It thus serves in a large way the function
of a reorganizing center for visual and auditory impressions .

Significance of the central position of the general motor
area. Another important fact, which will be observed im
mediately on the inspection of Figs. 21 and 22, is that the
general motor area occupies a relatively central position in
the cerebrum . Around the motor area are a group of asso
ciation areas where impulses are united on their way to
motor discharge. The area of touch and of general sensi
bility seems to offer an exception to the general rule of
distribution of sensory and association centers around the
motor area. This sensory area is not separated from the
motor area by an association area, as are the other sensory
centers . We see in this relation of the cerebral centers for
touch and movement the structural fact which corresponds
to the functional fact that the skin and other tissues which
give rise to tactual sensations would naturally, as the earliest
organs, stand in so intimate a relation to the muscles that
the later and more highly developed organs of sense could
not be expected to duplicate this relation . As the primitive
tactual sensory surfaces came to be supplemented by newer
and more highly specialized organs of sense, the nervous
centers for the newer senses were forced to take up more
remote and complex relations to the motor area, while the
original senses did not lose the intimate relation which
they bore from the first. The development of the higher
senses furnished also opportunity for greater variety in the
LOGY
56 PSYCHO
combination of sensory impulses ; consequently the associative the

functions and the areas corresponding to them increased Con
with the development of variety in the sensory functions. alone
The association centers, which are the structural areas given Tu
up to the function of working over sensory impulses, natu form
rally developed between the centers which performed func from
tions of reception , or the sensory functions, and those which an in
performed the functions of motor discharge. The topogra ingth
phy of the cerebral centers thus reflects directly the gradual witho
evolution of more and more elaborate systems of nervous these
organizations . Sively
Speech centers. Another group of facts which will serve articu
to make clear the character of the association areas is to be
speec
found by examining that portion of the cerebrum which is and12
a
known as the speech area. This region of the brain was nectio
first recognized by the anthropologist Broca as intimately inwri
related to the functions of speech . He found that disease sends
in this area resulted in impairment of the patient's ability tempo
to use or understand language. Later studies of aphasia, as Bro
the pathological loss of speech is called, have increased our roluti
knowledge of this area, especially since it has become pos agrea
sible through the examination of a large number of cases part of
to distinguish a variety of forms of partial aphasia. Thus, contro
a person may be able to understand words which he hears, cance
but be quite unable to understand words which he sees on of sti
a printed page. This form of so-called visual aphasia is trans
m
paralleled by forms of auditory aphasia, in which the subject wayto
is able to read, but cannot understand words which he hears
Phr
spoken. These two forms of partial aphasia indicate that mayb
the connection between the speech center and either the disti
n
auditory or visual center may be interrupted without destroy Coveri
ing the connection between the speech center and the other that d
sensory area . If the disease of the speech center is strictly facult
i
localized so as to interrupt only its connection with the forth
visual center, the other functions may remain intact, while ofnur
the visual forms of recognition of language are interrupted.

Conversely, if the connections with the auditory centers
alone are interrupted, visual recognition may continue.
Turning now to the various forms of motor aphasia, or
forms affecting the power of expression as distinguished
from the forms of sensory aphasia mentioned, we find that
an individual may lose the power of articulation without los
ing the ability to write, or he may lose the ability to write
without losing the ability to articulate. In either one of
these forms of motor aphasia, the subject may be compara
tively free from sensory deficiencies. The lack of ability to
articulate, when all of the other phases of the function of
speech are present, shows that the connection with the visual
and auditory centers may be complete, as well as the con
nection with the motor area for the hand movement involved
in writing, while the motor connection with the center which
sends impulses to the muscles of the vocal cords may be
temporarily or permanently interrupted.
Broca's convolution an association center. Broca's con
volution thus turns out to be an association area in which
a great variety of lines of connection converge. It is not a
part of the nervous system which acts independently in the
control of a separate faculty of speech ; it gains its signifi
cance in the individual's life as a center for the organization
.
of stimulations received in other parts of the cortex and 1
transmitted through the cells and fibers of this area on the
way to the motor area.
Phrenology not in accord with clearly known facts. It
may be well to call attention at this point to the fundamental
distinction between the teachings of phrenology and the dis
coveries of modern brain physiology. Phrenology maintained
that different parts of the brain are given over to different
faculties . For example, phrenology believed in a certain area
for the recognition of form, another area for the recognition
of number, an area for the function of parental love, and one
LOGY
58 PSYCHO
for the general trait of combativeness . There is no justifica CO

tion for a theory of localization based upon a subdivision of mi
consciousness into such mythological faculties . The cortex
can be subdivided into areas concerned first with sensory of
impulses, second with motor impulses, and third with organi to
zation . Conscious processes must be considered as having ber
their physiological conditions, not in separate points assigned and
to imaginary faculties, but rather in the organized activity of
of sensory, motor, and association areas. For example, the Th
recognition of form naturally includes certain sensory func fro
tions and certain associative processes . The general neural con
basis for such sensory and associative processes we know,
as has been shown in the foregoing paragraphs . To be sure , atte
we do not know at the present time all the details of the
cerebral map, but the broader outlines are too clearly defined
to leave any room for mistaken notions with regard to the
kind of functions which are provided for in the different the
areas of the cerebrum . mot
Frontal association area. One area of the cerebrum which Ifi
has been the subject of much speculative discussion is the do
frontal area, or that portion of the cerebrum which lies in sho
front of the motor area. In certain cases large portions of syst
this area have been destroyed without apparent interference hap
with the individual's normal functions . There is a famous org
case known as the American Crowbar Case, in which a int
common laborer, through an accident in blasting, had a very
large portion of this frontal lobe removed by a crowbar pass the
ing through the roof of his mouth and out through the top faci
of his skull. The individual in question continued to live pat
with no serious interruption of his regular nervous or phys tion
ical functions . Such cases as this may possibly indicate
영
that the association areas are not fully developed in some Con
individuals. In general, it is doubtless true that association ar
areas, more than other parts of the nervous system, are left 1
open for development through individual experience . If this two
conception is accepted, it is not surprising that an individual

might be deprived, as in the case cited, of the possibility of
further development, or even of some of his higher forms
of association without the loss being obvious to himself or
to those who observe him. Recent experiments, which have
been tried in the extirpation of the small frontal area in cats
and monkeys, show clearly that the frontal area is the part
of the nervous system involved in newly acquired habits .
The fact that man, who alone of all the animals has a large
frontal lobe, is the learning animal par excellence further
confirms the general view derived from these experiments.
General principles of nervous action. It remains to call
attention to a few of the general facts which are known
with regard to action within the nervous organs.
Active organs as termini of all nervous impulses. Nerve
impulses under normal conditions always travel forward in
the single direction from the sensory centers toward the
motor centers. There is no reversing of a nervous current.
If it were otherwise, a central nervous process might travel
down a sensory fiber and arouse the sense organ. We
should see colors and hear sounds whenever the central
system was excited. Under normal conditions this does not
happen. The sensory impulses come only from the sense
organs and always move, even though the path be complex,
in the direction of the motor centers.
Principle of facilitation. When currents pass through
the nervous tissue they leave behind paths or tracts which
facilitate the later transmission of like impulses over like
paths. Indeed, it seems that in many cases this facilita
tion of transmission goes far enough to reduce the length
of the path. Where the first transmission was over a long
complex path, later transmissions reach the same end by
a more direct route.
Principle of association of centers of high tension . When
two centers in the cerebrum are in simultaneous action,
60 PSYCHOLOGY
there is a tendency for a path or connection to be set up

between the two. The active centers may be thought of as
points of high tension and the currents which they send out
tend to flow together.
Diffusion as opposed to organization . Impulses can travel
through the tissue not merely along the paths which are
defined by the branches of the cells but also from cell body
to cell body. This is especially true in the early stages of
the life of an individual when tracts are not fully devel 1
oped, and it is true at all stages of individual development
for very strong stimulations . The result of such indefinite
transmission is a diffuse condition of excitement. Such dif
fusion is often the first stage of organization . After a period
of diffusion , paths are worked out to carry by definite chan
nels impulses which at first were spread vaguely through the
nervous tissue .
Principle of progressive organization. Under the forego
ing principles the nervous system is continually becoming
more and more highly organized. The effect of experience
is to be found not merely in the fact that certain paths are
recorded in the nerve cells, but also in the fact that in their
totality these parts develop into increasingly complex series
of interconnections . This is the essential fact which must
be kept in mind if we would understand the progress of the
individual from infancy to mature mental life . Each day's
experience builds up new systems of tracts in the nervous
tissues and thus leads to higher and higher levels of behavior
and experience .
If we keep this formula in mind, we shall be able to
understand the higher levels of consciousness. Such higher
levels are always due to the interrelating of lower forms of
experience. Ideas are made up of related present impres
sions and the results of past impressions . Thoughts are
made up of interrelated ideas . The formula in every case
is one of more and more complex interrelations .
CHAPTER IV
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSCIOUS PROCESSES
Classification derived from study of nervous organs. The

study of consciousness has often been taken up without the
preliminary discussion of the nervous system through which
the foregoing chapters have carried us . It would be entirely
legitimate, as remarked in an earlier chapter, to begin the
study of mental processes by looking inward on one's own
experiences and describing the various facts which intro
spection there discovers. The array of facts which would
thus come to light would, however, be confusing in their
variety and complexity. It is much simpler to approach the
facts of mental life with the type of classification suggested
by the knowledge that sensory processes enter the central
organs and are there redistributed and organized on the way
to the motor organs. With this classification to guide us,
the facts of experience fall into order and lend themselves
to orderly scientific treatment.
Classification from observation superficial. An analogy
will help to make clear the difficulty of classifying facts on
the basis of unguided observations. If an ordinary man were
asked to classify the organs of the body, he would begin by
pointing out the arms and legs as important subdivisions.
Then he would point out the trunk and head, and so on.
The student of physiology realizes that these gross external
subdivisions are, indeed, important, but they furnish for
science an inadequate basis of study as contrasted with such
fundamental distinctions as those between muscles and bones,
between organs of respiration and organs of circulation, and
61
62 PSYCHOLOGY
so on. The moment we divide up the body on these last

mentioned lines of functional differentiation we find that
our science is following productive trains of description
and explanation .
In much the same way popular distinctions of the dif
ferent phases of experience must be revised before they can
be used by science . A striking illustration of this is to be
seen in the fact that in popular thought pleasure and pain
are usually treated as facts of the same order, though con
trasted in quality. A moment's consideration will make it
clear that pain ordinarily arises from some definite point in
the body. It is a type of experience which we classify in
science along with those experiences which come from the
stimulations of the skin or the inner surfaces of the body
and are technically known as sensations . Pleasure, on the
other hand, has a totally different kind of origin . It is not
a phase of sensation ; it does not come from particular points
of stimulation. It must be treated as a type of experience
which grows out of general organic excitations of a much
more central character than those which are involved in the
production of pain. Again, such a term as " attention, " which
has a large practical use in ordinary life, is one of the most
confusing terms when it is carried over into scientific study .
If one recognizes, as he must in psychology, that attention
is capable of a great variety of different degrees, he will find
it possible to extend this term over every possible experience.
There are forms of intense and vivid consciousness for which
some term , such as " vividness " or " attention, " is undoubtedly
required in science . There are other forms of consciousness
which are relatively vague and indistinct, yet when dealing
with these cases we cannot fail to recognize the necessity of
using the word " attention " or some such phrase as " low
degree of attention, " if we have adopted the word into our
scientific vocabulary. These illustrations make clear the
problem which confronts psychology when the attempt is
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSCIOUS PROCESSES 63
made to secure an analysis which is at once satisfactory

for purposes of scientific treatment and explanation and in
keeping with ordinary introspective observations.
Historical threefold classification. In the history of psy
chology many efforts have been made to develop an appro
priate scientific classification of mental processes. One of
the classifications which was for a long time generally ac
cepted is that which grouped all forms of experience under
the three general heads of knowledge, feeling, and volition.
There can be no doubt that such a threefold classification
describes certain fundamental differences in conscious ex
perience. The man who is engaged in thinking out some
problem of science is certainly not at that moment absorbed
in an intense feeling or emotion . On the other hand, the
man who is thoroughly angry over some situation which has
arisen is by no means in a condition to consider logically
and judiciously the facts which appeal to his thoughtful
neighbor who is free from emotional excitement. It is some
what more difficult to justify the classification of volition as
different from knowledge and feeling, for no serious thought
is possible without some voluntary effort, and no emotion
ever arises without inducing some form of action. Yet,
even though volition is intimately interwoven in all forms.
of knowledge and feeling, there are certain cases of decision
which are not to be regarded as typical processes of know
ing, or processes of feeling ; hence the term " volition " is
needed for a full description of mental activities.
Historical twofold classification . Another somewhat dif
ferent type of classification has been used by certain writers ;
according to this, only two different types of experience
are distinguished ; namely, knowledge on the one hand, and
active processes on the other. This twofold classification
offers less difficulty to explanatory science than the three
fold classification, because it is more general . In bringing
together a great variety of facts under the active processes
64 PSYCHOLOGY
so called, we are freed from the necessity of making any

sharp distinction between the feelings, which are undoubtedly
active aspects of consciousness, and decisions , which from
any point of view must be regarded as active.
Without ignoring in our later discussions the historic dis
tinctions between knowledge, feeling, and volition , it will be
possible to draw from our study of the nervous system a
more productive classification.
Classification according to nervous processes . The most
fundamental fact discovered with regard to nervous struc
tures was that they couple the sense organs with the organs
of behavior. Consciousness arises during, the translation of
a sensory impression into a motor response. Every conscious
process will, first of all, have certain aspects which are due
to the sensory impression and, second, certain other aspects
which are related to the motor response.
Third, every nervous process in its passage from the sense
organ to the point of discharge encounters certain other
nervous processes and is fused with them. Consciousness
is in an important sense the result of fusions of many
impressions. Whoever would understand the facts of experi
ence must ask how they are built up out of the combination
of many elements . We must study, therefore, the fusions
which condition conscious phenomena .
Fourth, every sense impression on its way to the motor
discharge is modified in character by past processes in the
nervous system. The past is brought over into the present
by the structural changes which are recorded in the nervous
system and influence every new impression in its passage
through this system .
Fifth, the most impressive lesson which was drawn from
the study of the evolution of animal forms was that in the
highest nervous systems great areas are set aside for a type
of indirect recombinations which are of such importance
that they must be distinguished from the fusions referred to
under third, above. The recombinations due to the action

of the association areas are of a higher order and are to be
distinguished as indirect or abstract processes.
Example of scientific analysis and classification. The
classification of facts here outlined will, perhaps, be better
understood if an example is used. Let one look at a printed
word. The experience which results may seem to the un
thinking observer to be a single simple process of recog
nition. A moment's consideration will bring out endless
complexities . In the first place, the experience breaks up
into impression and interpretation. There is a part of the
word-consciousness which comes from the page, a part which
comes from past experience . The part of the experience
which comes from the page proves on closer examination
to be complex. There are black and white impressions in
sharp contrast with each other which fuse into the complex
image of letters and unite into a single image of a word.
There are motor tendencies which often are vivid, ―――――――― one
tends to say the word, or there is an incipient impulse to
obey its dictates as one realizes in one's own experience
when the word " down " is contrasted with the word " up."
Finally, the meaning calls up elaborate thought-processes
which carry one far beyond the present word and arouse
associations of indefinite complexity.
This example serves to show how even superficial study
of a single experience demonstrates the necessity of some
plan of classification under which the various aspects of a
mental process may be described and explained. Further
more, the example is a fortunate one with which to demon
strate the importance of those indirect elements of experience
not derived from sensation . The impression is the least
important part of the word-consciousness . Our scheme of
classification is important not merely as a means of securing
a complete description but also as clue to the scientific ex
planation of mental processes. The student of psychology
66 PSYCHOLOGY
must constantly keep in mind the necessity of standing

outside himself and getting a true perspective of his mental
processes . One is likely to overemphasize the impression
which comes from without and to overlook one's own con
tribution ; it is accordingly, the business of scientific psy
chology to restore the balance and give a true emphasis to
that which comes out of past experience and that which is
due to the central and motor processes which attach to the
impression .
Relation of classification to introspection . The classifica
tion of psychological problems is therefore frankly borrowed
from the clue furnished by the study of the nervous system
rather than left to the accidents of introspection . Intro
spection will not be ignored, but the facts derived by looking
into experience will be ordered according to the formula
derived from objective studies . Perhaps a more fortunate
method of expression will be to say that the classification
having been determined through a study of nervous struc
tures, introspection will be used to reveal the classes of facts
which the study of the nervous system teaches are important.
Sensations. First we shall seek facts of sensation . Im
pressions come to us from the outer world through each
of the senses . Red , green , a shrill sound, a musical tone,
an odor, a taste, a pressure against the skin are typical
cases of this class . There is no difficulty in justifying an
examination of sensations.
Reactions and attitudes . Then there are reactions to
sensations . In some cases these reactions are very direct ;
this is true where the whole process is simple. Most ex
periences have grown very complex and the reaction to the
impression comes only after an interval during which the
sensation has been coupled with many other factors of
experience. It is sometimes extraordinarily difficult to de
termine how reactions are related to impressions. The
psychologist finds it better in such cases to postpone the
full discussion of reaction until after he studies the complex

of facts added to sensory impressions. A complete post
ponement of the study of reactions would, however, make
difficult the explanation of those simple processes in which
the reaction follows directly on the impression . The reac
tions will therefore be taken up first in an introductory
way in chapters immediately following the treatment of
sensations, and later the topic will be amplified by a study of
the more remote and complex forms of organized reaction.
The conscious fact which parallels a reaction deserves
""
a name. The word " attitude serves very well this pur
pose. We say in common parlance that we feel an attitude
of interest or disgust. Our study will show us that all atti
tudes of mind are aspects of consciousness related to reac
tions. We have attitudes of belief and incredulity, attitudes.
of sympathy and aloofness . All these are as distinct from
sensations as facts of consciousness can be from each
other. We shall attempt a classification of some of the
more fundamental attitudes.
" suggests cer
Fusion and perception. The term " fusion "
tain simple combinations of sensory facts such as the recog
nition of an orange as the source of a certain color, a
certain odor, a taste, and a sensation of roughness to the
touch. In experience all these qualities fuse. They are
located together in front of us or at the side. They make
up our experience of an object. We speak of the expe
rience as a sense percept .
"
Memory. The term memory " includes a great many
factors of which we make use, but which we seldom unravel
from the complex of present experience. One meets a
friend, and past experience, unnoticed as a separate aspect
of mental life, determines one's whole recognition . One
reads into the present all the pleasant associations of earlier
days. On other occasions one labors to call up some for
gotten or half-forgotten fact. The effort to recall makes
68 PSYCHOLOGY
one actually aware of the distinction between the present and

the past. Here is an opportunity in treating of memory to
draw productive distinctions between many different kinds
of memory.
The process of ideation . There are ideas and combina
tions of ideas which constitute the highest forms of men
tal activity. The idea which one has when he thinks of
honesty is something more than sensation or attitude or
memory ; it is the understanding of a whole series of rela
tions . We speak of this as an abstract idea, meaning by
that term that we have cut loose from impressions and are
in a world of our own making . The processes of abstrac
tion exhibit the creative power of a highly developed indi
vidual as no other mental process can . The animals do not
have, so far as we can judge, abstract ideas. They have
sensations, attitudes, percepts , and memories, but their
powers of organization stop short of abstract ideas.
How one forms an abstraction is extremely difficult to
observe through mere introspection. A mind absorbed in
studying geometry cannot observe itself at work. That
is why abstract geometrical ideas are difficult to explain .
Obviously, however, the system of psychology which omitted
these would be altogether deficient.
Higher forms of action. After dealing with the processes
of ideation we may very properly come back to a reëxam
ination of behavior. Those forms of behavior which are
characteristic of mature intelligence are commonly grouped
together under the caption " voluntary choice ." The discus
sion of voluntary choice will not duplicate the treatment of
reactions and attitudes as indicated on page 66 .
Relation to historic classification . The foregoing classi
fication is to be followed in the following chapters. For the
sake of keeping it in some relation with the historic classi
fications, it may be said that the term " knowledge " is in
a measure synonymous with sensation, perception , memory,
and ideation. Feeling and volition are, roughly speaking,

synonymous with attitudes, while the higher forms of be
havior classified under voluntary choice are quite synony
mous with the higher phases of volition . The effort should
not be made, however, to push this reconciliation of the
two classifications too far. There is a large element of
effort and hence of volition in every fusion and every
formation of an abstraction. There is a large element of
feeling in most perceptions. The adoption of a classifi
cation of psychological facts based on studies of nervous
processes is a frank abandonment of the historic threefold
classification.
Practical applications. Following the study of the various
classes of psychological facts will be certain studies of a
practical type which may be termed applications of psy
chology. A part of these applications will be formulated
with a view to helping the student to see his own mental
processes from a psychological point of view. A part will
deal with some of the larger social problems, with a view to
showing that community life is capable of proper organiza
tion only through a complete understanding of the nature of
human consciousness.
SUMMARY
The following summary of the foregoing discussion will serve

as a guide to the subsequent chapters :
I. Sensations
This will require a description of the sense organs and their
action and a description of those aspects of consciousness which
come as impressions from the outer world.
II. Attitudes
This will require an explanation of the relation of consciousness
to bodily activity and a classification of forms of conscious ex
periences which arise as a result of the individual's reactions to
impressions.
70 PSYCHOLOGY
III. Fusions of Sensations

As sensations become motives or sources of reactions they are
united into complexes. These complexes are called percepts and
are always present where an individual distinguishes objects in
the world about him.
IV. Memories
'Past experiences are retained in structural changes in the
nervous system and either in explicitly distinguishable form or in
less obvious character enter into present experience. Psychology
must include under this head many facts which escape introspec
tion. Here as elsewhere throughout the discussion the largest
regard must be had for the fact that the explanatory prin
ciples of psychology depend on a clear understanding of motor
processes.
V. Ideas and Ideational Forms of Thought
These include all the higher forms of organized experience.
They are conditioned by the higher complexes which are de
veloped in the cerebral association areas.
VI . Voluntary choice is the phrase employed to mark off the highest
forms of behavior from the lower forms. The concept of
personality enters into this discussion .
VII. Applications to individual experience and to social organizations.
(
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CHAPTER V
SENSATIONS
Sensations not copies of external forces. For the ordinary

man there is no problem for psychology presented by a
sensation. A sensation is for his thinking an inner reflec
tion or copy of an external fact. He dismisses as curious
speculation any statement which would tend to impair his
confidence in the directness of the relation between sensa
tions and external or objective facts. Yet, as was pointed
out in an earlier chapter, the progress of science has forced
upon us a distinction between objective colors and sounds,
on the one hand, and subjective or experienced sensations
of color and sound, on the other hand. For example, color
as we see it in our individual experiences is not a form of
vibration, while color as the physicist finds that he must
describe it in order to explain its physical nature is a form
of wave motion easily convertible into other wave motions,
such as those of heat, which in turn give us sensations of
a sort quite different from colors.
Laws of sensation as one of the first problems in psychol
ogy. The moment we admit a distinction between subjec
tive color and external light vibrations, certain important
scientific questions immediately suggest themselves. Thus,
we are led to inquire what are the laws of subjective color
as distinguished from the physical laws of objective light ?
For example, in passing from one color in the subjective
series to the next color, as from red through orange and
yellow to green, we find ourselves taking a series of steps
and reaching qualitative differences so marked that we
71
72 PSYCHOLOGY
speak of the sensations as opposite or as sharply contrasted.

This marked difference in qualities is related to animal
interests of a practical sort. Red fruits and green are to be
distinguished ; the color of the foliage and of the blossom
are to be discriminated . In physics, the transition from the
red vibration to the green is one continuous series of changes
in rate of vibration. All the vibrations are qualitatively alike ;
there is no contrast. So far as light vibrations are concerned,
they are utterly heedless of animal interests.
Another example of the difference between the subjec
tive series and the physical series is to be found in the fact
that sensations arise only from the middle of certain physi
cal series. Thus the physicist knows that there are rays of
light made up of vibrations slower than those which give
us sensations of red, and that other rays are more rapid in
vibration than those which give sensations of violet. The
range of sensations of sound, in like fashion , is short, con
trasted with the series of sound vibrations known to the
physicist .
Relation of sensations to sensory nervous processes . The
relation between sensations in consciousness and physio
logical processes in the organs of sense is much closer
than is the relation between sensations and the physical
facts above discussed . Thus, to take a striking illustration,
it is because we have an organ of sense which is affected
by light and no special organ affected by weak currents of
electricity that men overlooked for so long a period both
the prevalence of forms of electrical energy and the close
relation between light and electricity . Such an illustration
calls attention to the fact that experience differs in certain
of its aspects from the physical world, because experience
is related to the physical world only indirectly, through the
organs of sense.
Other examples are abundant. When the ear is aroused
by the complex sound coming from a drum and a trumpet,
SENSATIONS 73
there are sensations corresponding to each element of the

complex because the sensory cells receive the vibrations
from one instrument at one point and the vibrations from
the other at another point. The two elements of sound
do not obliterate each other or cause a blur in conscious
ness. They do not give rise to a single sensation, even
though the sound wave which strikes the ear is a single
complex air vibration. The further details of this matter
will come out in later sections of this chapter.
Sensations as elements. Our first problem,then, is to
study sensations as related to the facts of physics and to
the facts of physiology of the sense organs. Later, we
shall study sensations in their relation to one another and
to the higher forms of experience. It will then be pointed
out that sensations as they appear in consciousness are
always elements of complex forms of knowledge. There is
no such experience as an isolated sensation of red or of
green or of sound . All sensations are referred to some
point in space ; they are associated with certain interpreta
tions and otherwise brought into the stream of personal
experiences. But in all these later combinations, sensations
retain their qualitative independence to an extent which
justifies us in recognizing them for the purposes of science
as elements, or separate and distinct aspects of conscious
ness. The problems of fusion of sensations with each other
and the laws of these fusions may therefore properly be
postponed ; for the present, we turn to a discussion of sen
sations as elements of consciousness related to certain facts
of physics and to the processes in the organs of sense which
lie between the physical world and consciousness.
Psycho-physics as a division of psychology. The field of
study which we here enter has sometimes been called
psycho-physics. This name originated as the name of one
branch of the study of sensations to which our introductory
examples have not referred. Psycho-physics in its earlier
74 PSYCHOLOGY
days studied especially the facts of intensity of sensation .

If a physical sound becomes stronger, it does not follow
that the related sensations will become stronger in a corre
sponding degree . The facts of intensity will be referred to
briefly in our later discussions.
In taking up the problems of psycho-physics , we shall
begin with one of the most highly developed and highly
differentiated groups of sensory processes ; namely, those of
vision. We might have taken first the simpler sensations ,
such as those of touch , but the facts regarding color are so
much more complex and significant that it will be advanta
geous to encounter at once all the major principles involved
in such a study.
A. VISUAL SENSATIONS
Meaning of term " quality ." Visual sensations , like all

sensations, can be described only to a person who has
experienced them . Red and blue and yellow and black are
names of visual sensations . If the reader has had experi
ences corresponding to these words, he will recognize that
each of the experiences referred to is a unique fact in his
mental life. Red may be like orange or yellow ; it may be
soft and pleasing, or glaring and unpleasant ; but its essence
is its redness, and this essence , which is called the quality
of the sensation, can be illustrated but cannot be defined in
terms of any other experience.
Chromatic (or color) series and achromatic (or gray) series.
If we consider all possible visual sensations, we notice at
once that there are two general groups , those which
belong in the series of colors and those which belong in the
black-gray-white series . The latter series is in some respects
the simpler. Beginning with the darkest black, one may
arrange various shades of gray in an unbroken series up to
the brightest white . The color series is more complex. It
is made up of sensation qualities which, to be sure, shade
SENSATIONS 75
into each other through intermediate colors ; but the members

of the series have a marked individuality which leads us to
designate them by a variety of entirely different names
rather than by a common term, such as is used in referring
to the gray series. Thus, red and yellow are different quali
ties, though they shade into each other through orange ;
when we pass from one to the other, the transition is so
marked that we are compelled to describe red and yellow as
different qualities .
Fundamental color names. The question of how many
fundamental visual qualities there are, is one that has often
been discussed. Popular language has clearly marked out
at least four color qualities besides the blacks, grays, and
whites. These four colors are red, yellow, green, and blue.
The names of these colors are, as their form clearly indi
cates, older than such derived names as orange, indigo,
violet, or any of the compound names, such as green-blue
and yellow-green. The loose use of the four older color
names makes it clear, however, that there is no particular
red or green which can be selected as having exclusive right
to the name. In making up a system of color terminology
for such works of reference as a dictionary, this fact comes
out very clearly.The best that can be done is to take the
average of a large number of usages and exhibit a sample
of the color chosen. Color names, therefore, while suggest
ing something of the popular discrimination of colors, supply
no final evidence as to the number of primary sensation
qualities.
The various scientific studies on this subject of the number
of color qualities may be divided into three groups. One
group regards red, green, and blue as the only primary
colors, all others being looked upon as derived forms. A
second group adds yellow, while a third group considers that
there are an indefinitely large number, certainly more than
four. The solution of the question, since it does not depend
76 PSYCHOLOGY
merely upon introspective observation, waits upon the com

plete formulation of certain facts discussed later.
The color spectrum and circle. More important than the
determination of the exact number of primary color qualities
is the presentation of a complete description of the series
of color experiences . The most complete single series of
colors known to physics is produced by passing a pencil
of white light through a prism. The different colors which
Yellow compose this ray of
white light will be
refracted to different
Orange Green positions , and the
whole will be spread
out into a colored
Red Bluish
Green band with red at one
end and violet at
Purple
Greenish the other. Between
Blue
Violet these lie orange, yel
low, green, blue, in
Blue the order given.
FIG. 23. Color circle This whole series of
The center of the circle represents white. All colors colors produced from
placed at opposite ends of diameters of the circle
are complementary colors white light is called
the spectrum . Mixed
colors are not present in the spectrum, notably purple, which
consists of a mixture of red and blue. When purple is intro
duced, the series of colors seems to return upon itself. For
this reason, the colors of the spectrum plus purple may con
veniently be represented by a closed figure, either a triangle
or a circle. The color circle is given in Fig. 23. Four, or
better nine, color names are used to indicate some of the
chief qualities of the series, the exact number of such quali
ties being left somewhat indefinite, for reasons indicated
above . Between the colors explicitly named in this circle
there are transitional forms of sensations.
SENSATIONS 77
Saturation, brightness, and mixtures. There are also

transitional forms of sensation from this color series to the
gray series. Thus, from any color there is a series of sen
sations in which the color quality gradually fades into a
colorless gray of the same intensity as the original color.
Such a series is called a saturation series . The full color
is said to be a saturated quality ; the more the quality ap
proaches gray, the less saturation it is said to have. Each
color is also capable of variations in brightness. A red of
xxx
AAA
SMMS
MM
FIG. 24. Wave forms
great light intensity is said to have a high degree of bright

ness. A color of small light intensity is said to have a low
degree of brightness . The relation of brightness to satura
tion is such that when a color becomes very bright or very
dim its characteristic quality tends to disappear. Finally,
color qualities may be compounded so as to produce a great
variety of intermediate qualities, such as orange-yellow and
blue-green, which are sometimes thought of as intermediate
qualities, sometimes as equally primary with the others.
GY
78 PSYCHOLO
External light. Turning now from the series of visual

sensations, let us review very briefly the characteristics of
external physical light. The physicist recognizes physical
light as a form of vibration in the luminiferous ether. These
ether vibrations have three characteristics ; namely, rate of
vibration, amplitude of vibration , and complexity of vibration.
For purposes of exposition we may compare light waves to
simple water waves, which are represented in outline in
Fig. 24. In waves of this type a single particle of water
oscillates up and down in straight lines, while the wave as
a whole travels in the horizontal direction .
The rapidity with which each particle oscillates is called
the rate of vibration . The rate determines the length of
the waves from crest to crest, so that we may refer to waves
as having different lengths : rapid vibrations corresponding
to short wave lengths, and the slow vibrations corresponding
to greater wave lengths. The amplitude of a wave is de
termined by the extent of the oscillations of each particle .
The complexity of a wave depends on the mode of the
movement of the particles ; a complex movement results
from the action of a number of wave impulses acting on the
same particle at the same time.
The wave forms represented in A, Fig. 24, have like
amplitude - that is, like range of movement above and below
the horizontal line ― but differences in rate, one wave being
twice as rapid as the other. The waves in B are alike in
rate but different in amplitude . The lines I , 2 , 3 , 4, 5 , 6
show the paths of six single particles which participate in
the larger wave motion . When a particle is in its original
position, it lies at some point along the horizontal line, as
at O. At successive periods it moves to the height 1 , 2,
or 3 or to the low level 4 , 5 , or 6. C represents a complex
wave form. The two regular waves, indicated in dotted lines,
acting upon the particles together, result in the complex
form of vibration represented in the full-drawn line.
SENSATIONS 79
Comparison of physical and mental series. In the follow

ing table a comparison is exhibited between the physical facts
and the corresponding facts of sensory experience :
PHYSICAL FACTS FACTS OF SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Simple light vibrations of medium Color sensations

amplitude
These simple vibrations appear in The sensations differ in certain well
every possible rate, thus forming marked stages, forming a series
a single continuous series of varia of distinct color qualities, limited
tions in rate in number
These rates vary from less than No color experience (sometimes
435 million million vibrations per experience of warmth)
second
(435 million million vibrations per Red
second)
through all possible rates Successive qualities (yellow, green,
blue)
to 769 million million vibrations Violet
per second
and beyond No color experience
Compound vibrations Either whites, grays, less saturated
colors, or purples
The compound sometimes consists Purple
of vibrations of about 435 to 500
million million per second, com
bined with those of about 660-769
million million per second
In some cases widely different rates White or gray
are combined, sometimes in special
pairs, sometimes in more complex
groups
In some cases various rates other Various grays and unsaturated colors
than those above mentioned are
combined
Amplitude variations Changes in intensity and saturation
Increase in amplitude to the highest Increase in intensity and decrease
in saturation toward white
Decrease in amplitude to the lowest Decrease in intensity and in satura
tion toward black
80 PSYCHOLOGY
Relation between the physical and the psychical facts

dependent in part on the organs of sense. The differences
between the physical series and the sensation series are so
striking that much scientific investigation has been devoted
to the effort to bridge over the differences, as far as possi
ble, by setting between the two groups of processes described
in the above table a third group of processes ; namely, the
physiological processes in the eye and central nervous sys
tem . Not infrequently it has been impossible, with the
means of scientific investigation in our possession , to dis
cover by direct observation all the physiological links be
tween certain physical facts and certain facts of experience .
In such cases, theories have been developed by science to
fill the gap . These theories go beyond direct observation
in their statements, but do so with definite regard to such
facts as can be observed . We turn, therefore, to a con
sideration of some of the physiological facts and theories,
taking up, as a necessary introduction to the physiological
facts, a study of the structure of the eye .
Evolution of organ of vision. The human eye is a very
complex and highly sensitive organ . It will be well for us
in attempting to understand the eye, to go back to an earlier
point in the evolutionary series and begin our study with
more primitive visual organs . The line of evolution between
the simplest eyes and the human eye is not direct, for the
human eye is in its sensitive parts a division of the brain
brought to the surface of the body. The eyes of inverte
brates show, however, how sensitivity to light first became
a specialized function of animal tissue .
Even in the lowest forms of plant and animal life there
is a certain sensitiveness to light . A flower is affected by
light, in some cases enough to produce movement on its
stem, in all cases in its inner growth conditions . So also the
unicellular animal forms are stimulated by light to vigorous
action. In the simpler multicellular animals, in addition to
SENSATIONS 81
the differentiation between neural cells and muscular cells

which was described in an earlier chapter, there is a further
differentiation among the neural cells . In the jellyfish, for
example, it is found that at certain points on the surface of
the body the cells of the nervous system are grouped into
small spots of pigmented cells (see Fig. 25 , A) . The pig
ment is not a part of the nervous system, but it serves to
absorb the light which falls upon this part of the animal's
body more than do the unpigmented regions. The result
is that the influence of the light is enhanced by the pres
ence of the pigment, and the growth of larger and more
sensitive sensory cells in the immediate neighborhood of
these spots brings about a condition which is favorable to the
reception of light. We may, for convenience, refer to the
pigment, since it is not true nervous tissue, as an accessory
organ. We shall find in the study of later developments of
the eye that the accessory parts of the eye are quite as im
portant as the nervous organs themselves, the evolution of
the two groups of structures going on in parallel lines.
Higher forms of visual organs are represented in Fig. 25,
B and C. Thus we find a larger group of cells sensitive to
light stimulations. The pigment is present as in the most
primitive eyes, and the whole organ is placed in a depression
in the surface of the body. This depression serves to protect
the delicate cells more effectively than they could be pro
tected on the general body surface, as in the case of the
jellyfish.This protection of the cells undoubtedly works to
the advantage of the cells, furnishing them the conditions
necessary for becoming more sensitive, while at the same
time the wall of the depression furnishes them the space in
which they become more numerous. In later stages of de
velopment, as indicated in Fig. 25, D and E, the depression
in the body wall is filled with a protecting fluid . This fluid
is of a thick, gelatinous consistency, and in the most primitive
forms translucent, not transparent. The light stimulation
…………………
pa
oblgo
A
pc
C
op
-a
a
on pc
pc
on D
B
on E
F
FIG. 25. A series of eyes which have reached various levels of development *
82
SENSATIONS 83
which acts upon the sensory cells of such an eye as this

will obviously not be very intense or definite. Something
has been sacrificed to protection in the fluid, which obstructs
the light. This disadvantage is, however, more than offset
by the fact that the fluid furnishes favorable conditions for
increase in the number and sensitiveness of the cells. Such
an eye as this cannot distinguish more than vague changes
in illumination . An opaque object passing before the animal
might, by its shadow, be recognized as something standing
between the animal and the light, but the form or distance of
the object certainly could not be recognized except through
the intensity of the shadow and the period of its duration.
A bright object would give a somewhat more definite im
pression, but nothing comparable to the impression received
by the eyes of the higher animals.
Later stages of development of the eye are represented
in the figure. In Fig. 25 , D, E, and F, it will be seen that
the outer covering of the eyes begins to develop a lens . In the
earliest forms, this lens is spherical in shape. Such a shape
is mechanically simple, but optically very imperfect. The
image which it throws on the sensory surface is distorted,
and the different rays of light are focused at different points,
causing the hazy colored fringes technically known as chro
matic aberrations.
Organ of sense as selective organ. Such an evolutionary
series as that just described could be made the basis of a
chapter on the relations of the animal's inner life and
* Fig. 25, A, shows a simple pigment spot. The ordinary epithelial cells which con
stitute the surface of the body are represented at a. The pigment particles repre
sented at pa make this portion of the surface of the body more susceptible to the
action of light. Fig. 25, B, shows a somewhat more highly developed organ. The
surface of the body is here depressed so as to protect the sensory cells. These
specialized cells are notably larger than the epithelial cells at aa. This is the eye
of Patelia. Fig. 25, C, represents the eye of Nautilus. The central cavity is filled
with water. Fig. 25, D, is a camera eye with a large lens filling its cavity ; op repre
sents the lens. Fig. 25, E, is the camera eye of Murex with the cornea, c, covering
the lens. Fig. 25, F, is the complete eye of cuttlefish with the lens, ; cornea, c ;
iris, i, and other portions as before. (From Conn's " Method of Evolution ")
84 PSYCH
OLOGY
development to the outer world of nature . Evidently it is

greatly to the animal's advantage to be sensitive to changes
in light and thus also to gain indirectly impressions from all
objects which reflect or absorb light. The inner life processes
are very dependent on these impressions ; therefore, a part
of the organism is set aside to keep watch and guide the
organism . The organism is thus enabled to select from
the world in which it lives those impressions which have to
do with its own existence . Furthermore, as we shall find
when we come to study other organs of sense , other parts
of the body surface are specialized to keep the animal in
contact with aspects of the outer world other than light.
The organs of sense are accordingly to be defined as special
ized avenues through which forces of the external world
that are important to the animal's life affect the organism .
The human eye - its muscles. We pass over the varying
forms of visual organs exhibited in the animal world and
take up briefly the human eye . The human eye is an inde
pendent organ separated from the body wall and placed in
a protecting bony cavity or eye socket . Before taking up
the internal structure of the eyeball it may be well to refer
to the external muscles which hold it in place and move it
about independently of the head. These are important acces
sory organs and increase the range of vision greatly by mak
ing it possible to move the eyes easily without moving the
head. The human eye is supplied with six such muscles.
By means of these muscles the eye is capable of rotation,
with the nicest adjustments in any direction whatsoever.
In ordinary life the behavior of one eye is closely related
to the behavior of the other eye, so that the muscles coöp
erate in producing certain joint movements, or binocular
movements as they are called .
Many of the facts of human vision are closely related to
the fact that the eyes are themselves very active organs .
Looking at an object involves a great deal of muscular
SENSATIONS 85
adjustment. Looking to the left involves a different type of

muscular adjustment from that involved in looking straight
ahead. These facts should be borne in mind as important
for much of our later study.
The outer wall and the lens. A sectional view showing
the internal structure of the eyeball is given in Fig. 26 .
It will be noted immediately that this organ is in many
L
Ob
Im
P X
V
FIG. 26. Diagrammatic section of the human eye

O, optic nerve ; S, sclerotic ; C, cornea ; A, choroid coat ; I, iris ; R, retina ; V, vitreous
humor ; H, aqueous humor ; L, crystalline lens ; X, optic center of the lens ; b, blind
spot ; f, fovea centralis ; P, pupil ; M, ciliary muscles, which control the curvature
of the lens; Ob, object outside of eye ; Im, image on the retina. (After Wundt)
respects more highly developed than any of the eyes repre

sented in Fig. 25. By the development of an independent
outer wall of cartilage the eyeball has been made a free
portion of the body, as noted in the last paragraph. In the
second place, it will be observed that the lens, which we
saw in some of the lower forms as a spherical organ, has
been elaborated in the course of animal evolution, so that it
now has the very much more advantageous form of a double
convex lens, indicated in the figure at L. This lens has
certain other complexities in structure which tend to free it
86 PSYCHOLOGY
from optical defects . It is not homogeneous throughout ;

furthermore, by means of the iris, or adjustable diaphragm,
which is placed in front of it, only the center, which is the
most efficient portion of the lens, is utilized in ordinary
vision. By means of certain muscles which form a circle
around the lens and control a transparent capsule which
surrounds it, the lens can be modified in form so that it is
made more or less convex according as light which is to be
focused upon the sensory surface comes from a source near
at hand or far away. The details of this adjustment of the
lens need not be discussd here ; it is enough to call atten
tion to the fact that when the eye is to look at an object far
away, the lens is relatively less convex than when the eye
is looking at an object near at hand. The adjustment is
carried out reflexly. There are limits beyond which it is
impossible for the lens to adjust itself ; the near limit for
the normal eye is about eight inches from the eye , the re
mote limit for the normal eye is at an infinite distance .
Individual imperfections in adjustment appear. For example,
the lens in old age becomes somewhat less elastic than in
early life and, because of this lack of elasticity, it is incapable
of taking on a high degree of convexity. Other abnormali
ties appear, in that the far limit of certain eyes is at a rela
tively short distance in front of the eye ; a person whose
limit of remote vision is thus nearer than a point infinitely
far away is described as near-sighted . Most of the defects
in the functioning of the lens can be relieved more or less
completely by the use of an artificial lens outside of the eye.
The function of the artificial lens is exactly that of the lens
in the eye, and the possibility of correcting defects in the
lens of the eye by various combinations of glass lenses is
limited only by the possibilities of physical optics . This
makes it perfectly clear that the lens is not to be treated
as a part of the nervous system but rather as an accessory
organ developed for the purpose of applying the stimulus
SENSATIONS 87
-hout; to the organ of sense in such a way as to produce a clearly

ragm, defined image on the retina.
sthe Transparent media . In the human eye all of the media
inary through which the light must pass are highly transparent.
circle A certain portion of the outside coat of the eye- namely,
--
that portion which lies directly in front of the lens —
hich is trans
it is parent. Between this transparent wall, or so-called cornea,
be and the lens of the eye there is a chamber filled with trans
Dear parent fluid known as the aqueous humor. The lens itself
the is of a very high degree of transparency. Back of the lens
en is a mass of gelatinous matter known as the vitreous humor,
far which fills the whole eyeball and maintains the proper
spherical form of the eyeball. These transparent media are
ye
is products of evolution and show an important advance over
is the translucent gelatinous substances which we find in the
or more primitive eye.

Choroid coat. The pigment layer which was seen in the
most primitive eyes is present in the human eye in the so
called choroid coat. It covers the whole inner surface of
the eyeball. It serves the same purpose as does the black
lining of a camera ; that is, it prevents the rays of light
which have acted upon the sensory surface from being
reflected back so as to interfere with other entering rays.
It is richly supplied with blood vessels, which provide for
the nutrition of the sensory cells .
The retina. We have, up to this point, referred only to
the accessory organs of the eye. We turn now to the exam
ination of the retinal surface, which is the true sensory
organ. It is made up of a series of layers of cells dis
tributed over the inner surface of the eyeball and placed
between the choroid coat and the vitreous humor. The
retinal layer is represented in section in Fig. 27. The rods
and cones, which constitute the inner layer lying next to
the choroid coat, are undoubtedly the organs which are
most immediately affected by the rays of light. The rods
88 PSYCHOLOGY
and cones are highly developed cells which are specialized

for the reception of light stimulations. They may be
thought of as small ves
I
sels containing chemical
substances which are
Neuron
II
especially susceptible to
1.
III changes under the action

of light. The chemical
IV activity set up in the rods
and cones by the light
which enters the eye
Neuron
liberates energy, which

2.
VI is transmitted through
the successive layers of
VII TRAD cells represented in the
3. on
Neur
figure until, finally, it

VIII
reaches the large nerve
IX
X cells of the retina, indi
FIG. 27. A diagrammatic section of the cated at the level VIII in
retina
the figure. The energy
I is the pigment epithelium, II is the layer of which originally entered
rods and cones. The rods are the small, slender
organs. In the retina the rods and cones are, the eye in the form of
throughout the larger part of the organ, mixed vibration in the luminif
together ; in the fovea only cones appear. III, erous ether is thus trans
IV, V, VI, VII show various intermediate struc
tures between the rods and cones and the nerve formed into chemical
cells which are situated at VIII. From the nerve
cells at VIII the optic fibers pass out, as indi action in nerve cells, and
cated at IX, toward the blind spot, where they the chemical action in the
leave the eyeball. X represents the limiting nerve cells is transmitted
membrane of the retina. A ray of light entering
the eye passes through the retina in the direc to the fibers which pass
tion from X to II. The light does not produce
any effect upon the cells or fibers until it reaches out of the eyeball and
the layer of rods and cones. (After Greeff) communicate with the
central nervous system.
Rods and cones and their functions . The rods and cones
undoubtedly represent different types of receiving organs.
The central part of the retina, which is more important for
ad
SENSATIONS 89
ialized clear vision than other portions, is made up of cones exclu

may be sively. Passing from this limited central region of clear
ll ves vision, known as the fovea centralis, toward the outer areas,
emical or periphery, of the retina, the rods become more and more
are numerous. The functional differences which correspond to
ble to these structural facts can be easily observed. Let a colored
ction light of moderate size and intensity be brought into the
mical outer part of an observer's field of vision . This light will
rods cast its image on the periphery of the retina where the rods
predominate, and the observer will not experience a color
ight
sensation but rather a sensation of colorless light. If, now,
eye
ich the colored light is gradually made to approach the center
of clear vision where the cones predominate, its color quality
gh
of will become more and more obvious, until, finally, at the
center of clear vision it will be clearly seen. We may state
he
it this result in general form by saying that the center of clear
vision is also the center of color vision, while the areas at
ve
1 the extreme periphery of the retina are totally color blind .
The areas intermediate between the extreme periphery of
7
the retina and the center of clear vision are partially color
J
blind ; that is, they respond to a limited number of colors .
This limitation of ability to respond to colors is offset in
the rods by a distinct advantage on the side of susceptibility
to slight changes in colorless light. An observer very fre
quently has the experience early in the evening of seeing a
faint star in the outer edge of the field of vision , and finds
the moment he turns to look directly at the star that it is
impossible to see it. The periphery of the retina was suffi
ciently sensitive to the slight illumination to make possible
a sensation from the faint star, whereas the center of the
retina was incapable of responding to this slight illumina
tion. The significance of this differentiation of the retina in
the development of the animal kingdom is evident. The
periphery of the retina and the extreme edges of the field
of vision do not have the same significance for the animal
90 PSYCHOLOGY
as the center. It is more advantageous that the animal should

be able to concentrate its highest forms of nervous activity
upon a limited area. On the other hand, it is important that
the outer regions of the retina should be sensitive in such
a way as to give immediate warning of any changes in illu
mination, for changes in illumination mean movement, pos
sibly the approach of danger, and this should be recognized
sufficiently to warn the observer. If, then, it is desirable to
give the object stricter attention, the eye can be turned so as
to bring the image upon the center of clear vision.
Color blindness. The differentiation between the different
parts of the retina, which has just been described as charac
teristic of the normal retina, does not always appear. There
are certain persons whose eyes are not fully responsive
to colors , these persons have at the center of the retina a
condition similar, at least so far as color processes are con
cerned, to that which appears toward the periphery of the
normal reinna. This inability to respond to different color
stimulations may in some cases be complete, so that the
mdhichual sees the world as a normal individual sees an
engraving , that is, as if it were made up only of differences
in light and shade without the qualitative differences which
we describe as color differences . A much larger number
of individuals have a partial deficiency, analogous to that
which appears in the intermediate zones of the normal
TEVANG The various forms of partial color blindness are

exremely dificult to define with precision, for the simple
tes that the color sensations of the partially color-blind
andviciaal extitute his world of color sensations . He
Body tha to means of comparing his experiences with
ase on the normal individual. His efforts to describe his
dence to a normal individual are complicated
de necessity of using terms devised for the normal
ather than for his own peculiar experiences.
w All Bu sefence, there have been a few cases in
SENSATIONS 91
Ishould which the same person has been able to observe directly
activity both the normal color sensations and the partially color
ant that blind series. The defect in such individuals appears only
n such in one eye, while the other eye is of the normal type. It
in illu has, furthermore, been possible by certain methods of com
JoTe
paring color mixtures to make an analysis of other cases of

t, pos
color blindness. The net result of these investigations has
gnized
ble to been to show that the color series of a partially color-blind
Soas individual is of a simpler type than that of the normal in
dividual with a fully developed retina. One very common
erent form of partial color blindness, known as " red-green blind
arac ness," has been thoroughly investigated . The following
here table shows the comparison between the normal color system
sive and the two types of red-green blindness, which have been
worked out :
aa
on
NORMAL TYPE I TYPE II
he
For Red The red end of the spec- Yellow
he trum short ; what is seen
is gray, or unsaturated
1
yellow
es Orange Unsaturated yellow Unsaturated yellow
h Yellow Unsaturated yellow Unsaturated yellow
Green Yellow Gray, or unsaturated yellow
I
Blue Blue Blue
Violet Violet Violet
Such facts as are shown in this table and in the cases

of total color blindness emphasize the intimacy of the rela
tion between retinal development and the development of
experience. They make it clear that the number of sensa
tion qualities which an observer can distinguish depends
not on the number of physical processes in the outer
world but on the number of physiological processes which
are aroused in the nervous system by the various kinds of
physical energy.
92 PSYCHOLOGY
Color-mixing. Another group of facts closely related to

those discussed above are the facts of color-mixing. If a
given point on the retina is stimulated at the same time by
two or more rays of differently colored light, the chemical
process set up cannot be the process which is appropriate
to either color acting alone. Experience shows that the
process is a compromise between the processes which would
have resulted if each ray had acted alone. Thus, if at the
same moment a ray of red light and a ray of yellow light
fall upon a single cone, the result is that the observer sees
orange, which corresponds in quality to the color lying in
the spectral series intermediate between red and yellow . If
instead of merely using red and yellow we use red, yellow,
and blue at the same time, we find, by observing the result
ant sensation, that a compromise between the three chemical
tendencies in the cone is very different from any one of the
processes taken alone. Indeed, in such a case the retina
is not capable of giving a compromise color process, but
falls back into the process which the study of color blindness
shows to be the most primitive form of chemical activity ;
namely, the chemical process corresponding to gray, which
we found as the only process in the eye of the totally color
blind person and in the periphery of the normal retina.
When all the colors of the spectrum fall at one time on a
cone, as in full daylight, the result is a sensation of pure
brightness or white.
If a red ray is mixed with a blue ray, a unique compromise
process results, which is not directly related to any of the
simple colors of nature ; namely, the process which gives
rise to a purple sensation . Purple is a color quality which
can be explained only in terms of the retinal process. Red
and blue, which are the physical facts conditioning the ex
perience of purple, are at the extreme ends of the physical
spectral series, yet they cause in the retina a single process
which gives the sensation quality purple. This goes to show
SENSATIONS 93
=
that the retinal processes for red and blue are closely related
ནིམ་
in character, in spite of the great difference in the respective

rates of vibration in the physical processes which excite
these retinal processes. The color circle, which was described
in an earlier paragraph, is therefore not to be explained as
a physical circle but as a circle of retinal processes and
corresponding experiences. Indeed, it may be said in gen
eral that the laws of color-mixing are primarily laws of retinal
behavior rather than laws of the physical world . The fact
that all the colors of the spectrum when mixed together
produce gray is, as has been pointed out a number of times,
a physiological fact and a fact of experience rather than a
fact of physical vibrations.
The principles of color mixtures were worked out first by
physicists and have furnished a basis for most of the theories
of color vision. Briefly stated, the general principles of
color-mixing are as follows : When two colors near each
other in the spectral series enter the eye at the same time,
there results a sensation and a retinal process which is inter
mediate to those demanded by the two colors when they act
alone upon the retina. This intermediate process is not the
same as that which would result from stimulation of the
retina by the intermediate pure color, for the sensation is
not as fully saturated as it would be if it had resulted from
the action of a pure color. As the distance between the two
colors of the mixture is gradually increased, the chromatic
quality of the resultant grows less and less marked, until
finally the sensation is of the simplest possible type ; namely,
the sensation gray. This shows that the retina is forced
by certain mixtures of very different colors to return to the
simple undifferentiated form of activity which characterized
it before the differentiation into chromatic qualities began.
Two colors which are opposed to each other in such a way
that they give when mixed no color whatsoever, but merely
the sensation gray, are known as complementary colors.
94 PSYCHOLOGY
If the distance in the color circle between two colors which

enter into a mixture is greater than that required for the
complementary effect, the resulting color will be some shade.
of purple. If purple is introduced in the color circle, there
is no shade of color which does not have its complement.
The color circle shown in Fig. 23 may be made, therefore,
the basis for discussion of complementary pairs, provided the
arrangements of the colors opposite each other are made
with this end in view. If more than two colors are mixed,
the total result will be the sum of the partial effects and
can be foreseen by considering the partial processes as if
they occurred successively.
Pigment-mixing subject to physical law. It may be well
to call explicit attention to the fact that the statements here
made regarding color mixtures do not apply to mixtures
of pigments . The mixture of pigments is a physical fact,
not a physiological process . The action of pigment on light
is to absorb certain rays and reflect others . Mixtures of
pigments affect light in a complex way, and hence produce
results which cannot be explained by merely inspecting the
separate pigments .
A single case of pigment-mixing may be taken as an ex
ample. Thus, if yellow and blue pigments are mixed, they
produce an impression of green . This result is due to the
fact that the yellow pigment absorbs a good deal of light
and reflects only those colors which are near it in the spectral
series. Blue does the same. The only color which survives
the joint absorptions of yellow and blue pigment particles is
green, for green is reflected in a measure by both yellow
pigment particles and by blue . The fact that green results
in this case calls for an explanation absolutely different
from that which applies to the gray which results from the
mixture of yellow and blue light.
After-images. The consideration of certain other facts is
necessary to complete the discussion of visual sensations.
SENSATIONS 95
colors which If light acts upon a retinal element for a given period, the
ired for the effect will continue for time after the external light ceases
some shade to act. The observer will notice what is known as an after
circle, there image of the light at which he has been looking. Every
complement. one has doubtless observed the vivid after-images which
, therefore, result from looking at the sun or other very bright objects .
rovided the Most of the after-images which we receive from ordinary
are made objects are so faint that they are overlooked, unless special
are mixed, effort is made to notice them and to retain them. In gen
ffects and eral, the experience which continues after the withdrawal of
sses as if the external light resembles only for a very brief interval the
sensation originally produced by the external light. So long
y be well as the original impression and after-image are of the same
ents here quality, the observer is said to have a positive after-image.
mixtures An example of such a positive after-image can easily be
cal fact, secured by rapidly rotating a burning stick in a circle, when
on light the observer will see an uninterrupted circle of light, because
ures of the stimulus returns to each of the points of the retina
produce before the original process has had time to change. Very
ngthe soon after the external stimulus is withdrawn, experience
undergoes a radical change. The general principle of this
an ex change may be described by saying that every black changes
they to white, every white to black, and every color to its comple
5 the ment. Since these changes are known from the conditions
light to be due to physiological processes rather than to external
ctral light, we describe the conditions for these after-images in
ives the following terms : The retina tends to set up as soon as
sis possible a process opposite to that which was produced by
ow the original stimulus. This chemical process, opposite in
Its character to that produced by the external stimulus, is due
ent to the tendency of the physiological organism to restore the
he chemical substances which have been used up in the first
process of stimulation . The experience of the observer fol
Es lows, during this process of recuperation, the retinal activity
rather than the external physical fact. Thus, after looking
GY
HOLO
96 PSYC
for a time at a brilliant red light, the observer sees very

soon after the light is withdrawn a colored area of like
spatial form and extent as the original but of a quality ex
actly complementary to the red ; namely, blue-green. In like
fashion, the negative after-image of a blue surface is yellow.
If the stimulating surface is black and white or gray rather
than colored, the negative after-image will be of such a
character that what was bright in the original image will ap
pear dark in the after-image, and, conversely, what was dark
in the original image will appear white in the after-image.
Contrasts. After-effects in the retina very frequently
operate to modify the retinal processes produced by subse
quent light stimulations. For example, let an observer who
has been looking steadily at a bright red light for a time
and has a strong tendency toward a green after-image look
at a blue surface ; the blue surface will not be seen in its
normal color, but will be seen as a mixture of blue and
green, the green being contributed in this case by the after
image process in the retina. The mixtures between after
effects and color stimulations here under discussion give
rise to many forms of color contrast. In view of the con
tinual movement of the eye from point to point in the
field of vision, the observer is always carrying more or
less marked after-effects from a given part of the field of
vision to the neighboring parts . If, for example, a red and
a green field are placed in close juxtaposition, and the eye
after looking at the red surface tends to move in such a
way as to bring a portion of the retina which has been
stimulated by the red into a position such that it will
be stimulated by the green light, the green sensation re
ceived from the summation of the external stimulation and
the after-image will be more intense than a green sensation
received without the preliminary stimulation from a red.
The result is that green seems to be more saturated when
it lies near red. In general, every color is emphasized by
SENSATIONS 97
er sees very being brought into close relation with its complementary,
rea of like and grays tend to take on colors complementary to sur
quality ex rounding fields. This effect appears even when . no eye
en. In like movements can be detected . There is probably a diffusion
is yellow. of contrast effects through the retina even when the eye
Stayrather fixates steadily a single point.
of such a The tendency of grays to take on colors may be well
e will ap illustrated by shadows . If a field which is illuminated by a
wasdark yellow light is interrupted by a shadow which is, in reality,
-image. gray, this gray shadow will take on a bluish tinge by con
equently trast with the yellow field. This fact has long been observed
y subse by those who reproduce the colors of nature in painting, and
ver who the shadows in painting will usually be found to be, not
a time reproductions of the physical facts, but rather reproductions
ge look of the impression made upon the observer.
in its Theories of color vision. It remains to add a few remarks
le and concerning the less certain conclusions regarding the rela
after tion between light sensations and external ether vibrations .
after The effort has frequently been made to describe the physi
ological processes in a single comprehensive formula or
give
con theory, which shall include all the facts . No attempt will
the here be made to review all of those theories . It will be
or enough to present one of the simplest and most sug

Hof gestive, and leave it to the student to criticize and recon
and struct it in the light of the facts discussed above and
reviewed in the tables given below.
eye
1a Mrs. Franklin's genetic theory of processes in the retina.
en The theory which was formulated by Mrs. Franklin is as
ill follows : The primitive retina of the lower animals and the
e periphery of the human retina have only one chemical
d process with which to respond to all light stimuli. This
n single chemical process, when set up through the action

: of light, arouses in the central nervous system a process
which is the condition of a gray sensation . This is the
original undifferentiated type of retinal activity. As the
GY
HOLO
98 PSYC
evolution of the retina goes forward, this original chemical

process, which may be called the gray process, is so subdi
vided that colors produce certain partial phases of the
original chemical activity. The partial chemical activities
produce each a specialized form of nervous process and
a specialized form of sensory experience. The breaking up
of the gray process into special color processes begins with
a development, first, of the partial processes which corre
spond on the one hand to blue, and on the other hand to
orange or yellow, sensations . This first differentiation cor
responds to the wide difference between the extreme ends
of the spectral series . The original gray process does not
disappear with the rise of the blue and yellow processes,
but remains as the neutral and more general form of
response. At this stage the yellow and blue processes are
each called out by a great variety of stimulations . Thus,
the yellow process is aroused by red light, orange light, and
green light, as well as by yellow light. As the development
goes on, the yellow chemical process is subdivided into
more highly specialized processes, corresponding to red
and green. The result of this successive differentiation of
process is that the highly organized retina may, when
stimulated by the appropriate form of light vibration , re
spond with specialized chemical processes to red, green,
yellow, or blue. If yellow and blue, which were the first
forms of light to arouse differentiated processes, act at the
same time upon the retina, the partial processes which are
differentiated out of the gray cannot both be in action at
once without being swallowed up in the original funda
mental process of gray. If red and green act together upon
the retina, the yellow process appears as the more funda
mental form of chemical process. The facts of color blind
ness can be explained by stating that the differentiation of
chemical processes is not complete in the color-blind eye.
Negative and complementary after-images are due to the
SENSATIONS 99
chemical physiological instability of the partial chemical substances

so subdi left in the retina after a process in which a colored light
s of the has partially disintegrated the retinal substance . Contrast
activities has been included by earlier discussions under the same head
cess and as after-images, though by a spread of stimulation effects con
aking up trasts appear where there are no immediate after-images.
ins with The student will see at once that many of these statements
hcorre are hypothetical . They serve, however, to gather together the
hand to facts, and they give a genetic account of primitive as well
on cor as of present retinal conditions. The theory or hypothesis
he ends should be clearly distinguished from the facts, and yet it is
pes not evident that the facts justify us in attempting to explain the
relation between physical processes and conscious processes
cesses,
rm of by something which goes on in the retina. In order to keep
ses are the facts clearly in the foreground, it may be well to re
turn to a general summary of the different groups of facts
Thus,
discussed in this section.
t, and
ɔment
into SUMMARY TABLES
› red
TABLE A. COLOR BLINDNESS
on of
vhen PHYSICAL FACTS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SENSATIONS
re
I. Full series of Highly developed retina | A differentiated group
een, simple vibrations with, however, a limited of sensation quali
first number of modes of re- ties including all
the sponse to external light colors
are II. Full series of Partially developed retina Partial color blindness
at simplevibrations with a number of possibili
da ties of response to exter
nal stimulation which is
on more limited than in the
la normal retina
d
III. Full series of Retina so little developed Total color blindness
of simplevibrations as to have only one mode
e. of response
e
100 PSYCHOLOGY
TABLE B. COLOR MIXTURES
PHYSICAL FACTS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SENSATIONS
I. Series of simple Highly developed retina Limited number of

vibrations with a limited number of sensation qualities,
distinct modes of response constituting a series
of distinct qualities
II. Two simple Retinal response which Single color sensa
waves, closely re compromises between the tion somewhat less
lated in number two responses which saturated than in
of vibrations , en would have resulted had the simple series
tering the eye the two vibrations acted
together, thus separately
making a com
pound wave
III. Two simple Retinal response which A color very little
waves, very dif tends to take the simplest saturated, or a
ferent in number and most general form of single purple or
of vibrations , en retinal behavior gray
tering the eye
together, thus
making a com
pound wave
IV. Large numbers Simple response of the rudi- Gray
of waves en mentary type
tering the eye
together, thus
making a most
complex wave
TABLE C. AFTER- IMAGES AND CONTRASTS
PHYSICAL FACT PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS SENSATION
I. Strong light vibra Response followed by a Color sensation con

tion followed by continued action of the tinuing after exter
the withdrawal of retina and a final reversal nal light and then
physical light of the retinal process to changing into com
restore the tissue to its plementary color
normal condition quality
SENSATIONS IOI
B. AUDITORY SENSATIONS
ONS The task of defining sound sensations and of describing

nber of their conditions will be a comparatively simple one on the
qualities basis of the elaborate study already made of visual sensations .
gaseries Physical sound. The physical stimulus which causes the
qualities nervous processes, which, in turn, condition auditory sensa
sensa tions, consists of longitudinal air vibrations. When a vibrat
at less
ing body strikes the air particles about it as it vibrates
an in
eries backward and forward, the air particles are alternately driven
together and rebound from one another. Successive waves
of condensation and rarefaction result, and these waves are
carried forward in all directions until they strike some re
ceiving surface, such as the ear. These air vibrations can
little be defined in the same terms of rate, amplitude, and com
- a
or plexity as were used for the light vibrations in the preceding
section (p. 77), although it should be noted that the form of
vibrations is different in the two cases .
Pitch, or tonal quality. With regard to the relation
between sensation and external sound vibration, it is to
be said, first, that when the objective waves are regular,
they give rise to experiences of tone ; when the vibrations
are irregular, the resulting sensation is one of noise. The
rates of the regular vibrations which are recognized as tones
are directly related to differences of pitch . Middle C on the
piano scale has a rate of vibration of two hundred and fifty
six double vibrations per second. Toward the bass end of
the scale the vibrations decrease in rapidity, while toward
the treble they increase. The lowest rate which is ordinarily
heard by the normal ear is about thirty-two vibrations per
second, although rates of sixteen, or even ten, per second
have been described by some observers as audible. At the
upper end of the scale one can hear vibrations of thirty
thousand to forty thousand per second. Sounds produced
by insects are of this order.
102 PSYCHOLOGY
Intensity, or loudness . Intensity of tone varies according

as the amplitude of vibration of the single air particles is
great or small.
Complexity of a regular type the source of differences in
timbre. Ordinary sensations of tone are produced by com
plex waves. If two or more forms of vibration are transmitted
to a given particle of air at the same moment, the particle
will move in a path which is the resultant of all of the dif
ferent paths through which it would have moved had the
various impulses of vibration acted upon it successively.
When one compares a given tone from the piano with the
tone of the same pitch from a violin , he will recognize that
the characteristics of the tones are different, though they
are of the same pitch . The violin string vibrates not only
as a whole but also in certain sections, and the piano wire
vibrates as a whole and at the same time in sections . The
rates of vibration of the string and wire as wholes may be
exactly the same . The sections in the two cases and the
rates of their vibration will nearly always be different. The
result is that any particle of air set in motion by either
piano wire or violin string will have its main path deter
mined by the vibration of the whole wire or string, while
the minor details of vibration will be determined by the
vibrations of the sections of the wire or string . The phase
of tonal quality thus determined by the complex of minor
vibrations is known as timbre . The main, or fundamental,
tone is modified by the minor higher tones, or overtones as
they are called . Tones of the same pitch derived from vari
ous instruments have various timbres, just in so far as they
have different overtones.
Noise due to irregular vibrations. The experience of
noise is dependent upon a form of vibration which is so
complex as to be highly irregular. A vague regularity ap
pears in most noises . We speak, accordingly, of certain
noises as low and rumbling, and of others as high and shrill,
SENSATIONS 103
according but for the most part the tendency toward regularity of
particles is vibrations gives way in noises to a confusion of irregular
oscillations in the air particles.
erences in Evolution of the ear. Turning from the physical stimulus
by com to the auditory organ, we find here, as in the case of the
ansmitted eye, that by a long process of evolution there has been pro
e particle duced a sensory organ which has a variety of accessory parts
E the dif and a delicate sensory surface, which latter transforms the
had the air vibrations into nervous processes. The most primitive
essively. ear, such as is found in the cœlenterates, consists in a sack
with the shaped opening in the side of the body. This sack-shaped
ize that depression, or vesicle, contains hard calcareous particles, and
gh they is lined by sensitive cells which are similar in their general
ot only appearance to the cells in the primitive eye. The whole
no wire organ can be easily explained by comparing it to a child's
The ordinary rattle-box. If the animal is shaken, or if any
may be sound vibrations strike against the wall of the vesicle, the
nd the calcareous particles, or otoliths as they are called, are set
The in motion and tend to strike against the sensitive cells. The
either result is that the cells will be stimulated by each movement
deter of the animal's body or by the vibrations which enter the
while vesicle. As the ear develops through the animal series
the there appear a number of accessory organs which serve to
y
phase facilitate the reception of vibrations, and there comes to be
a division between the two original functions of the ear ;
minor
ental, namely, that of sensory response to the movements of
es as the body as a whole, and that of response to vibrations
from the water or air.
vari
The human ear, pinna, and meatus. After this brief
they
reference to the primitive ear we may turn immediately to
of description of the human ear. The outer cartilaginous

organ, known as the pinna, has in man very little function .
SO
It serves in a rudimentary way to concentrate the sound
ap
waves and direct them toward the inner ear. The long
ain
funnel-shaped pinna of a horse's ear serves a function which
ill,
104 PSYCHOLOGY
has been lost in the process of evolution. By moving its

ear the horse collects sounds from different directions, and
thus becomes very acutely sensitive to sound and at the
same time recognizes the direction from which the sound
comes. But the horse loses fine qualitative shades of sound
N
A
S.C.
EM
T
ET
FIG. 28. Diagrammatic section showing the structure of the ear
P, external pinna ; EM, external meatus ; T, tympanic membrane ; 7, internal
meatus, or tympanic cavity. Extending from the tympanic membrane to the inner
ear there are three bones constituting the chain of ossicles : malleus, incus, and
stapes. ET, Eustachian tube, passing from the internal meatus to the cavity of
the throat; SC, one of the three semicircular canals ; AN, the auditory nerve,
which divides into four parts as indicated in the figure, one branch connecting with
the semicircular canals, two with the parts of the vestibule, and the fourth with the
core of the cochlea, C. The canals of the cochlea are indicated in general outline ;
for details see Fig. 30. The vestibule is the general region lying between the canals
and the cochlea. (Modified from Czermak)
because the funnel modifies in some measure the form of

the air vibrations . The human ear has so evolved that it
interferes little with quality. This shows that the sense of
hearing in man is not a locating sense but a sense devoted
to the finest discriminations in quality. The evolution of the
ear is undoubtedly related to the evolution of speech.
105
MGA
SENSATIONS
11⠀
The cylindrical canal which connects the surface of the

body with the inner cavities of the ear is known as the ex
ternal meatus. This canal is liberally supplied with protective
bristles, and with secretory glands which tend to protect the
ear from all foreign particles, and it is curved in shape so
that nothing but very small, slender objects can penetrate
to the inner parts of the ear.
Nature has a relatively easy problem of protection of deli
cate organs in the case of the ear because air vibrations can
be conducted along a narrow passage. In the case of the
eye, the organ must lie exposed on the surface of the body.
Nature has put a ring of bony structures around the eye,
but the protection of the ear is much more complete.
The tympanic membrane. The inner end of the external
meatus is closed by means of a circular membrane, known
as the tympanic membrane. This tympanic membrane is a
composite membrane made up of circular and radial fibers .
It is slightly depressed in the middle so as to be somewhat
funnel-shaped and is loaded by being connected on its inner
surface with a small bone, known because of its shape as
the malleus, or hammer. The malleus is controlled by a
small muscle, known as the tensor tympani. When this
muscle is contracted it draws the malleus inward, and with
the malleus the tympanic membrane, thus increasing the
tension of the membrane and emphasizing its funnel-shaped
form . The adjustments of the tympanic membrane, as well
as its shape, are of importance in giving the ear the largest
possible range of ability to receive sound vibrations . No
artificially constructed diaphragm, such as those employed
in the phonograph or telephone, is capable of as wide a
range of response to tones as is the adjustable, complex
diaphragm in the ear.
Air chamber on inner side of the tympanic membrane.
In the functioning of the tympanic membrane a difficult
mechanical problem arises, because the air pressure in the
106 PSYCHOLOGY
external world is constantly undergoing changes . With every

change in the barometric pressure there would be an inter
ference with the action of the tympanic membrane, if the
spaces behind this membrane were air-tight. Nature has,
accordingly, provided on the inner side of the tympanic
membrane an air chamber communicating with the atmos
phere so that any change in atmospheric pressure will result
in an equal change in the pressure on both sides of the
tympanic membrane . This air chamber on the inner side
of the tympanic membrane is known as the internal meatus,
or tympanic cavity. It consists of an irregular cavity in the
bone, which is in communication with the throat by means
of a small canal, known as the Eustachian tube. The wall
of the Eustachian tube is flexible , so that it collapses except
when a current of air is forced through it by a change in
pressure, either in the internal meatus or in the external
atmosphere. For this reason, the ordinary voice vibrations
which arise in the throat are not communicated directly to
the internal meatus.
Chain of ossicles. Since there is an air chamber on the
inner side of the tympanic membrane, there must be some
means of carrying the sound vibrations received on the tym
panic membrane across this cavity to the inner ear . The
means for transmitting the vibrations received by the tym
panic membrane consist of a chain of three small bones,
known as the chain of ossicles . The first of these ossicles
has been mentioned ; it is the malleus, or hammer, which
is attached by its long arm to the middle of the tympanic
membrane . The head of the malleus articulates with the
surface of the second bone, which is known as the incus
because of its anvil-shaped appearance . One of the branches
of the incus articulates in turn with the third bone, known
as the stapes, or stirrup . Any vibration received by the tym
panic membrane is thus communicated to the stirrup . The
stirrup fits into an oval opening, known as the fenestra
SENSATIONS 107
ovalis, which leads into the inner ear. The stapes is con
Withevery
e an inter nected with the walls of this fenestra ovalis by means of
ne, ifthe a membrane, so that it constitutes a tight-fitting piston
which can move backward and forward in the fenestra
ature has
ovalis . Beyond the oval window the inner ear is filled in
tympanic
he atmos all of its parts with lymphatic fluid. Sound vibrations,
vill result which are originally vibrations of air particles, are thus
transformed by the mechanism described into vibrations in
ofthe
nerside the lymphatic fluid which fills the inner ear.
meatus The inner ear. The inner ear is divided into three prin
cipal parts : vestibule, semicircular canals, and cochlea. The
y in the
means vestibule is an irregular ovoid cavity about one fifth of an
inch in diameter, which opens on the one side into the snail
The wall
shell-shaped cavity, known as the cochlea, and on the other
except
into a system of slender canals, known as the semicircular
nge in
canals. The vestibule itself is divided into two parts, known
xternal
as the saccule and utricle.
rations
The semicircular canals. The semicircular canals are not
ctly
organs of hearing. They are organs which have taken up
in the process of evolution that function of the primitive
n the
ear which was concerned with response to the grosser move
some
ments of the animal's whole body. There are three of these
tym
canals, and they lie in such positions that each one occupies
The
a different plane in space. Any change in the position of
tym the head, or of the body as a whole, will cause a redistri
nes,
bution of the pressure within the system of canals, and this
cles
change in pressure affects the nerve cells which are distrib
ich
uted in the wall of the enlarged portion, or ampulla, of
nic
each canal. The whole system of canals serves as an organ
the
of equilibration. The sensory stimulations which come from
STO
this organ do not give rise in developed human beings to

es
3E
clearly differentiated sensations. The result is that the ordi

nary observer does not know that he has a special sense
1.
organ of equilibration . The stimulations are for the most
e
part taken up by the lower centers of the nervous system,
3
108 PSYCHOLOGY
where they are distributed to the mus

cles which keep the body erect ; they
probably never reach the higher regions
except in company with a great mass
A of other excitations, such as touch sen
sations from the soles of the feet and
muscle sensations from the neck and
trunk. When they become excessively
intense they give rise to the experience
of dizziness. In some cases the indirect
effects of their action come into con
G sciousness . When the reflex muscular
adjustment carried out by the lower
N centers is unusual, as when one de
scends suddenly in an elevator, the
muscular reactions, rather than the pri
mary sensory stimulation , give rise to
a clearly recognizable experience. The
I C observer feels an unusual tension in
his abdominal muscles or muscles of
some other part of the body.
The cochlea and sensory areas in the
FIG. 29. Diagrammatic
section of the sensory vestibule . Turning from the semicir
cells in the vestibule cular canals to the other canal leading
The receiving cells are out of the vestibule, namely the coch
situated on the surface, as
represented by S. These lea, we find
lea, we here the
find here the organs which
receiving cells are sur
are concerned in the reception of tonal
rounded by supporting
cells, as indicated at A. stimulations . It is not clearly known
The nerve fiber is distrib whether noise stimulations are received
uted among the receiving in the cochlea or not . The probabili
cells. The true sensory cell
at G is in the ganglion, ties are that noise stimulations affect
rather than directly at the
surface . This sensory cell certain cells constituting sensory areas
sends its second fiber in in the wall of the vestibule . At all
ward to the central nervous
events, it is true that there are cells
system, represented by C.
(After Herrick) situated in the wall of the vestibule
A
SENSATIONS 109
the mus which seem to be suited to the reception of simple stimuli

rect; they (see Fig. 29) . The vestibule is the direct descendant of
erregions the primitive vesicle. This fact would seem to argue in

reat mass favor of the view that noise stimulations, which are undif
ouch sen ferentiated and probably earlier than tonal stimulations,
feet and affect these cells in the vestibule. Whatever may be true
neck and of noise, it is certain that the tonal
cessivel excitations are received through the eri

complicated structures which have M e mbr Reissn
Scala
perience vestibuli Ductus
been developed, and appear in the cochlearis
indirect r
Mem b n
to con
cochlea. The cochlea is a highly PR10IAOrga
02Cortis
Membr basilari
uscular developed organ, richly supplied
with cells and fibers for the recep
lower Scala tympani
tion of a great number of different
ne de
stimulations. It consists of a double
the
I, spiral canal, which winds around
he pri two and a half times. The winding FIG. 30. The structure in the
ise to cochlea as seen when a trans
of this canal is merely an anatomi verse section is made across
The the canal
cal device for compressing the
95
on in
whole organ into as small a space The parts are clearly marked in
es of the figure. Special attention
as possible. The canal, which is should be given to the basilar
membrane and the organ of
cylindrical in form , is divided into
the Corti situated upon it. The
three parts, - the scala vestibuli, nerve fibers are distributed
icir
the scala tympani, and the ductus among the cells of the organ
ding of Corti from the ganglion in
cochlearis. This division can best a manner similar to that repre
ch
be seen by making a section across sented for the vestibular cells in
ich Fig. 29. (After Herrick)
the cylindrical passage. Fig. 30
nal
shows such a section with the division. The scala tympani
wn
is partially separated from the rest of the cochlea by a bony
ed
shelf which extends for some distance into the canal. The
7
division is completed by an important membrane. This

ct
membrane, known as the basilar membrane, is made up of
S
a series of fibers which differ in length as the membrane
1
passes from the lower to the upper extremity of the canal.
At its lower extremity the fibers are short, and at the
OLOGY
96 PSYCH
for a time at a brilliant red light, the observer sees very

soon after the light is withdrawn a colored area of like
spatial form and extent as the original but of a quality ex
actly complementary to the red ; namely, blue-green . In like
fashion, the negative after-image of a blue surface is yellow.
If the stimulating surface is black and white or gray rather
than colored, the negative after-image will be of such a
character that what was bright in the original image will ap
pear dark in the after-image, and, conversely, what was dark
in the original image will appear white in the after-image .
Contrasts. After-effects in the retina very frequently
operate to modify the retinal processes produced by subse
quent light stimulations . For example, let an observer who
has been looking steadily at a bright red light for a time
and has a strong tendency toward a green after-image look
at a blue surface ; the blue surface will not be seen in its
normal color, but will be seen as a mixture of blue and
green, the green being contributed in this case by the after
image process in the retina. The mixtures between after
effects and color stimulations here under discussion give
rise to many forms of color contrast. In view of the con
tinual movement of the eye from point to point in the
field of vision, the observer is always carrying more or
less marked after-effects from a given part of the field of
vision to the neighboring parts . If, for example, a red and
a green field are placed in close juxtaposition, and the eye
after looking at the red surface tends to move in such a
way as to bring a portion of the retina which has been
stimulated by the red into a position such that it will
be stimulated by the green light, the green sensation re
ceived from the summation of the external stimulation and
the after-image will be more intense than a green sensation
received without the preliminary stimulation from a red.
The result is that green seems to be more saturated when
it lies near red . In general, every color is emphasized by
SENSATIONS 97
being brought into close relation with its complementary,

and grays tend to take on colors complementary to sur
rounding fields . This effect appears even when no eye
movements can be detected . There is probably a diffusion
of contrast effects through the retina even when the eye
fixates steadily a single point.
The tendency of grays to take on colors may be well
illustrated by shadows . If a field which is illuminated by a
yellow light is interrupted by a shadow which is, in reality,
gray, this gray shadow will take on a bluish tinge by con
trast with the yellow field . This fact has long been observed
by those who reproduce the colors of nature in painting, and
the shadows in painting will usually be found to be, not
reproductions of the physical facts, but rather reproductions
of the impression made upon the observer.
Theories of color vision . It remains to add a few remarks
concerning the less certain conclusions regarding the rela
tion between light sensations and external ether vibrations .
The effort has frequently been made to describe the physi
ological processes in a single comprehensive formula or
theory, which shall include all the facts. No attempt will
here be made to review all of those theories . It will be
enough to present one of the simplest and most sug
gestive, and leave it to the student to criticize and recon
struct it in the light of the facts discussed above and
reviewed in the tables given below.
Mrs. Franklin's genetic theory of processes in the retina.
The theory which was formulated by Mrs. Franklin is as
follows : The primitive retina of the lower animals and the
periphery of the human retina have only one chemical
process with which to respond to all light stimuli. This
single chemical process, when set up through the action
of light, arouses in the central nervous system a process
which is the condition of a gray sensation . This is the
original undifferentiated type of retinal activity. As the
GY
HOLO
98 PSYC
evolution of the retina goes forward, this original chemical

process, which may be called the gray process, is so subdi
vided that colors produce certain partial phases of the
original chemical activity. The partial chemical activities
produce each a specialized form of nervous process and
a specialized form of sensory experience. The breaking up
of the gray process into special color processes begins with
a development, first, of the partial processes which corre
spond on the one hand to blue, and on the other hand to
orange or yellow, sensations. This first differentiation cor
responds to the wide difference between the extreme ends
of the spectral series . The original gray process does not
disappear with the rise of the blue and yellow processes,
but remains as the neutral and more general form of
response. At this stage the yellow and blue processes are
each called out by a great variety of stimulations . Thus,
the yellow process is aroused by red light, orange light, and
green light, as well as by yellow light. As the development
goes on, the yellow chemical process is subdivided into
more highly specialized processes, corresponding to red
and green. The result of this successive differentiation of
process is that the highly organized retina may, when
stimulated by the appropriate form of light vibration, re
spond with specialized chemical processes to red, green,
yellow, or blue . If yellow and blue , which were the first
forms of light to arouse differentiated processes, act at the
same time upon the retina, the partial processes which are
differentiated out of the gray cannot both be in action at
once without being swallowed up in the original funda
mental process of gray. If red and green act together upon
the retina, the yellow process appears as the more funda
mental form of chemical process . The facts of color blind
ness can be explained by stating that the differentiation of
chemical processes is not complete in the color-blind eye.
Negative and complementary after-images are due to the
SENSATIONS 99
hemical physiological instability of the partial chemical substances

-subdi left in the retina after a process in which a colored light
of the has partially disintegrated the retinal substance . Contrast
tivities has been included by earlier discussions under the same head
Es and as after-images, though by a spread of stimulation effects con
ngup trasts appear where there are no immediate after-images.

sS with The student will see at once that many of these statements
corre are hypothetical. They serve, however, to gather together the
nd to facts, and they give a genetic account of primitive as well
cor as of present retinal conditions. The theory or hypothesis
ends should be clearly distinguished from the facts, and yet it is
= not evident that the facts justify us in attempting to explain the
relation between physical processes and conscious processes
sses,
of by something which goes on in the retina. In order to keep
are the facts clearly in the foreground, it may be well to re
us, turn to a general summary of the different groups of facts

discussed in this section .
and
ent
ito SUMMARY TABLES
ed
TABLE A. COLOR BLINDNESS
of
en PHYSICAL FACTS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SENSATIONS
e
I. Full series of Highly developed retina A differentiated group
simple vibrations with, however, a limited of sensation quali
it number of modes of re ties including all
sponse to external light colors
1
II. Full series of Partially developed retina Partial color blindness
simple vibrations with a number of possibili
ties of response to exter
nal stimulation which is
more limited than in the
normal retina
III . Full series of Retina so little developed Total color blindness
simple vibrations as to have only one mode
of response
100 PSYCHOLOGY
TABLE B. COLOR MIXTURES
PHYSICAL FACTS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SENSATIONS
I. Series of simple Highly developed retina Limited number of

vibrations with a limited number of sensation qualities,
distinct modes of response constituting a series
of distinct qualities
II . Two simple Retinal response which Single color sensa
waves, closelyre compromises between the tion somewhat less
lated in number two responses which saturated than in
of vibrations, en would have resulted had the simple series
tering the eye the two vibrations acted
together, thus separately
making a com
pound wave
III. Two simple Retinal response which A color very little
waves, very dif tends to take the simplest saturated , or a
ferent in number and most general form of single purple or
of vibrations , en retinal behavior gray
tering the eye
together, thus
making a com
pound wave
IV. Large numbers Simple response of the rudi- Gray
of waves en mentary type
tering the eye
together, thus
making a most
complex wave
TABLE C. AFTER- IMAGES AND CONTRASTS
PHYSICAL FACT PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS SENSATION
I. Strong light vibra Response followed by a Color sensation con

tion followed by continued action of the tinuing after exter
the withdrawal of retina and a final reversal nal light and then
physical light of the retinal process to changing into com
restore the tissue to its plementary color
normal condition quality
SENSATIONS IOI
B. AUDITORY SENSATIONS
TIONS The task of defining sound sensations and of describing

umber of their conditions will be a comparatively simple one on the
qualities , basis of the elaborate study already made of visual sensations.
ngaseries Physical sound. The physical stimulus which causes the
t qualities
nervous processes, which, in turn , condition auditory sensa
or sensa
tions, consists of longitudinal air vibrations . When a vibrat
what less
ing body strikes the air particles about it as it vibrates
than in
series backward and forward, the air particles are alternately driven
together and rebound from one another. Successive waves
of condensation and rarefaction result, and these waves are
carried forward in all directions until they strike some re
ceiving surface, such as the ear. These air vibrations can
- little be defined in the same terms of rate, amplitude, and com
or a
plexity as were used for the light vibrations in the preceding
le or
section (p. 77), although it should be noted that the form of
vibrations is different in the two cases.
Pitch, or tonal quality. With regard to the relation
between sensation and external sound vibration, it is to
be said, first, that when the objective waves are regular,
they give rise to experiences of tone ; when the vibrations
are irregular, the resulting sensation is one of noise. The
rates of the regular vibrations which are recognized as tones
are directly related to differences of pitch . Middle C on the
piano scale has a rate of vibration of two hundred and fifty
six double vibrations per second. Toward the bass end of
the scale the vibrations decrease in rapidity, while toward
the treble they increase. The lowest rate which is ordinarily
heard by the normal ear is about thirty-two vibrations per
1 second, although rates of sixteen, or even ten, per second
have been described by some observers as audible. At the
upper end of the scale one can hear vibrations of thirty
thousand to forty thousand per second. Sounds produced
by insects are of this order.
102 PSYCHOLOGY
Intensity, or loudness. Intensity of tone varies according

as the amplitude of vibration of the single air particles is
great or small.
Complexity of a regular type the source of differences in
timbre. Ordinary sensations of tone are produced by com
plex waves. If two or more forms of vibration are transmitted
to a given particle of air at the same moment, the particle
will move in a path which is the resultant of all of the dif
ferent paths through which it would have moved had the
various impulses of vibration acted upon it successively.
When one compares a given tone from the piano with the
tone of the same pitch from a violin, he will recognize that
the characteristics of the tones are different, though they
are of the same pitch . The violin string vibrates not only
as a whole but also in certain sections, and the piano wire
vibrates as a whole and at the same time in sections . The
rates of vibration of the string and wire as wholes may be
exactly the same. The sections in the two cases and the
rates of their vibration will nearly always be different. The
result is that any particle of air set in motion by either
piano wire or violin string will have its main path deter
mined by the vibration of the whole wire or string, while
the minor details of vibration will be determined by the
vibrations of the sections of the wire or string. The phase
of tonal quality thus determined by the complex of minor
vibrations is known as timbre . The main, or fundamental,
tone is modified by the minor higher tones, or overtones as
they are called . Tones of the same pitch derived from vari
ous instruments have various timbres, just in so far as they
have different overtones .
Noise due to irregular vibrations. The experience of
noise is dependent upon a form of vibration which is so
complex as to be highly irregular . A vague regularity ap
pears in most noises . We speak, accordingly, of certain
noises as low and rumbling, and of others as high and shrill,
SENSATIONS 103
according but for the most part the tendency toward regularity of
articles is vibrations gives way in noises to a confusion of irregular
oscillations in the air particles.
rences in Evolution of the ear. Turning from the physical stimulus
by com to the auditory organ, we find here, as in the case of the
nsmitted eye, that by a long process of evolution there has been pro
particle duced a sensory organ which has a variety of accessory parts
the dif and a delicate sensory surface, which latter transforms the
had the air vibrations into nervous processes. The most primitive
essively. ear, such as is found in the cœlenterates, consists in a sack
ith the shaped opening in the side of the body. This sack-shaped
ze that depression, or vesicle, contains hard calcareous particles, and
h they is lined by sensitive cells which are similar in their general
t only appearance to the cells in the primitive eye. The whole
wire organ can be easily explained by comparing it to a child's
The ordinary rattle-box. If the animal is shaken, or if any
ay be sound vibrations strike against the wall of the vesicle, the
the calcareous particles, or otoliths as they are called, are set
The in motion and tend to strike against the sensitive cells. The
ither result is that the cells will be stimulated by each movement
eter of the animal's body or by the vibrations which enter the
hile vesicle. As the ear develops through the animal series
the there appear a number of accessory organs which serve to
ase facilitate the reception of vibrations, and there comes to be
nor a division between the two original functions of the ear ;
tal. namely, that of sensory response to the movements of
as the body as a whole, and that of response to vibrations
from the water or air.
ri
The human ear, pinna, and meatus. After this brief
ey
reference to the primitive ear we may turn immediately to
of a description of the human ear. The outer cartilaginous
0 organ, known as the pinna, has in man very little function.

It serves in a rudimentary way to concentrate the sound
1 waves and direct them toward the inner ear. The long
funnel-shaped pinna of a horse's ear serves a function which
I04 PSYCHOLOGY
has been lost in the process of evolution . By moving its

ear the horse collects sounds from different directions, and
thus becomes very acutely sensitive to sound and at the
same time recognizes the direction from which the sound
.
But the horse loses fine qualitative shades of sound
N
A
S. C.
EM
T
ET
FIG. 28. Diagrammatic section showing the structure of the ear
P, external pinna ; EM, external meatus ; T, tympanic membrane ; I, internal
meatus, or tympanic cavity. Extending from the tympanic membrane to the inner
ear there are three bones constituting the chain of ossicles : malleus, incus, and
stapes. ET, Eustachian tube, passing from the internal meatus to the cavity of
the throat ; SC, one of the three semicircular canals ; AN, the auditory nerve,
which divides into four parts as indicated in the figure, one branch connecting with
the semicircular canals, two with the parts of the vestibule, and the fourth with the
core of the cochlea, C. The canals of the cochlea are indicated in general outline ;
for details see Fig. 30. The vestibule is the general region lying between the canals
and the cochlea. '(Modified from Czermak)
because the funnel modifies in some measure the form of

the air vibrations . The human ear has so evolved that it
interferes little with quality. This shows that the sense of
hearing in man is not a locating sense but a sense devoted
to the finest discriminations in quality. The evolution of the
ear is undoubtedly related to the evolution of speech .
SENSATIONS 105
ng its The cylindrical canal which connects the surface of the

s, and body with the inner cavities of the ear is known as the ex
at the ternal meatus. This canal is liberally supplied with protective
Sound bristles, and with secretory glands which tend to protect the
Sound ear from all foreign particles, and it is curved in shape so
2 that nothing but very small, slender objects can penetrate
to the inner parts of the ear.
Nature has a relatively easy problem of protection of deli
cate organs in the case of the ear because air vibrations can
be conducted along a narrow passage. In the case of the
eye, the organ must lie exposed on the surface of the body.
Nature has put a ring of bony structures around the eye,
but the protection of the ear is much more complete.
The tympanic membrane. The inner end of the external
meatus is closed by means of a circular membrane, known
as the tympanic membrane. This tympanic membrane is a
composite membrane made up of circular and radial fibers .
It is slightly depressed in the middle so as to be somewhat
funnel-shaped and is loaded by being connected on its inner
surface with a small bone, known because of its shape as
the malleus, or hammer. The malleus is controlled by a
small muscle, known as the tensor tympani. When this
I muscle is contracted it draws the malleus inward, and with
the malleus the tympanic membrane, thus increasing the
tension of the membrane and emphasizing its funnel- shaped
form . The adjustments of the tympanic membrane, as well
as its shape, are of importance in giving the ear the largest
possible range of ability to receive sound vibrations. No
artificially constructed diaphragm, such as those employed
in the phonograph or telephone, is capable of as wide a
range of response to tones as is the adjustable, complex
diaphragm in the ear.
Air chamber on inner side of the tympanic membrane.
In the functioning of the tympanic membrane a difficult
mechanical problem arises, because the air pressure in the
106 PSYCHOLOGY
external world is constantly undergoing changes . With every

change in the barometric pressure there would be an inter
ference with the action of the tympanic membrane, if the
spaces behind this membrane were air-tight . Nature has,
accordingly, provided on the inner side of the tympanic
membrane an air chamber communicating with the atmos
phere so that any change in atmospheric pressure will result
in an equal change in the pressure on both sides of the
tympanic membrane. This air chamber on the inner side
of the tympanic membrane is known as the internal meatus,
or tympanic cavity. It consists of an irregular cavity in the
bone, which is in communication with the throat by means
of a small canal, known as the Eustachian tube . The wall
of the Eustachian tube is flexible , so that it collapses except
when a current of air is forced through it by a change in
pressure, either in the internal meatus or in the external
atmosphere . For this reason , the ordinary voice vibrations
which arise in the throat are not communicated directly to
the internal meatus.
Chain of ossicles . Since there is an air chamber on the
inner side of the tympanic membrane, there must be some
means of carrying the sound vibrations received on the tym
panic membrane across this cavity to the inner ear. The
means for transmitting the vibrations received by the tym
panic membrane consist of a chain of three small bones,
known as the chain of ossicles . The first of these ossicles
has been mentioned ; it is the malleus, or hammer, which
is attached by its long arm to the middle of the tympanic
membrane. The head of the malleus articulates with the
surface of the second bone, which is known as the incus
because of its anvil-shaped appearance . One of the branches
of the incus articulates in turn with the third bone, known
as the stapes, or stirrup . Any vibration received by the tym
panic membrane is thus communicated to the stirrup . The
stirrup fits into an oval opening, known as the fenestra
SENSATIONS 107
ovalis, which leads into the inner ear. The stapes is con
every
inter nected with the walls of this fenestra ovalis by means of
fthe a membrane, so that it constitutes a tight-fitting piston
which can move backward and forward in the fenestra
has,
anic ovalis. Beyond the oval window the inner ear is filled in
mos all of its parts with lymphatic fluid. Sound vibrations,

esult which are originally vibrations of air particles, are thus
transformed by the mechanism described into vibrations in
the
the lymphatic fluid which fills the inner ear.
side
The inner ear. The inner ear is divided into three prin
tus,
the cipal parts : vestibule, semicircular canals, and cochlea. The
ans vestibule is an irregular ovoid cavity about one fifth of an

inch in diameter, which opens on the one side into the snail
vall
shell-shaped cavity, known as the cochlea, and on the other
ept
into a system of slender canals, known as the semicircular
in
canals. The vestibule itself is divided into two parts, known
nal
as the saccule and utricle.
ns
The semicircular canals. The semicircular canals are not
to
organs of hearing. They are organs which have taken up
in the process of evolution that function of the primitive
ear which was concerned with response to the grosser move
ne
ments of the animal's whole body. There are three of these
7
canals, and they lie in such positions that each one occupies
a different plane in space. Any change in the position of
the head, or of the body as a whole, will cause a redistri
J
bution of the pressure within the system of canals, and this
change in pressure affects the nerve cells which are distrib
uted in the wall of the enlarged portion, or ampulla, of
each canal. The whole system of canals serves as an organ
of equilibration. The sensory stimulations which come from
this organ do not give rise in developed human beings to
clearly differentiated sensations . The result is that the ordi
nary observer does not know that he has a special sense
organ of equilibration . The stimulations are for the most
part taken up by the lower centers of the nervous system,
108 PSYCHOLOGY
where they are distributed to the mus

cles which keep the body erect ; they
probably never reach the higher regions
except in company with a great mass
of other excitations, such as touch sen
sations from the soles of the feet and
muscle sensations from the neck and
trunk. When they become excessively
intense they give rise to the experience
of dizziness . In some cases the indirect
effects of their action come into con
sciousness . When the reflex muscular
adjustment carried out by the lower
N centers is unusual, as when one de
scends suddenly in an elevator, the
muscular reactions, rather than the pri
mary sensory stimulation , give rise to
a clearly recognizable experience . The
C observer feels an unusual tension in
his abdominal muscles or muscles of
some other part of the body.
The cochlea and sensory areas in the
FIG. 29. Diagrammatic
section of the sensory vestibule . Turning from the semicir
cells in the vestibule cular canals to the other canal leading
The receiving cells are out of the vestibule , namely the coch
situated on the surface, as
represented by S. These lea, we find here the organs which
receiving cells are sur
are concerned in the reception of tonal
rounded by supporting stimulations . It is not clearly known
cells, as indicated at A.
The nerve fiber is distrib whether noise stimulations are received
uted among the receiving
cells. The true sensory cell in the cochlea or not. The probabili
at G is in the ganglion, ties are that noise stimulations affect
rather than directly at the certain cells constituting sensory areas
surface. This sensory cell
sends its second fiber in in the wall of the vestibule . At all
ward to the central nervous
system, represented by C. events, it is true that there are cells
(After Herrick) situated in the wall of the vestibule
SENSATIONS 109
he mus which seem to be suited to the reception of simple stimuli

t; they (see Fig. 29). The vestibule is the direct descendant of
regions the primitive vesicle. This fact would seem to argue in

‫به‬
t mass favor of the view that noise stimulations, which are undif
ch sen ferentiated and probably earlier than tonal stimulations,
et and affect these cells in the vestibule. Whatever may be true
of noise, it is certain that the tonal
-k and
excitations are received through the
sivel eri
ssn
complicated structures which have Scala Rei
rience vestibuli mbr Ductus
been developed, and appear in the Me gacochlearis
direct
e m o r n
con
cochlea. The cochlea is a highly M Cortii. s
Membr basilar
cular developed organ, richly supplied
with cells and fibers for the recep
Ower Scala tympani
de tion of a great number of different
stimulations. It consists of a double
the
spiral canal, which winds around
pri two and a half times. The winding FIG. 30. The structure in the
to cochlea as seen when a trans
of this canal is merely an anatomi verse section is made across
The
the canal
cal device for compressing the
whole organ into as small a space The parts are clearly marked in
of the figure. Special attention
as possible. The canal, which is should be given to the basilar
cylindrical in form, is divided into membrane and the organ of
Ge Corti situated upon it. The
three parts, - -the scala vestibuli, nerve fibers are distributed
r
the scala tympani, and the ductus among the cells of the organ
Do of Corti from the ganglion in
cochlearis. This division can best a manner similar to that repre
be seen by making a section across sented for the vestibular cells in
Fig. 29. (After Herrick)
the cylindrical passage. Fig. 30
shows such a section with the division . The scala tympani
is partially separated from the rest of the cochlea by a bony
shelf which extends for some distance into the canal. The
division is completed by an important membrane. This
membrane, known as the basilar membrane, is made up of
a series of fibers which differ in length as the membrane
passes from the lower to the upper extremity of the canal.
At its lower extremity the fibers are short, and at the
IIO PSYCHOLOGY
upper end of the canal they are about twelve times as long.
Helmholtz, the great German physicist, called attention to
the striking similarity between the structure of the basilar
membrane and the system of strings of a musical instrument
capable of giving a variety of different tones . He also ad
vanced the hypothesis that the fibers of the membrane are
so related to external tones that a given fiber is set in
vibration by each particular rate of vibration . It is a well
known principle of physical science that any fiber or rod
will vibrate sympathetically with a tone which has the same
rate as it would assume itself, if it were set in vibration by
some other cause . This principle is known as the principle
of sympathetic resonance . The basilar membrane is so situ
ated that the vibrations which enter the inner ear through
the fenestra ovalis reach it by passing up the scala vestibuli
and the ductus cochlearis . The scala tympani is a canal
which carries back the vibrations after they have acted on
the basilar membrane . It is connected at the upper end of
the cochlea with the scala vestibuli and serves to conduct
away the vibrations rather than allow them to be reflected
back into the vestibule ; for its lower end does not open into
the vestibule, but communicates through an opening, known
as the fenestra rotunda, with the internal meatus. The
basilar membrane thus stands in the direct path of the vibra
tions, and it is, probably, the organ which takes up the
vibrations through sympathetic resonance and makes them
effective in exciting the sensory cells .
Sensory cells in the cochlea . A system of receiving
cells, analogous to the rods and cones in the eye, is placed
directly on the basilar membrane. At any given point they
form an arch extending across the membrane, and, there
fore, are capable of taking up any vibration which sets the
fibers of the membrane in motion . The arch of cells is
shown in Fig. 30 and is known, from the physiologist who
first described it, as the organ of Corti . Among the cells
SENSATIONS IIT
long. that constitute the organ of Corti there are distributed nerve
ion to fibers which come from auditory ganglion or true sensory
basilar nerve cells situated in a cavity in the bony core of the coch
ument lea. Whenever the cells of Corti are set in vibration, they
So ad excite the fibers. The external air wave is thus transformed
e are in the organ of Corti into a nervous process .
et in Contrast between auditory and visual processes . It is to
well be noted that the transformation is of a distinctly different
- rod type from that which takes place in the eye. In the eye
Same the physical stimulus produces a chemical activity in the
by rods and cones. In the case of the ear the stimulus con
ciple tinues in the form of vibrations until it produces its final

Situ effect upon the nerve cells. There is a less fundamental
ugh change in the character of the stimulus as we pass from the

buli external world to the nervous process in the ear than there
nal is in the corresponding transition in the eye. This fact
shows itself most clearly when we come to deal with com
~:
pound sound vibrations. It makes no difference how many

act tones are sounded before the tympanic membrane, the com
ed plex vibration will be faithfully transmitted by the chain of
to ossicles and the other accessory organs and will, at all
points in its transmission, be a detailed reproduction of the
=
11
e total complex of sound impulses which gave rise to it.
Furthermore, it is shown by an examination of sensory
experience that there must be a separate sensory process
for each component of the tonal complex. If an observer
listens to a tonal complex, such as an orchestra, the sensory
excitations do not fuse as do the chemical processes result
ing from a number of colors which act upon the retina
together. Each tone in the complex retains its independent
value for experience. It was this fact, together with the
form of the basilar membrane, which led Helmholtz to sug
gest his hypothesis. Whether that particular hypothesis is
true or not, we may confidently assert that the different
parts of the organ of Corti are specialized in some way or
112 PSYCHOLOGY
other, so that each rate of external vibration , whether it

reaches the cochlea alone or as part of a complex of vibra
tions, excites a particular part of the sensory organ and so
gives rise to a distinct sensory process. The ear is thus
seen to be an analyzing sense capable of carrying to con
sciousness at one and the same moment a vast complex of
sound. There is nothing in auditory sensation to corre
spond to white among the retinal sensations unless it be
mere noise. But even here there is a fundamental differ
ence, because the various elements of a noise can be heard.
separately, especially if some of the elements have a tonal
character. For example , the ear has no difficulty in hearing
at the same time the noise produced by a train and the
sounds produced by the human voice.
Beats, difference tones. There are certain special cases of
complex air vibration which should be mentioned in this
discussion of sensations. If two closely related tones are
sounded together, they will reënforce the vibration of the
air particles which they affect so long as their phases are
alike, but the moment their phases come into such a relation
that one tends to set the air particle vibrating in a given
direction and the other tends to set the same air particle
vibrating in the opposite direction, they will partially counter
act each other in such a way as to keep the air particle for
a moment in a state of equilibrium. Fig. 31 represents,
in the form of a water wave , two vibrations which at the
outset coöperate in giving a larger wave. As one lags
slightly behind the other, they come later to counteract each
other in such a way that no vibration takes place, as shown
at M. The result of such a combination of tones, which is
a purely physical affair, is that the observer receives not
only the two primary vibrations but also a series of rapid
variations in intensity, which succession of intensities fuses
into a new impression . The observer therefore hears, in
addition to the two fundamental tones, an alternate rising
SENSATIONS 113
hether it and falling in the loudness of the sound, which fluctuation

of vibra gives rise to experiences known as beats. If these beats
andso are slow enough to be distinguishable, they will be recog
is thus nized as quite distinct from the tones. If, on the other
to con hand, they become too numerous to be separately apprehended,
plex of they may sometimes be heard as an additional tone, when
Corre they are designated as difference tones. For example, if
it be two tones, c and g, are sounded together, these tones having
differ vibrations at the rates of 256 and 384 vibrations per second,
heard the result will be a complex in which both c and g will be dis
tonal tinctly heard ; but there will also be heard a third tone, the
aring a
the
b
es of
2
this FIG. 31. Diagram to represent the formation of beats

are The two curves represented by the light line and the dotted line begin together,
the showing the same phase at the same time. The wave motion represented by the
dotted line is somewhat more rapid than that represented by the full line ; conse
are quently, the relation of the two waves changes so that in the region M the two are
on in opposite phases. The heavy line indicates the results of the combination of the
two waves. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h indicate the strong curve which results from the
en reënforcing influence of the two wave motions. M indicates the result of the coun
‫ܝܘ‬
le teracting influence of the two. (After Ebbinghaus)

I
or number of vibrations of which equals the difference between
the number of vibrations of c and g. That is, the difference
S
tone in this case will be a tone of 128 vibrations per second.
Summation tones. Again, there are complexities in the
tonal experience such that often tones are heard in a tonal
complex which, in number of vibrations, are equal to the
sum of the two fundamentals. Such tones are known as
summation tones. They do not seem to be purely physical
facts, explicable in terms of the physical effect upon the air
particles, for they cannot, in all cases, be reënforced by physi
cal resonators (the apparatus which is commonly used in the
detection of single tones in tonal complexes). Summation
114 PSYCHOLOGY
tones seem rather to be due to certain physiological proc

esses, perhaps to interferences of the vibration processes
in the basilar membrane or to secondary vibrations in the
bony walls of the cochlea . In ordinary experiences differ
ence tones and summation tones play no important part,
but the result of these tones upon harmonies and discords
in music is a matter of some importance and one which
has been made the subject of careful examination .
Harmony not a matter of sensation. By these discussions
of tonal sensations and their combinations we have been
led to the point where it would be appropriate to take up
the matter of harmony. Certain tones, when sounded to
gether, give the observer an experience which is not merely
that of tones sounding together, but is also an experience
of the smooth fitting together of these tones, while other
combinations give the observer a distinct impression of jar
or discord. The effort has often been made to explain
harmony and discord as due to beats and like facts ; that is,
to certain simple processes in the organ of sense . We shall
dismiss the matter in a somewhat dogmatic fashion by say
ing that such explanations of harmony, by processes of a
purely sensory type, are not satisfactory. There is probably
a close relation between recognition of harmony and motor
processes, such as those of the vocal cords and those of the
inner organs which, as will be seen later, are aroused during
emotional experiences .
Absence of after-images in auditory sensations. Before
closing the discussion of tonal sensations it should be noted
that the nature of the auditory sensory process is such that
contrast and after-effects do not appear to any great extent
in tonal or noise sensations . The process in the nerve cells
terminates as soon as the external vibration ceases . This
characteristic of sound sensations explains why it is that
these sensations can be used in musical compositions . A
succession of colors , given in anything like the same
SENSATIONS 115
relation as a succession of tones in music, would produce a

proc
ocesses hazy blur of after-effects.
in the Tone deafness. Cases of tonal deafness, or inability to

differ receive certain tones, have been described . A person capable
of the usual tonal discriminations in many parts of the
part,
Scords scale is quite unable to distinguish tones in a certain limited
which part of the scale or at one end of the scale. This deficiency
is undoubtedly related to some lack of normal functioning
Sions in a given region of the basilar membrane, or organ of
been Corti. In old age a person may also show increasing
deficiency in ability to hear very high tones.
- ‫טק‬
SUMMARY
rely
Ice Without attempting to summarize all that has been said in the
discussions of tonal sensations, it may be advantageous to prepare
her
a table which may be used for the purposes of comparison with
ar
the earlier tables referring to visual sensations.
in
S PHYSICAL VIBRATION PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS SENSATION
11
Series of air vibrations No physiological excitation No sensation
below 10 per second
Continuous series of A very large number of dif Large number of sen
changes in rate of ferent processes in the sations ranging in
air vibration from basilar membrane and series from lowest
32 per second to organ of Corti ; the num to highest pitch
30,000 or 40,000 ber being, however, less
per second than the number of phys
ical processes
Same as above More limited number of phys- Partial tone deafness
iological processes because
ofincomplete development
of the organ of Corti
Complex vibrations Separate physiological proc Recognizable com
ess for each component plex of tonal sen
of the complex sations
Complex vibrations Interference of vibration in Summation tones not
the physiological organs paralleled by objec
tive vibrations
116 PSYCHOLOGY
C. SENSATIONS OF TASTE AND SMELL
Taste and smell differentiations of a primitive chemical

sense. Sensations of taste and smell may be considered
together. Indeed, in the primitive forms of animal life,
taste and smell constitute a single chemical sense. Of the
two the sense of smell is distinctly later in its development,
appearing as an important separate sense with the appearance
of the air-breathing animals .
Position of olfactory organ in
the nasal cavity. It is unneces
sary here for us to consider at
any great length the nasal cavities
WA
in which the olfactory cells are
situated . These cavities are not
true accessories to the organ of
sense, as were the cavities in the
ear. The organ of sense is rather
FIG. 32. The inner cavity of accessory to the general organ of
the nose
respiration . The position of the
The arrow A indicates the path of sensory cells is such that they are
the air in ordinary respiration ; B
indicates the path of the air when not in the direct path of the great
the animal sniffs . The olfactory re volume of air which is used in
gion is indicated by the black area
in the upper part of the cavity the process of respiration . Fig. 32
shows the area within the nasal
cavity which is covered by olfactory cells . The arrow A in
the figure indicates the path of the air current in ordinary
respiration . It will be noted that in such ordinary respira
tion very little of the air is carried up into the upper part
of the nasal cavity and thus brought into contact with the
sensitive cells. If for any reason it is desirable that the
sensitive cells should receive the full current of air which
enters the nose, the animal must sniff the air forcibly into
the nasal cavity, in which case it will follow the direction of
the arrow B in the figure.
SENSATIONS 117
Structure and function of the olfactory surface. The

olfactory surface itself is made up of two kinds of cells,
as shown in Figs. 33 and 34. There are, first, certain
supporting cells which line the nasal
cavity ; and second, there are distributed
among the supporting cells true sensory
cells, from which fibers pass inward to
the central nervous system. The nerve
cells in this organ are immediately on the
surface, in such a position that particles
brought in through the air currents come
into direct contact with the cell body
proper. This direct exposure of the nerve
cells to stimulation is undoubtedly related
to the fact that these cells are very easily
fatigued. It is a well-recognized fact
that an odor which is very striking at
first soon grows less and less impressive,
even though the stimulus may continue FIG. 33. Section show
in its original intensity. Furthermore, ing the different cells
which compose the
the olfactory cells do not seem to be very mucous lining of the
definitely specialized, and there are no nose in the olfactory
selective organs between the external region
stimulus and the sensory organs which By the staining process,
the special sensory cells
determine the effect of the stimulus on are clearly distinguished
from the other cells as
the nervous organs. There is, accord black. In one of these
ingly, no clearly defined limit to the cells the nerve fiber will
number and variety of olfactory sensa be seen passing directly
out of the cell toward the
tions. By way of contrast with the visual central organ
organ, for example, there is, in the case
of the olfactory sense, nothing which corresponds to the rods
or cones and operates to reduce all external stimulations to
a limited number of sensory processes . Consequently, the
number of olfactory sensations is very large, and the effort
to classify them is defeated by their variety.
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Smell a rudimentary sense in man . Ani
mals make much larger use of the sense of smell than do
bruman beings. They often take advantage of the presence
of strange effluvia in the atmosphere and react positively
to these odors, seeking the source of the odor, if it leads
them, for example, to food. It is to be said in this con
nection that the human sense of smell can be much more
highly cultivated than is commonly the case, if attention is
directed to these sensations in early life . Such attention aids
dis rimination, but does not change the organ itself.
SENSATIONS 119
Taste qualities and taste organs specialized. Turning from

smell to taste, we notice first that the qualities of taste sen
sation are more easily reduced to a classified list. The quali
ties most constantly recurring are bitter, sweet, sour, and
saline. If we add to the list al
kaline and metallic, which may
be compounds, it is possible to
classify all taste experiences as
belonging under the one or the
other of the six classes, or as
compounds of these . This re
duction of all tastes to a few
qualities leads one to look for
structures in the organ of taste
which shall explain the reduc
tion of the physical manifold
to a small number of sensory
qualities. The study of the
organs of taste shows that they
are specialized structures, prob
ably of a selective character.
Organs of taste. The taste
organs are distributed through
out the mouth and throat. They
appear in greatest abundance FIG. 35. The depression between
the sides of two papillæ on the
on the papillæ of the tongue. surface of the tongue
Fig. 35 shows a magnified sec Liquids may pass down into this open
tion through the side of one of ing. On its sides are taste bulbs. Their
number and distribution are indicated
the large papillæ. At certain in the figure
points in the walls of the papilla
there can be distinguished groups of cells clustered in bulb
shaped organs. These are known as the taste bulbs . Each
bulb is made up of a number of cells grouped about its wall
and constituting a minute pear-shaped organ (Fig . 36) .
Among these cells in the bulb are distributed tactual nerve
I 20 PSYCHOLOGY
fibers and special taste fibers (Fig. 37), which come from
nerve cells located in the immediate vicinity of the medulla.
The cells of the taste bulb are chemically affected by certain
fluids which act upon them, and the chemical processes set
up within the peripheral cells are transmitted first to the nerve
fibers, and through these to the nerve cells, and, finally, from
the receiving nerve cells
to the central nervous sys
tem. Probably not all the
cells in the taste bulbs act
equally in receiving taste
n stimulations. Some of the
cells in the bulbs seem to
be specialized for the taste
function, while others play
A the part of supporting
cells . The peripheral or
gans are not true nerve
cells, as were the receiv
ing cells in the olfactory
nonen
organs ; they are interme
FIG. 36. A diagrammatic section of a diate between the sensory
single taste bulb showing the character fibers and the outer world.
of the different cells
Their function is, un
The cells marked / are the special sensory doubtedly, selective . This
cells. The cells marked ss are supporting
cells. It will be noticed that the cells consti accounts for the more
tuting the bulb are somewhat larger than those
which form the general surrounding tissue definite and independent
character ofthe taste quali
ties as compared with odors . The selective character of the
taste cells is strikingly shown by the fact that not all taste
bulbs receive with equal facility the various taste stimula
tions . Thus, the cells in the back part of the tongue are
much more sensitive to stimulation from bitter substances.
Cells in the front part of the tongue respond more readily
to sweet solutions . On the sides of the tongue the areas
SENSATIONS 121
me from are especially sensitive to sour and saline stimulations. To

medula be sure, the localization is not absolute, especially for sour
ycertai and saline, but it is very far in advance of anything found
esses set in the olfactory surface .
he nerve Gustatory stimuli. The substances which act upon these
ly,from taste bulbs must be in liquid form . If one dries the tongue
ve cells thoroughly, the substances
Dus ST which would otherwise pro
2
allthe duce taste impressions can

lbs act be pressed against the
taste tongue without producing
any effect. For example,
emto a piece of dry salt placed
taste upon the dry surface of
play the tongue will not give
rise to any taste sensation . a
rting
1or
erve D. SENSATIONS OF TOUCH FIG. 37. A diagrammatic sketch show
eir ing two neighboring taste bulbs
CONT Organs of touch. The The supporting cells have been removed in
group of sensations popu the two bulbs. The bulb on the right has
four specialized gustatory cells. The network
larly classified under the of fibers at the base of these cells shows the
sense of touch might very mode of distribution of the gustatory nerve
fibers. In the bulb on the left and in the
properly have been con intermediate tissue between the bulbs, the
sidered at the beginning terminations of the tactile nerve fiber are
shown. The tongue is thus seen to be an
2 of this chapter, for touch organ of touch as well as of taste
is the human sense which
is most closely allied in character and in the structure of its
organs to the primitive senses of the lower animals. Indeed,
the surface of the body is a relatively undifferentiated mass
of protective and sensory cells, which are open to stimula
tions of all kinds and capable of responding in some degree
to almost any form of external energy. The true nerve cells
for the sense of touch are situated in the immediate neigh
borhood of the spinal cord. They are primitive bipolar cells,
122 PSYCHOLOGY
as shown outside the cord in Figs. 13 and 14. The branch

which passes out of one of these bipolar cells toward the
surface of the body is the receiving sensory fiber. When it
reaches the skin , it breaks up into a fine network of fibrils.
These fibrils are distributed among the cells of the skin.
The nerve fiber which travels inward from the receiving cell
extends into the spinal cord . Such a fiber was described
in the discussion of the spinal cord . It will be recalled that
this central fiber branches so as to extend upward and
downward through a large section of the spinal cord, send
ing out at various levels collateral branches which transmit
the stimulation to the motor cells at the different levels of
the cord or transmit the stimulation to the higher nervous
centers .
Differentiation of the tactual fibers ; temperature spots.
The sensory fibers which pass to various parts of the surface
of the body seem to be differentiated in their functions to
some extent in spite of the uniformity of their structure.
For, while it is probably true that there is no region on the
surface of the body which is not susceptible to stimulation
in some degree by all forms of external energy, provided
the energy is strong enough, yet it is certain that there are
regions capable of responding easily to slight changes in
pressure and temperature. Indeed, there are areas which
show special susceptibility to pressure, and others which are
especially sensitive to temperature. The specialized areas are
usually points or, at most, limited areas. The most striking
demonstration of this differentiation of the skin can be se
cured by taking a metallic point which has been reduced some
what in temperature and passing this point slowly across the
skin. At intervals the point will be recognized as distinctly
cold, while on other parts of the skin it will be recognized
merely as an external pressure without temperature quality.
Those areas where the point is recognized as distinctly cold
have been designated cold spots .
SENSATIONS 123
The branc Pressure spots. A second type of specialized points on the

surface of the skin includes those points which are specially
Cowardth
Whent susceptible to stimulations of pressure. If one applies a fine
offit hair to points on the skin, it will be found that there are cer
tain points at which the pressure will be recognized, while
theski
there are other points from which no sensation will arise.
iving t
Those points which respond to the slightest stimulation are
describe
called pressure spots. The number of pressure spots discov
lled th
ered in any special region will depend, of course, upon the
ard an
intensity of the pressure exerted by the hair, so that the term
d, send (e
'pressure spot " is a relative term and depends for its exact
ransm
definition upon the intensity ofthe stimulus applied to the skin.
vels
A part of this differentiation of sensory excitations is due
лепток
to the structures which surround the tactual sensory fibers,
but beyond this there is a demonstrated difference in the
spots
receiving fibers themselves.
urface
Other " spots." Heat spots and pain spots can also be
Ons t
found. The heat spots are much more diffuse and difficult
cture
to locate than the cold spots, but they are analogous to the
the
cold spots in their response to changes in temperature stimu
atic
lation. Pain spots appear in certain parts of the body and
ida
may, perhaps, be defined as specially sensitive pressure spots.
alt
Whole areas of the body surface, as, for example, the cornea
of the eye, are so sensitive that any stimulation which is rec
ognized at all will be recognized with the quality of pain rather
than that of simple pressure. There are certain reasons for
treating pain as distinct from pressure. Thus, when a sen
sory nerve fiber has been injured and is gradually recovering
its functions, pain sensibility and pressure sensibility are
5.
restored at different stages of the recovery.
Relativity of temperature sense ; chemical and mechanical
senses. One characteristic of the temperature spots is their
change in sensitivity when stimulated for a period of time by
any given temperature. For example, the hand which has
grown cold from a long exposure to cold air will react to water
124 PSYCHOLOGY
of a moderate degree of temperature in such a way as to give

rise to the sensation of warmth, while the same hand, after
it has been exposed to
warm air, will give sen
4
sations of cold from the
b same water. This rela
3
tivity, as it is called, of
the temperature sense is
due to the fact that the
a
nervous processes in
volved are chemical proc
esses which, when once
O established, change the
FIG. 38 A. Tactual end organs condition of the sensory
A section of the cornea of the eye much magni organs so that the recep
fied. The small cells in the upper part of the tion of later stimulations
figure show that the tissue is made up of a num
ber of small, compactly arranged cells. A nerve depends upon both the
fiber is seen distributing its branches among present stimulation and
these cells. This is a typical form of distribution
of the tactual fiber, which ends freely in the the condition induced by
surface of the body. (After Testute) past stimulations . Simi
lar facts have been noted
in the discussion of color
contrasts and olfactory
fatigue. There is no
marked relativity in the
case of sensory proc
esses of hearing or of
pressure. There is a
basis in these differ
ences with regard to rel
FIG. 38 B. A Pa FIG. 38 C. A Mis ativity for a distinction
cinian corpuscle . senian corpuscle . between the chemical
(After Testute) (After Testute)
senses on the one hand,
including the temperature sense, the senses of smell, taste,
and vision, and the mechanical senses on the other hand,
SENSATIONS 125
::
togive including those which depend upon direct excitation of the

d, after nerve fibers ; namely, pressure and hearing. The chemical
sed t senses show greater relativity and more striking after-effects
ve sen than do the mechanical senses.
Omthe Organs of touch at the periphery. The peripheral endings
s rela of tactual fibers are in some cases surrounded by special struc
ed, tures ; in other cases the fibers end freely among the cells of
nseis the skin. A number of typical end organs are shown in
at the Figs. 38-41 . Some evidence has been accumulated to show
in that the differentiated qualities of
tactual sensation are related to these
proc
once specialized structures. Thus, there
the are certain organs which appear in
sory the conjunctiva where there is no
그다 sensitivity for pressure, but where
ons there is sensitivity for cold. This
the leads to the inference that they are
nd special organs for cold. Again, cer
tain tactual cells seem to be espe
FIG. 39. Two Golgi- Mazzoni
cially numerous in regions sensitive corpuscles of the type found
d to pain. Pain, however, is the only by Ruffini in the cutaneous
type of sensation from certain other connective tissue of the tip
of the human finger
regions where the fibers end freely
among the epithelial cells. The evidence is, therefore, not
conclusive that the end organs in the skin are specialized ;
they may be primarily protective organs.
Muscle sensations and organic sensations. Sensations from
the inner organs of the body have sometimes been classified
under the tactual sense ; sometimes they have been regarded
as constituting separate classes. All the inner organs of the
body have sensory nerve fibers similar to the tactual fibers
which end in the skin. Thus,the muscles, joints, linings of
the organs of the thoracic, and especially of the abdominal,
regions are all supplied with sensory nerves. In discussing
the experiences received from the limbs, it is sometimes
126 PSYCHOLOGY
convenient to distinguish under the name " muscle sensa

tions " the experiences resulting from the excitation of the
sensory fibers ending in the muscles . In like manner,
sensations from the abdominal organs
are sometimes classified as organic
sensations . The motives for minute
analysis of these sensations from the
A
inner organs are not strong, because
B these sensations are relatively un
differentiated . In the normal course
of life they come into experience
with a great mass of skin sensations,
X and they never are intense except
when they are abnormal .
E. SENSATION INTENSITIES
Intensity a general characteristic .

FIG. 40. Shows the com While it has been necessary to dis
plex distribution of a tactual
nerve fiber in the immediate cuss sensation qualities in terms of
vicinity of a hair the relation of these qualities to vari
The freely ending nerve fibers ous organs of sense and various forms
in region A directly under the of external energy, it is possible to
epidermis are to be compared
treat the matter of sensation intensi
with the freely ending nerve
fibers shown in Fig. 38 A. These ties in a somewhat more general way.
fibers before their distribution
in the area A form a network in The relation of changes in the in
the cutis
shaft in
ofthe tensity of objective sounds to changes
the thearea
hairB.
areAround
certain
in the intensity of sound sensations
glandular tissues marked G in
the figure. Branches from the is of essentially the same type as the
general nerve trunk are distrib
uted, as indicated at X, about relation between the intensity of pres
the hair and its surrounding tis sure stimuli and pressure sensations.
sues. (After Retzius)
Indeed, it is in this sphere of sensa
tion intensities that the general methods of modern experi
mental investigation were first most fully developed. The
early experimental investigators had the largest confidence
SENSATIONS 127
sensa that they would be able to develop general mathematical

of the formulas which would define the relations between external
nner, stimuli and sensation intensity with a degree of comprehen
rgans siveness and precision comparable to that which is attained
ganic in the physical sciences . As a result, they performed the most
inute laborious experiments and collected a mass of data which is
the not equaled in quantity bythe data relating to any other single
ause sphere of psychological phenomena.
un Weber's Law. The general principle
urse which was established by these investiga
nce tors is commonly known as Weber's Law.
ons, This law states that the increase in sen
ept sation intensity does not follow directly
the increase in the physical stimulus .
While the physical stimulus is increasing
either continuously or by additions of
small increments, the sensation increases
C in recognizable intensity only after there
has been a certain percentage of increase FIG. 41 . Tooth of
in the intensity of the external stimulus. Gobinus showing dis
To make the matter concrete, if a certain tribution of nerve
5 intensity of light is continuously increased fiber throughout the
canal of the tooth .
or is increased step by step by small ad (After Retzius )
ditional amounts of energy, there may
result in subjective experience no appreciable increase what
soever. Before a change in the intensity of the sensation can
arise, the external light must be increased by about 100 of
its original intensity. Various investigators have found some
1
what different fractions ranging from 16 or 17 to , but
in any case when the fraction is determined for a given in
tensity of light, say one hundred candlemeters , the same
fraction holds, at least approximately, for all other medium
intensities. The meaning of Weber's Law can be made
clear by considering the following negative illustration . If we
add to a single candle the small quantity of light necessary
128 PSYCHOLOGY
to increase it by , an observer will be able to recognize

the change. If, now, we add to a light of one thousand
1
candlepowers the same 100 of a single candlepower, the
effect will be absolutely unappreciable ; that is, the sensation
in consciousness will not be modified at all . Ten candle
powers must be added to one thousand before an appreciable
change takes place in the observer's experience.
General statement of the law. The law holds in general
for all spheres of sensation intensity. The ratio of increase
in the different spheres of sensation differs. Thus, while
it is 8 for pressure .
for light, it is given by Wundt as 100
Other fractions are reported for other spheres of sensation.
In general, however, the relation is always of the same type.
It has been expressed briefly in the statement, if the sen
sation is to increase in an arithmetical ratio, the stimulus
must increase in a geometrical ratio. The range of applica
bility of this general principle is limited in each case to
stimuli of moderate intensities.
Mechanical explanation of Weber's Law. After the law
has been established as a statement of an empirical fact, it
is by no means easy to determine its value for the explana
tion of mental life. It probably expresses a law of nervous
behavior which is a special case under the general mechanical
principle, that any increase in any form of physical activity
becomes more and more difficult as this activity reaches a
higher level of intensity. For example, it is extremely
difficult to add to the speed of a locomotive beyond a certain
point. If the locomotive is moving at the rate of fifteen
miles an hour, a moderate increase in the amount of energy
applied to the machinery will increase the speed by a mile
an hour. If, however, the engine is moving at the rate of
sixty miles an hour, the amount of energy which must be
expended to add one mile to its speed is very much greater
than the amount which was necessary to add this same in
crement of speed when the engine was moving at the rate
SENSATIONS 129
recognize of fifteen miles . This mechanical principle is applicable to

thousand the action of the nervous system. If the external stimulus
wer, the acting upon the sense organs is producing a certain mod
ensation erate degree of chemical activity, that chemical activity can
cande be intensified by a small addition to the external stimulus.
reciable If, however, the stimulus acting upon the nerve cells is so
strong that it demands nearly all of the energy that the cell
is capable of giving out, then the small addition to the
genera
ncrease stimulus will produce no effect. Since this is a general
principle of all nervous behavior, it is a principle which
essure appears alike in all the different spheres of sensation .
ation Other views regarding Weber's Law. Other interpreta
tions of Weber's Law have been given in the history of
14
psychology. One such interpretation, given by Fechner,

was of a most ambitious type and was intended by its author
s
;
to express in exact mathematical terms the general relation

between mind and matter. The significant fact which
Fechner was emphasizing, that the relation between con
sciousness and the physical world is not direct, is abundantly
established by considerations of a more general character
than those which Fechner took up. We have seen in our
earlier discussions of sensation qualities that there are many
other phases of experience which do not parallel the physical
facts with which they are related. The importance of Weber's
Law as a demonstration of the indirectness of the relation
in question is, therefore, relatively less now than it was in
the time of Fechner, and his definite mathematical formulas
are of no value. The whole study of sensation intensities
was, indeed, more productive for general psychology in the
experimental methods which it served to cultivate than in
the contribution which it made to the content of psychology.
The discussion of sensation intensities may, accordingly, be
dismissed without further detail.
CHAPTER VI
EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOR
All consciousness complex and selective . A man comes

into a room and sees a piece of paper on the table. He
walks to the table, picks up the paper, and after looking at
it throws it down again . If we try to give a psychological
explanation of these acts, we find ourselves adopting some
such formula as this . The act of going to the table and
picking up the paper is due to curiosity and an inner desire.
Curiosity and desire are aroused by the sensory impression
which the paper made on the man's eye. After the first
act of picking up the paper, a new series of visual im
pressions fell on the retina ; these new impressions aroused
a new series of inner processes and the act of throwing
down the paper followed . Experience is thought of under
this formula as a series of cycles, each beginning in a sen
sation and ending in an act.
The formula is much too simple. When we consider
carefully the first statement " sees a piece of paper, " we find
at once that we are dealing not with a sense impression
alone ; we are dealing with a vigorous form of behavior.
The act of looking at an object involves the turning of the
two eyes in a very complicated way on the object and in
volves also the focusing of the lenses inside the eyes . Not
only so, but looking at an object is a highly selective per
formance. The room into which the man came offered to
his vision a hundred shades of color and a hundred varieties
of brightness . Out of all these he fastened on one small
patch . The walls of the room were quite as bright as the
130
EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOR 131
paper and very much more extensive ; they offered sensa

tions which in their quality and intensity would overwhelm
the piece of paper if sense impressions alone determined
the flow of mental life . The fact that the man looked
at the paper rather than at the walls is the first and most
essential fact which the psychologist must take into account
if he would give an adequate explanation of the later act of
picking up the paper.
The selective character of conscious processes related to
sensory impressions. Our common descriptions emphasize
the active character of the processes of recognition here
under discussion. We say the man is interested in pieces
of paper, while he has no special interest in walls. Or we
say that the man is trained to give attention to what is on
the table, but is indifferent to the walls of the room. Some
times we go further and give the explanation of the man's
interests and his attention by saying that he has cultivated
certain associations or certain modes of thinking which
determine the directions in which his mind turns.
Such statements make it clear that psychology cannot rest
content with the explanation that each cycle of experience
begins with a sensory impression . By the time the mind
receives a sensory impression the selective process has gone
a long way ; the selective process which is involved in at
tending to a sense impression is itself a preliminary stage
of no small importance.
It will not be amiss to recall at this point one of the
important lessons drawn from our study of the evolution of
the organs of sense. Our organs of sense are by their very
structure selective organs. The eye cannot respond to rays
of light below the red or beyond the violet. The ear does
not record sounds of the slowest rates of vibration or those
of the highest pitch . Evidently the organism has been
determined in its evolution by causes which are more funda
mental than those of mere sensation , for there has been no
132 PSYCHOLOGY
evolution of universal sense organs, but only evolution of

organs capable of receiving certain impressions which the
organism can use in promoting its own life.
Selective consciousness related to behavior. The key to
this whole matter is found in a study of bodily activities.
Every animal is a reacting being. All its functions relate
to what it can do. For example, there is a certain range of
objects which are of such size that they can be picked up
by the human hand or moved by human fingers . It is an
impressive fact of biology that the range of human vision.
corresponds to this range of action. We do not have micro
scopic eyes like the fly. Nor, on the other hand, do we
have distance vision like the eagle's . With our present
organs of behavior we could not react to the minute objects
which the fly sees, nor could we use far-sighted eyes to ad
vantage from our position near the ground, for even if we
could see at great distances, we could not move fast enough
to take advantage of our superior sight. The range of human
vision has been determined by the range of possible human
reactions. The impressions of the eye are of importance
only when there is a corresponding power of action .
Common interests and their relation to behavior. That
action is a determining consideration in mental life will be
clearly seen when one begins to look at ordinary experience
with a view to finding what is back of sensations. One who
is not interested in doing something with trees will pass
them a thousand times and never really see them . The
maple tree has a shape wholly different from that of the
elm . The barks of the two are quite different. The casual
observer passes these trees day after day and his retina
receives the appropriate sensory impressions with their vary
ing characteristics, but the impressions go to waste. Let
this observer be induced to try to draw the trees, and his
experiences undergo a vast change. The impressions begin
to be vivid ; they have not undergone any modification in
ution of their character as sensory excitations, but they have taken

ich the on new importance in the psychological world. The psycho
logical character of the impression can be described only
keyto by saying that the impression has been selected for attention
tivities or has been made vivid and distinct by virtue of the effort
relate to use it.
nge d Another example is found in the familiar experience of

ed up not hearing a clock tick so long as one is absorbed in read
is an ing. When the reading is over and there are no dominating
ISION ideas in the mind, the ticking begins to be heard . The fact
icro is, of course, that the ear recorded the ticking in both cases.
we While one was reading, the nervous system was pouring its
sent energy into the eyes which were looking along the printed
lines. There was, furthermore, the general muscular reaction
ad characteristic of purely visual attention, the tense breathless
me interest in the story on the printed page. The auditory im
pressions were absorbed into this stream of active processes
and were lost. When the activity of reading is over and the
20 body and the nervous system fall back into the miscellaneous
activities characteristic of partial relaxation, there may be a
re
turning of the head to listen and then the ticking may
occupy the center of attention .
One might multiply examples indefinitely. On the street
we pay little or no attention to the people whom we are
passing. Our one purpose in most cases is to avoid collision ,
and our attention to sensory experience is just enough to
serve this end. The skilled cabinetmaker sees in a piece
of furniture elements which the untrained layman would not
notice. The hunter observes what the stranger in the woods
overlooks. Everywhere it is behavior that determines the
emphasis on sensory impressions.
Study of evolution of organs of action as important as
study of senses. The relation of bodily activity to mental
processes will be more fully understood if we trace the evo
lution of the muscular system and its operations much as we
134 PSYCHOLOGY
traced the evolution of the organs of sense. In an earlier

chapter the primitive muscle cells in the body wall of the
hydra were shown in Fig. 4, and the contrast in both form
and function between the muscle cells and the neural cells
was pointed out. The muscle cell is large and elongated.
It is large so that it can store up more energy than could
be stored in a small cell, and its elongated form favors con
traction. Fig. 42 shows a single muscle cell of one of the
higher animals . A muscle is made up of a mass of such
cells . Every muscle is supplied with a nerve the ends of
which are distributed to the cells and produce contractions
of the muscle by discharging motor impulses into the cells.
The phenomena of contraction are illustrated in Fig. 43 .
This process of contraction consists in an inner chemical
change which uses up a part of the energy stored up in the
cell body. The proc
*200 **** esses may be com
pared to combustion .
FIG. 42. A highly developed muscle cell
When a piece of
wood burns, it gives off a part of the energy stored up in
its complex chemical substances. So it is with the muscles ;
they give out energy and have left behind certain waste
products which may be described as the ash of combustion.
Evolution from gross muscles to highly differentiated
muscles. The highly specialized muscle cells of the type
shown in Fig. 42 have been evolved from the cells which
make up the surface of the body in such simple animals as
the hydra. Furthermore, the muscles of the higher animals
have in the course of evolution become differentiated into a
large number of highly specialized groups of muscle cells. A
single illustration will make clear the type of evolution which
has gone on in all parts of the body. The mouth of one of
the lower animals, such as a fish , is opened and closed by
very simple muscles . In the higher animal forms the differ
entiation of muscles goes much further. The opening and
earlier shutting of the human mouth, for example, is not a single

ofth gross performance as in the fish. The muscles of the lips
SR
hfor have been evolved and so highly differentiated that one side
al cel of the mouth can be moved, as it is in many forms of facial
Igated expression, quite independently of the gross opening and
com closing of the jaw, which is the only form of movement of
S CO which the fish is capable.
of the In like manner the
such hand exhibits a high
dsd differentiation of the
tions muscles. When we
study the ability of a
뚜할
human being to move

굅
one finger apart from

the rest of the hand,
roc we realize how far dif
m ferentiation of the mus
cles has gone .
Behavior dependent
on nervous control. The
highly differentiated
muscular system of the
human body takes on a
greater significance for
the student of psychol FIG. 43. The contracted and relaxed state
of a muscle
ogy when it is kept in
mind that the muscles The dotted lines within the muscle show the
distribution of the nerve fiber
are always connected
with the nervous system and are absolutely dependent on
the nervous system for the impulses which cause their con
traction. In the lowest animal forms the muscle cells had a
general irritability, but in the process of evolution the muscle
cells have been specialized to store up great quantities of
energy. They do not in their later specialized stage receive
impressions directly from the outer world. They contract
136 PSYCHOLOGY
only when they are excited by nervous impulses. The higher

the animal, the more its muscles have become dependent on
the nervous system . The result is that when the muscular
system becomes highly differentiated there must be a parallel
evolution of the nervous centers related to these muscles.
There has been, accordingly, a steady evolution of the con
trolling nervous organs. When we study the human hand
and its complex possibilities of adjustment or when we
study the delicate movements of the human face, we must
always have in mind the fact that there are corresponding
differentiations of the nervous system .
Coördination as necessary counterpart of differentiation.
There is another consequence of this differentiation of
the motor organs which is of importance for our study.
The highly differentiated muscles may, indeed , contract
each by itself in the performance of some special function
for which it was evolved, but for the most part the special
muscles act in systems . The individual muscle becomes
for the purpose of the moment not a separate organ, but
a part of a system of coöperating muscles. For example,
the single finger may move by itself, but in many of the
activities of life the single finger contributes its strength
to a grasping movement which enlists all the other fingers
and the whole hand. In a grasping movement the finger is
not a separate organ. Here, then, we have a complex situ
ation ; the differentiated muscles which move the finger
must sometimes act separately, sometimes as parts of a
combination of many muscles . In the same way the
nervous centers must be both specialized and capable of
entering into combination.
Individual development in behavior . The history of indi
vidual development of muscular control shows how compli
cated is this matter of muscular action . There is a natural
tendency on the part of the infant to contract certain of the
muscles of the body in a primitive gross combination . Thus,
the infant can close the hand on any small object like a
pencil which is laid across the palm. The fingers all enter
into this act, and the muscular system of the hand and arm
coöperate in a single performance. This primitive act is
very like that exhibited by the animals lower in the scale
than man. In the course of later life the child will have to
acquire by practice the ability to move his individual fingers
without including the others. Thus, if he learns to play on
the piano, he must not move all the fingers together. In
such a case he must learn to differentiate the fingers from
each other.
Conversely, there arises even in infant life the necessity
of developing a careful coöperation between the different
parts of the body. The two hands must work together in
grasping an object. The head and eyes must turn toward
an object which the hand is to grasp. Later in life the
fingers which have become skilled in striking the piano
keys separately must coöperate in striking the chord .
In these examples the body is seen to be a highly evolved
system of reacting organs constantly developing, on the one
hand, in the direction of finer and more delicately adjusted
movements and, on the other hand, in the direction of
N
more complex combinations of these differentiated forms
of behavior.
In terms of our description we may distinguish three
stages of muscular activity, always recalling that there are
corresponding stages in the development of processes in
the nervous system . First, there are gross adjustments ;
second, differentiated forms of movement ; and third, coör
dinated forms of action . The term " coördination " here
introduced will recur frequently in later discussions . Its
meaning will be clear from the foregoing discussions. A
coördinated movement is one in which groups of differen
tiated muscles coöperate under the control of nerve centers,
thus producing complex but completely unified acts.
138 PSYCHOLOGY
Inherited coordinations or instincts. There is one impor

tant fact of heredity which must be included in the pre
liminary discussion of bodily movement before we are in a
position to understand fully the relation of behavior to con
sciousness . The higher animals come into the world with
many coördinated forms of behavior fully provided for in
the inherited structure of their nervous systems. For ex
ample, a human infant is able at the beginning of life to
use the lips and tongue in the complex act of sucking and
he is able also to swallow through the coöperation of the
muscles of the throat. Such an inherited complex of coör
dinated acts is called an instinct. The nervous centers in
control of the lips and tongue are evidently coupled by
lines of connection which the long experience of the race
has laid down, and the infant is equipped from the first
not only with differentiated muscles and controlling centers
but with a fully developed organization in his nervous system
which results in the coöperation of the differentiated centers.
Glands as active organs. To this discussion of the devel
opment of the muscles and their contraction should be added
the comment that there is another group of active organs ;
namely, the glands. These secrete under the stimulus of
the nervous system, and their behavior can for purposes of
our discussion be regarded as like that of the muscles.
A constant tension of active organs as background of all
behavior. In order to understand the relation of the be
havior of the muscles and glands to consciousness, one
general fact which is very commonly overlooked must be
kept clearly in view. The active organs of the body are
at all times during life in a state of tension . There are
constantly pouring out of the nervous system streams of
motor excitations. These are distributed to different parts
of the body in currents of varying intensity, but there
is always a stream of motor impulses going to the active
organs.
One reason why this fact is not clearly recognized is that

Ine imp:
the pr we ordinarily think of the nervous system as in action only
20
arein when some part of the body is actually moving. Thus, if

or toco the hand moves from near the body to a distant point in
orld order to pick up some object, we realize that the muscles
ed for of the arm are contracting. But if the individual sits
For rigidly in his seat, resisting the impulse to reach for the
object, we overlook the fact that his muscles are on the
stretch, often to an extent involving much greater effort
ing
ofthe than would be required to grasp the object.
Evidences without end could be adduced to show that
of cot
the muscles are in constant action . The neck muscles
ea
ters
led are constantly in action holding up the head of a waking
man. Let the neck muscles relax for a moment, as they
e rate
fiss do when the man begins to get drowsy, and gravity will
r
Caenlctea pull the head forward, giving a striking exhibition of the
work which the neck muscles are doing most of the time.
stel
nters Again, consider what happens at all times by way of brac
ing the body for movements. The trunk muscles tighten
ere!
when the hand begins to reach out because the trunk must
balance the new weight which is taken up in the hand.
ans
Not alone the trunk muscles but the whole inner mech
anism of the body is drawn into action even by the most
trivial movement . The blood circulation accommodates it
self to every act. This means that the contraction of an
arm muscle calls for more blood to the arm . The call
affects the heartbeat and the contraction of the muscles
I
in the arteries which control the pressure of the blood in
7
all parts of the body. The adjustment of blood circulation
7
affects respiration and digestion and the inner glandular
action, until finally the whole body is involved in the effort
to move the arm.
Meaning of sensory impressions dependent upon inner
conditions. We are now in a position to understand the facts
which were taken up in the early paragraphs of this chapter.
140 PSYCHOLOGY
A sensory impression does not come into a nervous system

that is in suspense waiting to be aroused to action. A sen
sory impression is not the first or primary step in a series
of nervous processes. The sensory impression comes into
an inner world full of action . The new impression may
change the mode of action or it may be absorbed into the
processes under way. Again, using another figure, we may
say that the inner world is constantly weaving its material
into a pattern. The new sensory impression is new raw
material . It may be necessary to shut down the machinery
and recast the pattern in order to deal with this new mate
rial . Ordinarily it is not necessary to shut down . Ordinarily
the new raw material is perfectly familiar and with very little
disturbance of the routine is absorbed into the existing pat
tern, and the machinery goes on as it was working.
Other analogies could be drawn on to help in describing
the situation ; the best are always those which are closest to
mental life itself. Thus a social group receives a newcomer.
The arrival is not the beginning of the group's social activ
ity. The arrival may make no striking impression on the
conversation. On the other hand, the new arrival may turn
all currents of thought and social life into new channels.
The new social situation in any case will be the result of
what was, plus the modifying influence of what now is.
Sensory processes and the equilibrium of action. So it is
in the action of the nervous system . Before a particular
sensory impression comes, the nervous system is in a state of
general excitation . Continuous streams of incoming sensory
impulses and streams of outgoing motor processes constitute
a complex of nervous life . The character of this complex is
determined primarily by those inner paths of combination
which have been developed in the organism's history and
in its past struggles with the world . Into this inner world
with its stresses and strains comes a new sensory impulse.
•
In the great majority of cases the new impulse does not
2 work any radical effect. The central processes are under

way and they go on as before, absorbing into their main
current the little stream of new sensory energy. Every now
and then the new impulse is so strong or it fits into the
workings of the central nervous system with such a power
to change the equilibrium of action that a radical change
takes place. One is reading and hears his name called
from the next room. The name arouses action because it is
imperative in its command over one's action. The call need
not be strong, but it is one of the keys to a vigorous form
of behavior entirely opposed to reading. In such a case the
action is abruptly changed in its direction of operation .
Importance of sensations dependent on organization . Even
when one of the abrupt and impressive changes in central
nervous action comes, it is not the sensory impulse as such
which explains the change. The ability of the individual to
react is here the chief consideration. An impression can
never be strong unless the organization of the individual is
prepared to receive it. Indeed, as pointed out earlier in the
chapter, the whole evolution of the animal world indicates
that the sense organs themselves evolve in the direction
dictated by the demands for action.
Sensations unduly emphasized through introspection . The
discussion of activity as taken up thus far in this chapter
has made very few appeals to the reader's conscious analysis
of his own experiences. The reason is that the view of con
sciousness here presented is not the one suggested by intro
spection. Introspection tends to bring into overemphatic
relief new sensory impressions. It is not difficult to note
what goes on in consciousness when a color is seen or a
sound is heard, for the points in consciousness where a color
or a sound becomes vivid are relatively easy to distinguish
from the main current of mental life. Consciousness pauses
for a moment and gives emphasis to the arrival of the new
comer. It is much more difficult to look at the main current
142 / PSYCHO
LOGY
of experience because a person is in the midst of the cur

rent, absorbed in its movement and thus without any con
trasts by means of which to make himself vividly aware of
that which fills his whole mind . Just as the social group
which was referred to a few paragraphs back is not aware
of its own atmosphere and of its own appearance but is
clearly conscious of the new member, so personal conscious
ness must adopt new scientific methods of recognizing its
own characteristics.
Attitudes. Perhaps the use of a special term will help in
bringing out what is here being emphasized . There is in
every mental act an aspect which comes from the individual's
reactions on his impressions . We may call this aspect of
experience an attitude . Thus there are attitudes of liking
and disliking. If the attitude is vivid, one may readily ana
• lyze it out of the complex and say, " I like the color or the
sound or the taste, " or " I dislike the impression. " If the
. attitude is not so vivid or so distinctive in character, it may
be more difficult to separate it for purpose of study from
the impression . A color may receive the attention of an
observer, thus arousing a very definite and positive attitude
called attention, but it is difficult to describe what one
९९
means by the word attention ." It is also difficult to dis
entangle attention from the color experience itself. Yet a
moment's scientific consideration of the matter will make
it quite evident that the conditions of attention are to be
found in the individual's organization and active processes.
No sensory impression carries in itself the qualities which
command attention . Attention is a contribution of the inner
world ; it is an attitude of the individual.
Attitudes not related to sensations but to behavior. Our
attitudes are as manifold as our modes of response to im
pressions and ideas. In the next chapter we shall select for
treatment some of the chief attitudes of ordinary life. In
the meantime, it is the purpose of this chapter to reiterate
the cu the fact that all attitudes are phases of behavior. The psy
chology of the individual must study modes of behavior
anyco
aware quite as much as sensations . Indeed, if one is to be empha
sized more than the other, it is the business of science to
al gr
ot aware bring out the significance of behavior, since this is likely to
butis be overlooked by the superficial observer..
nscious
SUMMARY
zingits
Relation of sensation to reaction . It may be well to summarize

help the conclusions reached up to this point by means of a diagram.
e isin
m
보결
칼로
로펌
령험
ectd
T n
은
를
1a
표
1 | p
2/2
2 για
3
S
247 4
5 t
6 U
7 v
from 8
9
Object
Individual
#1 FIG. 44. Diagram showing relation of sensory impressions to reactions
Let the rectangle at the left of Fig. 44 represent some object

in the physical world ― a book or a piece of machinery. The ob
J ject has many physical characteristics which are represented by the
subdivisions 1 to 9. Some of these impress a human being ; others
do not. For example, the machine may send out waves of electric
energy for which we have no organ of sense ; the book may send
out ultraviolet rays of light which lie beyond the range of vision.
Subdivision 7 represents the power of emitting electric energy ;
subdivision 8 , the power of giving out ultraviolet rays. When
energy from 7 and 8 reaches the surface of the human body there
is no organ for the reception of the stimulation. Subdivision 1 , on
144 PSYCHOLOGY
the other hand, represents the power to reflect red light, and
subdivision 2 represents solidity or resistance to touch. These do
impress the human body if they strike the right points, as indicated
by the dotted lines continuing lines 1 a and 2. Line I1 b represents
a ray of light which does not strike the eye, but strikes some part
of the skin and produces no effect.
Let us follow the dotted lines which represent currents of sen
sory excitation entering the central nervous system from the eye
and finger. It is not usual for the central nervous system to receive
only two sensory impressions at any given moment, but for the
sake of simplicity the others are omitted.
As soon as these sensory processes enter the central nervous
system they begin to flow toward the muscles which constitute the
second surface of the body represented by the right-hand boundary
of the rectangle standing for the individual. In the muscular sys
tem there are certain contractions ―— m , n , p, r, s, t, u, and v, which
are the results of motor impulses flowing out from the nervous
system.
In the central nervous system the two incoming currents are
brought together by the organized paths in this system. They then
pass through the motor centers and are distributed in such a way
as to reënforce s ; that is, one of the muscular tensions which was
present from the first.
We commonly say that the sensory impressions ' caused the
reactions. What really happened is that certain attributes of the
object aroused the sensory impulses which in turn were fused by
the individual's inner nervous organization in such a way that the
reaction s of which the individual was all along capable was brought
into emphatic play.
Consciousness does not reflect merely the entrance of sensory
impressions into the nervous system ; if it did, vision and touch
from the same object would remain as unrelated facts in expe
rience. Consciousness includes the incoming impressions, but em
phasizes the fact that they are combined on the way to a common
center of motor discharge. Consciousness is related to the central
organization and thus to the reactions of the individual quite as
much as to the incoming sensory impressions .
We find ourselves, accordingly, in harmony with the conclusion
to which our general study of the nervous system led us. We
d light
found, it will be remembered, that the indirect centers of the cere
These
brum ―- that is, the organizing areas of the brain are the parts of
asindica
greatest importance to the student of conscious life. We now see
represe
that this means that the fusion of sensory impressions on the way
somep
to their discharge as motor processes is the physical fact most
closely related to consciousness. Consciousness does not depend
nts ofser
primarily on the character of sensory impressions or of muscular
mthe eve
contractions, but is determined largely by the organizing processes
torecent
which follow the reception of sense impressions and their discharge
itforth into motor channels.
nerves
ituteth
oundar
larsys
whit
nervous
tsat
"the
ama
543
CHAPTER VII
CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDES
Reactions toward objects and reactions away from objects.

If we consider the simplest forms of animal behavior, we
find that they divide into two classes ; there are , on the one
side, activities in which the animal seeks those ends which
gratify, such as food, warmth, and contact with its own
kind ; and there are, on the other side, activities in which
the animal seeks to escape from harm . The simplest
animal forms show these two types of behavior, as has
been pointed out in an earlier chapter (Fig. 2 , and p . 16) .
The human infant shows the same fundamental forms of
behavior.
Pleasure and displeasure. There are in conscious life
fundamental attitudes corresponding to these two types of
behavior. We like what we seek , and our attitude toward
impressions arousing this type of reaction is described by
the common word " pleasure . " What we try to avoid
arouses within us the opposite attitude, or one of dis
pleasure. In popular language the antithesis commonly ex
pressed is between pleasure and pain . Pain is, in reality,
a very intense form of tactual sensation which comes from
the injury of bodily tissues. Such sensations stir up the
most violent efforts on the part of the organism to throw
off the offending object ; hence the common failure to dis
tinguish between the sensory part of the experience and the
attitude of displeasure.
Pleasure and displeasure appear in a great variety of
particular forms. Thus , when the body is taking in food,
146
CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDES 147
there is a series of activities which are among the most

gratifying that the individual can experience . The nervous
system is prepared to respond positively to the stream of
sensory stimulations which come to the organs of taste and
smell from objects suited to the organism . The organism
is coördinated in its internal behavior to receive the objects
that gratify, and the nervous activity accompanying the
whole process is of the most favorable type . Again, the
comfort of sitting in a warm, bright room is different from
that of taking food ; but here, as in taking food, all the
body's reactions are harmonious and favorable, and in a
general way the attitude of the individual is of the same
quality as that which appears in the act of taking food.
Displeasure exhibits in like manner different forms. The
odor of some object may be disgusting because it throws
the body into violent activities aimed at rejection . In the
same general way, one tries to get away from a glaring
light. In both cases the action is one of self-protection,
and the mental attitude is one of displeasure.
There are negative conditions as well as positive which
produce the typical attitudes of pleasure and displeasure.
Thus the organism which is deprived of food or of warmth
will make strenuous efforts to correct the deficiency, and
the attitude which accompanies these efforts may be of the
most intense displeasure . In like manner the relief which
comes with the escape from impending danger may give
the highest satisfaction.
Cultivated feelings. In general, it may be said that what
ever impression promotes the normal reaction of the organ
ism is accompanied by pleasure ; whatever defeats normal
behavior or arouses protective recoil is unpleasant.
The history of psychology is full of efforts to classify
pleasures and displeasures and to show the exact relations
of these phases of experience to sensations . The difficulty
in reaching any final classification is that with the progress
148 PSYCHOLOGY
of individual development new types of pleasure and dis

pleasure arise just in the degree in which one learns to seek
or reject objects. Each human being starts with an instinc
tive tendency to seek certain ends and reject others . To
these fundamental likes and dislikes he adds others con
nected with his mature experience . Thus each of us sets
up certain property rights. One likes to have at hand, sub
ject to his instant command, certain conveniences. If one
cannot find his pen or his tennis racket, he is sometimes
thrown into a state of distress hardly less violent than that
exhibited by the infant who cannot find food . The tastes for
pens and tennis rackets are acquired by the use of these
instruments, they are in no sense of the word instinctive ;
but once the habits of use are organized they demand the
opportunity for expression, and satisfaction or its opposite
will attach to their presence or absence .
Fear as a typical emotion. One of the significant exam
ples of a strong negative attitude appears in the experience
which we call fear. We sometimes speak of the instinct of
fear. There is, indeed, in every animal a strong tendency
to run away from everything that is strange or large or
overstimulating. So delicately is the nervous system poised
to protect the individual that when a strange or violent
stimulation comes to the organs of sense there follows an
overstimulation of all the active organs . This overstimula
tion is accompanied by an inner state of agitation . The
inner agitation confuses all thought and is a source of
displeasure just because the inner chaos is ineffective and
incapable of arousing any coördinated forms of expression.
The frightened man is proverbially not intelligent. The fact
is that the frightened man is internally in a commotion, and
his mind is blurred because he cannot cope with the situa
tion. His motor processes are stalled or incoördinated, and
his attitude is disagreeable and increasingly so the longer
his inability to deal with the situation continues.
and d Fear is a form of displeasure, but unique as contrasted

stoseal with the displeasure of rejecting an unacceptable taste or
insti color. Yet so general in character is fear that it may attach
ers. I to any violent form of excitement. Fear, which has been
ers co described as the most primitive form of human displeasure,
LIS SES does not disappear with modern life, but tends, rather, to
nd sub become more general and more intense. To be sure, it
Ifon attaches to new objects as man overcomes his first enemies,
Tetimes but it is one of the most common attitudes of life . Primi
n the tive man was afraid of an eclipse ; modern man is not.
tesfür Modern man is, however, thrown into a panic by an earth
these quake because it runs counter to all his established forms
ctive of behavior to have the solid earth under his feet begin to
the rock. The earth has been the base of all behavior, and
OJ SIE one is at a loss to control behavior when this base of action
changes. Not only so, but modern life contains new terrors
am which were not known in earlier stages of civilization . The
nce embarrassment of appearing in public is one of the new
to inventions of civilization . That there is much superfluous
Mey excitement in this case is realized by everyone whose knees
have trembled and whose pulse has gone to one hundred
and thirty. The mental distress of the situation comes
from the fact that these forms of reaction are ineffective,
It
indeed are quite absurdly in the wrong direction .
How to change the attitude of fear. The common advice
given to children to go directly and investigate any object
of which they are afraid is in general good . The going
and the handling of an object give the individual a form of
reaction which is coördinated and normal as a substitute for
the agitation and for the ineffective inner agitation.
Fear an emotion of complex beings. Kipling has made a
tale out of the evolution of fear. The stupid, slow-going
bullocks in a night stampede in the camp tell how they
fight and criticize the elephant as a coward . The bullocks
tell how they draw the guns .
150 PSYCHOLOGY
" Then we tug the big gun all together - Heya - Hullah !
Heeyah ! Hullah ! We do not climb like cats nor run like calves.
We go across the level plain, twenty yoke of us, till we are un
yoked again, and we graze while the big guns talk across the plain
to some town with mud walls , and pieces of the wall fall out, and
the dust goes up as though many cattle were coming home."
९९
Oh ! And you choose that time for grazing do you ? " said the
young mule.
" That time or any other. Eating is always good. We eat till
we are yoked up again and tug the gun back to where Two Tails
is waiting for it. Sometimes there are big guns in the city that
speak back, and some of us are killed, and then there is all the
more grazing for those that are left. This is Fate. - nothing but
Fate. None the less, Two Tails is a great coward . That is the
proper way to fight. We are brothers from Hapur. Our father
was a sacred bull of Shiva. We have spoken. "
Whereupon the elephant who has heard himself accused
of being a coward replies as follows :
" Well," said Two Tails, rubbing one hind leg against the other,
exactly like a little boy saying a piece, " I don't quite know whether
you'd understand."
" We don't, but we have to pull the guns," said the bullocks.
" I know it, and I know you are a good deal braver than you
think you are. But it's different with me. My battery captain
called me a Pachydermatous Anachronism the other day."
" That's another way of fighting, I suppose ? " said Billy, who
was recovering his spirits.
" You don't know what that means, of course, but I do. It
means betwixt and between, and that is just where I am. I can
see inside my head what will happen when a shell bursts ; and you
bullocks can't."
ee
" I can , ” said the troop-horse. At least a little bit. I try not
to think about it. "
" I can see more than you, and I do think about it. I know
there's a great deal of me to take care of, and I know that nobody
knows how to cure me when I'm sick . All they can do is to stop
my driver's pay till I get well, and I can't trust my driver. "
}
Two Tails stamped his foot till the iron ring on it jingled.
" Oh, I'm not talking to you. You can't see inside your heads ."
" No. We see out of our four eyes," said the bullocks. " We
see straight in front of us. ”
" If I could do that and nothing else you would n't be needed
to pull the big guns at all. If I was like my captain ―― he can see
things inside his head before the firing begins, and he shakes all
over, but he knows too much to run away - if I was like him I
could pull the guns. But if I were as wise as all that I should never
be here. I should be a king in the forest, as I used to be, sleeping
half the day and bathing when I liked. I haven't had a good bath
for a month."1
Fear and pathology. The physicians who deal with mental

pathology report fear as the most common form of modern
mental breakdown. The fears of our present-day lives are
not the fears of the forest, but they are subtle and disorgan
izing. They cannot be classified merely as unpleasurable
agitations ; they arise from violent and disorganizing forms
of disrupted nervous activity.
Parental love and altruism. Parental love for offspring
has been described as an instinct. Here again we have to do
with a complex attitude which can be understood only when
one studies the forms of behavior which the parent culti
vates. Nature has so organized the higher animals that they
protect their young. Gradually the compass of these protec
tive activities widens until a mother may be wholly absorbed
in the care of her offspring. The evolution of many of the
complex forms of social life is directly traceable to the
efforts of parents to care for their young. Fiske, in a very
interesting essay on the evolution of altruism, has shown
how the care of the child has brought into the world a
mental attitude wholly beyond animal instinct. Among primi
tive animals behavior was at first aimed at self-preservation ,
With the growth of parental solicitude has come a form of
1 Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, pp. 284 , 287-289. The Century
Company, 1914.
152 PSYCHOLOGY
behavior which is at times so strong that a mother will

sacrifice herself and with supreme gratification undergo all
kinds of hardships in doing for her child that which will
protect him and promote his welfare. This in turn, as Fiske
points out, leads to other altruistic acts and attitudes em
bracing companions and acquaintances. Cultivated modes
of behavior may, as in this case, create mental values which
are entirely unintelligible if we think only of individual
self-protection.
Anger. Anger is a mental attitude which accompanies an
effort to throw off restraint. There may be blind rage in
which the angry man beats aimlessly at everything which
is within reach, or there may be the subtle studied anger
which step by step proceeds to the final attack . Watson has
called attention in his experiments with infants to the fact
that a new-born infant will be thrown into a rage if its move
ments are restricted . Hold an infant's head perfectly still
and anger will appear.
Other emotions . The list of attitudes could be indefinitely
amplified . Jealousy, shame, bashfulness, surprise, awe, rever
ence are all names of special attitudes which grow out of the
efforts of the individual to deal in some active way with the
world about him. They all reduce in the last broad analysis
to pleasurable and unpleasurable experiences, but this gen
eral classification obliterates the distinctions which can be
productively retained if, instead of merely trying to classify
attitudes, one develops the formula of explanation which in
cludes all the rich variety of human reactions to a complex
environment.
Emotions as fundamental forms of experience. The fore
going paragraphs will be recognized by every reader as deal
ing with that aspect of experience which has always been
referred to under the terms " feeling " and " emotion ." The
importance of the feelings must not be underestimated by
the student of human life . Sensory impressions are of
significance only as they arouse attitudes. It is the attitude

E
which reveals the individual ; and the attitude in turn is
the result of organized modes of response . The paths in
the nervous system along which sensory impressions travel
to their motor discharge, the central agitations which arise
in the nervous system as the sensory impressions are com
bined and recombined, condition experience in a way that
cannot be overlooked by one who is interested in human
nature. Human nature is what it is, not because of the
impressions which come to the eye and ear, but because of
the responses which are worked out through the central
nervous system .
Higher forms of experience as related to behavior. Thus
far we have been showing in a general way that attitudes are
related to reactions. The full significance of reactions for
individual mental life will become increasingly apparent as
the subsequent discussions canvass the different types of
organized behavior of human beings . We shall discover that
there are lower forms of behavior and lower types of mental
attitude, and that the development of higher forms of expe
rience involves the development of higher and more complex
forms of reaction . Indeed, the rest of our study will be a
study of human reactions and accompanying experiences.
The remainder of this chapter will be devoted to a study of
some of the more primitive and more fundamental attitudes.
Feelings of organic type. Many of the most primitive
adjustments of the motor organs of the body are internal
adjustments and have to do with the well-being of the body
itself. Accompanying these there is at all times a background
of feeling which colors all experience . There is the buoyant
feeling which one enjoys when he begins life on a bright,
clear day and the feeling of utter depression of a foggy day.
The reasons for such feelings can be understood from such
experiments as the following. The muscles of a waking
person are always under tension . Let the tension be tested
154 PSYCHOLOGY
under conditions of varying stimulation . The individual can

be asked to show his muscular strength by means of a
dynamometer or simple apparatus for measuring the strength
of the grip . If such a test is made in a dark, silent room,
and a second test with the same person is subsequently made
in a room which is well lighted and full of sound, it will be
found that more work can be done in the latter case than
in the former. The additional light and sound have raised
the nervous and muscular tone to a higher level, so that
when the movement is undertaken, the motor impulses to
the muscles have the advantage of the higher initial tension.
It need hardly be pointed out that the conscious experience
of the reactor is different in the two cases described.
Flexor and extensor movements related to characteristic
attitudes. A second experiment is as follows : Let a person
be trained to make an outward swing of the arm with his
eyes closed . If a number of measurements are made, it is
possible to determine with great accuracy the range of error
of these movements. If the movements are made when the
senses are in a quiet condition without special stimulation,
they will not be of exactly the same length in successive
trials, but they will not differ widely from each other . After
these preliminary tests, let the reactor be given a strong
bitter or sweet taste sensation . The result will be that the
arm, in common with the other muscular organs of the body,
will take on a different tension . The tension in the case of
a sweet stimulus will tend to favor outward expansive move
ments ; the tension in the case of a bitter stimulus will tend
to favor inward contracting movements. The result will be
increased movements in these directions, even when the
person tries to move as before . In short, bitter tastes and
sweet tastes result in inner muscular tensions .
Changes in circulatory movements as parallels of con
scious changes . One of the systems of muscles which is
most noticeably affected by any change in stimulation is the
CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDES. 155
dualco system in control of the circulatory activities. If a recording

ns of a apparatus is so adjusted as to give a record of the rate and
trength intensity of the heartbeat, it will be found that there is a
troom constant rise and fall in the rate and intensity of circulatory
ymack activity. The rise and fall can be shown in striking degree
by using in the course of the experiment some marked
e than stimulus, but even when no special stimulus is applied to
raise the organs of sense, there is a continuous flux and change
otha in the circulatory activities. Here, again, it is unnecessary
sesto to point out that consciousness is constantly changing, and
nsion that it changes most noticeably with the application of an
Tente external stimulus . Indeed, so close is the relation between
activity and sensation in this latter case that it may safely
istic be said that there is never a change in sensory excitation
without a parallel change in circulatory activity.
Disappointment as negative emotion . Another case of this
internal type of reaction is to be found in the fact that the
TTC body is from time to time thrown back on itself. For ex
the ample, one starts to go about some ordinary task and finds.
that the energy he had mustered up for the work cannot
be used because he cannot find the tools for his work. The
energy which was to be expended in doing the work is
thrown back into the body, and the inner agitation is accom
panied by what we call in ordinary life disappointment.
Here the nervous agitation is in the nature of a disagree
able stopping of movements which were originally directed
outward but have suddenly been thrown inward.
External attitudes . There are many forms of reaction
with an outward turn which are less emotional in character
because the content of experience is less personal. We use
""
in such cases terms like " satisfaction or " interest." The
man who makes a good stroke in golf enjoys it and gets
satisfaction out of it, but he does not have so intense a per
sonal experience as he has when he makes a bad stroke.
The successful performance issues in a series of impressions
156 PSYCHOLOGY
and ideas rich in content ; the unsuccessful act arouses vio

lent internal circulatory reactions and unpleasant tensions of
all the muscles of the body.
Attention as an attitude. There is one very general fact
with regard to reactions to external objects . The individual
either turns toward an object, looking toward it, reaching
out for it, and bracing himself to deal with it, or else the
individual turns away from an impression , neglecting it or
actually rejecting it. The attitude side of these various forms
of response is described by a general term, — the term " at
tention." One attends to an object or is interested in it, or
in the other case he neglects it or exhibits a lack of interest
or concentration on it.
Experiment to demonstrate tension. Attention is the atti
tude of reacting to an impression. The physical symptoms
of attention are well known : there is the strained muscle,
the fixed gaze, the leaning forward to catch the new im
pression which will in turn arouse more action . Much of
the reaction exhibited in a state of attention is for the pur
pose of focusing the organs of sense on the source of the
sensations . The infant is constantly trying to get into contact
with everything for the purpose of getting more impressions.
All through life there is a tendency to move in the direc
tion of an object which is in the center of attention . This
is shown experimentally as follows : Let the person to be
tested rest his hand on some recording apparatus which
moves with very little friction . A board suspended by a
long string and carrying a tracer at one end is a very good
apparatus with which to make this experiment. Now let the
subject close his eyes and think intently of his hand . The
recording point will make short excursions back and forth,
for there is no such condition as one of absolute rest of the
hand muscles, and under the conditions arranged very slight
movements are sufficient to produce a record . After noting
the range and kind of movement which will be made when
CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDES
157
arouses one thinks as steadily as he can of the hand , let the reactor
tenstars think intently of some object at his right or left. Let him
make an imaginary journey or draw in imagination some
generalt simple geometrical figure. The result will be that the move
indiv ments of the recorder will be radically changed . There will
read often be a tendency forthe
Ielseth new movement to take on A
ting a form directly related to
A
ousfor the new subject of thought,
erm Et but in any case there will
InE be a change from the type
of movement which appears R
L
when attention is concen
trated on the hand, even if
he
the form of the new move
100‫ב‬
ment is not directly trace
JUS
able to the new experience.
WE
Fig. 45 shows the records
of involuntary hand move
83
ments ofthe type described.

IALP Various forms of atten
tion . Such an experiment FIG. 45. Involuntary hand movements
made by the right and left hands of
reveals the reason for the an observer who is thinking of a build
use of words like " atten ing situated in front of him
tion," "concentration , " and The hands begin at the two points A, A ;
१९ the building lies in the direction of the
interest " as partial syno movement which is here represented by
nyms. The focusing of ac the downward extension of the two lines.
(After Jastrow)
tivity on an object arouses
an emotional attitude ; hence we are justified in treating
attention and feeling as closely related .
The explanation of attention will perhaps be understood
most readily through consideration of those negative cases
where the individual neglects the objects about him , as
when we do not count the number of windows in a room .
Here the impression goes into the nervous system, but
GY
158 PSYCHOLO
is not made a center of any direct reaction . The impres

sion is lost in the mass of reactions ; it is not individual
ized . We say that it does not receive attention or arouse
interest.
Sympathy with fellow beings. Such general comments
on attention lead to the treatment of special cases. When
ever we see a fellow being trying to do something, we tend
to share in the activity. The man who is lifting a weight
arouses all who see him to like effort. The singer who is
taking a high note will be followed by his audience with
sympathetic muscular efforts . Attention in these cases
issues in svmpathetic
action.
Sympathy involved
in all recognition of
objects . Sympathyex
tends far beyond one's
FIG. 46. Unæsthetical balance fellow beings . All
The two black spots are evidently not well sup that we include under
ported by the fulcrum shown in the figure. There the term " æsthetical
is a restless feeling that the large figure should be
supported by the observerappreciation " belongs
under the same head
ing. For example , let an observer look at an unsymmetrical
drawing, such as that shown in Fig. 46. The long horizon
tal line with the black figures at its ends is not well sup
ported at the fulcrum given in the figure . The feeling of
lack of balance in this figure is directly related to an active
tendency on the part of the observer to offer his support
to the line as it carries the larger figure, and this tendency
to action which is inspired by the figures is accompanied by
a distinctly disagreeable experience , because it is continually
ineffective in producing its purpose . Examples of the feel
ing of pleasure which comes from harmonious complexes
can be derived from the study of Greek architectural forms .
The Greeks recognized the fact that a column with perfectly
11
straight lines is not an æsthetic object. Such a column always

seems to be weaker in the center than at the extremities,
where there are larger masses of matter. There is therefore
a feeling of unrest inspired in the observer lest the column
: should give way in the center, where the tension is great
and the material relatively reduced . The Greeks, accord
ingly, made their columns larger in the middle than at the
extremities, and the result was that the observer, seeing the
reënforcement at the critical part of the column, has a feel
ing of satisfaction rather than of unrest in looking at the
lines. The term " sympathy " is not used here as a figure
of speech. There is a real muscular tension involved in
observing a column lifting a weight, and through this
tension the observer enters into the situation as an active
participator.
Illusion due to muscular tension . The presence of mus
cular tensions related to perception of weight can be demon
strated in certain special cases. If one prepares two blocks of
exactly the same objective weight but of very different sizes,
so that one is, for example, about a foot cube and the other
three inches cube, the observer will find when he comes to
lift these two blocks that the smaller block seems decidedly
heavier than the larger one. The explanation of this fact
is to be found in the muscular preparation of the observer
when he first looks at the two blocks . The visual expe
rience from the small block leads him to prepare to do a
small amount of work in lifting it, while the visual impres
sion of the larger block is recognized in terms of a totally
different kind of muscular organization , which may be de
scribed by saying that the observer prepares to do more
work in lifting the large block than he prepares to do in
lifting the smaller one . When, with these differences of
preparation, the observer lifts the two blocks, he finds that
his preparation does not coincide with the demands forced
upon him through his direct contact with the blocks. There
160 PSYCHOLOGY
is, therefore, a sharp disagreement between the original

preparation based on vision and the subsequent experience
dependent on touch . This disagreement expresses itself in
the form of an illusion with regard to weight . This illusion
is not due to sensations merely, but involves also prepa
ration for active response. There can be no doubt that
whenever one looks at any ordinary object of manageable
size, he prepares to lift it. The preparation consists in an
incipient act, and this act is the physiological parallel of
an important phase of the observer's mental process of
recognition .
Such muscular tensions common to many experiences.
This illusion of weight and similar facts from practical life
throw much light on the nature of the organization which
was referred to when it was stated, in discussing the aesthetic
attitude toward a column, that one sympathizes with the
column in the work which it does in supporting the mate
rials placed upon it. There is a certain direct perceptual
estimation of the fitness of the column to do its work.
That estimation expresses itself immediately in the mus
cular tension which is aroused in the observer as an inte
gral part of the process of recognition . If the column is
inadequate, the observer is led to a strained attitude of
assisting it ; if the column is adequate to its task, there is
an attitude of satisfied recognition .
All consciousness a form of sympathetic attention . Thus
we find that as human attitudes become more complex they
are something more than feelings or emotions ; they include
also sympathies and discriminations which become parts of
higher intellectual recognitions . When one sympathizes with
a column, it is not a mere vague, general response ; it is a
discriminating response , bringing one into personal relations
to the outer world . In all the higher stages of mental
development one knows objects through one's sympathies
with them.
E The discussion of attitudes leads us thus to broad con

clusions about the nature of consciousness . Consciousness
is a function through which the individual attempts to put
himself in harmony with the outer world. He translates
the world into terms of his own responses and thus makes
the objects outside of himself a part of his own inner life.
After he has thus taken the outer world into his mental
life, a new possibility arises - that of carrying back into
the external world some of the rearrangements which are
first worked out in the purely subjective sphere . The indi
vidual, by first fitting himself to the outer world, learns how
to mold the outer world to meet his inner needs and desires.
Attitudes as related to higher processes of recognition.
Psychology must study, then, those attitudes of feeling and
sympathy by which the inner world absorbs impressions and
makes them into personal experiences. It must then take
up the higher processes through which inner experience
is made effective in controlling the world from which
impressions first came.
CHAPTER VIII
COMBINATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF

SENSATIONS
Sensory experience always complex. The arrival of a

sense impression in the central nervous system has been
shown in earlier chapters to be only the first step in a
series of processes in which this impression is combined
with other sensory impressions and carried forward to a
motor discharge. It is literally true that no sense impres
sion ever comes into the central nervous system alone.
Even if we think of only a single sense organ, we realize
that it sends to the central nervous system at every
moment a series of impressions rather than a single sen
sation. Thus , when the eye is stimulated by a colored
surface, it is not a single sensation which arrives in con
sciousness, but a whole mass of sensations. The different
parts of the field would yield various shades and intensi
ties even if the receiving cells in the eye were all alike
and all prepared to respond with absolute uniformity to
the stimulus. But, as was shown in the chapter on sen
sation, various parts of the retina are different in their
ability to receive impressions.
The result is that a colored
surface is the source of a most complex series of sensations.
The matter is further complicated by the simultaneous
arrival of impressions through different senses . Thus we
not only see a surface, we also touch it and may smell
it or hear it vibrate . At any given moment there are
impressions reaching the senses not from a single object
alone but from various objects . As we look at a colored
162
COMBINATIONS OF SENSATIONS 163
surface we receive touch sensations from contact with our

clothing and from the floor on which we stand ; we hear
sounds from the next room and breathe in odors which
have no relation to the colored surface.
Sensation combinations or fusions. In the midst of all
this world of sensations there must be selection and com
bination. The individual works out, in the interests of
practical life, certain units of experience in which sensa
tions are fused with each other and distinguished from
the rest of the world. For example, one sees an orange .
What he really sees is a complex background in the midst
of which there is a little patch of orange shade . He gets
a mass of odors, but attaches a particular aroma to the
particular patch of color. He is able, in the course of
this attention to his experience, to recognize that the color
and the aroma are nearer his right hand than his left.
What he has done in thus fusing a group of sensations
and locating the fused group on the right is designated
(e
in technical psychological language by the term percep
tion." One perceives objects ; that is, one recognizes cer
tain groups of sensations as belonging together and as
different from the rest of the world .
Space not a sensation, but a product of fusion. In the
process of perceiving the world the individual develops
certain types of conscious experience which must be dis
tinguished from sensations . Space is such a product of
organized experience . Space results from the fact that
sensations take on what we may call " togetherness." To
getherness is a product of fusion. The counterpart of
togetherness is separateness . The perceived orange is dis
tinguished from other objects. The whole complex of
togetherness and separateness ultimately gets arranged into
a general map or system . In this system there ultimately
comes to be a right and left, an up and down . The world
is now recognized as arranged in order.
164 PSYCHOLOGY
Tactual space as a simple example of fusion. One of

the earliest experimental studies in space perception dealt
with the spatial arrangement of tactual experiences. In
his effort to find some method of testing the sensitivity
of the skin, Weber measured the distances which must
lie between two stimulated points on the skin in different
parts of the body before the points may be recognized as
separate. He found that in much-used regions, such as
the ends of the fingers , the lips, and the tongue, the distances
which are necessary between points, in order that they may
be distinguished, are very small, often less than a single
millimeter ; while on the upper arm or the middle of the
back the points must be separated by three to six centi
meters in order to be recognized as two . Furthermore, as
has been abundantly shown since the time of Weber, there
is the greatest uncertainty in the estimation of distances
and directions in the regions where discrimination of points
is difficult.
Subjective and objective space. On the basis of these
facts we may emphasize the difference between external
space and our recognition of space. Two millimeters of
extension on the middle of the back are for the geometri
cian equivalent in all respects to the same distance on the
finger. For the observer who perceives these two regions
through the sense of touch, the recognition of the two dis
tances is not a geometrical fact, uniform for all parts of the
body, but a complex of varying experiences.
Perception and training. Experiments of the kind which
Weber tried can be carried farther. Thus, it has been
shown that after a little training regions of the skin where
the discrimination was relatively difficult can be developed
so as to permit of very much finer discrimination than
that which was exhibited at first. In other words, without
any radical change in the sensory conditions, practice will
rapidly refine space perception. Again, if any region of the
Oned skin is stimulated by means of a continuous line rather than

tion de by two separate points, it will be found that the greater
+ &
nces. E mass of sensations received from the line facilitates dis

ensiv crimination. A line can be recognized as having exten
ch mus sion when it is about one third as long as the distance
differen between two points which are just discriminated as sepa
nized es rate from each other. The difficulty of discriminating two
such 4 points when they are presented alone is not due to the
stances character of the sensations from the points, but rather to
eymay the difficulty of discriminating them without the aid of a
more complete sensory series derived from the stimulation
ofthe of points between .
cent Development of spatial arrangements in the course of
re, a individual experience. In our search for an explanation
there of the facts of tactual perception of space, let us ask
ENCES what is the course of individual development. Anyone
who observes an infant recognizes that early in life there
평
is the greatest uncertainty in locating stimulations on the

hese skin. If the skin of an infant is vigorously stimulated
either by some accident or by the efforts of someone who
is interested in making an experimental investigation, it
will be found that the infant moves its hands about in the
most indefinite fashion, often failing entirely to reach the
irritated spot. We can understand the infant's difficulty
if we try to locate with precision some point which has
E been stimulated on the skin of the upper arm . The infant
has sensation enough, just as we have when stimulated in
an undeveloped region, but the sensation is not properly
related to other sensations. It has no recognized relations
which give it a definite place in a well-ordered sequence
of tactual or visual qualities, because the well-ordered
sequence has not yet been built up. An established series
of relations of some definite kind is necessary before the
sensation can enter into distinct spatially-ordered percepts.
Until a definite series of space notions is developed, the
166 PSYCHOLOGY
sensation will enter only into vague fusions, and localiza

tion will be altogether incomplete . The change from vague
to definite localization requires much experience and atten
tion. Indeed, it is a fact easily verified that no sensation
becomes definite in its relations until the practical needs
of life demand such definiteness. The reason why an
adult discriminates points on the end of the finger and
not those on his back is that in the course of life he
has been obliged to use his finger sensations . Use has
led to an arrangement of points, to the development of
what may figuratively be called a map . This map is devel
oped by recognizing again and again the relation of a
finger to the palm of the hand and of the palm of the
hand to the elbow, and so on , until the various parts of
the body are thought of as in a fixed relation . The map
then takes on a kind of independence and remains in
the mind as distinct from any particular sensations. The
adult knows the parts of his body even when they are
not actually stimulated at the moment.
Vision and movement as aids to touch. This process of
developing definiteness in tactual localization has undoubtedly
been very greatly facilitated by the presence of vision . Even
in adult life one can often find himself making his experience
of a tactual stimulation more exact and complete by looking
at the point irritated, thus relating the tactual sensation to
visual sensations. The process of localization of tactual sen
sations is also very largely dependent on movement. It is an
empirical fact that the perceptual arrangement of skin sensa
tions is most complete in the most mobile parts of the body.
A number of careful experimental observers at one time ex
plored the whole surface of the skin and showed that in any
given region that part which is most mobile is the part on
which points are most easily discriminated . Thus the hand
is the most highly developed part of the arm ; the foot is the
most highly developed part of the leg.
I
d locall Tactual percepts of the blind. In some respects the tactual

RA
Com vag perception of blind persons is more highly developed than

&
and att that of persons who have vision . The blind are not supplied
sensati with better organs of touch, but they make more discriminat
al need ing use of such experiences as they receive through the skin.
They also make more use of movements than do normal per
ger sons, as may be observed in the fact that they restlessly
The explore every object which comes within their reach. The
Useb limitations of the space perception of the blind appear when
ment complex objects are presented for recognition . When the
mass of sensory impressions is great, the discrimination and
nof: fusion of these sensations become very difficult. This fact is
strikingly illustrated by the history of the raised letters used
arts in books for the blind . The most natural way of producing
NE such books, and the way which was followed at first, was to
print in raised lines the same letter forms as were used for
persons who read visually. For vision the complex lines of
ordinary printed letters offer no difficulties, because vision is
so highly organized that it discriminates easily the ordinary
printed forms. No one realized that touch being so much
coarser than vision would discriminate forms less easily.
Such proved, however, to be the case. The letters for the
blind have, accordingly, been simplified until in one of the
best and most recent systems the letters are made up entirely
of points. These points are easy to distinguish and, being
placed near one another, are also easy to recognize in groups.
Wundt on the tactual perception of the blind. The char
acter of tactual perception in the case of the blind is thus
illustrated and discussed by Wundt :
The way in which the blind alphabet is read shows clearly

how the space ideas of the blind have developed. As a rule, the
index fingers of both hands are used in blind reading. The right
finger precedes and apprehends a group of points simultaneously
(synthetic touch), the left finger follows somewhat more slowly
and apprehends the single points successively (analytic touch).
168 PSYCHOLOGY
Both the synthetic and analytic impressions are united and referred
to the same object. This method of procedure shows clearly that
the spatial discrimination of tactual impressions is no more imme
diately given in this case than in the case where vision was present,
but that in the case of the blind the movements by means of which
the finger that is used in analytic touch passes from point to point
play the same part as did the accompanying visual ideas in the
normal cases with vision.
Lotze's local signs. Another method of describing the tac

tual perception of space is that adopted by Lotze, one of the
earliest of the writers on physiological psychology. Every
point on the surface of the body gives rise, said Lotze, to a
tactual sensation which in addition to its general quality and
intensity as a tactual sensation has a peculiar and character
istic shading due to the structure of the skin at the particular
point where the stimulus is applied . Thus, if the same pres
sure is applied to the lips and the forehead, the resulting sen
sations will, in spite of general likeness, be slightly different
in the two cases, because there is soft muscular tissue under
the skin of the lips and hard bony tissue under the skin of
the forehead. These slight differences between tactual sen
sations which are due to locality lead the observer to arrange
his tactual sensations in certain systems or series. The quali
tative shadings are thus transformed into spatial series . The
qualitative differences come to signify position and are con
sequently designated as local signs. Their character as local
signs is derived from the spatial system to which they are
referred ; they are individually merely qualitative differences.
Inner tactual factors . The factors which enter into tactual
space percepts are probably derived in part from the inner
organs, such as the semicircular canals, the joints, and the
muscles . From the semicircular canals, as pointed out in
an earlier chapter, there is a constant stream of excitations
reaching the central nervous system with every change in
the position of the body. The limbs in their movements
andrefer give rise to sensations in the joints and muscles. While the
clear child is exploring the surface of his body and attaining the
morei degree of ability to discriminate points which is shown by
asprese Weber's experiments, he is also learning through muscle
sof sensations to recognize distances away from the surface of
nttop his body by reaching for things about him. He is learning
eas int through the sensations from his semicircular canals that
""
there is a fundamental distinction between " right side up
and oblique or inverted positions. He is learning through
joint sensations to recognize how many steps must be taken
edf
to cross certain stretches of space.
Exa
Space not attached to any single sense. The striking
ze, t
fact is that ultimately all these different sensory factors are
lity
arranged into the same space form. There is not one tactual
TRACE
space, and another space for muscle sensations, and another
for joint sensations. All are fused into a single system .
ps 1
The spatial order is a relational fact ; that is, it is a product
of the fusion or putting together of sensations. Whenever 1
sensations are fused into the spatial relation they take on a
character different from that which can be assigned to them
when they are considered alone.
General conclusions regarding tactual space. From this
survey of the facts of tactual space we have derived several
important conclusions . Space is a complex. Space is not a
sensation quality, but a relational form of experience . Tactual
space is not explicable without reference to the general for
mula of organization which includes other sensations also.
We are, accordingly, justified in postponing the general
explanation of space perception until we have taken up *the
facts regarding the arrangement of auditory and visual sen
sations in the spatial form .
Auditory recognition of location. Experiments on the
localization of sounds may be made as follows : Let a sound
be produced in the median plane, which passes vertically
through the head from in front backward, midway between
170 PSYCHOLOGY
the two ears. If the sound is simple in quality, as, for ex

ample, a sharp click of some kind , and the observer's eyes
are closed so as to eliminate vision and make him entirely
dependent on hearing, the localization of the sound will in
the majority of cases be erroneous . The sound will always
be localized somewhere in the median plane, but its exact
position in this plane cannot be recognized . If, on the other
hand, the sound is moved slightly to the right or left of the
median plane, it will be found that the observer can local
ize the sound with great accuracy. The explanation of the
observer's ability to locate sounds coming from the side is
simple and depends chiefly upon the fact that the observer
receives from such a sound different intensities of sensation
in the two ears . From all positions in the median plane the
two groups of sensations received in the two ears have equal
intensities, whereas the intensities of sounds received in the
two ears from any position outside of the median plane are
unequal.
Influence of movements in auditory experience of position.
Undoubtedly here, as in the case of tactual space, the facts
of movement are of great significance in organizing sensory
experience. If a sound on one side of the head is more
intense than the sound on the other, there will be a strong
tendency to readjust the head in such a way that the stronger
sound shall be made even more intense and the weaker
group of sensations shall be made still fainter by the move
ment of the head . If a sound is in the median plane and
there is difficulty in getting at its precise localization, there
is frequently a noticeable effort on the part of the observer
to bring the head into such a position that a more satisfac
tory determination of position shall be possible through a
modification of the intensities of the sensations from the two
ears . Often auditory perception issues in a movement which
tends to bring the eyes toward the source of the sound.
The same tendency which was noted in the discussion of
tactual sensations to fuse various kinds of sensations into a

single spatial system is obvious in this effort to supplement
hearing by vision.
Qualitative differences and localization. The explanation
which has been presented can be made more elaborate by
giving attention to qualitative differences as well as to differ
ences in intensity in the two groups of sensations received
by the two ears . There can be no doubt that the external
pinna of the ear modifies somewhat the character of the
sound as it enters the auditory canals. If a complex sound
strikes the pinna from in front, its quality will be different
from that which would result if the same sound is carried
into the ear from behind. As a result of these qualitative
modifications produced by the external ear, we are able to
localize sounds even in the median plane, provided they
are of complex quality. The human voice, for example, in
the median plane of the head, can usually be recognized
with great precision as coming from a point in front or
behind. This is due to the fact that the voice is complex
in quality.
Distance of sounds recognized only indirectly. The dis
cussion of the recognition of the direction from which
sounds come may be supplemented by reference to the fact
that the recognition of the distance of sounds also involves
a large body of organized experiences. If one hears the
human voice sounding very faintly in his ears, his frequent
experience with voices and their normal intensity when the
speakers are near at hand will lead him to recognize that
the person speaking is far away. Furthermore, the qualita
tive character of the sound as well as its intensity is modi
fied by the remoteness of its source, the elements of the
sound being less distinct when it is transmitted from a
great distance to the ear. The intensity and quality are,
accordingly, both utilized in interpretations of distance so
long as the sound is familiar.
172 PSYCHOLOGY
Unfamiliar sounds difficult to locate. In contrast to the

relatively easy estimation of the distance of a familiar sound,
it is extremely difficult to estimate the distance of the source
of an unfamiliar sound . An experiment may be tried by
producing an unfamiliar sound, such as that which results
from snapping a card in the neighborhood of an observer's
head. Until this sound has become familiar the errors in
estimation of distance will be very noticeable.
Visual space and optical illusions. If we turn from audi
tory space perception to visual experiences, we find a rich
variety of examples which show how complex is the process
FIG. 47. Müller- Lyer illusion

The length of the horizontal line A is equal to the length of the horizontal line B.
(For further discussion of the figure see text)
of arranging sensations in a spatial order. There are certain

cases of incorrect perception of length and direction of
figures in plane surfaces, constituting what are known as
geometrical optical illusions . These are especially clear
examples of complex perception . Take, for example, the
illusion represented in Fig . 47. The two lines A and B are
in reality equal to each other, but the observer will recog
nize at once that they seem to be of different lengths. The
retinal image of each line is distinct and clear ; the apparent
inequality cannot, therefore, be attributed to any confusion
in the retinal processes ; it must be attributed to some kind
of perceptual complexity. The explanation of the source of
this illusion has been the subject of much discussion, and

it is probably true that no single statement will account for
the apparent inequality of A and B. In a general way it
may be said that one cannot look at A and B without
including in his field of vision the oblique lines, and the
oblique lines are such striking and unfamiliar additions to
the horizontal lines that they are not neglected as they
should be in perceiving the length of the horizontals. If,
in addition to this general statement, we attempt to show
in detail how the oblique lines affect the horizontals, there
are a number of facts which may be noted. The oblique
lines produce less of an effect upon some observers than
upon others. This can be shown by making quantitative
determinations of the intensity of the illusion . For this
purpose one of the figures of the pair under discussion is
made adjustable, and the observer sets it until it seems to
him equal to the other figure. When the two seem equal
they will be in reality different. The amount of difference
can now be readily measured, and the results from various
observers compared. Not only are the results of such meas
urements different for different observers, but the same indi
vidual will at various times give different results.
Effects of practice. One especially significant case of in
dividual variation is that in which the observer deliberately
sets about comparing the figures a great number of times
for the purpose of becoming familiar with them. Three
stages of change in interpretation show themselves in such
a practice series . First, the observer takes a general view
of the whole figure, as does the ordinary observer who
looks casually at the illusion ; he gets in this case a strong
illusion. Second, the observer tries to look at the long lines
and neglect the obliques ; that is, he makes an effort to
overcome the disturbing influence in a negative way. During
this period of conscious neglect of the obliques the illusion
grows somewhat weaker, but it does not disappear. Finally,
174 PSYCHOLOGY
in the third stage, the observer reaches the point where

there is no need of an effort to neglect the obliques. In
terpretation may be said to be so completely worked out in
this stage that the obliques and the long lines fall into their
proper relations without interfering with one another. Each
is included in the percept, but in its true significance. At
this stage the illusion is entirely overcome .
Percepts always complex. Such facts as these make it
clear that a visual percept includes all the factors in the
field of vision. If these factors are conflicting , they may
result in grotesque misinterpretations . If, on the other
hand, they are thoroughly assimilated into the percept, they
FIG. 48. Illusion of contrast

The middle portion of the short horizontal line marked off by the verticals seems
longer than the equal distance marked off in the long horizontal line
take their appropriate relations and no longer disturb the

total process of perception .
Contrast. A great many other illustrations could be
brought forward to show the relation of one part of the
visual field to all other parts. Thus, one cannot look at a
line on a large blackboard and fail to be influenced in his
estimation of the length of the line by the large surround
ing space. Conversely, a line drawn on a small sheet of
paper is always interpreted in terms of the paper as either
relatively long or relatively short. Objects seem very differ
ent in size when seen outdoors and again in a small room.
Fig. 48 illustrates this principle by showing a short central
line as part of a long line in one case and as part of a
short line in a second case, with the result that the central
line seems to be of different lengths in the two cases .
point Common facts showing size to be a matter of relations.

liques, Other complications than those from the surrounding visual
kedcr field also influence one's perception of size. The natural
intothe standards of size which depend upon familiarity and upon
her. E the relations of objects to one's own body are constantly
ance influencing perception . Time and again descriptions have
been given by observers of the fact that a road seems
longer the first time one passes over it, when all the
sights are unfamiliar ; and many have also referred to the
hey fact that places known in childhood always seem small when
Tec revisited in mature life.
On th Physiological conditions of visual perception. The signifi
cance of all these facts for our understanding of visual space
is not hard to find . Putting the matter in physiological
terms, we may say that when series of visual stimulations
from a given line or figure reach the visual center, they find
there a larger series of excitations from other points on the
retina and a series of organized modes of response derived
from past experience. Each excitation takes its place in
this complex .
Psychological statement. Putting the same matter in psy
chological terms, we may say that every sensation becomes
part of a fixed order. This order or spatial arrangement is
something other than the sensations ; it is a product of
perceptual fusion.
Photographic records of percepted movements. A clearer
understanding of the matter will be reached by considering
the results of photographic investigations, in which the path
of the eye movement in looking over certain illusory figures
has been determined . In Fig. 49 there is presented one of
the most striking of the illusions of direction. The long lines
are in reality parallel with each other, but the obliques are
far too distracting to permit the ordinary observer to recog
nize the true relations between the parallel lines. Fig. 50
shows another illusion of direction . The oblique lines are
176 PSYCHOLOGY
parts of a single line, but seem to extend in slightly different

directions because of the interrupting space between the
FIG. 49. Zöllner illusion

The long lines are parallel with each other
parallels . Fig. 51 shows the paths in which photographs indi

cate that the eye of an observer moved in attempting to look
at the illusions discussed . In Fig. 51 , A, the movement over
the Zöllner pattern is shown . It is evident from the move
ments indicated in the photographs that the sensation factors
are not fully mastered so as to permit coördinated move
ments along the parallel lines . The result is that though
these lines give perfectly clear retinal images, they do not
stand in their true relations in experience.
The photographs show that often there
is sufficient fusion of the sensory factors
to permit a single movement in follow
ing a line, and this single movement is
B in the general part of the field of vision
in which the line lies, but it is only a
FIG. 50. Poggendorff gross general approximation to the line.
illusion
This corresponds exactly to the fact that
A,Bare parts ofthe same
straight line the experience of the figure consists of
a gross general perception of the long
line and its obliques . One observer , after these preliminary
photographs of his eye movements in looking at the Zöllner
3
8
5
X
6 B
8
10 9 6 5
2 3 5
с
FIG. 51. These figures show the path followed by the eye of an observer
in examining certain of the foregoing illusions
In each of the figures the path of the eye movement is indicated by a supplemen
tary line. The numbers placed along these supplementary lines indicate the points
at which a pause was made in the course of the eye movement. In Fig. 51, A, the
observer was attempting to follow the long line of the illusion . It will be noticed
that he departs from the long line, and at the extreme end of the movement, as at
2 and 5, makes a short corrective movement by which he again fixates the long
line. In Fig. 51 , B, the distracting influence of the vertical lines is obvious, as is also
the difficulty of moving the eye across the open space in any such way as to reach
the point of interconnection between the vertical and oblique lines. In Fig. 51 , C,
it will be noted that the eye movement is very free in that part of the figure which
is overestimated, and much restricted whenever the eye approaches one of the
acute angles. This is indicated by the frequent pause in 3 , 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. In 8 it
will be noted that the eye is deflected from the horizontal line by the oblique
178 PSYCHOLOGY
pattern, put himself through a series of quantitative tests

with the figure. In this practice series he gradually over
came the distracting effects of the oblique lines, and the
illusion disappeared . A second series of photographs taken
after the practice series showed that his eye followed the
long line with great precision . Photographs with other
illusions show clearly the distracting effects of the additional
lines as indicated in full in Fig. 46 .
Relation between size and distance. When we study the
relation of size to distance from the observer, we find a
series of complexities even greater than those which have
appeared thus far. In order to demonstrate this experi
mentally an observer should first secure an after-image
through the steady fixation of some bright object. The
after-image covers a certain number of retinal elements and
may be considered as giving, as long as it lasts, a constant
group of sensations .When the observer is looking at the
object this mass of sensations will be interpreted as having
a certain definite size and distance . When the same mass
of impressions comes from the after-image, it can easily be
related to different distances, and with each change in ap
parent distance it will take on a different apparent size.
The change in distance can easily be produced by looking
at various surfaces which are at different distances. The
after-image will seem in each case to be on the surface at
which the observer is looking at the moment, whatever the
distance of that surface. The after-image will seem smaller
when the surface on which it is projected is nearer than the
original object from which the image was derived, and larger
when the surface is farther away.
Definite optical relation between the distance and the size
of an object and the size of the retinal image from this
object. This series of observations makes it clear that the
size of a retinal image does not determine the interpretation
of the size of an object without reference to the additional
!
titative t fact of distance. A given retinal image, for the after-image

adually on the retina remained the same throughout the series of
es, and t observations, may be interpreted as a large object far away
Taphstake or as a small object near at hand. The optical principle
ollowed th which underlies this series of observations is illustrated in
with othe Fig. 52. In this figure the retinal image is represented by
additi the inverted arrow AB, and the lines from the extremities
of this image passing through the optical center of the lens
determine the positions of various external objects, any one
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ents
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De ma FIG. 52. The retinal image AB may be equally well related to any one of
the objects ab, a'b', a"b"
drawing that a succession of arrows outside of the eye, differ

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ing in length from each other, may all cast the same retinal
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image. This general principle is doubtless familiar to every
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one when stated in the following simple terms : A small
ce
object such as the finger held near the eye can shut out the
75
image of a large remote object, such as a tree or a building.
dic
When, now, the after-image in the experiment is projected
the
to distances near and far away, its significance and perceptual
interpretation are immediately modified, even though the
retinal sensations are uniform in volume and distribution on
the sensory surface of the eye.
Berkeley's statement of the problem of visual depth per
ception. These observations lead us to a problem which was
so clearly stated by one of the early writers in the modern
180 PSYCHOLOGY
period of psychology that we may quote his statement in

full. In a treatise published in 1709 Bishop Berkeley said :
It is, I think, agreed by all that distance of itself, and immedi

ately, cannot be seen. For distance being a line directed endwise
to the eye, it projects only one point on the fund of the eye
which point remains invariably the same, whether the distance be
longer or shorter. I find it also acknowledged that the estimate we
make of the distance of objects considerably remote is rather an
act of judgment grounded on experience than of sense.
Berkeley goes forward in the remainder of the " Essay toward

a New Theory of Vision " to account for this process, which
he calls a process of judgment. He draws attention to the
fact that whenever one looks at an object near at hand he
rotates his two eyes toward the nose so that the points of
view from which he observes the object are different in the
two eyes . He asserts that the convergence of the two eyes,
as their inward rotation is called, gives rise to certain experi
ences of movement, which are utilized as interpreting factors.
Experiments on binocular vision. The researches of
modern experimental psychology have confirmed, in general,
Berkeley's explanation , though they emphasize more than
he did the differences between the two sets of retinal im
pressions received in the two eyes. The fact that the two
eyes contribute a complex of sensations through which we
perceive distance has been abundantly confirmed . The
reasoning involved is as follows : If distance is recognized
as a result of a complex of sensations coming from the two
eyes, then it should be possible to show that the recognition
of depth is seriously interfered with by the withdrawal of
any of the factors contributed by the two eyes. It is not
possible to remove altogether the influence of both eyes,
even when one is closed ; hence, vision can never be reduced
to strictly monocular vision, but the following simple experi
ment may be tried to show the dependence of the clear
3334
recognition of depth upon vision with two eyes. If an ob

server covers one eye and then attempts to bring his finger
directly over some object which stands in front of the open
eye, he will find that the ability to bring the finger directly
13
over the object in question is very much less than his ability
to do so under the ordinary conditions of binocular vision .
A direct observation of the same general fact can be made
if the observer will note carefully the difference in the ap
parent solidity and remoteness of objects when he observes
them first with a single eye and immediately afterward with
both eyes open. These observations show that the complete
recognition of distance and depth involves all the sensory
factors from the two eyes ; whenever there is any disturbance
of the normal conditions the result appears in incomplete
perception, for the relational or perceptual process does not
in such cases have its normal complex of content with which
to deal.
Difference between the images in the two eyes. The con
tributions made to experience by the two eyes are different,
as can be clearly seen if an observer will hold some solid
object near the face and look at it, first with one eye open
and then with the other. The difference between the two
views in the two eyes can be briefly defined by saying that
with the right eye one sees more of the right side of a solid
object and less of the left side, while with the left eye one
sees more of the left side of a solid object and less of the
right side. These relations are made clear in Fig. 53.
When the two retinal images from the solid object are
received by an observer, they are immediately fused with
each other into a single perceptual complex, as were the
two groups of auditory sensations discussed in an earlier
section of this chapter.
Stereoscopic figures and appearance of solidity. There is
an apparatus often used for purposes of amusement, in which
the principle that the appearance of solidity depends upon
182 PSYCHOLOGY
disparity of the two retinal images is utilized to produce the

appearance of solidity even when no solid object is present.
The apparatus in question is the stereoscope . Photographs
are taken or drawings are made, corresponding in form to
the retinal images which
would be obtained by two
eyes if they were look
ing at a solid figure or
series of figures at differ
ent depths. The two
DOA D/O/A
B drawings or photographs
are then projected by
means of the stereoscope
into the two eyes of an
observer in such a way
1 that the right retina is
stimulated by the image
appropriate to the right
B eye, and the left retina
FIG. 53. Showing binocular parallax is stimulated by the fig

The cube BDAC is held near the two eyes ure appropriate to the
with the result that the right eye sees the left eye. The observer,
surface DA and the right side of the cube, who thus receives the
while the left eye sees the surface DA and
the left side of the cube. If a plane is passed sensory impressions ap
through the rays of light which enter the eye
from the cube, as indicated by the dotted line propriate to solidity, will
in the figure, it will be seen that the retinal naturally fuse the two
images of the two eyes contain each a distinct images and will see in
element. The eye on the left-hand side of the
figure has a retinal image corresponding to space before him a solid
BD, which is absent in the other eye. Further
details will be obvious from the figure object which , in reality,
is not there , but which
is adequately represented by the two flat drawings projected
into his eyes . A great many experiments can be tried with
the stereoscope which make clear the significance of the
two retinal images for the recognition of solidity and depth .
It can thus be shown that the fused resultant, that is, the
percept of a solid object, does not derive its characteristics

from either one of the retinal impressions considered in
itself, for each image so considered is deficient in solidity.
The fusion is, in a very proper sense of the word, a compro
mise between the two different images, and there appears as
a result of fusion at least one characteristic which neither
figure had in itself ; namely, the characteristic of clearly
defined solidity .
Retinal rivalry. When the binocular images are totally
different, as in certain experiments which may be arranged
with the stereoscope, the observer finds that it is impossible
for him to fuse the two groups of impressions . Thus, if he
looks with one eye at a series of horizontal lines , and with
the other at a series of vertical lines, he will see the fields
in succession. The group of sensations coming from one
retina will first be recognized in clear consciousness and
will then fade out and give place to the sensations derived 1
from the second retina . There is thus an oscillation in
experience which is vividly described by the term " retinal
rivalry. ” In retinal rivalry there is obviously a lack of fusion
of the sensations . The artificial differences in binocular
images here produced are so foreign to the experiences
which present themselves in ordinary life that the observer
is unable to fuse them into a single conscious process. If
such strange combinations of sensations are to be in any
way related, it must be in a temporal succession of mental
activities rather than in a single spatial form.
Factors other than those contributed by the two eyes .
The recognition of depth through the fusion of two groups
of retinal sensations is not the only form of visual recogni
tion of depth. Other factors of experience and other types
of relation may enter into the complex . In every case, how
ever, the factors or relations which contribute to the inter
pretation of solidity are, like the differences in binocular
vision just discussed, complexes which get their significance
184 PSYCHOLOGY
and value not because of their sensation qualities but by

virtue of the relations into which the sensations are brought.
Aërial perspective. The first facts to which reference may
be made are the differences in colors and sharpness of out
line which appear when objects are seen through different
thicknesses of atmosphere. Remote colors are always dull
and darker in shade than colors near at hand, and the out
lines of remote objects are ill-defined . We are so trained
in the interpretation of these general facts that in looking
at a landscape we pay very little attention to color quality or
to the lack of clearness in outline, but utilize these immedi
ately for purposes of depth perception ; that is, the sensa
tions are not recognized as distinct facts in experience, but
are allowed to serve their function, which is to indicate the
position of the object from which they come. Let the ob
server carefully compare his experience of distant fields in
the landscape with fields near at hand. He will find that
the remoter greens are blue in cast, even though under
ordinary circumstances his attention is not directed to these
differences in color shades . The same truth is well illus
trated by the fact that persons who have been accustomed
to living in a moist atmosphere always misinterpret distances
when they go to regions where the air is clear and free from
moisture. Great distances seen through clear air are under
estimated because of the small effect which the air produces
in modifying the colors and outlines of objects.
Geometrical perspective and familiarity. Another impor
tant means of recognizing depth is through the familiarity
which we have acquired with certain common objects. If a
given object is carried farther and farther away from the
eye, it will cast upon the retina a smaller and smaller image.
If a man first observed at a distance of ten feet moves to
a distance of twenty feet, the size of the retinal image and,
consequently, the mass of sensations derived from this man
will decrease one half. We seldom interpret such changes
1 in the size of a retinal image of a familiar object as changes

in the size of the object itself ; thus, we never say that a
receding man has dwarfed to half his original size . We
have learned by long experience that most of the objects of
our environment are permanent in size and that the changes
in our sensations merely indicate changes in the position of
these objects. In this way we build up an elaborate series
of recognitions of differences in depth. How completely we
depend upon this recognition of familiar objects for our
interpretation of unfamiliar or undefined experiences will be
recognized if it is remembered that the interpretation of the
size and distance of objects in photographs is always uncer
tain unless some familiar figure, such as that of a human
being, appears as a scale by which to gauge the sizes of the
other objects .
Shadows. Another factor which is sometimes significant
in giving rise to the interpretation of depth is found in the
shadows cast by objects . The apparent solidity of a bank of
clouds in the sky cannot depend upon binocular differences,
because the clouds are too remote. They are also quite un
familiar, and may be without color ; therefore the methods
of interpretation which we have described up to this point
are quite inadequate to explain their apparent solidity. The
shadows which they cast upon each other are, however, so
clear in their indication of differences of position with refer
ence to the sun that we immediately recognize a bank of
shaded clouds as made up of parts differing in distance from
us. The same principle of recognition of solidity is utilized
in all flat drawings intended to represent solid objects . Such
flat drawings can always be made to suggest solidity with
vividness when they are shaded in a way corresponding to
the objects themselves.
Intervening objects. Finally, we make use of the fact that
near objects very frequently cut off our vision of remote ob
jects . Thus, if a tree which can be seen in all of its parts
186 PSYCHOLOGY
cuts off a portion of a house or other object, we perceive

the house not as divided by the tree but as standing behind
it. Here again we interpret our sensations as indicating dif
ferences in position rather than differences in the objects
themselves .
Depth a matter of complex perception . One cannot re

view this series of facts with regard to the visual interpreta
tion of depth without being confirmed in his view that space
perception is a process in which sensory factors are related
to each other in the most complex manner. No retinal im
pression has its value for mental life fully determined until
it is brought into relation with other sensations .
Relation to movements. As in the case of tactual percepts,
so here there is a close relation between visual space and
movements . In the first place, movements of the eyes are
intimately related in their development to visual recognition
of space . When an infant attempts to turn his two eyes on
the same point of fixation, his movements are frequently so
slow and irregular that they have the appearance, especially
in photographs , of cross-eyed movements . Even in adult
life it is shown by rapid photographs that the two eyes often
move to a point of fixation in such a way that while one eye
moves rapidly, the other comes up in an irregular, relatively
slow movement. The development of a coördinated move
ment is thus seen to be the product of effort and concentra
tion . That a coördinated movement has been developed at
all shows how significant it is for the individual that he
should acquire a unitary motor response to the complex of
retinal sensations . The unity of response stands , indeed, in
sharpest contrast to the complexity of the sensory factors.
The organized ability to coördinate the two eyes depends on
the development of a system in which each phase of experi
ence , without losing its individual reality , is taken up in the
single unitary system. Space and the coördinated system
of ocular movements are thus seen to be very intimately
related . The complex of movements has a unity which re

sults from the union of all of the different phases of binocular
movement into a single coördinated act. Space is also a
system in which every point has a certain character of its
own and at the same time has characteristics which attach
to it as part of the general system .
General movements as conditions of fusion of retinal sen
sations . In the second place, the relation of visual space
perception to organized behavior becomes clearer when it
is noticed that the unity of visual percepts is demanded not
only in the coördinations of eye movements but also in the
coördinations of all forms of behavior which are guided by
vision . If one reaches out his hand to grasp an object, his
sensory impressions of the object will be derived from two
eyes, but the reaction to be effective must be to all the
sensations at once.
Space a system of relations developed through fusion .
Our treatments of space perception in the sphere of touch,
hearing, and vision bring us to a general conclusion that
space is a closed system built up throughthe fusion of
sensations and, further, that this system is closely related
to bodily movements.
Movement and mechanical laws. The evidence that
there is a close relation between space and bodily move
ment appears in the fact that space as we perceive it ex
presses those mechanical laws which govern all bodily
movements. Human central nervous organization and re
lated muscular movements are, from the very nature of
mechanical law with which the movements must comply,
capable of only a very definite system of developments .
One cannot move his hand at the same time toward the left
and the right. Left and right come to be, therefore, clearly
distinguished directions in the organization of human re
sponses to sensations. One cannot move his hand back
ward and forward in the same movement. As a result, all
138 PSYCHOLOGY
sensations which are to be related to movements are ulti

mately assigned to places either in front or behind, never
in both positions at the same time. The child begins life
without a thorough organization of his movements and,
correspondingly, without any definite spatial forms of per
ception. The two develop together as he actively adjusts
himself to the world about him. Finally, as he becomes
master of his movements he finds that his perceptual world
also has taken on certain definite sequences of arrangement
which are so stable and systematic and so harmonious with
what he comes to know theoretically of mechanical law that
he can study the spatial system as he finds it in his per
ceptual consciousness and relate this spatial form of percep
tion to his science of mechanics without the slightest fear
of finding any incongruity in the two groups of facts. It
should be noted here again that such a complete system of
space is much more than a series of sensations . Sensation
qualities are necessary as the factors with which the indi
vidual must deal ; they constitute the material or content of
experience, but the spatial form of perception is a product
of perceptual fusion . Every sensation is related to every
other not because of its quality or intensity but because
every sensation must, in the organization of impressions,
take its place in a serial system before it can serve any defi
nite function in individual life or have any clearly marked
place in consciousness.
Perception of individual objects . There are many forms
of perceptual fusion which supplement the fusions entering
into the closed system of space. To the ordinary observer
an object recognized through the two senses of taste and
smell is so unitary in character that he does not realize that
any fusion of discrete sensations has taken place. By a
simple experiment one can easily show that the perception
of any article of food involves a number of distinct sensa
tions. Let the observer taste of some familiar substance,
such as coffee, and at the same time, by holding the nose,

prevent the air from coming into contact with the olfactory
organ, and coffee becomes a sweet liquid with little or no
flavor ; even castor oil becomes an inoffensive thick oil
under like conditions . Why is it that in ordinary expe
rience tastes and odors are united ? It is because, in spite
of the separation of the gustatory and olfactory organs, there
is a constant demand in life that tastes and odors shall be
used together in guiding conduct. The whole inner organi
zation of the individual is such that these different sensory
qualities have a joint significance for perception and for
behavior. There is a distinction on the qualitative side
between tastes on the one hand, and odors on the other,
because the sensory organs for the two qualities are differ
ent ; but there is the most intimate perceptual fusion to
serve as a guide to conduct.
There are perceptual fusions in every sphere of sensa
tion quite as compact as those of taste and smell and as
various in character as the objects in the world about us.
Mere coexistence of sensations no explanation of unity
in the percepts of objects. The physiological condition of
this unity in the perception of single objects is not to be
found in the sensory processes themselves, any more than
was the physiological condition for the perception of space.
The sensory processes derived from things are very differ
ent in type and in the points at which they are received
into the central nervous system. The unity of perception
is not to be accounted for by the fact that all the sensory
excitations are in the brain together, for not all of the sen
sations that are in consciousness at the same time fuse into
a single percept. When we recognize a single object we
do so by distinguishing it from its surroundings as well as
by fusing its various attributes into a single percept. Thus,
one recognizes the book he is reading by distinguishing it
from his hands and from the bookcase in the background.
190 PSYCHOLOGY
Range of fusion determined by practical considerations.

Again, as in the treatment of the fusion which leads to
space perception, we must appeal to the central coördina
tions which are worked out under the stress of practical
demands . One fuses sensory factors into the percept of a
thing because he can adjust himself to certain aspects of
experience in a single act. Thus, one speaks of a book
case and its contents as a single object when he merely
wishes to name over the articles of furniture in his room.
He distinguishes the separate books as objects when he
wishes to take them out and use them . The range of one's
experience of a thing is thus seen to depend not on sen
sory processes but on the practical motives which lead to
the synthesis of more or less comprehensive groups of
these sensations into single phases of experience.
Changes in percepts through repetition. The fusion of
factors into single groups becomes easier after repetition.
Thus the expert rifleman comes to recognize at once the
movement of his game, the distance of the game from
himself, and the wind which will influence his shot, factors
which might have coexisted indefinitely without being fused.
All this he has acquired as the result of repeated efforts to
shape his conduct in accordance with the demands of his
total environment. Indeed, such a case of acquired fusion of
widely divergent sensory factors may very frequently involve
in its earliest stages conscious effort to adapt action to whole
groups of sensations . The unity is made more and more
compact as repeated efforts are undertaken to recognize the
factors together, so that ultimately the perceptual unity, which
began in a conscious relating of factors, becomes a synthetic
unity of the ordinary type ; thus, we learn to see pen and
hand and paper together when we learn to write, until all
the factors which enter into the act of writing and its con
scious control are unified , and the final consciousness seems
very simple, although it is a complex of many factors.
consider
Parallel development of perception and habit . Discus
which
sions of perceptual fusion might be carried over directly into
ntralcor the discussion of habits so as to show that the development
Es d of organized perception and the development of organized
perce activity always go hand in hand. The training of eye and
in ap hand in any technical art, of ear and vocal cords in singing
300 or speaking, of ear and hand in playing a musical instru
be ment, go together in practical experience. The expert in
Inhis every line not only acts more skillfully but he sees or hears
to more skillfully and comprehensively. Perception is discrimi
native and complete just in so far as the factors of experi
otca ence are organized into wholes appropriate for individual
chle reaction. Our present purposes, however, can be fully satis
grups fied without a complete study of habits. The perceptual
fusion involved in the recognition of an object is one phase
Cappea m
of organization ; habit is an expression of this organization
DE and will be taken up in a separate, later chapter.
Time as a general form of experience. Before leaving
the subject of perception it is important that we consider
briefly a form of arrangement which has often been re
garded as similar in character to the space form ; namely,
time. Time, like space, involves a relation between several
factors of experience. Like space, it is not a sensation
quality. It is even more general in character than space,
for it is not merely a form of perception ; it is also, and
indeed chiefly, a form of the indirect, or memory, experi
ences. A percept is always in the time series, but it is }
always in that portion of the time series which we call
" the present. " It will, accordingly, be appropriate for us
to discuss in this connection some of the attributes of "the
present, " leaving the other phases of time consciousness to
be taken up in connection with memory.
Experimental determination of the scope of " the
present." " The present " is not a single point of experi
ence ; it is a group of experiences. Some experimental
192 PSYCHOLOGY
evidence as to the possible length of " the present " may

be gained as follows : Tap rapidly on the table at inter
vals of half a second or less, producing a series of sounds,
and find how many taps of this kind can be grouped into
a single easily apprehended unity. The observer will have
little difficulty in determining the limit of such a series if
he will simply listen to the taps and refrain from counting.
A short series of five or six taps will leave behind in
consciousness a feeling of perfect definiteness and ease of
apprehension . If such a series is exactly repeated, or if a
second slightly different series is sounded, the observer
will be in no doubt as to the likeness or unlikeness of
the two series. If, on the other hand, a series of twenty
or thirty taps is sounded, the observer will recognize that
at a certain point in the series a state of confusion sets in.
The series is no longer apprehended as a unity, but has
a vaguely defined massiveness which seems to elude the
mental grasp .
Scope of " the present " and its varying conditions. The
ability of the observer to group together a series of experi
ences is radically modified when the series itself is changed.
Thus, if every third tap is made stronger than the others,
or if it is given a slightly different quality, as in a series
of musical notes, the scope of the immediately recognized
group will be much increased. If the taps come irregu
larly, either in point of interval or in point of intensity or
quality, the scope of the unitary group will be decreased.
Time relations in verse and related systems of experience.
All these ficts appear in such practical forms of time per
ception as those which are utilized in making up English
IN is
the recognition of the successive feet in poetry
Allinted by grouping the sounds into single compact
grups The Cancer of each group is determined by
variations momaty, quality, and contact in such a
arge number of ways as to stisfy the demand for novelty
in experience, while at the same time retaining very fully

the characteristics necessary for temporal uniformity in the
successive groups of factors.
Time arrangement as conditioned by the rhythmical
changes in nervous processes. To find a precise physio
logical basis for the time grouping of experience will
require the discovery of processes which are much more
general than those which constitute the physiological basis
for space perception and for general perceptual unity as
exhibited in the recognition of objects . Indeed, we must
go far enough, as indicated above, to recognize that the
conditions of temporal discrimination are involved in indi
rect memory processes even more than in perception .
Such a general characteristic is to be found in the fact
that all nervous processes are constantly fluctuating in
intensity because the inner nervous condition is never
in equilibrium . The nervous condition is a living process,
now rising to a higher intensity, now declining to a low
intensity. This can be seen if an observer will pick out
in the constellation Pleiades a faint star which is just
visible, and watch it for a time. He will find that it disap
pears and then reappears for an interval, only to disappear
again. The rhythmical change is here so complete that
it is perceived as a change in the object. A like fluctu
ation of intensity is present in all sensory impressions,
even if the sensation is so strong that its decrease in
intensity does not cause it to disappear entirely.
Perception more than the flux of sensations. In addition
to the fluctuations in experience which result from the con
ditions in the nervous system, there are changes which arise
from the relation of the observer to the object. For example,
as one makes his way down the street he sees some object
for a moment and then loses sight of it until he comes
once more to a point from which he can observe it. In all
this flux of experience action must be based on a recognition
194 PSYCHOLOGY
of the permanency of objects which transcends present

sensations . We project our fluctuating sensations into a
series which provides for time changes which are not
changes in the things themselves . Thus we find new evi
dence that experience is organized out of sensations but
goes far beyond sensory qualities and intensities in the
attributes which it exhibits . Time is not a sensation ; it
is a form in which sensations are held because the mind
recognizes in objects a permanency which extends beyond
present personal experience .
SUMMARY
Discussions of perception. The discussion of perception may

be closed with a brief summary. Perception involves, first, a
spatial order ; second, the compact fusion of sensations into
percepts of separate objects in the world ; and third, the begin
ning of a temporal order. The spatial arrangement is intimately
connected with movement, being the arrangement given to sen
sory factors under the mechanical demands for characteristically
different reactions to different sensory factors in the total mass
of experience . Fusion of sensations into separate recognitions of
objects is, like spatial arrangement, related to activity, for all
those phases of sensory experience will be fused together which
require one and the same response. Finally, time recognition
depends on the flux in experience which comes to be recognized
as a flux not interfering with the permanency of objects.
CHAPTER IX
HABITS
Organic retentiveness . Up to this point only casual ref

erence has been made to the fact that the nervous system
is constantly undergoing structural changes as a result of
use. When an impulse passes from cell to cell, it leaves
behind a path which makes it easier for some new impulse
at a later period to pass along the same course. In this way
it is also made easier for later impulses to be brought
together. Very soon the effects of past experience become
so complicated that it is impossible to picture them in
detail. Thus, when one learns the name of an object,
there must be traced through the nervous system a series
of paths which make it possible in all later experience for
the percept of that object to arouse the tendency to articu
late the name. Or, to take another type of example, when
one has thought of Europe and Asia as parts of a great
continental mass, it becomes easier in all future experience
to couple these two ideas in thought.
The facts referred to in the last paragraph are grouped
""
together under such general terms as " organic memory or
"t
retentiveness ." It is one of the most important facts about
the nervous system that it is highly retentive. As a result
of this retentiveness, present action of any part of the
nervous system is explicable only in small measure by
the impressions of the moment. The present impression
is received into a network of paths which carry the im
pulse here and there in accordance with past experiences
through traces left behind by such experiences .
195
196 PSYCHOLOGY
Remoter conditions of retention . Considered in a large

way, all structures of the nervous system are the results of
past development. The coördinations which the child in
herits result from racial experiences, and no individual can
face the world without reflecting in all of his instinctive
attitudes the fundamental experiences of his ancestors.
Ordinarily we do not think of these remoter effects of
experience . We use the terms " memory " and " retention "
to refer to those phases of personal experience which we con
sciously connect with our own past contact with things and
people. When the ordinary man uses the term " memory,'
he thinks of a reinstatement as nearly as possible of some
situation experienced at an earlier date . One remembers
what he saw and did yesterday. For the psychologist this
is only one case of retention and revival. From the doings
of yesterday there come over into to-day many influences
which are difficult to observe directly. There is skill of
hand which is the product of a slow and systematic learn
ing process ; there is accuracy of spatial reference which
makes it possible for the individual to put his hand with
precision on the object before him or at the right or left.
There are modes of attention ; there are attitudes of fear
and anger, all of which come out of the past development
of the individual but are ordinarily not recognized as due
to nervous retention .
Before taking up the cases of memory which are usually
recognized as coming under that name, it will be well to
study those less noticed forms of organization which bring
the past into the present and affect the present without
being recognized through introspection .
Instincts. The simplest cases of this type are the instincts.
As was pointed out in an earlier chapter, every individual
is born with certain main outlines of his nervous structure
provided through inheritance, exactly as the other structures of
his body are provided through inheritance. If an individual
HABITS 197
24 CA
has arms and legs, he will also have the nerve fibers to
connect the muscles of these extremities with the spinal
cord. The structure of the sense organs is also provided
through inheritance, and, as has been made clear in earlier
discussions, there is little or no change in the character of
these organs in the course of individual experience. Inherit
ance, however, goes even further than to provide these main
structures. The central organs themselves are, to some ex
tent, mapped out at the beginning of individual life. The
result of this central organization is that at the time of birth
the muscles of the body are not merely under the general
control of the nervous system, they are under the control
of organized centers which are able, to a certain extent, to
coördinate the activities of different parts of the body.
Protective instincts . Illustrations of instincts occur in
the life of any animal and in the early life of human infants.
For example, if a young bird hears a loud sound, this sound
not only discharges itself through the nervous system, but
because of the internal organization of the nervous system
the sound will discharge itself into the muscles of the whole
body in that form of behavior commonly described as feign
ing death. The individual bird does not recognize the
significance or value of its behavior, at least the first time
it executes it. The act can therefore not be explained as
due in any way to individual intelligence . Furthermore, the
same form of action appears in all members of the species .
The organization which controls the activity has been worked
out in the course of the experience of the bird's ancestors
as a form of protective movement to be put into operation
whenever the animal is threatened by an approaching enemy.
To say that the young bird which performs this movement
is cognizant of danger and assumes an appropriate attitude
would be to invert the true relations exhibited in the situa
tion. The mode of behavior is immediate and depends
directly upon the external stimulation plus the inherited
182 PSYCHOLOGY
disparity of the two retinal images is utilized to produce the

appearance of solidity even when no solid object is present.
The apparatus in question is the stereoscope. Photographs
are taken or drawings are made, corresponding in form to
the retinal images which
would be obtained by two
eyes if they were look
ing at a solid figure or
series of figures at differ
ent depths. The two
DOA D/O/A drawings or photographs
B
are then projected by
means of the stereoscope
into the two eyes of an
observer in such a way
that the right retina is
stimulated by the image
appropriate to the right
eye, and the left retina
B
is stimulated by the fig
FIG. 53. Showing binocular parallax
The cube BDAC is held near the two eyes ure appropriate to the
with the result that the right eye sees the left eye. The observer,
surface DA and the right side of the cube, who thus receives the
while the left eye sees the surface DA and
the left side of the cube. If a plane is passed sensory impressions ap
through the rays of light which enter the eye propriate to solidity, will
from the cube, as indicated by the dotted line
in the figure, it will be seen that the retinal naturally fuse the two
images of the two eyes contain each a distinct images and will see in
element. The eye on the left-hand side of the
figure has a retinal image corresponding to space before him a solid
BD, which is absent in the other eye. Further object which, in reality,
details will be obvious from the figure
is not there, but which
is adequately represented by the two flat drawings projected
into his eyes. A great many experiments can be tried with
the stereoscope which make clear the significance of the
two retinal images for the recognition of solidity and depth .
It can thus be shown that the fused resultant, that is, the
duce the percept of a solid object, does not derive its characteristics
present from either one of the retinal impressions considered in

ographs itself, for each image so considered is deficient in solidity.
form to The fusion is, in a very proper sense of the word, a compro
swhich mise between the two different images, and there appears as
a result of fusion at least one characteristic which neither
by
e look figure had in itself ; namely, the characteristic of clearly
defined solidity.
gure
differ Retinal rivalry. When the binocular images are totally
e two different, as in certain experiments which may be arranged
topha with the stereoscope, the observer finds that it is impossible

for him to fuse the two groups of impressions . Thus, if he
oscope looks with one eye at a series of horizontal lines , and with
the other at a series of vertical lines, he will see the fields
in succession. The group of sensations coming from one
na is retina will first be recognized in clear consciousness and
will then fade out and give place to the sensations derived
mage
from the second retina. There is thus an oscillation in
experience which is vividly described by the term " retinal
rivalry." In retinal rivalry there is obviously a lack of fusion
of the sensations. The artificial differences in binocular
27
Ter images here produced are so foreign to the experiences

which present themselves in ordinary life that the observer
is unable to fuse them into a single conscious process. If
72
such strange combinations of sensations are to be in any

$
way related, it must be in a temporal succession of mental

[RO
activities rather than in a single spatial form .
Factors other than those contributed by the two eyes .
The recognition of depth through the fusion of two groups
of retinal sensations is not the only form of visual recogni
tion of depth. Other factors of experience and other types
of relation may enter into the complex . In every case, how
ever, the factors or relations which contribute to the inter
pretation of solidity are, like the differences in binocular
vision just discussed, complexes which get their significance
184 PSYCHOLOGY
and value not because of their sensation qualities but by

virtue of the relations into which the sensations are brought.
Aërial perspective. The first facts to which reference may
be made are the differences in colors and sharpness of out
line which appear when objects are seen through different
thicknesses of atmosphere . Remote colors are always dull
and darker in shade than colors near at hand, and the out
lines of remote objects are ill-defined. We are so trained
in the interpretation of these general facts that in looking
at a landscape we pay very little attention to color quality or
to the lack of clearness in outline, but utilize these immedi
ately for purposes of depth perception ; that is, the sensa
tions are not recognized as distinct facts in experience, but
are allowed to serve their function, which is to indicate the
position of the object from which they come. Let the ob
server carefully compare his experience of distant fields in
the landscape with fields near at hand. He will find that
the remoter greens are blue in cast, even though under
ordinary circumstances his attention is not directed to these
differences in color shades . The same truth is well illus
trated by the fact that persons who have been accustomed
to living in a moist atmosphere always misinterpret distances
when they go to regions where the air is clear and free from
moisture. Great distances seen through clear air are under
estimated because of the small effect which the air produces
in modifying the colors and outlines of objects .
Geometrical perspective and familiarity . Another impor
tant means of recognizing depth is through the familiarity
which we have acquired with certain common objects . If a
given object is carried farther and farther away from the
eye, it will cast upon the retina a smaller and smaller image.
If a man first observed at a distance of ten feet moves to
a distance of twenty feet, the size of the retinal image and,
consequently, the mass of sensations derived from this man
will decrease one half. We seldom interpret such changes
in the size of a retinal image of a familiar object as changes

in the size of the object itself ; thus, we never say that a
receding man has dwarfed to half his original size . We
have learned by long experience that most of the objects of
our environment are permanent in size and that the changes
in our sensations merely indicate changes in the position of
these objects . In this way we build up an elaborate series
of recognitions of differences in depth . How completely we
depend upon this recognition of familiar objects for our
interpretation of unfamiliar or undefined experiences will be
recognized if it is remembered that the interpretation of the
size and distance of objects in photographs is always uncer
tain unless some familiar figure, such as that of a human
being, appears as a scale by which to gauge the sizes of the
other objects.
Shadows. Another factor which is sometimes significant
in giving rise to the interpretation of depth is found in the
- -- - -
shadows cast by objects . The apparent solidity of a bank of
clouds in the sky cannot depend upon binocular differences,
because the clouds are too remote. They are also quite un
familiar, and may be without color ; therefore the methods
of interpretation which we have described up to this point
are quite inadequate to explain their apparent solidity. The
shadows which they cast upon each other are, however, so
clear in their indication of differences of position with refer
ence to the sun that we immediately recognize a bank of
shaded clouds as made up of parts differing in distance from
us. The same principle of recognition of solidity is utilized
in all flat drawings intended to represent solid objects . Such
flat drawings can always be made to suggest solidity with
vividness when they are shaded in a way corresponding to
the objects themselves.
Intervening objects. Finally, we make use of the fact that
near objects very frequently cut off our vision of remote ob
jects. Thus, if a tree which can be seen in all of its parts
186 PSYCHOLOGY
cuts off a portion of a house or other object, we perceive

the house not as divided by the tree but as standing behind
it. Here again we interpret our sensations as indicating dif
ferences in position rather than differences in the objects
themselves .
Depth a matter of complex perception. One cannot re
view this series of facts with regard to the visual interpreta
tion of depth without being confirmed in his view that space
perception is a process in which sensory factors are related
to each other in the most complex manner. No retinal im
pression has its value for mental life fully determined until
it is brought into relation with other sensations.
Relation to movements. As in the case of tactual percepts,
so here there is a close relation between visual space and
movements . In the first place, movements of the eyes are
intimately related in their development to visual recognition
of space. When an infant attempts to turn his two eyes on
the same point of fixation, his movements are frequently so
slow and irregular that they have the appearance, especially
in photographs, of cross-eyed movements. Even in adult
life it is shown by rapid photographs that the two eyes often
move to a point of fixation in such a way that while one eye
moves rapidly, the other comes up in an irregular, relatively
slow movement. The development of a coördinated move
ment is thus seen to be the product of effort and concentra
tion . That a coördinated movement has been developed at
all shows how significant it is for the individual that he
should acquire a unitary motor response to the complex of
retinal sensations . The unity of response stands, indeed, in
sharpest contrast to the complexity of the sensory factors.
The organized ability to coördinate the two eyes depends on
the development of a system in which each phase of experi
ence, without losing its individual reality, is taken up in the
single unitary system . Space and the coördinated system
of ocular movements are thus seen to be very intimately
Te pene related. The complex of movements has a unity which re

ing be sults from the union of all of the different phases of binocular
movement into a single coördinated act. Space is also a
system in which every point has a certain character of its
own and at the same time has characteristics which attach
to it as part of the general system .
General movements as conditions of fusion of retinal sen
sations. In the second place, the relation of visual space
perception to organized behavior becomes clearer when it
is noticed that the unity of visual percepts is demanded not
only in the coördinations of eye movements but also in the
coördinations of all forms of behavior which are guided by
vision . If one reaches out his hand to grasp an object, his
sensory impressions of the object will be derived from two
CE
eyes, but the reaction to be effective must be to all the
sensations at once.
Space a system of relations developed through fusion .
Our treatments of space perception in the sphere of touch,
hearing, and vision bring us to a general conclusion that
space is a closed system built up throughthe fusion of
"7 sensations and, further, that this system is closely related
to bodily movements.
Movement and mechanical laws. The evidence that
there is a close relation between space and bodily move
ment appears in the fact that space as we perceive it ex
presses those mechanical laws which govern all bodily
11
movements. Human central nervous organization and re
lated muscular movements are, from the very nature of
mechanical law with which the movements must comply,
capable of only a very definite system of developments .
One cannot move his hand at the same time toward the left
and the right. Left and right come to be, therefore, clearly
distinguished directions in the organization of human re
sponses to sensations . One cannot move his hand back
ward and forward in the same movement. As a result, all
188 PSYCHOLOGY
sensations which are to be related to movements are ulti

mately assigned to places either in front or behind, never
in both positions at the same time . The child begins life
without a thorough organization of his movements and,
correspondingly, without any definite spatial forms of per
ception. The two develop together as he actively adjusts
himself to the world about him. Finally, as he becomes
master of his movements he finds that his perceptual world
also has taken on certain definite sequences of arrangement
which are so stable and systematic and so harmonious with
what he comes to know theoretically of mechanical law that
he can study the spatial system as he finds it in his per
ceptual consciousness and relate this spatial form of percep
tion to his science of mechanics without the slightest fear
of finding any incongruity in the two groups of facts . It
should be noted here again that such a complete system of
space is much more than a series of sensations . Sensation
qualities are necessary as the factors with which the indi
vidual must deal ; they constitute the material or content of
experience, but the spatial form of perception is a product
of perceptual fusion . Every sensation is related to every
other not because of its quality or intensity but because
every sensation must, in the organization of impressions,
take its place in a serial system before it can serve any defi
nite function in individual life or have any clearly marked
place in consciousness .
Perception of individual objects. There are many forms
of perceptual fusion which supplement the fusions entering
into the closed system of space . To the ordinary observer
an object recognized through the two senses of taste and
smell is so unitary in character that he does not realize that
any fusion of discrete sensations has taken place. By a
simple experiment one can easily show that the perception
of any article of food involves a number of distinct sensa
tions . Let the observer taste of some familiar substance,
ents are such as coffee, and at the same time, by holding the nose,
Dehind, prevent the air from coming into contact with the olfactory
d begins organ, and coffee becomes a sweet liquid with little or no
ements flavor ; even castor oil becomes an inoffensive thick oil
orms of under like conditions. Why is it that in ordinary expe
vely afts rience tastes and odors are united ? It is because, in spite
he be of the separation of the gustatory and olfactory organs, there
ptual is a constant demand in life that tastes and odors shall be
Trangen used together in guiding conduct . The whole inner organi
nious zation of the individual is such that these different sensory
allat qualities have a joint significance for perception and for
his behavior. There is a distinction on the qualitative side
between tastes on the one hand, and odors on the other,
htest because the sensory organs for the two qualities are differ
facts ent ; but there is the most intimate perceptual fusion to
stem serve as a guide to conduct.
S nsa
e There are perceptual fusions in every sphere of sensa
het tion quite as compact as those of taste and smell and as
ntant various in character as the objects in the world about us.
rid Mere coexistence of sensations no explanation of unity
Dere in the percepts of objects. The physiological condition of
Mon? this unity in the perception of single objects is not to be
found in the sensory processes themselves, any more than
vde was the physiological condition for the perception of space.
Bra The sensory processes derived from things are very differ
ent in type and in the points at which they are received
into the central nervous system. The unity of perception
is not to be accounted for by the fact that all the sensory
excitations are in the brain together, for not all of the sen
1.
sations that are in consciousness at the same time fuse into
a single percept. When we recognize a single object we
do so by distinguishing it from its surroundings as well as
by fusing its various attributes into a single percept. Thus,
one recognizes the book he is reading by distinguishing it
from his hands and from the bookcase in the background.
190 PSYCHOLOGY
Range of fusion determined by practical considerations.

Again, as in the treatment of the fusion which leads to
space perception, we must appeal to the central coördina
tions which are worked out under the stress of practical
demands . One fuses sensory factors into the percept of a
thing because he can adjust himself to certain aspects of
experience in a single act. Thus, one speaks of a book
case and its contents as a single object when he merely
wishes to name over the articles of furniture in his room.
He distinguishes the separate books as objects when he
wishes to take them out and use them . The range of one's
experience of a thing is thus seen to depend not on sen
sory processes but on the practical motives which lead to
the synthesis of more or less comprehensive groups of
these sensations into single phases of experience.
Changes in percepts through repetition. The fusion of
factors into single groups becomes easier after repetition.
Thus the expert rifleman comes to recognize at once the
movement of his game, the distance of the game from
himself, and the wind which will influence his shot, factors
which might have coexisted indefinitely without being fused.
All this he has acquired as the result of repeated efforts to
shape his conduct in accordance with the demands of his
total environment. Indeed, such a case of acquired fusion of
widely divergent sensory factors may very frequently involve
in its earliest stages conscious effort to adapt action to whole
groups of sensations. The unity is made more and more
compact as repeated efforts are undertaken to recognize the
factors together, so that ultimately the perceptual unity, which
began in a conscious relating of factors, becomes a synthetic
unity of the ordinary type ; thus, we learn to see pen and
hand and paper together when we learn to write , until all
the factors which enter into the act of writing and its con
scious control are unified , and the final consciousness seems
very simple, although it is a complex of many factors.
Parallel development of perception and habit. Discus

sions of perceptual fusion might be carried over directly into
the discussion of habits so as to show that the development
of organized perception and the development of organized
activity always go hand in hand. The training of eye and
hand in any technical art, of ear and vocal cords in singing
or speaking, of ear and hand in playing a musical instru
ment, go together in practical experience. The expert in
every line not only acts more skillfully but he sees or hears
more skillfully and comprehensively. Perception is discrimi
native and complete just in so far as the factors of experi
ence are organized into wholes appropriate for individual
reaction. Our present purposes, however, can be fully satis
fied without a complete study of habits. The perceptual
fusion involved in the recognition of an object is one phase
of organization ; habit is an expression of this organization
and will be taken up in a separate, later chapter.
Time as a general form of experience. Before leaving
the subject of perception it is important that we consider
briefly a form of arrangement which has often been re
garded as similar in character to the space form ; namely,
time. Time, like space, involves a relation between several
factors of experience . Like space, it is not a sensation
quality. It is even more general in character than space,
for it is not merely a form of perception ; it is also, and
indeed chiefly, a form of the indirect, or memory, experi
ences. A percept is always in the time series, but it is
always in that portion of the time series which we call
((
'the present." It will, accordingly, be appropriate for us
to discuss in this connection some of the attributes of " the
1
present, " leaving the other phases of time consciousness to
be taken up in connection with memory.
Experimental determination of the scope of " the
I
present." " The present " is not a single point of experi
ence ; it is a group of experiences . Some experimental
192 PSYCHOLOGY
evidence as to the possible length of " the present " may

be gained as follows : Tap rapidly on the table at inter
vals of half a second or less, producing a series of sounds,
and find how many taps of this kind can be grouped into
a single easily apprehended unity. The observer will have
little difficulty in determining the limit of such a series if
he will simply listen to the taps and refrain from counting.
A short series of five or six taps will leave behind in
consciousness a feeling of perfect definiteness and ease of
apprehension. If such a series is exactly repeated, or if a
second slightly different series is sounded, the observer
will be in no doubt as to the likeness or unlikeness of
the two series. If, on the other hand, a series of twenty
or thirty taps is sounded, the observer will recognize that
at a certain point in the series a state of confusion sets in.
The series is no longer apprehended as a unity, but has
a vaguely defined massiveness which seems to elude the
mental grasp .
Scope of " the present " and its varying conditions . The
ability of the observer to group together a series of experi
ences is radically modified when the series itself is changed.
Thus, if every third tap is made stronger than the others,
or if it is given a slightly different quality, as in a series
of musical notes, the scope of the immediately recognized
group will be much increased. If the taps come irregu
larly, either in point of interval or in point of intensity or
quality, the scope of the unitary group will be decreased.
Time relations in verse and related systems of experience.
All these facts appear in such practical forms of time per
ception as those which are utilized in making up English
verse. The recognition of the successive feet in poetry is
facilitated by grouping the sounds into simple compact
groups . The character of each group is determined by
variations in intensity, quality, and content in such a
large number of ways as to satisfy the demand for novelty
in experience, while at the same time retaining very fully

the characteristics necessary for temporal uniformity in the
successive groups of factors.
Time arrangement as conditioned by the rhythmical
changes in nervous processes. To find a precise physio
logical basis for the time grouping of experience will
require the discovery of processes which are much more
general than those which constitute the physiological basis
for space perception and for general perceptual unity as
exhibited in the recognition of objects . Indeed, we must
go far enough, as indicated above, to recognize that the
conditions of temporal discrimination are involved in indi
rect memory processes even more than in perception.
Such a general characteristic is to be found in the fact
that all nervous processes are constantly fluctuating in
intensity because the inner nervous condition is never
in equilibrium . The nervous condition is a living process,
now rising to a higher intensity, now declining to a low
intensity. This can be seen if an observer will pick out
in the constellation Pleiades a faint star which is just
visible, and watch it for a time. He will find that it disap
pears and then reappears for an interval, only to disappear
again. The rhythmical change is here so complete that
it is perceived as a change in the object. A like fluctu
ation of intensity is present in all sensory impressions ,
even if the sensation is so strong that its decrease in
intensity does not cause it to disappear entirely.
Perception more than the flux of sensations. In addition f
8
to the fluctuations in experience which result from the con
ditions in the nervous system, there are changes which arise
from the relation of the observer to the object. For example,
as one makes his way down the street he sees some object
for a moment and then loses sight of it until he comes
once more to a point from which he can observe it. In all
this flux of experience action must be based on a recognition
194 PSYCHOLOGY
of the permanency of objects which transcends present

sensations . We project our fluctuating sensations into a
series which provides for time changes which are not
changes in the things themselves. Thus we find new evi
dence that experience is organized out of sensations but
goes far beyond sensory qualities and intensities in the
attributes which it exhibits . Time is not a sensation ; it
is a form in which sensations are held because the mind
recognizes in objects a permanency which extends beyond
present personal experience .
SUMMARY
Discussions of perception . The discussion of perception may

be closed with a brief summary. Perception involves, first, a
spatial order ; second, the compact fusion of sensations into
percepts of separate objects in the world ; and third, the begin
ning of a temporal order. The spatial arrangement is intimately
connected with movement, being the arrangement given to sen
sory factors under the mechanical demands for characteristically
different reactions to different sensory factors in the total mass
of experience. Fusion of sensations into separate recognitions of
objects is, like spatial arrangement, related to activity, for all
those phases of sensory experience will be fused together which
require one and the same response. Finally, time recognition
depends on the flux in experience which comes to be recognized
as a flux not interfering with the permanency of objects.
I
****
CHAPTER IX
HABITS
Organic retentiveness . Up to this point only casual ref

erence has been made to the fact that the nervous system
is constantly undergoing structural changes as a result of
use. When an impulse passes from cell to cell, it leaves
behind a path which makes it easier for some new impulse
at a later period to pass along the same course . In this way
it is also made easier for later impulses to be brought
together. Very soon the effects of past experience become
so complicated that it is impossible to picture them in
detail. Thus, when one learns the name of an object,
there must be traced through the nervous system a series
of paths which make it possible in all later experience for
the percept of that object to arouse the tendency to articu
late the name. Or, to take another type of example, when
one has thought of Europe and Asia as parts of a great
continental mass, it becomes easier in all future experience
to couple these two ideas in thought.
The facts referred to in the last paragraph are grouped
९९ ""
together under such general terms as organic memory or
་་
retentiveness." It is one of the most important facts about
the nervous system that it is highly retentive. As a result
of this retentiveness, present action of any part of the
nervous system is explicable only in small measure by
the impressions of the moment. The present impression
is received into a network of paths which carry the im
pulse here and there in accordance with past experiences
through traces left behind by such experiences.
195
4
196 PSYCHOLOGY
Remoter conditions of retention . Considered in a large

way, all structures of the nervous system are the results of
past development. The coördinations which the child in
herits result from racial experiences, and no individual can
face the world without reflecting in all of his instinctive
attitudes the fundamental experiences of his ancestors.
Ordinarily we do not think of these remoter effects of
experience. We use the terms " memory " and " retention "
to refer to those phases of personal experience which we con
sciously connect with our own past contact with things and
people. When the ordinary man uses the term " memory,"
he thinks of a reinstatement as nearly as possible of some
situation experienced at an earlier date . One remembers
what he saw and did yesterday. For the psychologist this
is only one case of retention and revival. From the doings
of yesterday there come over into to-day many influences
which are difficult to observe directly. There is skill of
hand which is the product of a slow and systematic learn
ing process ; there is accuracy of spatial reference which
makes it possible for the individual to put his hand with
precision on the object before him or at the right or left.
There are modes of attention ; there are attitudes of fear
and anger, all of which come out of the past development
of the individual but are ordinarily not recognized as due
to nervous retention .
Before taking up the cases of memory which are usually
recognized as coming under that name, it will be well to
study those less noticed forms of organization which bring
the past into the present and affect the present without
being recognized through introspection .
Instincts. The simplest cases of this type are the instincts.
As was pointed out in an earlier chapter, every individual
is born with certain main outlines of his nervous structure
provided through inheritance, exactly as the other structures of
his body are provided through inheritance. If an individual
HABITS 197
it has arms and legs, he will also have the nerve fibers to
connect the muscles of these extremities with the spinal
cord. The structure of the sense organs is also provided
through inheritance, and, as has been made clear in earlier
discussions, there is little or no change in the character of
these organs in the course of individual experience. Inherit
ance, however, goes even further than to provide these main.
structures . The central organs themselves are, to some ex
tent, mapped out at the beginning of individual life. The
result of this central organization is that at the time of birth
the muscles of the body are not merely under the general
control of the nervous system, they are under the control
of organized centers which are able, to a certain extent, to
coördinate the activities of different parts of the body.
Protective instincts. Illustrations of instincts occur in
the life of any animal and in the early life of human infants.
For example, if a young bird hears a loud sound, this sound
not only discharges itself through the nervous system, but
because of the internal organization of the nervous system
the sound will discharge itself into the muscles of the whole
body in that form of behavior commonly described as feign
ing death. The individual bird does not recognize the
significance or value of its behavior, at least the first time
it executes it. The act can therefore not be explained as
due in any way to individual intelligence. Furthermore, the
same form of action appears in all members of the species.
The organization which controls the activity has been worked
out in the course of the experience of the bird's ancestors
as a form of protective movement to be put into operation
whenever the animal is threatened by an approaching enemy.
To say that the young bird which performs this movement
is cognizant of danger and assumes an appropriate attitude
would be to invert the true relations exhibited in the situa
tion. The mode of behavior is immediate and depends
directly upon the external stimulation plus the inherited
198 PSYCHOLOGY
organization . The attitude of fear results from the action

which takes place without the animal's control or choice.
The inner experience of fear is just as much determined
through heredity as is the ability to hear the sound through
the ear or the ability to respond to the sound with the
muscles of the body.
Food-taking instinct. Other typical illustrations of organ
ized instinctive modes of behavior may be drawn from a
study of the human infant. One of the most fundamental
instincts of the infant is the instinct of sucking. Any young
mammal responds to a small object placed between its
lips by a complex form of reaction which nature has pro
vided as the only possible means of supporting the animal's
life during a period when individual experience is not
sufficiently mature to guide it in securing its own food. The
form of consciousness which accompanies this instinctive
behavior is, of course, a matter of speculation, but it seems
highly probable that the experience of the infant is one of
emotional excitement and of satisfaction when the act finds
some appropriate object on which to express itself.
Instincts established through selection. The process by
which the instincts have been evolved is most elaborate . In
the later stages of animal evolution those members of a
species which do not exhibit the highly organized instincts
of protection and food-taking perish . It is easy to see how
the instincts are perpetuated through natural selection. In
somewhat the same fashion we can imagine how, through
a long regressive series, those nervous systems were gradu
ally selected which provided the forms of reaction most
favorable to the preservation of life.
Delayed instincts common. In treating of human instincts
the matter is somewhat complicated by the fact that a great
many instincts are present only in incipient forms at the
beginning of life and are fully matured at a relatively late
period . A good illustration of such a delayed instinct is
HABITS 199
actr found in the tendency of the young child to walk. That

chose this tendency is inherited is shown by the fact that it will
ermine mature, even if there is little or no individual practice. The
throug common development of the young child is a mixture of
maturing instincts and ambitious efforts on the part of
the child himself and of those surrounding him to hasten
Org the development which would naturally come, even if no
from: exertions were made in that direction . Certain interesting
ment cases are on record which show that children who for one
TO" LIK reason or another had never made any individual effort to
en mature this mode of activity suddenly exhibited it under
suitable conditions in a fully developed form. Young animals
have frequently been experimented upon in a way to show
that their modes of locomotion are wholly instinctive, even
SM
The though locomotion develops only at a relatively late period
COTR in life. Thus young birds which have been incubated in
Som: isolation and have been caged until they reached full
200 maturity will fly with the natural mode of flight of their
species as soon as they are liberated .
Impossibility of distinguishing instincts from later-acquired
forms of behavior. As there are instinctive modes of be
havior which develop somewhat slowly during the early years
of life, it is impossible to draw a line and say that every
form of activity which matures after a certain period is in
dependent of direct hereditary organizations . It is equally
impossible to say, on the other hand, that the inherited
tracts in the nervous system are in no wise modified in the
course of individual experience. Indeed, it is always true
that on the foundation of inherited coördinations there is
built up a system of refinements and modifications which
constitute the characteristic mark of the individual.
Habits from instincts and from independent conditions.
Instincts are sometimes simplified in the course of use ; at
other times they are united into larger systems of action or
are broken up into their elements and recombined into new
200 PSYCHOLOGY
types of composite activity. We turn , then, to the consid

eration of these processes of activity which are related to
instincts merely as outgrowths and may therefore be treated
as the products of individual experience . Those modes of
behavior which depend upon individual experience are called
habits . In order to make clear the relation of habit to in
stinct, it should be pointed out that not all habits grow
directly out of single well-defined instincts. For the pur
poses of our discussion two classes of habits may be dis
tinguished : first, there are habits which develop out of
instincts ; second, there are habits which develop by a
process of selection from among the diffuse activities which
appear whenever there is no definite mode of instinctive
behavior which serves as a foundation for development. We
may refer to these two types of habits as habits developed
from instincts and habits developed from diffusion .
Development of habit through conflict of instincts. An
illustration of a habit developed from instincts is found in
the case in which a child develops a certain definite attitude
toward certain animals . This attitude of the child can in
many cases be shown to have originated out of a conflict be
tween two tendencies. There are two fundamental instinc
tive tendencies in every child, indeed in every young animal.
Every young animal tends, on the one hand, to run away
from any strange or unusually intense stimulation . A large
object moving toward the eyes, a loud sound attacking the
auditory organs, or a strange odor or taste will stir up in a
young animal a mode of action of the protective type . There
is, on the other hand, among all of the higher animals an
instinct toward contact with members of the same species
and with related forms of animal life . Thus, young birds
naturally tend to keep close to any member of their species
and to other objects which are in any way similar to mem
bers of their own species . So also do young mammals.
Young puppies and young kittens are extremely fond of
HABITS 201
companionship, and even certain of the more solitary ani

mals naturally herd in packs or in small groups, especially
when young. The human infant exhibits both of the two
ht
fundamental instinctive tendencies which have just been

described. When, accordingly, the child is for the first time
confronted by an animal, its reaction may be one of with
drawal or one of friendly contact. Which of the two natural
tendencies is actually selected will depend upon a variety of
circumstances. If the instinct of flight or protective activity
is strong, either because the individual child is disposed to
react in this way more emphatically than in the direction of
social contact or if the instinct of protection is rendered
especially pronounced by some accident of excessive external
stimulation at the particular moment, then the instinct of N
fear will dominate and the social instinct will be suppressed.
In such a case the specialized habit will begin to form in
the general direction of fear. Sometimes the attitude is so
thoroughly determined by the first contact with the animal
that all through life the individual tends to follow the initial
impulse received at the first experience. There are persons
who have a very strong attitude of fear for cats and dogs,
which attitude has become a fixed individual habit after
being selected from among the various possible instinctive
modes of response which existed through inheritance at the
beginning of life.
Nervous development concerned in the selection of in
stincts. The nervous mechanism involved in a habit which
has resulted from selection among instincts is relatively easy
to explain. We need only to assume that the stimulation
which is given at the first experience has two possible lines
of discharge, either one of which would be through a well
defined instinctive tract. The conditions of the first en
counter carry the stimulation in question into one of the
two instinctive channels, and thereafter this selected channel
becomes the natural and easy path of discharge for the
202 PSYCHOLOGY
stimulus whenever it recurs. The habit is, accordingly, de

pendent upon individual experience only in the one respect
that individual experience determines which of the possible
instincts shall be selected .
Habit as a modified instinct. A second somewhat differ
ent type of derivation of habit from instinct is found in cases
in which the final mode of activity is not along the line of
any single instinct, but is a compromise in which one instinct
is modified by conflict with other instinctive tendencies.
Suppose, for example, that the human infant who naturally
tends to be afraid of an animal is encouraged by circum
stances to assume a friendly attitude toward the animal of
which he is naturally afraid . His attitude and mode of re
action may be modified to a greater or less extent, so that
instead of expressing the full tendency of his instinct to run
away, he may have merely a suppressed internal recoil from
the animal, while all of his grosser protective movements
are modified . Many of the human instincts are probably
thus somewhat reduced in intensity and in their form of ex
pression . Darwin argued at length that the expressions of
human and animal emotions are in many cases simply
reduced instinctive forms of behavior. Many of the facial
expressions in human beings are, according to his view,
remains of early forms of activity in the jaw and mouth
muscles , which once accompanied real combat. The changes
in circulation and respiration which come with fear and
embarrassment are to be regarded as partial expressions of
certain fundamental instincts . For example, when we are
frightened there is for an instant a pause in all the internal
activities preparatory to the violent activities necessary to
flight, and after this first pause there comes a rapid beating
of the heart which originally accompanied flight. When in
mature life one refuses to indulge in flight, he may, never
theless, have all the internal activities . If, however, he
persists in refusing to run, the inherited tendency may,
HABITS 203
through this fact, be gradually overcome even to the point

of disappearance .
Importance of heredity in explaining consciousness . Such
examples as these tend to emphasize heredity. The indi
vidual is seen to begin life with a large stock of possible
habits and instinctive attitudes. His final attitudes are deter
mined in kind and degree by the circumstances of individual
life, but a great number of the fundamental possibilities in
human nature are given at the beginning of life. We may
say, therefore, that an individual is born with a large stock
of attitudes quite as much as with a large supply of organs
of sense and forms of possible sensory experience. The in
herited attitudes are not specific in their application until
after individual experience has worked out the application,
but they are native and explicable only in terms that recog
nize their fundamentally hereditary character.
Diffusion a mark of lack of organization. Turning now
from the habits which are developed through the selection J
and modification of instincts, we come to the habits which
cannot properly be traced to any single instinct or group of
instincts. Let us suppose that a stimulus or a combination
of stimulations is introduced into the nervous system of the
child but finds no specific channel of discharge open to it
through inherited organization . This stimulation will pro
duce an excitation which will be very widely distributed
throughout the whole nervous system, because it has no
specific channel of discharge and because, as free energy,
it must be transmitted through the nervous system until it
finds a discharge into the active organs. The stimulation
will ultimately issue through the avenues of motor dis
charge into the active organs of the body, but instead of
issuing in a well-coördinated series it will be distributed
diffusely and irregularly and will affect a great number of
muscles. An example of the diffuse distribution of stimula
tion in mature life is seen when one is suddenly startled by
204 PSYCHOLOGY
an unexpected loud noise, and there follows a general con

traction of the muscles throughout the whole body. Such a
strong stimulus breaks over all of the bounds of organization
in the central nervous system and is distributed diffusely
throughout the body. A diffuse distribution of the stimula
tion is clearly a disadvantage to the individual. The state
of the organism after the stimulation is such that the indi
vidual is not well adapted to his environment, his activities
are not concentrated in any single direction, and he is alto
gether unprepared to meet the future demands which the
stimulation may impose upon him. Furthermore, it can
easily be observed that the mental attitude which accom
panies such diffuse activity is quite as unorganized as the
bodily attitude, and this, also, is an intolerable condition for
any individual. The process of modifying such a diffuse
reaction, of developing definite and precise attitudes on the
mental side and well-coördinated movements on the physical
side, is a long, complex process, carried out by the organism
and by consciousness with the delays and complications
which appear in every process of natural development.
Development of habit from diffusion. If we take a form
of activity which has little or no instinctive background, such
as the activity involved in writing, and observe the early
stages of the effort to develop this type of activity into a
habit, we discover the characteristics of a diffuse activity.
It will be found, first, that movement is excessive in both
extent and intensity. The child who is learning to write
moves not only the necessary muscles of the fingers and
hand directly engaged in writing, but the muscles of the
other hand as well. He also moves the muscles of the face.
The diffusion of the excitation throughout the whole organ
ism is one of the most obvious facts to be observed in such
a case. In the second place, the elements of movement
which are present are not coördinated into harmonious
wholes . The various muscular contractions involved in the
HABITS 205
earliest attempts at writing seldom enter into such relations

that there is economy in their several activities. This will
be apparent if one observes the way in which the fingers
and the hand act during the child's formation of series of
letters. There must always be a movement of the hand
during writing to carry the fingers across the page. In the
child's writing the fingers are used as long as they can be
used without any coöperating hand movement. The hand
is brought into play only after the fingers have become so
cramped that they can no longer make lines. When this
cramping of the fingers reaches such a point that it can go
no farther, the finger movement is altogether suspended for
a moment and the hand is moved forward in a distinct and
relatively separate act. The writing then proceeds as before,
the fingers being used quite to the exclusion of the hand.
This obvious lack of combined activity of the hand and
fingers illustrates a general fact which is also exhibited by
the incoördination of the learner's several fingers in relation
to one another. The thumb and first finger do not at the
outset coöperate with each other in the harmonious way in
which they should . For example, at the beginning of an
1
upward stroke, as in the written letter 1, the first finger
presses downward against the pencil or pen more vigorously
than is necessary and, as a result, the thumb is called upon
to do an excess of work in order to overcome the unneces
sary downward pressure of the first finger. There is thus a
lack of harmony and even a certain degree of interference
in the organs which are directly involved in the activity.
The explanation of diffusion and incoördination at the be
ginning of development is similar to the explanation of the
-
general diffusion of the activity throughout the whole muscu

lar system in the case of a sudden loud noise. In both cases
the nervous impulses which excite the muscles do not follow
definite channels. In the case now under consideration the
channels are not yet developed, while in the case of the loud
206 PSYCHOLOGY
sound they are not able to confine the strong discharge to

definite paths..
Undeveloped movements. Another characteristic of an
undeveloped movement is one which is closely related to its
incoördination, and consists in the fact that the various phases
of movement are all of brief duration , not being united with
each other into a continuous series. If one examines the
writing of a child, he finds that the lines, instead of being
continuous, fluent lines, are made up of short, irregular parts.
The direction of the movement in these short, irregular parts
is very frequently away from the general direction which the
movement should follow. We may say that the movement
is a succession of efforts to produce the line rather than a
sequence of coördinated muscular contractions appropriate
to the general movement. When the movement develops,
as it does after practice, the different elements are bound
together in such a way that their sequence cannot be detected ;
they are no longer separate factors. The adult who begins.
to write the letter / does not make a series of separate move
ments as the pencil is carried along the upward stroke. He
does, however, make a series of muscular contractions. The
transition from the irregular succession of separate move
ments to a series of contractions constituting phases of a
single complex activity, which, however, is thoroughly uni
fied, results from the coupling together of a series of nervous
tracts which provide for the proper temporal distribution of
the motor excitation.
Diffusion analogous to all forms of overproduction. It is
clear from the foregoing study of the characteristics of an
undeveloped activity that nature approaches this problem of
development in the same way in which all the problems of
development are approached ; namely, through excessive pro
ductions and selection of the proper elements. Since the child
does not have the proper nervous organization to control
his movements, nature has provided that he shall make a
HABITS 207
superabundance of movements involving all of the different

parts of the body, even those which are not directly con
cerned in the final activity. If, in this excess of movement,
certain factors accomplish the end toward which the indi
vidual is working, these successful constituents of movement
will gradually be emphasized and the unsuccessful constitu
ents will gradually be eliminated, until finally diffusion gives
way to a limited number of precise and well-defined combina
tions of activity. If the selected factors are repeated together
a sufficient number of times, the nervous activities involved
in each particular phase of the movement gradually become
connected with each other.
Conscious correlates of habit. The conscious accompani
ments of action which has grown habitual are easily described.
There is a feeling of familiarity when one is trained to respond
to sensations ; there is a definiteness of discrimination which
makes one's percepts sure and clear. Too often the psychology
of habit has been guilty of the statement that habituation leads
to unconsciousness. This is not the case. When we can deal
skillfully with any situation, we have an attitude of attention
and of assurance wholly different from the attitude of indefi
nite excitement which accompanies diffusion . The skillful
man is the discerning man ; his discernments may disregard
certain factors and emphasize others, but, on the whole,
he will give attention to that which is most important in
guiding action.
Instinct, habit, and mental attitudes. The reader will be
able without detailed discussion to see the relation of this
chapter to the earlier chapter which deals with mental atti
tudes. All mental life exhibits natural likes and dislikes,
acquired sympathies and antipathies, forms of attention and
interest. These are related, as was shown before, to modes
of reaction. We now see how these tastes and interests are
developed as a part of the individual's adjustment of himself
to the world. Some tastes are traceable to inherited instincts,
208 PSYCHOLOGY
others to acquired habits, and so on through the list . The

important fact for psychology is that past experience comes
over into the present in the form of fundamental attitudes
and tendencies . The introspective observer is likely to make
the mistake of thinking that his likes and dislikes are the
products of his present thinking, when in reality they come
to him from a remote past, even in some cases from his
racial inheritances.
Applications of the doctrine of attitudes to social science.
What is shown by these few examples is of the greatest im
portance for the social sciences . Social life has developed
innumerable habits in the individual. We pass each other
on the right ; we accost our friends on the street ; we gather
about the table and take our food in an orderly way. Inthese
and a thousand of the customs of social life we record the
experience of the past. At the moment we find ourselves in
sympathy with our surroundings . Indeed, we should be most
uncomfortable if our surroundings did not call for those forms
of behavior which are laid down by habit in our nervous sys
tems. Personal habits and social customs have thus come to
be two aspects of a single line of development. Here again
we are often too much in the midst of the experience itself
to see how our social attitudes came into being and what is
their real character.
CHAPTER X
SPEECH AS A FORM OF BEHAVIOR

1
Speech as a highly important special habit. Among the
habits developed by human beings none is so elaborate as
speech ; none is so intimately related to the higher levels
to which human experience attains. Speech is evidently a
form of muscular behavior, as can be readily observed if one
notes the movements in the thorax, larynx, and mouth dur
ing articulation. So complex, however, are the mental proc
esses related to the movements involved in speech that we
ordinarily overlook entirely the physical side of the process
and think of speech only as one of the higher forms of
mental activity .
Speech and ideas closely interrelated. There would be
logical justification for a postponement of the discussion of
speech until after the description and classification of ideas
and of those thought processes which develop with the
evolution of language. Speech would then be treated, as it
is in the thinking of most people, as a product or expression
of higher intelligence. But speech is more than a product
of thought ; it is the instrument which makes thought pos
sible ; or, differently expressed, it is the kind of reaction
.
which is essential to the higher attitudes of discrimination
and comparison. Just as the processes of perception are
not merely receptive but involve reactions, so the higher
thought processes are active and depend for their character
on those forms of behavior which make up the speech habit.
We are justified, therefore, in discussing speech before treat
ing of ideas, even though we shall have frequent occasion in
209
210 PSYCHOLOGY
this chapter to refer to the higher mental processes before

we have described them in detail.
Speculations regarding the nature and origin of speech.
Speech has from the earliest history been recognized by man
as a unique power. It is the distinguishing characteristic
between Greek and barbarian, between Hebrew and gentile.
In more emphatic degree, it is the mark of distinction be
tween man and his nearest relatives in the animal kingdom.
Long before there was a science of human nature, man
speculated curiously as to the source from which language
came. His first answer was that the Deity gave it to him
by a special act of creation.
The special creation theory. The special creation theory
of the origin of language ignores, however, certain facts
which are too obvious to be set aside . It ignores the fact
that animals have the ability to make certain vocal sounds
which they utilize for purposes of communication with one an
other. We cannot explain how it is that animals have modes
of expression so closely related to human language without,
at the same time, recognizing the natural origin of language
itself. Furthermore, the processes of human expression are
constantly undergoing changes and developments which are
so natural and so definite in their character that it seems
probable that language has always been evolving just as it
is at the present time. If the principles under which lan
guage as we know it is developing can be ascertained, it is
reasonable to project these laws back of the historical period
and to assume that the beginnings of language were also
under the regular laws of development. The creation theory
has therefore gradually given way to various theories which
attempt to give a naturalistic explanation of language.
The imitation theory. It has sometimes been held in later
speculation that language originated from the tendency to
imitate sounds . This theory, while it would explain certain
of the special forms of words, cannot give any adequate
SPEECH AS A FORM OF BEHAVIOR 211
account of the way in which an individual develops the power

al processes t
of turning imitation to the special ends of speech. There
are a number of different animals that are capable of a wide
origin of sp
range of imitation, but they have never developed a lan
recognized by
guage, as has man. This is clear evidence that the essence
ing charac
of language is not to be found in imitation, but rather in the
brewandg
use to which the imitative power is put .
of distinctor
The interjection theory. It has also been suggested that
animal king
nan nature, language developed out of the interjections which man natu
rally used in his most primitive stage of development. If
which lang
he was astonished by any sudden stimulation, he naturally
gaveitto1
gave forth ejaculations in response to the sudden excitation.
creation the These ejaculations, it is said, came gradually to have the

certainfr
power of calling to mind the situations to which they be
longed and ultimately became the means of communication .
noresthe
Here again the objection to the theory is not that it seems
vocalse
improbable that man began with simple forms of expres
n withone
sion, but that the theory does not explain how these simple
shavema
forms of expression acquired a meaning and importance
Lagewith
which they did not have at the beginning. What is needed,
oflang
rather than a formal description of the first expressions used
Expression
by primitive man, is a consistent psychological explanation of
tswhich
how the ejaculations came to have significance for mental life
atitsa and to serve as the vehicles for elaborate thought processes.
just2 Roots of language in natural emotional expressions and
which&
their imitation. The psychological explanation of language
ainedit
begins with a general reference to the statements made in
ricalpent earlier chapters. Every sensory stimulation arouses some
were h
form of bodily activity. The muscles of the organs of cir
ionther
culation and the muscles of the limbs, as well as other
ies wh internal and external muscles, are constantly engaged in
age. making responses to external stimuli . Among the muscles
din t of the body which with the others are involved in expres
J
denc sive activities are the muscles which control the organs of
Icerta
respiration . There can be no stimulation of any kind which
ndegust
212 PSYCHOLOGY
does not affect more or less the character of the movements

of inspiration and expiration . In making these general state
ments, we find no necessity for distinguishing between the
animals and man ; so far as the general facts of relation
between sensations and expression are concerned, they have
like characteristics . That an air-breathing animal should pro
duce sounds through irregularities in its respiratory move
ments when it is excited by an external stimulus , especially
if that stimulus is violent, is quite as natural as that its hair
should rise when it is afraid or that its muscles should
tremble when it is aroused to anger or to flight.
Imitation . The important step in the development of lan
guage is the acquirement of the ability to use the movements
of the vocal cords for purposes other than those of individ
ual emotional expression . The acquirement of this ability is
a matter of long evolution and depends in its first stages
upon social imitation . The importance of imitation in affect
ing the character of animal behavior appears as soon as ani
mals begin to live in packs or herds or other social groups.
Other imitative communications of animals and man. So
far as communication through imitation is concerned, there
is no reason why attention should be confined exclusively to
the forms of activity which result in sounds . All animals
imitate the activities of other members of their species on a
very large scale . The stampede of a herd of cattle is an ex
cellent illustration of the importance of the tendency toward
imitation . The frightened animal which starts the stampede
does not consciously purpose to communicate its fright to
the other members of the herd ; it is performing a natural
act of its individual life . Incidentally, it affects all those
about it by arousing in them a violent form of imitative
activity. The stampeding herd may have no consciousness
whatever of the original cause of fear in one of its mem
bers ; the real cause of the stampede and of the resulting
excitement in the herd is the example of the one frightened
animal. Thus we see that the activity of an animal takes on ,

10 because of the reaction of its social environment, a signifi
23
cance which the original act never could have had unless it
had been imitated.
Value of sounds as means of social communication. What
is true of activity in general is true of activities which result
in sounds. The sound produced by the activities of the vocal
cords can impress itself readily upon the ears of some other
animal, more readily by far than the visual impression of
trembling or of general muscular tension . If, now, the ani
mal which hears the sound has itself produced this sound
or one closely resembling it in quality and intensity, there
will be a natural tendency for the sound stimulation to arouse
in the second animal a sympathetic response. Witness the
tendency of all the dogs in a community to bark together
or of all the roosters to begin crowing together when one
gives the signal. The result of imitating the sound will be
to throw the imitating animal into an emotional state very
similar to that of the animal which first made the noise.
This result will be more likely to follow if the two animals
are closely related in their organization and types of activity.
There will be relatively less tendency to sympathize with an
animal of entirely different organization and habits, for the
activity aroused through imitation in the listening animal
will not agree in character with the activity of the animal
which sets the example. Thus, one can judge from his own
experience that there is very little possibility of arousing in
a human being the mental state which appears in dogs or
cats through imitation of the sounds which they produce .
In general, imitation of sound is valuable as a means of
arousing sympathy only between animals sufficiently related
to each other to have similar modes of producing sound.
Limitation of forms of animal communication. Given the
similarity of organization which makes imitated sounds sig
nificant, we have a type of communication provided which
214 PSYCHOLOGY
is widely utilized in the animal world . The food calls and

the danger signals of birds are significant to other members
of the flock. Such calls have definite natural relations to the
organized responses of all members of the species. It is to
be noted that these calls do not constitute a language in the
sense in which human sounds constitute a language, for the
bird calls are incapable of conveying definite ideas, such as
ideas of the kind of food or the particular kind of danger dis
covered by the animal which makes the sound. The sounds
serve merely to arouse certain attitudes . An animal can
induce in its fellows a tendency to fear and flight by means
of cries which in the history of each member of the flock have
been associated with fear, but the animal can go no farther in
its communications than to arouse emotional attitudes .
The first stages of human articulation like animal cries.
There are stages of human infancy which are closely re
lated to the stages of animal life thus far described . The
human infant does not at first make sounds as the result of
any conscious desire to communicate its feelings to those
about it, much less does it use its sounds for verbal dis
cussion of the details of its conscious experiences. The
infant makes noises exactly as it swings its arms and legs,
because the muscular contractions which produce these
noises are instinctive motor expressions related through
heredity to the stimuli which arouse them. Later there
appears a strong tendency to imitate others of its own kind,
and this imitation may serve to put the infant in some con
tact with its social environment and give it a medium of
communication comparable in character to that which we
find in animals. This is not language, however, for imitation
alone is not enough to develop language. Further processes
must take place before the full development is effected.
Articulations selected from the sum of possible activities.
While imitation applies to many different forms of activity,
such as those of the limbs or face, a moment's consideration
ta
will make it clear that the activities which produce sounds

10
E have a number of unique advantages as vehicles of imitative

+ communication. The ability to produce sounds depends
largely upon the animal itself and very little upon external
conditions. Contrast sound with visual impressions. Visual
impressions are cut off in the dark ; they are cut off by
intervening objects and by a turning of the head of the
observer. Sounds travel wherever there is air ; they are as
easy to produce in the darkness as in daylight ; they can
easily be varied in intensity. For these reasons they come
to be the chief means of social communication, even among
the animals. The result is that the vocal cords and the
1
ability to discriminate sounds are highly developed long
before the development of language proper.
Evolution of ideas and speech . The advance which human
language makes beyond animal communication consists in
the fact that human language relates sounds to ideas as
well as to emotional attitudes. This step cannot be taken
until ideas are present in the minds of both parties to the
communication. We find ourselves, therefore, at this point
involved in a perplexing circle. Human mental processes
as we know them are intimately related to language. Even
when we think about our own most direct experiences, we
use words. Yet these words are not explicable except when
we assume complex ideational processes as the necessary.
conditions for their development and interpretation . Did
human mental advance result from the development of
language, or did language result from the development of
ideas ? The only answer to this question is that language and
ideational processes developed together and are necessary to
each other.
In describing the first stages of the development of true
language we may assume, therefore, that both speaker and
auditor have reached a stage of development where it is
possible to have higher nervous and conscious processes .
216 PSYCHOLOGY
Such higher processes are to be contrasted with mere emo

tional attitudes . For example, if one sees his fellow being
pointing in a certain direction , there is a strong tendency
to turn and look in the same direction . There will result
in this case not an emotion but a common attention to some
object. The gesture of pointing is, accordingly, a mode of
communication which rises to a higher level than does the
cry of fear or the food call. Its development opens the way
for a higher system of communication.
Gestures and broad scope of attention. Still higher is
the gesture that depicts some elaborate act . Thus, when a
man is hungry he will point to his mouth and make the
gesture of taking up food and carrying it to his mouth.
This simple gesture will not be made by an animal, because
the animal has only a limited range of attention . If the
animal thinks of food, it cannot entertain any other ideas .
It spends all its mental energy seeking food rather than
trying to communicate with some other animal. In human
life there is breadth of attention exhibited in a gesture.
The person who makes a gesture includes in his experience
the person with whom he wishes to communicate, plus the
idea which is to be communicated . The animal may have
a simple idea but not the complex of ideas involved even
in gesture .
This ability of man to have two centers of attention can
be explained anatomically by recalling that man has great
masses of cerebral tissue within which impulses can be
worked over. The animal has only a little brain tissue, and
any impulse received in the brain must be discharged very
soon in the form of a motor impulse. The hungry animal
must act at once in the effort to remove hunger. Man, on
the other hand, has enough brain tissue to hold the impulse
in suspense, unite it with impressions from his fellow beings,
and act in a complex way with full regard both to his fellow
beings and to his hunger.
86
mere e Gesture, or gesture language as it is called, is thus seen

lowbers to be not merely a complex form of behavior but one which
tenden expresses a new type of relationship between the reactor
illresp and his environment. Gesture is a social form of behavior
tosome involving attention to persons as well as to objects. Indeed,
mode gesture supersedes the more direct forms of attack on objects .
does the Evolution of gestures in direction of simplification . The
the earliest forms of social communications undoubtedly included
much gesture if, indeed, they were not limited altogether
gher to gesture. The term " natural sign " has been used in
whena describing these early gestures. The gesture was so full
kethe and pantomimic in character that the interpretation was
mouth almost as direct as in the case of an emotional expression.
ecaus The gesture could be interpreted by anyone who had passed
through an experience at all like that of the person making
the gesture. All that we need to assume by way of explanation
thin of gesture is the law of social imitation which was stated in
earlier paragraphs and the higher power of reviving ideas .
부름
The later development of gesture language brought with

을
받
it a reduction of the gesture so that it became a mere rem

nant of the earlier act. This reduction to a simpler act was
possible within the group of those who had learned to com
municate with each other. Thus, instead of requiring the
full pantomime to communicate the fact that one was hungry,
it came to be enough that one pointed in the direction of the
mouth. A mere clue served to arouse the idea. This stage
is reached when both the parties to the communication have
developed the power of supplying the ideas needed for
interpretation to such a high level that it is very easy to
call out the idea by the slightest hint.
Speech a highly specialized mode of behavior . This de
velopment, which made it less and less important that the
gesture be a full pantomime, opened the way for a selection
of certain particular forms of activity which became the
vehicles of communication and were wholly set aside for
218 PSYCHOLOGY
that purpose . The vocal cords were not available as organs

for communication of ideas so long as the ideas had to be
depicted in full by means of elaborately imitable gestures.
But as the need of gestures diminished and the power of
supplying ideas increased, the vocal cords proved increas
ingly useful as special organs of social communication just
because they were not otherwise used. The hands which
were used for communication during the period when ges
ture was evolving were in demand for the direct practical
activities of life . When two individuals wish to communi
cate with each other, it is often extremely inconvenient to
suspend all other activity, to lay down what one may be
carrying, to come where one may be clearly seen, for the
purpose of holding a parley. The vocal cords, on the other
hand , are not required for the practical purposes of life.
They are easily disconnected in their action from the gen
eral mass of the muscles and, therefore, very naturally
became the organs for a system of social activities.
One of the most primitive forms of vocal art is the
work song. This illustrates strikingly the relation of vocal
reactions to handwork . The workers secured social coöpera
tion through the song, their hands in the meantime being
occupied in practical work.
Consequences of specialization. The fact that speech thus
separates itself from other forms of bodily activity and be
comes a highly specialized system of behavior brings with
it a number of important consequences. First, it is possible
for speech to develop to a high level without involving
the corresponding development of any of the practical arts.
What is sometimes called pure verbalism may result. Thus
a student may acquire mere words and not have any power
of applying the words which he repeats to other forms of
behavior.
Second, the specialized character of speech results in
the sharp differentiation of one local language from that
of other sections. Ultimately each language grows so far

as organ
ad tobe from the parent root that it is wholly unintelligible except
to those who are trained in its special forms .
gesture
Dowerof Third, there is a possibility that ideas will be attached
Increas to sounds so loosely and ambiguously that the two parties
to communication will drift far apart in their interpretations
ionjus
which while using one and the same sounds.
Speech an indirect form of behavior. Speech as a form
enges
of behavior thus lacks that direct relation to the outer
rachial
world which most habits exhibit. It takes on a highly
mun
lent artificial character. Its uses are controlled by social con
vention rather than by natural necessity. We may therefore
k
very properly describe speech as an indirect, conventional
orthe
form of behavior.
other
Evolution of writing. The stages of evolution of speech
BE
which have been described in the foregoing paragraphs

are exemplified in essentially the same sequence, though in
slightly different form, in the evolution of the art of writing.
Writing at first direct in form. The earliest stages of
the
writing were those in which pictographic forms were used ;
ໄມ້
that is, a direct picture was drawn upon the writing surface,
reproducing as nearly as possible the kind of impression
made upon the observer by the object itself (see Fig. 54) .
To be sure, the drawing used to represent the object was
not an exact reproduction or full copy of the object, but it
was a fairly direct image. The visual image was thus
aroused by a direct appeal to the eye. Anyone could read
a document written in this pictographic form if he had
ever seen the objects to which the pictures referred . There
was no special relation between the pictures or visual forms
at this stage of development and the sounds used in articu
late language. Concrete examples of such writing are seen
in early monuments, where the moon is represented by
the crescent, a king by the drawing of a man wearing a
crown. An example of this stage of writing is also supplied
220 PSYCHOLOGY
by the ancient Chinese forms shown in the upper line

of Fig. 55 .
Images reduced to lowest terms as powers of reader
increase. The next stage of development in writing began
when the pictographic forms were reduced in complexity
to the simplest possible lines. The reduction of the picture
to a few sketchy lines depended upon the growing ability of
the reader to contribute the necessary interpretation . All
that was needed in the figure was something which would
b +++ ι
a e f
c g
h
Ōk
d
FIG. 54. An Ojibwa love letter, recorded and explained by Garrick Mallery
in the Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1888-1889, p. 363
The writer, a girl of the Bear totem, b, summons her lover, who belongs to the
Mud Puppy totem, d, along the various trails indicated, to the lodge, c, from which
the beckoning hand protrudes. The inclosed figures at l, j, and k are lakes. The
crosses indicate that the girl and her companions are Christians. " The clear indi
cations of locality," writes Mallery, " serve as well as if in a city a young woman had
sent an invitation to her young man to call at a certain street and number "
suggest the idea to the reader's mind . The simplification

of the written forms is attained very early, as is seen even
in the figures which are used by savage tribes . Thus, to
represent the number of an enemy's army, it is not neces
sary to draw full figures of the forms of the enemy ; it is
enough if single straight lines are drawn with some brief
indication, perhaps at the beginning of the series of lines,
to show that these stand each for an individual enemy.
This simplification of the drawing leaves the written sym
bol with very much larger possibilities of entering into
R new relations in the mind of the reader. Instead, now, of

being a specific drawing related to a specific object, it
invites by its simple character a number of different inter
pretations. A straight line, for example, can represent
not only the number of an enemy's army, but it can rep
resent also the number of sheep in a flock, or the number
of tents in a village, or anything else which is capable of
enumeration. The use of a straight line for these various
purposes stimulates new mental developments. This is
shown by the fact that the development of the idea of the
D L F
目月
A 14 木犬
FIG. 55. Ancient and modern Chinese writing

The upper line shows ancient forms of Chinese writing ; the lower line shows the
derived modern forms. Reading from left to right, the characters signify " sun,"
९९ moon,""" " mountain,"
," " tree " (or " wood ") , " dog "
number relation, as distinguished from the mass of possible

relations in which an object may stand, is greatly facilitated
by this general written symbol for numbers. The intimate
relation between the development of ideas on the one hand
and the development of symbols on the other is here very
strikingly illustrated. The drawing becomes more useful
because it is associated with more elaborate ideas, while the
ideas develop because they find in the drawing a definite
content which helps to mark and give separate character to
the idea. Striking examples of the simplification of form
in order to facilitate the writing of symbols are shown in
Figs . 55 and 56.
222 PSYCHOLOGY
Written symbols and their relation to sounds . As soon

as the drawing began to lose its significance as a direct
perceptual reproduction of the object and took on new
and broader meanings through the associations which at
tached to it, the written form became a symbol rather
than a direct appeal to visual memory. As a symbol it
stood for something which, in itself, it was not. The way
$ £ 3 3
my m M M
из
FIG. 56. Derivation of the Roman letter M from the ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphic owl
The four forms in the upper part of the figure are Egyptian forms. The first on the
left is the usual hieroglyphic picture of the owl, or, as it was called in the Egyptian
language, mulak. The three remaining upper forms are found in the writings ofthe
Egyptian priests. The first form on the left of the lower series is an ancient Semitic
form. Then follow in order an ancient Greek form and two later Greek forms.
(From I. Taylor's " The Alphabet," pp . 9, 10 )
was thus opened for the written symbol to enter into rela
tion with oral speech, which is also a form of symbolism
(see Fig. 56) . Articulate sounds are simplified forms of
experience capable through association with ideas of ex
pressing meanings not directly related to the sounds them
selves . When the written symbol began to be related to the
sound symbol, there was at first a loose and irregular relation
between them. The Egyptians seem to have established
Junds. As sar such relations to some extent. They wrote at times with
nce as adire
pictures standing for sounds as we now write in rebus puz
took on Fl
zles. In such puzzles the picture of an object is intended to
tions which
call up in the mind of the reader not the special group of
symbol rate
ideas appropriate to the object represented in the picture
s a symbol but rather the sound which serves as the name of this object .
not. The
When the sound is once suggested to the reader, he is sup
posed to attend to that and to connect with it certain other
associations appropriate to the sound. To take a modern
illustration, we may, for example, use the picture of the eye
to stand for the first personal pronoun. The relationship
between the picture and the idea for which it is used is
in this case through the sound of the name of the object
depicted. That the early alphabets are of this type of
rebus pictures appears in their names. The first three
letters of the Hebrew alphabet, for example, are named,
respectively, aleph, which means " ox, " beth, which means
" house, " and gimmel, which means " camel."
The alphabet. The complete development of a sound
alphabet from this type of rebus writing required, doubt
ent Egypti less, much experimentation on the part of the nations
which succeeded in establishing the association . The Pho
he first
nicians have generally been credited with the invention of
theEgyp
nitingsofthe the forms and relations which we now use. Their contri
ClientS bution to civilization cannot be overestimated . It consisted
Greekfor
not in the presentation of new material or content to con
scious experience but rather in bringing together by asso
ntorel ciation groups of contents which, in their new relation,
l
mbo transformed the whole process of thought and expression .
s
Orm 12 They associated visual and auditory content and gave to
ofer the visual factors a meaning which originally attached to
ther the sound. Pictures thus came to mean sounds rather than
tode objects (see Fig. 56) .
on
elati Social motives essential to the development of language.
The ideational interpretations which appear in developed
224 PSYCHOLOGY
language could never have reached the elaborate form

which they have at present if there had not been social
coöperation. The tendency of the individual when left to
himself is to drop back into the direct adjustments which
are appropriate to his own life . He might possibly develop
articulation to a certain extent for his own sake, but the
chief impulse to the development of language comes
through intercourse with others . As we have seen, the
development of the simplest forms of communication , as
in animals, is a matter of social imitation . Writing is also
an outgrowth of social relations. It is extremely doubtful
whether even the child of civilized parents would ever have
any sufficient motive for the development of writing if it
were not for the social encouragement which he receives.
Social system as source of the form of words . Further
more, we depend upon our social relations not merely for
the incentives to the development of language but also for
the particular forms which oral and written language shall
take . It is much more convenient for a child born into a
civilized community to adapt himself to the complex symbol
ism which he finds in the possession of his elders than to
develop anything of the sort for himself. It is true that
tendencies exist early in life toward the development of
individual forms of expression . A child frequently uses a
certain sound in a connection which cannot be explained
by reference to social usage . It may be a purely individual
combination, or a crude effort to adopt something which
has been suggested by the environment. This tendency to
give sounds a meaning might prove sufficient to work out
a kind of language, even if the individual were entirely
isolated from his fellows ; but the natural tendencies are
very early superseded by the stronger tendencies of social
imitation, and in the end the social system completely
dominates individual development, dictating in all cases the
forms of words.
高
享言
rate for
食
Social usage and the domination of individual thought.

en saxl In adopting the forms of expression used by those about
leftt us, we are led to take up certain general social forms of
its wh thought which ultimately control the whole mental life. The
deve effect of this social influence is so far-reaching that it is
butth quite proper to say that an individual is, in a very large
CO measure, the creation of his social relations, at least in the
Den higher phases of his mental life. The fundamental forms
tion, of direct activity, which constitute the personal habits by
is als which we have succeeded in adapting ourselves to the
oubt demands of the physical world, are to a certain extent
unsocial. They are, to be sure, alike in different individuals
is because they have grown up, as was shown in our earlier
Ives discussion, under the demands of a common physical
the environment. Our forms of space perception, for example,
Ivfit are not the creations of our own individual caprice but
rather the arrangement which we have given our sensory
experiences in our effort to fit ourselves to a world which
dictates these space relations to us. Since we have all grown
up in the same space world, our space ideas are alike .
The community of social ideas expressed in language is of
JA
a different type. Even the direct, relatively unsocial forms

of perception are influenced by these higher social forms
of thought. If, for example, there is no word in a certain
social environment for long spatial distances except a word
which refers to a certain number of days ' journeys, it is not
likely that the individual will feel any tendency to discrimi
nate fifteen miles from seventeen . His attitude in this
matter will be determined by the attitude of his social
environment, and he will neglect in his thought, as do
those about him, the finer details of distance. Similarly, if
there are no names for certain forms of property rights, it
is not likely that the individual will, of his own initiative,
recognize these forms of right as belonging to those who
constitute the social group with him.
226 PSYCHOLOGY
Social ideas dominate individual life. The history of

thought has been, in large measure, the history of the
development of certain social ideas which could be marked
with definite names and made subjects of thought, because
they were so marked . Consider for a moment the difficul
ties which would be experienced in conducting any train
of thought with regard to the forces of physical nature if
there were no names for the different forces and no fully
developed definitions to give each name clearly recognized
character. If it is true in a general way that general ten
dencies of thought have been dependent upon the develop
ment of words to express ideas, it is still more true in the
case of the individual that his mental tendencies are very
largely determined by the forms of social thought expressed
in words. A child who has had his attention called to
certain colors and who is, at the same time, given a name
for these colors is more likely to identify them in later
experience than if no name had been given. The name
serves as an incentive to the concentration of attention
upon a particular phase of experience which would otherwise
be lost in the general mass of sensations. Without the
word the possibility of dwelling upon the single phase of
experience in thought would be small . This is the reason
why the retention of facts in memory is so closely related
to the naming of objects .
Experimental evidence of importance of words. Some
experimental evidence can be adduced to show that names
are of great importance in this respect. If one is confronted
with a large number of pieces of gray paper ranging from
black to white, and is asked to discriminate as many of
these different grays as he is able to recognize with certainty,
it will be found that he can distinguish ordinarily about five
classes of gray shades. He can distinguish the very dark
from those which are medium dark, the very light from
those that are medium light, and he can place between the
history d dark and the light grays a middle shade which he is not
ydi disposed to classify as either light or dark. Beyond this
e marke
fivefold discrimination he will find that he is very uncertain.
becaus If, now, after making this test under ordinary conditions,
e dific the individual is allowed to examine the various shades of
any tra gray and to adopt a series of names or numbers for them,
nature it will be found that he can notably increase the range
me fi and certainty of his discrimination . The names furnish, as
ognises stated above, definite means of concentrating attention upon
slight differences which existed from the first but were not
Seray noted in experience. Furthermore, when these slight differ
ences have been discriminated and marked by the attachment
e re to them of definite names, they become permanent additions
ressed to the individual's equipment and can be retained more easily
led t than they could be as mere unnamed sensation qualities.
TIRLAK Number terminology as a device for recording posses
sions.One of the best illustrations of the significance for
nama mental life of the creation of a terminology is found in the
ease with which a developed individual uses numbers. In
WAS general, it may be said that primitive languages have only
a very meager number terminology. Savage tribes have
C frequently been known to have no number terminology
reaching above ten, and in some cases tribes have been
reported with a number terminology not reaching beyond
three. There are certain forms of direct perceptual experi
m ence which can be utilized up to a certain point instead of
the developed number system which we now have. If a
herdsman has a herd of cattle for a period long enough to
become acquainted with its individual members, he can
recognize the size of the herd by recalling the individuals
which make it up . If one has material possessions which
can be heaped together, he will come to estimate his wealth
directly through the general impression made upon him by
collecting all of his wealth at a single point. As soon as
the direct recollection of each individual possession came,
228 PSYCHOLOGY
in the development of human wealth, to be too cumbersome

a form of representation , and the collective image became
too vague to be relied upon, man naturally endeavored to
devise a method of recording his property and retaining it
in consciousness in some simplified form. Instead of trying
to remember every one of his possessions, he adopted some
system of tally. At first he began counting off on his
fingers each different article which he wished later to be
able to recognize, or he adopted in some cases one of the
more elaborate methods found among savages who use
pebbles or shells . The Latin root which appears in our
९९ ""
word calculate and all related words is the word for
pebble, and indicates that the early forms of computation
among the Romans consisted in the use of pebbles.
Symbols for groups of tallies . As soon as the system of
enumeration became complex, there naturally arose the
necessity for grouping the tallies so that they could be
easily surveyed . The method of grouping the tally marks
in a system convenient for recognition is suggested by the
five fingers on the hand, and this is often adopted, even by
savage peoples. A clear indication that this grouping ap
peared in the natural tally systems can be seen in the symbols
used by the Romans to indicate numbers, for in this system
the number five and the number ten are crucial points in
the notation , and show the adoption of a new group symbol
to include many individual symbols in a more compact form.
Parallel growth of number names and system of ideas.
As the number system was worked out into a system of
major and minor groups there was a tendency to develop
a system of articulation directly related to the tally system.
Number of the primitive tally form probably developed just
as did writing, without reference to speech . The creation
of words which should express number was slow, as indi
cated by reference to savage language, because in this case
the symbolical system needed to develop to a high degree
Do cumbersor before the demand for corresponding articulation was felt.

image beare As soon as the demand for articulation became sufficiently
endeavored t pressing, the words appeared, and they show distinctly in
d retaining their character the tendency toward groups. Further than
tead of trying this, the names for successive tallies came to be the means,
not only of referring to individual marks but also of refer
adoptedsom:
offon s ring to the serial arrangement of these marks. Thus, the
later tobe names " one," " two, " " three, " etc. are not significant
S one ofthe merely as names of tally marks ; they have also each its
es who u special significance as the name of a special position in
Dears in ar the total series.
he word for Development of arithmetic depends on an appropriate

or system of numerals. The advantage to the child who finds
computat
a complete number terminology developed is very great.
bles.
esystemof The more perfect this terminology for purposes of express
arosethe ing quantitative relations, the more complete and rapid will
couldbe be his initiation into the forms of thought which the
terminology expresses. The historical illustration of this
ally mask
dedbythe fact is to be found in the acceptance by European nations
of a system of notation which was imported from the East
d,evenbr
in the Renaissance period. The written number symbols
Dupingap
which had been used by the Romans were crude and
Desymbol
rendered any forms of arithmetical manipulation extremely
his syste
difficult. The Arabic system was so much more complete
pointsin
i and economical that it immediately took the place of the
Psymb
t
ac fo r m older and cruder symbolism. How long it would take an
ofideas individual child to acquire independently anything like the

stemof mathematical ability which, with the aid of his social en
l vironment, he acquires through the adoption of the developed
deve
m Arabic number system can hardly be imagined. Certain it
Syste
s is that his forms of thought are now dominated by the
redi
n
reatio social system into which he is born, and this system was
in turn borrowed in toto from non-European nations.
Lind
Social world unified through common forms of thought.
isCas
e There is in this acceptance of the social system not only an
degre
230 PSYCHOLOGY
economy which operates to the advantage of the individual,

but there is the additional fact that the individual becomes
thereby a part of the social whole in a fashion which is sig
nificant for society as well as for himself. We are bound
together as intelligent beings by the common systems of
tradition and language to a degree which makes us no longer
centers of merely individual adaptation , but rather parts of
a general organization which has a certain unity and exer
cises a dominating influence over many individuals . This
social unity perpetuates customs and practices so that we
have, in addition to the bodily structures which we inherit,
a social heredity which guides us in the activities of per
sonal life. Language is the chief medium for this social
heredity.
Changes in words as indications of changes in individual
thought and social relations . It is in connection with the
development of social institutions that we find the most radical
changes in human language. If an individual comes upon a
new idea and coins a new word for its expression, the new
word gains standing and comes to be a part of the perma
nent language of the community only when others feel the
same necessity as the inventor of the word for this new
means of expression . When , therefore, we have a long his
tory of variations in any word we may depend upon it that
there has been a corresponding series of social as well as
of individual experiences related to the word. The detailed
history of words is a detailed history of individual mental
attitudes toward the world, and at the same time a detailed
history of the social relations in which individuals have joined.
Illustration of change in words . It will not be in place in
this connection to enter into any elaborate linguistic studies,
but one illustration may be used to indicate something of
the character of the psychological and social study which
grows out of the history of words. In his " English Past
and Present, " Trench gives an account of the development
the individual of the word " gossip. " This word was originally used at bap
idual becomes tismal ceremonies and referred to the sponsor who stood for
which is sig the child in a way analogous to that in which to-day the god
Ve are bound parent stands as sponsor for the child. The first three letters
n systems f of the word " gossip " are derived directly from the word
us nop longer " God, " and the second part of the word, namely " sip, " is
ther partsof a modification of the word " sib, " which is even now used
ty and exe in Scotland to indicate a relative. When the social institu
iduals. This tion of baptism was a matter of larger community signifi
so that we cance than it is to-day, the word was needed to express the
we inheri relationship of the individuals involved in the ceremony ;
ties of pe but being a general form of expression rather than an image
this social of a particular individual, it came easily to refer to other
phases of social contact than that which was primarily thought
individual of in connection with the baptismal ceremony itself. The
n withthe worthy sponsors of the child unquestionably indulged, even
ostradical in the early days of the ceremony, in certain exchanges of
information with regard to other members of the community,
esupon
the ne and this social function which the individual served was very
7,
readily connected with the word coined to refer primarily to
he perm
s feelthe the religious function . As the religious ceremony came to be
thisnew less and less elaborate, and there was a decreasing demand
for reference to the religious function, the word gradually
longhis
on it that drifted over to the second phase of meaning. It is probably
well true that the aberration of form, which appears in softening

d the din " God" to an s, made this transfer of meaning easier.
detaile
e n t a l Indeed, as we have seen at various points in our discussions,
m
l e d words become true symbols only because they are simplified
detai
joine!
d so as to take on easily new types of relation . Thus, the
placein word " gossip " ultimately lost its original meaning and came
tudies to signify something which it signified only very vaguely to
the minds of those who first used it. Furthermore, it is
ingof
which clear that this transfer of meaning is directly related to the
Past development of the social institution with which the word
t was connected. The mental attitude of the individual who
men
232 PSYCHOLOGY
uses the word to-day and the social character of the insti
tution are both entirely different from the attitude and
institution of earlier times .
Words as instruments of thought beyond immediate ex
perience . Other illustrations of the developments which take
place in language can be found in the introduction of new
words with new inventions and new discoveries in science.
Once the habit of using words is thoroughly established in
a community or individual, it furnishes an easy method of
marking any experience which it is desired to consider apart
from the general setting in which that experience appears.
If to-day a civilized individual wishes to think of certain
relations such as the physical force of gravity, or the eco
nomic facts of value, and to consider the bearings of the
factors which enter into these relations, he will devise some
word or phrase by which to mark the relations and hold
them clearly before his thought while he considers all of the
facts . There comes to be thus a system of experiences which
we are justified in describing as constructed in consciousness
for the purpose of guiding attention ; these constructs have,
as contrasted with ordinary mental images, very little con
tent. Indeed, the reduction of the content of thought to the
lowest possible minimum is the tendency of all mental evo
lution . The child has undoubtedly a more concrete imagery
than the adult. The adult finds as he learns to use words
fluently that the imagery which at first was necessary to ex
plain them falls away. The result is that great ranges of
thought can be much condensed ; as, for example, when all
the cases of falling bodies are thought of at once under the
single term " gravity." In the discussion of habits it was
shown that as experience becomes more completely organ
ized into habits, the memory content and even the sensory
contents receive less attention . An organized attitude is sub
stituted for a complex of content factors. In somewhat
analogous manner, words may be regarded as means of
epitomizing consciousness, while they permit the highest

of the inst
attitude and type of ideational elaboration of experience. The widest
variety of content factors may be related to words ; that is,
the use of a word is often cultivated under the guiding in
mmediate er
ts which take fluences of concrete content, as when the child builds up
the idea of animal through direct perceptual contact with
ction ofnew
dogs and horses. After a time the concrete memory images
in science
attached to the word fade out and leave the word as a
tablished in
substitute, as a minimum content to which (as when the
method
man condenses his whole attitude towards all kinds of ani
nsiderapart
mals into a single compact experience) an elaborately organ
ce appears ized meaning may attach.
ofcertain
Images and verbal ideas. When, therefore, we ask what
or the co
it is that a person thinks of in his use of a word, we shall
ngs of the
certainly go astray if we attempt to answer that the word
evise some
calls up all of the concrete experiences with which it has
andha
been connected and with which it may be connected. For
allofthe
example, let the reader ask himself what presents itself in
Iceswhich "e
ss consciousness when he sees the word animal." It would
Sciousne
be still better if, instead of choosing some word thrown into
cts have
the text as an isolated illustration, we should ask the reader
little CcrOeD
to give an account of the mental experiences through which
ht to the
he passed when he observed one of the words that came
ntalen
in the course of the general discussion . For example, what
imager
was called up a moment ago when the eye passed the very
Se work
definite word " text " ? The answer to these questions with
Vtoer
regard to the content of consciousness at the moment of
angesd recognition of words will certainly not be that the mind is
thens filled with trains of concrete images.
derthe Mental attitudes as characteristic phases of verbal ideas.
it was The consciousness of a word has sometimes been described
aggan as a feeling or an attitude, and such a description as this
ensor unquestionably comes nearer to the truth than does the
issub
t explanation of meaning through images, which has some
enta
times appeared in psychological discussions of this matter.
Is of
234 PSYCHOLOGY
A general term such as " animal " or " text " turns the
thought of the reader in one direction or the other without
filling the mind with definite contents. The content of experi
ence arises rather from the total phrase or sentence ; the
single word indicates only the direction in which this content
is to be sought, or in which it is to be applied in some future
stage of mental activity. For example, if I say that all ani
mals are subject to man's dominion , there is much more of
attitude in the whole experience than there is content. We
look down upon the animals ; we feel their inferiority ; we
recognize ourselves as above them. The attitude of mind
experienced is the all-important fact. There is an experi
ence of personal elation , which may perhaps be worked out
into imagery, if one contemplates it long enough . Thus,
one may turn the thought into images by thinking of him
self for the moment as the representative man looking down
upon the animals gathered as he saw them in childhood in
some picture of Adam naming the animals . But all this
concreteness in one's description of the animals and of him
self is recognized as too picturesque to be true to ordinary
experience . We can stop and fill out the attitude with ap
propriate imagery if we like , but we do not ordinarily do
so. The truer statement is that the idea comes as a single
simple attitude and prepares one to go on from a position
of superiority to some appropriate sequent relation. The
value of the words lies in the fact that they carry experi
ence forward, furnishing only so much content as is neces
sary to support thought without overloading experience with
all the detail.
Other illustrations of thought relations. Again, take
another illustration which shows that there may be nicety of
shading in our thought relations without much content. If
"e savage, " we are likely to take an
we use such a word as
attitude of superiority somewhat analogous to that taken
toward the animals, but flavored more than the former idea
turns the
with a concession of equality. If we speak of higher beings,
without such as angels, we assume an entirely different attitude,
of exper without necessarily giving ourselves the trouble to fill in
nce;the any definite content. Indeed, the content of any thought
Conten referring to the higher beings is recognized everywhere as

more or less of a makeshift, in that we fill in the unknown
efuture
with such images as we can borrow from ordinary life, the
more f images being symbols, not true representations.
t. We Concrete words. All this has been expressed by certain

psychologists in the statement that general ideas are in es
ty'; we
sence nothing but dispositions toward activity. Here we have
mind
a formula which is very closely related to the formula which
exper
we derived in our discussion of the development of percepts.
There are, undoubtedly, direct motor habits and consequent
Thus
attitudes in connection with many concrete words. It is, on
hi
the other hand, probably not true that the bodily attitude as
down
sumed when we think of the word " animal " is anything like
di
a complete bodily attitude such as would be assumed in the
presence of animals in concrete experience. The mental
attitude aroused by the word probably has as its direct physi
9-8
ological parallel a bodily movement which is a much-reduced

resultant of earlier direct attitudes. It is in its present form
merely a faint reverberation, significant not for direct adap
tation but merely as a step in the development of a general
and perhaps very remote form of activity. The present atti
tude is one of those indirect forms of human adjustment
+
which render the experience of man freer and more idea
tional than the experience of the animals. The bodily move
ment in such cases is symbolical and transient, assumed
merely for the sake of carrying the individual forward into
a more complete state which lies beyond.
Examples of words arousing tendencies toward action. The
matter may be made clear by considering what happens when
by means of words one is told that he is to go first to the
right until he reaches a certain place, and is then to turn
236 PSYCHOLOGY
toward the left and go straight ahead. There are clearly cer
tain tendencies toward direct bodily movements aroused by
the words " right " and " left " and " straight ahead." These
tendencies toward movement, it is true, are not significant as
present adaptations to the environment ; they are significant
merely because they give the thinking individual a certain
tendency, which may, indeed, work itself out later in a much
more fully developed and concrete form, but is at present a
kind of suppressed, incipient form of action . If one has
thought out a series of movements toward the right and left,
he will have developed within himself a form of behavior
which, on the presentation of the appropriate stimulation in
the form of the signpost or building at which he is to turn,
will serve as a sufficient preliminary organization to arouse a
significant and concrete form of behavior. The preliminary
thought attitude and faint bodily expression serve, therefore,
in a tentative way to aid subsequent direct adaptations.
Abstract words. If, now, we choose as our illustration
not words of direction but abstract phrases, such as the
phrases by which men are exhorted to patriotism, obviously
the emotional stirring which one feels as the result of these
exhortations is by no means adequate to explain the true sig
nificance of the word " patriotism. " A man cannot become
truly patriotic by going through the inner stirrings which this
word arouses . Indeed, in not a few cases vague emotional
responses check rather than promote the development of true
interpretations because the vague response satisfies the need
of the mind for experience but gives no complete or adequate
content. The trouble with the emotional response lies not
in the fact that it is emotional but in the impossibility of its
expressing fully the whole significance which the word must
carry. Such an abstract term as that under discussion can be
made potent for direct bodily organization only when it is
supplied through proper settings with some definite and final
purpose of an active kind . To be truly patriotic one must be
aroused to some definite form of public service. The final

purpose will then be like the concrete words " left " and
((
right." The abstract word taken alone is the expression of
a relation. If it is treated as a final factor of experience, it
will dissipate itself in vague emotional reactions.
To take still another illustration : If in the course of a
scientific discussion one is told that a certain problem needs
very much to be investigated, the word " problem " will arouse
within the individual some kind of a responsive attitude which
can be described in a general way as an attitude of hesitation,
of turning hither and thither in the search for a solution. But
the conscious process will be more than the attitude of hesi
tation and turning, for it will have a form and significance
determined by the whole train of ideas into the midst of which
this attitude of hesitation and turning is injected . Thus, if
the problem is in geology, the attitude of inquiry will be very
different from that which would be assumed if the train of
thought related to astronomy. We may therefore speak of
the attitude aroused by the word " problem " as wholly rela
tional in its character. Another way of expressing the matter
is to say that the attitude is in the world of ideas for the time
being rather than in the world of practical adjustments. We
mean by such statements as these that the attitude is merely
a temporary step in the process of ideational organization ; it
is not an immediate reaction on any object. It is an indirect
and elaborate phase of adaptation ; it has value and signifi
cance because of the turn which it gives to the ideational
process rather than because of the concrete imagery or
reaction to the world of things.
Contrast between concrete images and abstract ideas. The
indirectness of verbal forms of consciousness and of the re
lated nervous processes involves, as has often been noted in
discussions of language, certain dangers of possible malad
justment. Concrete images and direct forms of experience
cannot, because of their limited nature, be turned in very
238 PSYCHOLOGY
many directions. Verbal ideas, on the other hand, espe

cially if they are abstract, are capable of a great variety of
connections because they are so meager and schematic in
individual content.
Besides this, there is a disadvantage in the use of ab
stract terms in that two individuals, while they may start
with the same general tendency of attention, may, in the
course of the use of the words, drift apart, without being as
clearly conscious of their divergence from each other as they
would be if they dealt constantly with concrete percepts. It
is a much more definite method of interchanging ideas to
demonstrate the objects themselves, or to demonstrate some
concrete representations of the objects, such as pictures or
models. If one does not have pictures or models, he natu
rally tries to correct the errors which are likely to creep in
when he is using words, by calling up from time to time as
concrete an image in the mind of his listener as it is possi
ble to evoke by the use of words . We all of us feel the relief
in any continued discourse when a figure of speech, or an
illustration, is used . The figure of speech gives us a fairly
concrete image with which to deal. The image in this case
may be remote from the immediate subject of thought, it may
be related to the present discussion only as a kind of rough
analogy, but the presence of some characteristic which illus
trates and renders concrete the abstract discussion is a relief
in the midst of abstract relational terms and furnishes the
means of correcting possible tendencies toward divergence
of thought between the speaker and the listener. An illus
tration is even more definite in its character, and so long as
it calls up in the minds of the speaker and listener the same
kind of concrete images , it is a direct corrective of the possible
looseness of verbal thought and verbal communication .
Particular images as obstructions to thought. How far
one should be picturesque in his language, and how far one
should, on the other hand, use terms which are not related
to definite mental pictures, is a matter which must be deter

mined by the demands of the particular situation at hand. It
would be quite impossible in any generalized science like
S
physics continually to deal with concrete illustrations. If the

scientist speaks, for example, of the general law of gravity,
he cannot be dealing with all of the specific cases of gravity
If known to his experience, nor can he feel himself bound to a
single illustration. He may come back to the single illustra
tion in order to hold his verbal idea true to the concrete facts,
but he should cultivate the ability to get away from the con
crete cases into the wider sweep of thought which is covered
by the general word.
Ideas or indirect forms of experience characteristic of man.
In concluding this discussion of language it will be well to
reiterate that human life has taken on , through the develop
ment of indirect modes of consciousness and behavior, an
aspect which differentiates it altogether from the life of ani
mals. The consequences for human nature of the evolution
of a mode of reaction such as speech is, are unlimited in im
portance. The full significance of this unique mode of be
havior will become increasingly apparent as we canvass in
detail the problems of ideation and abstraction.
CHAPTER XI
MEMORY AND IDEAS
The problem of describing ideas . Throughout the last chap

ter reference was made to ideas without any effort to describe
in full these important phases of experience. It now becomes
necessary for us to take up the treatment of ideas and of the
complex processes of thought which are made up of ideas .
The way has been prepared for this discussion by the con
clusions reached in all earlier chapters. Let us review briefly
the essentials of our earlier studies . First, animals develop
inner states in their efforts to respond to sensory stimuli.
Second, the higher animals become increasingly able to carry
on elaborate internal readjustments. Corresponding to these
elaborate readjustments are certain complexes of sensations
and certain attitudes which gradually grow more and more
highly differentiated . Third, the inner organization of man
and his closest relatives in the animal world is such that ex
perience is progressively recorded in the form of habits of
reaction and corresponding mental states.
We are now ready to ask what is the form of this inner
enriched mental life which man develops in the course of
experience . Our popular language is well supplied with words
referring to these products of experience . We say that man
stores up in memory ideas and thoughts. We speak of re
calling the past, of images in the mind, of an inner world
of thoughts and thought relations .
Ideas not derived from present impressions . In all such
phrases as the above there is a sharp contrast between
present sensory impressions and the experiences which are
240
MEMORY AND IDEAS 241
brought over from the past. There is also a recognition of

the overwhelming volume of past experiences . The indi
vidual faces the world of the present moment with a mind
set and prepared through long training. What we call
intelligence is not the impression of the moment but a
body of experiences drawn out of the past.
Ideas as revivals. Let us consider some of the simplest
types of ideas. If one closes his eyes and thinks of the
scene which a moment before impressed itself upon his
vision, he will recognize that his consciousness is filled with
a substitute for direct visual sensations and percepts ; this
substitute is called a memory image . When one thinks of
an absent acquaintance, the memory image may contain
factors which are substitutes for direct auditory impressions
of the voice. When one thinks of a rough surface without
touching it, the image contains substitutes for tactual factors
and their perceptual organization. These illustrations serve
to emphasize the scope of the word " image, " which it will
be seen is used not merely for vision but also for all spheres
of experience .
Advantages of relative independence of sensory impres
sions. Before1 taking up any of the details regarding the
character and laws of memory images, it will be well to
dwell briefly upon the great advantage to the individual of
possessing these substitutes for direct impressions . The
mind supplied with memory images is relatively independent
of contact with objects ; the images may serve as the basis
for attitudes and for reconstructive organizations which may
be of the highest significance in individual life. A common
place illustration of this advantage is seen whenever one
runs over in his mind the various places in which he has
been and where he might have left a lost object. More
complex illustrations may be drawn from the mental activi
ties of an inventor who thinks out many combinations, thus
using the images in consciousness as substitutes for real
242 PSYCHOLOGY
objects . To be sure, there are certain disadvantages which

connect themselves with these advantages. The inventor can
make more mistakes in this imagery than he could if he
tried to fit together real things, and one's false memory of
where he left his property may lead him far astray. But
taken in the large, the freedom from the necessity of always
waiting for direct impressions is one of the great superiorities
of the higher forms of mental life.
Individual variations in imagery . One of the most im
portant statements to be made in the description of memory
images is that different individuals show great differences in
the character and vividness of their memory images . Some
years ago Galton asked a number of individuals to test their
mental imagery by calling up as definitely and fully as possi
ble the familiar objects of the breakfast table . After the
memory image had been called up, the observer was requested
to state how clear the mental image was in color and form
and other characteristics . Some of the observers said that
they recalled objects with a vividness and detail altogether
comparable to their perceptual experience . These Galton
called good visualizers . Others described their memory
images as extremely vague and hazy. Still others, who were
between the extreme classes, stated that their mental images
were restricted in extent and were relatively fainter than the
percepts themselves but, nevertheless, fairly comparable in
general character to direct sensory experiences . Galton's
tests have frequently been repeated, and his results have
been fully corroborated . Furthermore, it has been found
that persons who have faint visual images have, in some
cases, vivid auditory images. Some persons have vivid tac
tual imagery or vivid memory of movements. The blind,
for example, can have no visual memories ; their memory
consciousness must therefore be filled by a totally different
type of content from that which exists in the mind of the
normal individual.
The accidents of individual experience and mental imagery.

Not only is the type of memory very different in different
individuals, but the special contents differ according to the
accidents of individual experience. Thus, if two persons
have looked at the same scene from two different points of
view, their imagery will be different ; certain near and vivid
factors for one person will be vague and remote for the
other. Then, too, individual attitudes react upon the con
tents of experience to determine the character of imagery.
If an especially pleasing or disagreeable color has been pre
sented to a given individual, it may continue in his memory
for a long time, while a second individual looking at the
same color, but not greatly pleased or displeased by it, may
very soon forget it altogether.
Dependence on vividness and recency. In spite of indi
vidual differences in mental imagery, there are certain gen
eral statements which apply to all persons and all types of
memory. All other conditions being equal, memory de
pends upon the vividness and recency of the sensory im
pression. It should be noticed that memory does not depend
on intensity but on vividness. If intensity results in the con
centration of attention upon the impression, then intensity
may indirectly help to fix the impression ; but a faint
impression upon which attention has been centered will
continue in memory long after the disappearance of an im
pression which passes without attention . The recency of an
impression is also a matter of importance. Careful quanti
tative tests show that impressions fade with relative rapidity
at first and at a very gradual rate later. We forget many
impressions entirely in the first few moments after they are
received. What we retain beyond the first brief period is
more likely to continue as a relatively permanent addition
to the content of consciousness.
The training of memory. Much may be said with regard
to the scope of memory and with regard to the possibility
244 PSYCHOLOGY
of increasing the scope of memory by training. It is doubt

less true that the ability to retain impressions differs greatly
with different individuals ; some retaining many impressions
and carrying them forward through long periods, others
having little or no ability to retain . So clearly marked are
these natural characteristics of different individuals that the
changes produced through practice are relatively small . In
deed, Professor James asserts that there is no possibility of
changing the degree of natural retentiveness through train
ing. This statement has been shown to be out of harmony
with the facts , for there are evidences of increase in the
scope of memory through training . Nevertheless, Pro
fessor James's statement is probably much nearer the truth
than the popular assumption that memory can be radically
changed through practice .
Retention as distinguished from recall. Another general
fact regarding memory is that experiences are not actively
recalled without some present impression or related memory
which serves as the motive or occasion for the exercise of
memory. The mere retention of an impression is not the
whole of memory. For example, at this moment there must
be retained by every reader of these words hundreds of
proper names . There is no motive for the recall of most
of them. If one should find in the text, however, such a
"e
phrase as author of the Iliad, " one of the proper names
would be recalled and memory would become active for that
one name. This name might in turn suggest other memories.
The fact that memories are thus linked together and that
active recall is always a matter of a train or sequence of
processes was noticed long ago by Aristotle. He described
the principles of memory, or, as they were later designated,
the laws of association . There are two general principles
of association which we may note : first, the principle of
association by contiguity ; and , second, the principle of
association by similarity or contrast.
Association by contiguity. When one thinks of the letter

A he is very likely to recall also the letter B, because the
two have so often followed each other in experience. The
first line of a poem suggests the second ; the sight of one
of two intimate friends suggests the other. In general,
when two experiences have been intimately related in earlier
experience, the appearance of one is likely to serve as a
sufficient motive for the recall of the
second.
Association by similarity. When
one sees a face which has eyes, or
nose, or mouth like those of another
888
person, the like feature is in many
cases enough to recall the absent FIG. 57. Association by
similarity
person. In such a case as this the
The full-drawn circles repre
two faces now associated need never
sent the elements of the pres
have appeared together in the past ; ent experience . Of these ele
ments A attaches itself also
it is enough that they contain the
to the system of elements rep
same feature. This relation between resented by the dotted line
circles. 4, when taken with
two experiences having a common the circles b, b, b, constitutes
factor is evidently a more complex the present expérience ; A,
when taken with the circles
fact than association by contiguity,
c, c, c, constitutes the recalled
for it involves a sufficient analysis experience. A is obviously
the center of relations be
or concentration of attention upon a tween the two systems
single feature to separate it from its
present surroundings and make it the link of connection with
a group of experiences not now present. The diagram in
Fig. 57 represents the situation. The circle A represents a
single feature of the face now seen ; b, b, b are the other
features. In a past experience, A has been part of a system
of features of which c, c, c, were the others . If A becomes
the subject of special attention, it can revive the elements
c, c, c, and thus detach itself from b, b, b the features of
the present complex in which it stands. In general, then,
whenever a factor of experience now present has appeared
1
246 PSYCHOLOGY 1
in earlier experiences in a different combination, the earlier

combination may be recalled through association by similarity.
Association by contrast. Association by contrast will be
clear after the foregoing discussion of association by simi
larity, for no contrast can exist without like elements. One
may contrast a candle and the sun because they both give
light, or the moon and a coin because they are both round,
but in each of these cases the basis of the contrast is a
common factor.
New products evolved in ideation . Thus it is seen that
memory images do not represent merely the traces of earlier
experiences, but by continual association and readjustments
memory images change their character and in the later
stages show quite as much the effects of readjustments in
mental life as the results of initial impression . When two
ideas have been associated by contrast, there is an analysis
which tends to break up the original memory images and
bring to clear consciousness one element of the associated
ideas together with what we may properly call the new idea
of contrast . When the idea of contrast arises, the descrip
tive term " image " becomes less appropriate than it was
for the simple ideas with which the discussion began.
Ideas not all images . The idea of contrast is an idea of
a higher type . It is very difficult to state what is the con
tent of such an idea. It is a kind of shock of difference,
a feeling of intellectual opposition . Indeed, there are many
psychologists who insist on the use of the term " imageless
thought " in describing such an idea. They mean by this
term to draw attention to the fact that the mind deals at
these higher levels not with definite revivals of sensory con
tent but with certain tendencies of consciousness which are
to be sharply distinguished from memory images. Perhaps
the best description which can be given will be by the use
of an analogy. The mind is calling up a series of images
when suddenly it turns in a new direction . The abrupt
1
MEMORY AND IDEAS 247 1
turning is a real experience, often very vivid and important

for all later thinking. Just at the moment of turning there
must have been an experience. What was the experience
of turning ? It was an experience which linked together
two images, but it was not in itself an image.
Tendency to revert to imagery type. The more complex
ideational experience becomes, the more elements there are
which must thus be described as imageless. On the other
hand, it is to be noted that there is a tendency to develop
devices by which the mind can mark and hold steadily
before it these imageless ideas. When one has had the
experience of contrast, one tends to mark the experience
by a word which will give it enough content to make it
a stable unit in thought.
Advantages of indirect forms of experience. All these
statements draw attention to the fact that ideas are, more
than any other phase of experience, flexible and subject to
inner readjustment. Thus, even when dealing with revivals
of perceptual experiences every person has his own peculiar
image depending on his point of observation and his per
sonal powers of retention . Courts of law are familiar with
this fact and attempt to eliminate by comparison of much
testimony the purely personal elements which always attach
to a memory image.
The flexibility of ideas, as has already been pointed out,
may be of great advantage because it puts the individual in
possession of a device for thinking out changes in the per
ceptual world. When men put together ideas, they do so
because ideas are flexible. If they get them put together
in a productive way, they often make up a model to which
later the hard material world may be made to conform .
We are brought by this statement, as we have been sev
eral times before, to a recognition of the distinction between
direct and indirect modes of adjustment to the world. The
physiological conditions necessary to the formation of ideas
I
I
I
248 PSYCHOLOGY
are undoubtedly provided for in the nervous processes which

go on in the association areas of the cerebrum. In the
lower animals , where the association areas are small or
lacking, there is little evidence of ideas. In these animals
sensory processes pass to motor discharge with greater
directness than in man . In like manner the infant seems
to be wholly absorbed in percepts . This is related to the
fact that the tracts in the association areas are the latest to
develop, the process of development being, as noted in an
earlier chapter, distinctly traceable for a period after birth.
Animal behavior direct and perceptual, human behavior
indirect and ideational. The significance of the evolution
of the association areas can be seen by contrasting the
modes of human behavior with the modes of behavior ex
hibited lower in the scale of life . If an animal is aroused
to anger by some stimulation , it responds by directly attack
ing the source of the stimulation . If an animal is pleased
by some form of agreeable excitation, it makes clear its
pleasure in an immediate reaction . There is in animal life
very little delay or indirection in response. When we con
trast all this with human life, we are impressed by the fact
that man's activities are most of them indirect. They re
quire more time to mature . Thus, if a man sees an object
passing before him, he may be thrown into a long train of
thought rather than into a direct series of activities . The
long train of thought is possible because man has a com
plex central nervous system through which the impression
may circulate before it passes out as a motor impulse . Or
man's action may be indirect in another sense, as was shown
in the chapter on speech. Instead of attacking the object
directly, he may call his neighbor and talk the matter over
with him , ultimately arriving at a mode of action only after
a long series of verbal preparations and plans which are
indirect and related only in the most remote fashion to the
object which yielded the original impression .
The world of ideas comes ultimately to be a world of

superior importance. Its laws of association are free and
independent of the world of things. One can think of the
cities of the country as belonging together because in the
mind cities are associated, while in reality they are held
apart by great stretches of territory.
Influence of ideas on things. The result of the evolution
of this inner world of ideas is that man ultimately puts
together not only in his mind but in his actual conduct
elements of the world which would never have been put
together except for the laws of mental association . The
laws of association are thus made to dominate the world
of things .
Tool-consciousness. Take, for example, the invention of
tools. Primitive man was cut by a stone or torn by a
thorn. Did he merely cry out with pain as an unintelli
gent animal might ? Not at all. He saw that the sharp
edge which had injured him might be of great use to him
if it could be brought into new relations . So he picked
up the stone and plucked the thorn and put them to the
uses which he saw first in his own mind and afterward
realized in material readjustments .
Knowledge of nervous process limited. It must be
frankly admitted that this discussion has carried us beyond
our knowledge of the conditions in the nervous system.
We know in a general way what association areas are,
but we do not know the details of their organization . We
know ideas introspectively more intimately than we know
their objective conditions.
Traditionally, psychology has begun with ideas and given
less attention to those lower and simpler forms of experi
ence with which we dealt in earlier chapters. For this
reason the science of psychology has suffered in its rela
tions to the biological sciences. Either ideas have been
thought of as facts wholly apart from bodily life or they
250 PSYCHOLOGY
have been declared in a vague way to be dependent on

laws of physical being. Psychology has oscillated between
a purely theoretical spiritualism and a crass materialism.
The mind has been regarded either as wholly distinct or
as part of the bodily phenomena.
Consciousness as product of evolution. The view to which
our study has led us can be expressed in evolutionary terms.
Gradually the animal world, in working out its reactions to
the environment, has evolved an inner world conditioned
by indirect and tentative reactions . This inner world is
social in many of its characteristics ; that is , it is a world
through which individuals of the same type are drawn into
sympathetic communication . The inner world is one in
which ideas as substitutes for things are rearranged. The
inner world is thus distinct from the lower levels of bodily
adjustment, but is at the same time a part of the economy
of individual relation to the world and is directly evolved
out of the efforts at direct adjustment.
Such an explanation of the place of consciousness in
evolution gives us the fullest justification for our emphasis
on those aspects of ideas which are not copies or reproduc
tions of sensory impressions but new modes of rearranging
experiences .
We shall continue our discussion, accordingly, with a
treatment of the changes produced in experience through
the most elaborate rearrangements in ideas.
CHAPTER XII
IMAGINATION AND THE FORMATION OF

CONCEPTS
Adaptation through ideas. The animal adapts itself to

its environment by cultivating better modes of direct reac
tion, such as greater speed of running or greater skill in
the use of its teeth or claws. Gradually there appears
in the highest animals a new mode of adjustment in the
tendency to organize into social groups. The social group
is a protective device which gives the individual greater
strength than he can cultivate in his own individual organ
ism. As soon as the social group evolves there must grow
up, and there do grow up, types of activity designed to
hold the group together. In man this latter phase of evo
lution culminates, and social coöperation becomes one of the
dominant facts in life. No longer does man compete with
his enemies by cultivating greater and stronger muscles ;
he meets the struggle for existence by social coöperation.
His reactions on the world are in large measure indirect.
He invents a world of social forms which can be described
only by saying that it is an artificial environment of human
making.
In a very real sense this means the evolution of a new
type of adaptation. The competitions of human life are at
a new level, wholly different from those of animal life .
The character of this new type of adaptation can be studied
through an analysis of one system of human behavior such
as commerce, which has no parallel whatsoever in the
animal world.
251
252 PSYCHOLOGY
Early stages of barter. In the earliest stages of exchange

the parties to the transaction demanded direct contact with
the objects bartered . Even at this primitive stage much
self-control and much regard for social relations are ex
hibited . The fact that men will barter at all proves that
they have cultivated ideas to the extent of refraining from
mere brutal seizure of that which they desire and to the
extent of realizing the possibility of giving up one thing
for another. Barter involves in its crudest form some
powers of thought and some attention to social relations.
But barter is always perceptual in its demand that the
commodities to be exchanged be directly accessible in
tangible and visible form.
Barter perceptual . The stories of primitive barter which
show the savage duped by the gaudy color of cheap wares
bear eloquent testimony to the fact that perception is at
this early stage not yet replaced by ideas.
Standard values. After barter began to be understood
and widely practiced, there was cultivated a desire for uni
formity ; that is, for standard methods of exchange . Some
commodity more durable in its qualities than the rest began
to serve as a common standard to which all transactions
were referred . Among hunting tribes all barter is standard
ized in terms of furs . In grazing communities sheep and
cattle become the standards . Through the use of such
standards, ideas of uniform value were developed, and the
mere showy perceptual characteristics of objects receded
into the background .
Symbolic values. The next step in exchange comes
when some very permanent commodity takes on symbolic
value. Wampum is prized not alone because it is a beau
tiful string of shells but because it serves as a counter and
may be passed around as a promissory note for future
delivery of a stipulated number of pelts or tents or arrows.
By the time this stage is reached we must assume high
IMAGINATION AND CONCEPTS 253
powers of association . Wampum has value now because

it calls up ideas and because the social group in increasing
measure guarantees the ideas connected with the symbol.
As with wampum, so with the metals. The ideational
values are finally marked on the metal. Then comes the
paper substitute for the metal and finally the various forms
of commercial credit of modern commerce. One has only
to represent to himself the scene which would follow if a
bank note were offered to a savage hunter in exchange for
game to realize how far from direct perceptual experience
modern commerce has gone.
Evolution from perception to ideas. This sketch of the
evolution of barter into commercial exchange could be par
alleled in every field of human action . Manufacturing with
machinery has replaced the simpler direct contacts of primi
tive life. Travel by borrowed power of animals and finally
by mechanical forces has largely replaced migration of the
savage type. Sanitary regulations and settled modes of urban
life have replaced the life of the forest and the wilderness.
How has all this evolution come about ? There is one and
only one answer. Man has learned to combine and recom
bine ideas, to call on his neighbor for coöperation and for
the further comparison of ideas, and to meet the needs of
life indirectly rather than by direct perceptual responses.
Higher controls of conduct. The transformation of life
thus outlined has not gone on without bringing about the
most radical internal changes in the mind of man. To
the direct and vivid emotions which accompany instinctive
reaction have been added trains of ideas which lead to
deliberate forms of behavior. Human nature has become
complex. There is an element of animal life and of primi
tive devotion to perceptions in every man. We shall never
outgrow instincts or our native impulses to seize the things
about us. But above and beyond these direct modes of
adaptation there is the higher world of ideas. In dealing
254 PSYCHOLOGY
with this higher world a new type of experience has been

evolved. There are new pleasures which come from the fit
ting together of ideas . There are new forms of displeasure
which come from the clash of ideas.
Ideational attitudes. For example, there is a shock when
one hears a profane word which is little less than the shock
from a physical blow. The name of the Deity has associated
itself in all experience with the attitude of reverence, and
when this name is taken out of its proper associations and
used in a reckless fashion, the emotional recoil is violent.
Other examples can be drawn from the cultivated demands
for the use of proper grammatical forms . The child gradu
ally learns that a plural noun demands a plural verb. The
shock which comes from hearing a violation of this rule is
quite as unpleasant as the shock from a sharp, cold breeze
striking the skin. Furthermore, the inner muscular recoils
in the two cases are not unlike . Both involve, among other
factors, an interruption of respiration and a change in the
rate of the heartbeat.
Ideas as substitutes for impressions. When we speak of
the world of ideas as a real world, all the foregoing con
siderations must be kept in mind . Ideas are real in prompting
behavior and in giving directions to our acts. Ideas may
be followed by habitual reactions until they come to demand
these reactions quite as much as do things seen through
the eye or heard through the ear. Ideas may influence the
train of attention quite as much as percepts. For example,
the man who is lost in thought does not attend to the ob
ject coming toward his eyes. In short, ideas have values
comparable in all respects to percepts and in some respects
quite superior.
Imagination as reorganization of ideas. In this chapter
we shall discuss some of the changes which take place in
this world of ideas, for it is important if we are to under
stand the world in which man lives that we shall know the
bear laws of change in his world of ideas. In an earlier connec

thefir tion the laws of memory were discussed . It was there
leasure shown that in some measure the mind holds its ideas fixed
and brings them back under proper conditions so that past
when experiences may operate in present surroundings . When
stock ideas are thus carried forward, they are called memories in
the strict sense, or sometimes they are called images. It
RR
was pointed out in that earlier treatment of the matter that

&
and memories undergo a change in experience. We now turn

to the more elaborate types of such change . For these
and types of change there are a number of names. Sometimes
Tact ideas are described as imaginations. This term is used to
indicate that a mere rearrangement of elements of memories
1has been made. One imagines a horse with wings . The
source of the idea " horse " is memory, likewise of the idea
"
wings, " but the union of these two sets of ideas is an act
of the imagination. When the combinations which go on
in consciousness are purely capricious, we speak of fanciful
imaginations. When, on the other hand, recombinations of
mental processes are worked out systematically and coher
ently, we speak of scientific imagination . Thus a dragon is a
fancy; the imagination of a Columbus or a Watt is scientific
and constructive.
Personifying imagination. One of the most primitive
forms of imagination is that exhibited by savages when
they attribute to inanimate objects the personal character
istics which they find in themselves. The savage never
thinks of thunder or of the wind without putting back of it
in his imagination some personal agency. This form of con
structive thought is the simplest which could originate in
a personal consciousness . An emotion of anger is a more
direct explanation for a natural catastrophe than is some
abstract statement referring to physical force. To modern
thought the myths of early peoples seem like the play of
the most capricious imagination ; to the mind untrained in
256 PSYCHOLOGY
the forms of critical scientific imagination nothing could

be more natural than a myth. Even the trained mind
derives pleasure from the personification of objects, because
it is easy to use the factors from personal experience in all
manner of combinations .
Imaginations occasions of useless activities. Early man
was led by his imaginations to undertake many useless
forms of activity . Thus, he attempted to propitiate the
personalities which his own mind had put into streams and
mountains and trees. There was no direct evidence that
his imaginations were not in conformity with the facts, and
hence the imaginations went on increasing in complexity
until they broke down by their own incoherency.
Critical tests of imaginations. This reference to the fanci
ful imaginations of primitive man introduces us to the
discussion of the more productive forms of imagination in
which the mind does not weave together factors of experi
ence capriciously, but under the guidance of conditions
which limit the freedom of the constructive process . When
imagination is used for purposes of practical construction,
or for the later purposes of science, its products must be
subjected to critical examination by the individual who
develops them. A first principle of criticism of imagination
may be described as the principle of empirical test through
application. The constructs of imagination may be used to
guide activities, and if the activities are not successful, it
will obviously be necessary to go over again the combinations
which were worked out in consciousness and to revise these
combinations with a view to making them more suitable
bases for action . We may speak of this form of criticism
as the practical or empirical test of imagination . If, for
example, a given individual finds that he must get across
a certain stream, he is likely, if he has time and the neces
sary mental development, to consider first in imagination
the means by which he can get across. He determines in
ng could thought that it would be possible by bringing together

med mind certain appliances to make the passage easy. If, on trying
because the expedients which have suggested themselves in his
ce inall thought process , he finds that the idea is a good one,
his imagination receives the confirmation which comes from
质量
rlyman practical utility. If, on the other hand, his imagined device
useless breaks down when put to the practical test, he will be led
ate the to further considerations of a more elaborate character, in
8.
msand order to correct the deficiences which have been shown by

B
B
cethat the practical test to exist in his imagination.

20
ts, and Empirical test often inapplicable. There are many ideal
plexity constructions which cannot be subjected directly to practical
tests. For example, in the course of human history man has
fanci constantly been trying to reconstruct in imagination the process
20
of the development of the earth on which he lives . Our modern
ionin science of geology is an elaborate effort to reconstruct the
spen history of the earth. Obviously, the ideas reached by geology
tions cannot be tested by any single practical act. Man has de
Ther veloped, accordingly, a system of criteria by which he tests
tion the validity of his ideal constructions, even when these ideal
constructions are not directly intended for the practical uses
of life. These theoretical criteria, as we may call them, can
be shown to grow out of the nature of experience itself.
The test of internal agreement. It is demanded by every
human consciousness that the elements of any given idea
shall be harmonious. We have seen that it is true of per
ceptual processes that they have unity and arrangement, such
that all of the conflicting qualitative factors are provided for
in a single experience through the arrangement of the ele
ments of experience in spatial and temporal series. Thus,
even in perceptual consciousness, a certain coherency and
harmony are required of the elements before they can enter
into the percept. Still more when we come to the constructs
of imagination is there a demand for harmony of relations
among the factors which are presented. Thus it would be
258 PSYCHOLOGY
difficult to think of one physical substance as subject to gravity

and another as not. If any factor or relation is recognizably
incongruous with the system of experiences into which it is
introduced, then that system of experience will have to be
rearranged until the whole organization is adapted to the re
ception of the element which was out of harmony with the
other elements , or else the incongruous element will have to
be rejected. Thus, if all substances fall toward the earth and
smoke rises, we must devise an explanation . Scientific imagi
nation , when not susceptible to practical tests, is thus nothing
more nor less than the effort to develop an elaborate system
of congruous ideas.
The criterion of coherency a product of development.
Primitive man does not have this criterion of the harmony I
of all of the elements of thought as fully developed as
does modern science . This is in part due to the limitations
of primitive experience : as when a savage believes thunder
to be a voice because he knows little of either the thunder
or of the mechanism which produces the voice . It is in
part due to a general uncritical attitude : as when in Greek
mythology the earth is borne upon the shoulders of Atlas
because attention was not ordinarily concentrated on the
necessity of supporting Atlas.
The demand for coherency as exhibited in constructive
scientific ideas . It cannot be asserted that the criterion of
harmony among the elements of imagination is applied with
full success even in modern science, but examples can be
given without limit of its application . Thus, it is quite im
possible for us to think of the earth and the sun as related
to each other without, at the same time, conceiving of some
kind of bridge between the earth and the sun . Science has
therefore developed the notion of the ether as a continuous
substance between the earth and all other points in the uni
verse . The ether is not a factor of direct experience in any
form. It is demanded in scientific considerations in order to
make the idea of the solar system and of the universe a co

herent thinkable idea. Ether may, accordingly, be called a
product of imagination. This statement does not deal with
the question of its objective reality ; it merely asserts that
ether comes into scientific experience in response to a demand
for harmony in the ideational system, not through perception .
Uncritical imaginations. The extent to which imaginations
are criticized depends upon the development of the individ
ual who possesses them and upon the type of ideas under
examination. A good illustration of the dependence of criti
cism on individual development was given above in discuss
ing the myths of primitive peoples. Another may be found
in the imaginations of children. It has frequently been said
that children are more imaginative than adults. This state
ment is based on the observation that a child will imagine
many things in connection with its toys and derive a great
deal of satisfaction from these imaginations, when an adult
would be so clearly conscious of the falsity of the imagina
tions that he would derive little pleasure from them. This
observation does not show that the child is more imaginative
than the adult, but it shows that the imaginations in early life
are not subjected to any careful criticism . Almost any men
tal combination is accepted by the child and enjoyed for the
moment without serious criticism . Indeed, the child's experi
ence is often like the savage's, too meager to make it possi
ble for him to construct any systems of thought that shall
constitute the basis for the criticism of his particular imagi
nation. Furthermore, many of the child's activities are not
sufficiently serious to constitute practical tests for his imagi
native constructs. As life goes on and the systems of thought
become more and more closely united with each other, and
the practical demands of individual existence come to be
more strenuous, the indulgence in fanciful imaginations un
checked by criticism becomes less common than it was iņ
early childhood.
260 PSYCHOLOGY
Literary imagination and the canon of coherency. An illus

tration of the way in which the products of imagination may
be subjected to different kinds of criticism is to be found in
the case of literary forms. Literature is an effort to construct
through the exercise of imagination a system of thought
which deals with human interests and human activities . If
this constructive process purports to be held closely in agree
ment with certain records, we call it historical in character,
and we demand that it shall conform to the canons of con
gruity with all the legitimate records of the period in question.
If the construction is, on the other hand, confessedly free
from any particular reference to definite situations, we call it
imaginative literature and recognize its product as fiction.
Even in this case we demand of literature that it shall have
relation to experience . A wholly unnatural creation has no
justification, even in fiction . The particular circumstances
which are grouped together may be circumstances which
never were brought together in the course of human history
or individual life, but the principles of combination must
be recognizable as principles in harmony with the general
nature of human experience .
The canons of criticism in literature are by no means as
clearly definable as are the canons of criticism in scientific .
thought. The reason for this is that literature includes wide
variations in types of individual experience and consequently
permits laxness in the demand that the imagined experiences
shall conform to the particular type of any individual's life.
It is not difficult for us to accept certain rather grotesque and
unusual combinations, provided these combinations of experi
ence are referred to periods in time or points in space remote
from those with which we are ordinarily in contact.
The uncritical forms of thought which preceded science.
The beginnings of what we call scientific thought are obscure,
because the careful comparison of scientific ideas is preceded,
at times by much practical adjustment of activity to the
Anils environment and, at other times, by much uncritical specula

tionm tion. The practical effort to adjust one's activities to the
foundin world leads to certain systems of ideas. Thus, the child
onstrat always looks for the causes of the happenings which come
hough into his experience long before he formulates in clear, explicit

ies, I thought the statement that every event has a cause. When
he hears a noise, he has a vague notion of something back of
agt!
racter the noise. In the same way men must have sought causes in
practical life long before there was any science. They also
fon
had ideas which they used in the constructive activities of
free life, such as ideas regarding the strength and durability of

certain building materials. In addition to these practical
ideas there were speculative ideas. Superstitions of all kinds
flourished in the uncritical thought of primitive man. If a
ENara
bird flew across his path, he thought of infinite varieties of
good or ill. There is a certain sense in which all these
superstitious and practical ideas constitute the beginnings
of science. They furnished the thought material which,
when sifted and organized into systematic form, constitutes
1 science. The methods for sifting and organizing this thought
material are the essential additions to mental life which came
with science.
First sciences limited to facts remote from life. When
the systems of coherent ideas began to emerge from the
original chaos of practical and superstitious constructs, it is
striking that the facts remote from individual control were
the earliest to yield to the organizing endeavors of thought.
It was possible to construct a system of consistent scientific
ideas regarding celestial movements, because these remoter
facts were far enough from individual life to be observed
without perplexing minor incongruities. The nearer facts of
any situation are too full of variations to fall into anything
like an harmonious system without the most elaborate idea
tional reconstruction . Thus, a science of social relations and
a science of mental processes could develop only after man
262 PSYCHOLOGY
had become so thoroughly devoted to the forms of scientific

thought that he could follow facts in long series, could
deliberately assume some attitude other than that of direct
personal relationship, and, consequently, could trace out
certain abstract relations in the midst of the complex of
varying elements .
Scientific concepts . Let us consider one of the scientific
constructs built up in the course of the development of phys
ical science . Such a construct is called a scientific concept.
An example of such a concept is that of the atom. Man
found, as he examined the bodies about him, that these
bodies underwent certain changes which were indicative of
unperceived characteristics . It was important to understand
these characteristics in dealing with the bodies for practical
purposes . For example, water freezes, stones crumble, metals
expand and contract with changes in temperature . Man must
have noted many of these changes and many of their condi
tions very early in his dealings with such substances, but he
had no direct means of observing what went on in the mass
of the matter itself. He therefore set about, at least as far
back as the early Greeks, trying to form some idea of the
changes which must take place within the substance, in order
to explain the changes which he observed. Certain of the
Greek thinkers drew upon the forms of experience with
which they were familiar — namely, their experience of com
posite matter made of separate parts and formulated the
concept that all substances are made up of particles which
are separated by intervals of space. They concluded , further,
that the particles which they assumed as the elements of the
substance must be capable of greater and less separation
from one another, as in expansion and contraction , and also
that they must be capable of rearrangements, such that the
appearance of the whole substance is modified without de
stroying the particles . Through such considerations as these,
some of the early scientists came ultimately to refer to the
‫می‬
Scienting
smallest particles of any given substance as atoms, and to
describe these atoms as separated from one another by space,
and as constituting by their composition the observed body.
ace The physicist or chemist to-day uses this very valuable con
plex 身 cept in his thought about substances ; he constantly refers
to atoms, although he never expects that he will be able to
cientif see an atom, or to test the validity of his mental construct
ofphys by the sense of touch. Indeed, the atom is an idea needed
oncept by science just because science has to bring together into
an harmonious ideal system more than can be discovered in
thes any single inspection or handling of an object.
ived Validity of concepts. When such statements as these are
made, some persons think that the validity of the scientific
concept is seriously called in question . On the contrary,
there is no higher guarantee for any form of knowledge
than that it is demanded in order to render congruous the
whole system of experience. As we have seen, in all of the
earlier discussions of perception and ideation, experience has
many higher phases which cannot be resolved into direct
sensory elements. The validity of space as a form of ex
perience cannot be called in question because it is a relational
rather than a sensational phase of experience. For similar
reasons, the construction of a concept is justified as a result
of a higher organization of experience . The method of arriv
ing at such an ideal construct is indeed indirect ; but the
concept has all of the validity which belongs to experience
as an organized system.
Abstraction. When ideas are completely under the con
trol of the individual, they may be arranged according to
principles which are set up by thought itself. Thus, one
may decide that it is desirable to group together all round
objects or all hollow objects. There then arises an idea of
roundness or of hollowness which is called an abstract idea.
The term " abstract "" means that something has been " cut
off." When we think of roundness alone, we neglect color
|
264 PSYCHOLOGY
and position and weight. We can cut off the one quality
and make it a subject of attention because the power of
thought has been developed to the point where inner motives
are stronger than external motives.
Generalization . Furthermore, whenever the mind reaches
the stage where it can select and concentrate on single as
pects or attributes of experience, it can at the same time
group together under each selected attribute many individual
cases. This is called the power of generalization . Thus,
once the mind has fixed on roundness as a selected attribute
of objects, it can bring together and group in one class the
earth, a ball, an apple, etc.
Abstraction and generalization are valuable not merely as
feats of inner control ; they make possible highly developed
forms of conduct . If one can select and hold steadily be
fore the mind one aspect of an object, conduct can be made
more effective through concentration than when the observer
is distracted and confused by an effort to deal with unanalyzed
complexity.
We shall find ourselves coming back to this topic later
when we take up volition as the highest form of behavior.
The more fully ideas are abstracted and generalized, the
more conduct will be guided by inner motives. The man
who sees values in objects and decides to be thrifty is guided
by an abstraction and is so far forth acting in response to
an inner motive .
Judgments and reasoning. After a concept has been for
mulated, it may become part of a still more complex mental
process which includes several ideas . Thus, when two con
cepts are related as in the statement " The sun is the center
of the solar system, " the whole process is termed a judgment.
When two or more judgments are united for the purpose
of setting up an even more complex combination, the whole
process is called reasoning. An example of reasoning is as
follows : The sun is the center of the solar system ; any
central body in a system of this type must have a control

ling influence over the other members of the system ; hence
we should look for the control of the sun over the earth and
the other planets .
Logic. It is not in place here to give an account of the
various types of judgment and reasoning. It is the function
of the science of logic to study the complex processes of
thought and to develop the rules under which the validity
of these processes may be tested. We must content our
selves in an introductory treatment such as this with certain
comments which will serve to call attention to the psycho
logical character of these complex forms of ideational experi
ence. Perhaps the best single topic with which to introduce
a psychology of logic is the topic of belief. Let us consider,
therefore, what is meant by the statement " I believe a
certain conclusion to be true."
Primitive belief. The first and most direct case of belief
is that in which I assent to any combination of ideas be
cause my natural tendency is to accept combinations of ideas
when there is no reason to deny what is presented. The
psychological fact is that ideas which stand together in the
mind unchallenged by other experiences are accepted as
coherent and acceptable. Thus, when I was a child I be
lieved in Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Bean Stalk
because my experience was too limited to deny these stories.
Belief after hesitation. A higher form of belief comes
after one has hesitated. In such cases the statements are
not immediately accepted. This means that they arouse
series of associations which suggest various conflicting forms
of statement. At this stage there is a restlessness, and other
forms of statement are tried ; other authorities are cited . It
may be that one goes out and tests the conclusion by practi
cal behavior. If the first opposition is broken down by one
or the other of these influences, there results in the end a
waning of the suggested contradictions.
266 PSYCHOLOGY
Belief a positive psychological fact. There can be no

doubt that belief in all these cases is something more than
the mere hearing of certain sounds or the mere coupling
together of certain ideas . When we say that the idea is
accepted, we undoubtedly refer to some positive physiolog
ical process. Belief is related to the fact that a sensory
impression goes through the nervous system to some form
of positive expression without being opposed . If it were
checked by encountering some current opposing it, we
should be restless and the feeling would be one of hesita
tion . Assent is a genuine process of a positive type . Such
a positive process will usually issue in a definite motor re
sponse. It may be that the motor process is a mere nod
of the head or an inner emotional twinge . The important
fact is that the nervous process issues in a positive dis
charge. The motor discharge may be in itself insignificant,
but the fact that it occurs and the fact that it is positive
in character give to experience that special turn or coloring
which we designate by the term " belief."
Spurious verbal belief. Such considerations lead to brief
comment on what is called mere verbal assent. It is possi
ble for one to give assent carelessly by merely repeating
what he hears . Many students accept what they find in
books in this way. The motor paths leading to the speech
centers seem to be stimulated directly by the eyes as they
read, or by the ears as they hear. Reaction is of little value
in such cases. It is a kind of shunt circuit . The impres
sion does not get mixed in the association areas with any
forms of ideation which confuse or interrupt the direct
transmission to the speech center. The result is a specious
belief and a useless form of nervous and mental reaction.
There is nothing more fatal to true mental organization
than this short-circuiting of the eyes and ears to the vocal
centers . It is one of the penalties which man pays for the
development of an indirect mode of behavior.
here can be Habitual belief. Another highly developed form of belief

hingmore is that which comes from the organization in individual life
mere couple of certain habitual modes of response. Thus the physicist
at the idea learns, in spite of sensory testimony to the contrary, to
tive physics think of every substance as porous. He finds that his be
that a sensit liefs are all conditioned by conformity to this cultivated
tosome for idea. If any remark is made or any fact turns up which
d. Hie runs counter to this accepted principle, the new proposal
J
Dosingit, will be rejected . Beliefs are thus not unlike the funda
one ofbest mental emotional attitudes. They are very real factors in
type S thought, though they are not made up of memory images.
te motor Religious belief not instinctive. Certain writers, im
a mere pressed with the similarity of beliefs to emotional attitudes,
e importan have regarded certain well-established beliefs, such as reli

ositived gious beliefs, as instinctive. The belief in the Deity, in im
signifier mortality, in the certainty of moral categories, is held by

isposti these authors to be no less primitive in human nature than
orcobri the fundamental desire for food, for physical comfort, and for
companionship. On the other hand, it is held by others that
such beliefs are the results of developed systems of ideas.
ed to
Sentiments not instinctive. The latter formula, which is
tis p
repem the more defensible, suggests the explanation of many of
findi the so-called sentiments and tastes of later life. They are
c
espe connected with acquired modes of behavior. Certainly, if
as the one studies the life and practices of savages, he finds a
1x striking parallelism between behavior and tribal belief. The
the
savage practices certain customs, and they come to have for
impres
him the sanction of the highest religious demands. So in
ith27
civilized life as well. The sanctions of society are bred into
dire
Decis our very beings until we believe in the necessity of social
Ctr ' conformity.
Social life and the higher mental processes . Efforts have
BOXE been made in the recent literature of sociology and psychol
ogy to explain social institutions as the products of instinc
tive tendencies. The argument of this chapter is that belief
268 PSYCHOLOGY
which grows out of systematic thinking, while it may have

the appearance of an instinctive emotion, is in reality the
product of the highest types of mental activity. Social
sanctions are evolved through association and comparisons
of ideas and through the evolution of modes of social be
havior. Society may rest on instinctive tendencies, but its
forms and operations are all worked out through the use of
language. Everywhere in social life one finds abstractions.
now of a higher type, now of a lower. Social life is a prod
uct of thought and ideation, not of blind instinct.
Fields for the application of psychology of ideas. This
chapter must close with these mere outlines of discussions
of the higher mental life. That there is a field for a psy
chological study of all the higher forms of appreciation is
indicated by what has been said . This matter will be
touched on again in a later chapter dealing with the appli
cations of psychology.
There is a psychology of invention in which the indi
vidual is studied at those critical moments when a new set
of associations is being evolved within him . There is a
psychology of education which must distinguish between
learning of a true type and learning to repeat words out of
books . There is a psychology of social theory and social
conduct. The formula for all of these is a formula of organ
ized mental processes leading to various forms of expres
sion . If the student has grasped the import of this general
formula, he will be able to unravel the particular types of
organization which appear in each of these spheres.
-4 2
CHAPTER XIII
THE IDEA OF THE SELF
The idea of self sometimes regarded as matter of direct T

knowledge. Among the ideas which are built up in practical 14
life and refined by scientific study, there is one which is of
special significance to the student of psychology. It is the
idea which each person has of himself. So significant is
this idea for our ordinary thought that it has sometimes
been described in terms which imply that one knows one
self directly as though through some kind of immediate per
ception . One is supposed to look within and there find an
inner reality which is known and recognized without any of
the ordinary steps that enter into the process of knowing
reality.
Idea of self a concept. That the self is a being which
can be directly perceived is, however, contradicted by all the
facts of development. The child does not know himself
until after he has had a series of experiences. Even the
adult has something to learn about himself with each new
turn of conscious life. The idea of self must therefore be
described as a concept which matures in the course of ex
perience just as does any other scientific or practical idea.
First stages of personal development not self-conscious.
Let us attempt to formulate what we know of the most
primitive stages of experience, in order that we may arrive
at some notion of what consciousness is like before there is
any recognition of the self. The simplest forms of animal
behavior, as has been repeatedly pointed out, do not indicate
any clear marking off of impression from expression. The
269
270 PSYCHOLOGY
activity which follows upon impression is so direct that there

is no time for the interpolation of any factor, either in the
nervous system or in consciousness, between impression and
expression. Much the same kind of situation appears when
we examine the human infant . There is an inherited mech
anism in the instincts which supplies appropriate responses
to stimuli, and as a result there is little or no consciousness
of any kind involved in reacting to the impression - cer
tainly no recognition of one's own personality. Sensation
and response blend in an experience which is overwhelm
ingly emotional in character and not at all capable of dis
tinguishing one factor of the situation from another. Such
experience includes no separate idea of oneself.
Gradual discrimination of self from things. The develop
ment from this point is toward the discrimination of phases
of experience. Probably there is a gradual differentiation of
the sensory elements from one another and of the sensory
elements from the individual's attitudes and responses. As
soon as things begin to be recognized, there must be at
tendency to formulate all one's feelings and attitudes into
a kind of personal unity or self. The construction of such
a personal core or self in contrast with things is a slow and
complex process .
Child's early notion of self largely objective. Undoubt
edly, a child's contact with his own body is very important
in building up some early crude distinctions between im
pressions and attitudes . When the child handles his own
feet, he finds that the impression he receives , and the atti
tudes into which he is thrown by the double stimulation of
two parts of his body, are entirely different from the impres
sions which he receives and the simpler attitudes into which
he is thrown by the stimulation of one of his members
through some external object. He thus comes to distinguish
between his body and the external world. The body is a
part of the world with characteristics different from the
THE IDEA OF THE SELF 271
that the other factors which he recognizes through his senses. There
er inthe is probably some ground in this fact for the statement that
ssionand the child's earliest recognition of himself is of the nature of
arswhe a percept and relates to his physical organism. The rela
edme tively objective character of the experience of self at this
espons stage is shown by the fact that, in addition to his own body,
JOUSTes the child attaches to himself, as a part of what he calls him
1-18 self, the possessions which he comes to recognize as his
nsation individual property. The external world is broken up into the
what meum and tuum, and the general notion of that which belongs
oft to the individual himself is gradually distinguished from that
Suc which belongs to others, but the meum is not primarily a sub
jective fact. It is looked at through consciousness, but that
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consciousness is very little self-consciousness in the purely

을
할
도
hess subjective sense in which we use that term in mature life.

onit The idea of self as related to discrimination between the
objective and subjective. Such considerations as these tend
to show that the idea of self is a product of discrimina
tive analysis rather than a fact of immediate perceptual
consciousness. So far as we understand immediate con
sciousness in its early stages, there appears to be little or
no ground for assuming that there is present any complete
discrimination of the self on the one hand and things on
the other. Even in mature life the distinction between the
self and nonself is not always drawn. The man who is
hurrying to catch a street car has a vivid experience, but
it is not nicely analyzed. The hungry man with food before
him is little more self-conscious, if, indeed, any more self
conscious, than the animal which spends all of its time and
energy in the eager pursuit of food.
The self discovered by contrast with not-self. What
brings any individual to a clear recognition of himself will
probably depend upon the accidents of individual fortune.
The struggle of personal interests with some unyielding
objective fact may accomplish it. The development of an
272 PSYCHOLOGY
idea of some other self, opposed in interest to the self, is

often a powerful incentive to the recognition of one's own
self. Historically, it has repeatedly been pointed out that
the national spirit, which is analogous to personal self
consciousness, often grows out of some contest. In like
fashion, the clear idea of the self undoubtedly rises out of
some contest of opposing interests.
Social consciousness and self-consciousness . The conflict
of interests may take a purely social form , as in the use of
language. One sees that all the words referring to spatial
directions , for example, center about one's own body. One
finds that active or passive verbs have reference to some
person. One finds, in short, that one's own expressions are
arranged and organized around a different center than are
the expressions of every other human being. So impressive
does this contrast between individual attitudes become that
ultimately, when we find ourselves in agreement with others,
we are impressed with the agreement, as in earlier cases we
were impressed by the differences, in mental attitude. The
result is that our contact with the social world is a constant
stimulus to the development of a more and more clearly
defined recognition of the self. The child undoubtedly
comes to self-consciousness through his use of language
more than through any other means.
The self at first not a scientific concept, but a practical
concept. Some idea of the self, based upon discrimination
of one's own attitudes from the attitudes of other persons,
is developed in a wholly unscientific way by every individual,
just as the discrimination of the individual body and of
one's personal possessions from the rest of the physical
world arises naturally in the course of personal life without
any effort at systematic definition. Beyond this natural dis
crimination one may attempt to cultivate a more highly
refined formulation of his personal attitudes and personal
characteristics, and yet not pass directly into science.
the s Cultivated self-consciousness. To illustrate certain cases

of one's in which self-consciousness takes a form other than the
edon the scientific, we may refer first to literary criticism. If a
rsonal sel reader begins the criticism of any piece of literature, he
st. E will constantly be contrasting the impression which the
Ises author intended to produce with the personal attitude
22
aroused in himself through the statements which he reads.

heco There will thus be a certain social contrast between the
the use individual and the author, and this is deliberately cultivated
28
tosp for the purpose of refining and critically elaborating one's

A
dy. ( own taste. In some cases this may take the form of an
to$ effort to conform personal tastes or attitudes to the stand
SIOKS ards which have evidently been adopted by great masters.
her There is here an unquestionable tendency to refine self
consciousness at the same time that one cultivates attitudes
press?
toward the objective facts.
The religious motive for self-consciousness. Another
illustration of the nonscientific cultivation of the concept
of the self will appear if we refer to the attitude which is
assumed by many individuals in the contemplation of their
own origin and destiny. The religious attitude has un
doubtedly contributed more to the definition of self in the
minds of unscientific individuals than any other system of
thought or activity in the world's history. One here asks
himself how fully his own personal attitudes conform to
what he understands to be the demands of the laws gov
erning his destiny. The system of laws, which he accepts
as a system of higher law, may be derived from very dif
ferent sources ; but in any case, whether it be the religious #
faith of the savage or the systematized theology of the
most highly cultivated devotee of an elaborate religious
system, there is always in religious thought and aspiration a
comparison between the demands of the religious system and
the demands of individual interest and feeling. The notion f
of the self comes to have a compactness and importance
274 PSYCHOLOGY
under this system of religious self-examination which it

could never attain by mere social contrast with the experi
ences of other individuals or in the presence of physical
objects. Questions of ultimate destiny arise, and these
are answered in terms of a self which is much more
highly elaborated than the bodily or material self upon
which man concentrates his attention in the early stages
of individual life or the primitive stages of mental develop
ment. We find, however, many indications, as we look
into savage customs, of a curious mixture of the primitive
bodily self and the religious self. The savage always pro
tects with great care the bodily remains of those whom he
would serve, and he mutilates and destroys the body of an
enemy. The bodily self is here recognized as the tangible
aspect of personality.
Scientific idea of personality. As contrasted with these
unsystematic efforts at self-realization , the science of psy
chology aims to build up a thorough idea of the nature
and relations of the self. The self becomes for our science
a being whose laws of organized life must be discovered
and explained .
The self can be fully described and understood only
through studies of the type which have been outlined in
the foregoing chapters. The self is a being which per
ceives and forms concepts ; it remembers and expresses
itself in regular habits . It is characterized by emotions
and by elaborate ideational forms of thought. The self is, |
however, not merely a chance collection of percepts and
habits and ideas. There is one attribute of the conscious
self which stands out as of paramount importance . The
self is a unity. It expresses itself now in one direction,
now in another, but in all its various manifestations it is
an organized unit. Whatever conscious states the self pos
sesses are modified by virtue of the fact that all aspects
of individual consciousness are united in the one being.
Fon which The only analogy which can be used in expounding this
the exe type of being is the analogy of life. The living being is
an organized unity.
ofphysi
andthe The chief item in the concept of life the abstract idea
nuch m of organization. Such statements as the foregoing are con

fusing to certain students of science . They profess to
selfup
know what an atom or an object is, but they say of life
arly stag
that it is not a scientific entity because it is not simple,
l devel
and they say of conscious selves that they are not entities
We
in any such scientific sense as are atoms and physical
primaire
forces . Some chemists, for example, would reduce life to
ways fir
mere coexistence of atoms in a complex molecule of pro
whom
toplasm. It is, indeed, true that there is a chemistry of
dyofc
protoplasm. The significant fact, however, is that once
tangi
the molecule of protoplasm became organized it began to t
exercise functions which were absolutely new. It began
to reproduce, to contract, to show irritability, and to take
f
in foreign particles and transform them into new molecules
Dat
of protoplasm. The world began to take on a new aspect
when protoplasm came into it. One cannot continually
Kac
look backward to chemical elements in treating of pro
toplasm ; he must look forward to the effects produced
(1 )
2 by protoplasm .
Unity of self. So it is with a conscious being. Such
a being is conditioned by sense organs and central nervous
processes, but a description of these conditions does not
exhaust the account. The self has become through organi
zation a unit in the world, capable of affecting in some
measure the doings of this world.
The self as an efficient cause. A conscious being is, ac
cordingly, different from a being not endowed with mind just
in the degree in which the conscious being can produce
effects which depend on consciousness. To deny the reality
of the conscious self is to repudiate a scientific concept which
is as fully justified as the concept solar system.
276 PSYCHOLOGY
Self as a valid scientific concept. Yet certain writers

deny the right of science to deal with the idea of self.
They say that the self is never seen as is the object which
gives us a visual impression . They say that physical reality
can be known, but the knowing self is something intangible
and unapproachable by scientific methods. The difficulty in
the whole situation is that the individual who is trying to
explain and understand himself sometimes loses sight of
the central fact of his own mental life, as he explores the
conditions which surround this central personality. The
central personality is taken so much for granted that sci
entific description tends to deal with all that leads up to
personality, and there it stops, finding its chief subjects
of thought in these surrounding facts rather than in the
central result of all the organized conditions . Some day
the historian of thought will write it down as one of the
curious fallacies of immature science that certain physiol
ogists, biologists, and even psychologists, were satisfied to
call their own personalities mere by-products, without es
sential significance in the world , just because they did not
find consciousness capable of description in the regular scien
tific formulas adopted for the discussion and explanation of
external reality.
One hardly knows how to find phrases in which to
answer those who hold consciousness to be less real and
potent than physical forces . Certainly, nature has protected
and conserved consciousness throughout the whole develop
ment of the animal kingdom. Certainly, the world is dif
ferent because consciousness has been evolved. Certainly,
consciousness is no less real than are its conditions ; and,
finally, consciousness is certainly much more directly
approachable to the student of science than is matter.
Concept of unity. These are the statements which de
scribe the psychologist's concept of the self. Such a con
cept is no less clear and well established than the concepts
ain whi of all science. Indeed, it is from one's own ideas of him
ad . self that the notion of external unities is derived . When
ect one comes back time and time again to the same object and
icalread recognizes it as familiar and attributes to it a continuity
intangid: which goes far beyond anything he can observe through his
fficulty senses, he is projecting a concept of unity derived from his
tryingt own experience into the world of outer realities. When sci
sight ence thinks of the earth as a unity, or of the universe as a
ores t unity, this is a concept, not a percept. The same kind of
F comprehensive generalization appears in the practical and [
hat s scientific study of self. It is probably not true that animals
=40 recognize their own unity. Experience with them is, as it
is with us, a succession of interrelated events, but the sur
vey of the total succession is not possible in the undeveloped
animal consciousness. It is probably not true that children
have any broad view of the unity of their personalities. The
ability to remember is one of the most significant special
experiences from which we derive the content with which to
construct a broader self. The ultimate recognition of the most
comprehensive unity is a conceptual rather than perceptual
fact, even after memory has made its full contribution .
The self a concept. One must be satisfied with a scien
tific description of the self. One can never see the self
directly. To demand that the details of the total unity be
filled in with a concrete image or illustration is to demand
even more than natural science would demand, if it required
a direct perceptual representation of its ultimate substances,
such as the atoms.
CHAPTER XIV
DISSOCIATION
Disorganized personality in contrast with normal self.

The discussions of the last chapter, as well as the detailed
description of mental processes of various types, show how
essential is the concept of self unity. This lesson is power
fully reënforced by considering certain abnormal states in
which the unitary self gives way to disintegrating forces and
leaves the self broken down and unable to play its part in
the world.
Illusions and hallucinations. Every form of mental pa
thology or abnormality is in some sense a case of malorgani
zation or disintegration. There are certain mild cases of
irregularity which may be classed as forms of maladaptation,
rather than distinctly pathological cases. Such are, for ex
ample, our geometrical illusions . As we saw in our earlier
discussions, an illusion is always an incomplete organization
of the sensations presented to the observer. Defects in or
ganization may be carried very much further in the case of
a person who has what are known as hallucinations. An
individual may, for example, have an irritation upon some
part of the skin which, under normal conditions, would be
neglected or, at most, treated as an inconvenient excitation
of the part ; but if the organizations of mental life are un
stable because of some general diseased condition of the
individual, this excitation in a certain part of the skin may
become the center for a most abnormal combination of ex
periences and may lead to the development of a distinctly
abnormal type of interpretation . Everything that suggests
278
DISSOCIATION 279.
itself to the mind may be made subservient to this stimula

tion, until finally the person constructs an imaginary world,
giving the abnormal excitation a value and importance which,
in normal life, it could never have had. He may come to
believe that he is made of glass or stone, or he may think
that someone is attacking him with poisons or acids . These
illustrations will serve to make clear what is meant by the
statement that abnormal mental experiences are always ex
periences which result from irregularities in organization,
and commonly involve more or less disorganization or dis
sociation of the elements which should be combined.
Sleep, the influence of drugs, hypnosis, and insanity as
forms of disorganization . We may examine three distinct
cases of dissociation in order to make clear in detail what
is meant by mental disorganization . First, there is in sleep
a form of normal suspension of central nervous activity which
has been provided by nature for the purpose of recuperating
the individual. This nervous condition is accompanied by a
temporary interruption of normal conscious processes . Sec
ond, there are certain forms of dissociation and partial re
construction which are very similar in character to sleep, but
do not serve the purposes of recuperation as does normal
sleep. The conditions here referred to may be induced by
the use of drugs or by certain other devices, conspicuous
among which are the methods of inducing hypnosis. Finally,
the dissociations and partial reconstructions, which are tem
porary in hypnosis and after the use of certain drugs, may
appear in a great variety of relatively permanent forms in
the different types of insanity. One or two of these typical
forms of insanity will be referred to later, in order to
exemplify the conditions which result from permanent
disorganization .
The physiological conditions of sleep. The physiological
conditions which present themselves in the nervous system
during sleep are not fully understood, but their general
280 PSYCHOLOGY
character can be described with sufficient clearness for our

purposes. In the first place, the condition of fatigue in the
nerve cell has been found to be a condition of somewhat
depleted tissue in the cell body. There are also certain
chemical changes resulting from fatigue. These are demon
strated by the different degrees
to which fatigued and normal
cells respectively take on the
coloring substances which are
used in staining microscopic
sections of the tissue. The
protoplasm of the fatigued
B.
cells, as seen from Fig. 58, is
in part exhausted as a result
of the processes of stimulation
through which they have passed.
Sleep must be a condition in
which these cells are supplied
with nutrition and return to
FIG. 58. Fatigued cells their normal state of energy
Two sections A and B from the first
and activity. During the period
thoracic spinal ganglion of a cat. B is
from the ganglion which has been elec of sleep, each cell seems to be
trically stimulated through its nerve capable of insulating itself from
for five hours. A is from a correspond
ing resting ganglion. The nuclei N of the neighboring parts of the
the fatigued cells are seen to take a nervous system . There are
darker stain and to be very irregular
in outline. The general protoplasm of some extreme conditions, prob
the cell bodies is also less uniform in ably pathological in character,
density in the fatigued cells. (After
Hodge) in which the dendrites of the
nerve cells curl up and form,
instead of extending branches, little knotty balls across
which stimulations cannot easily pass . This curling up of
the dendrites is probably a very much more radical change

than occurs under the ordinary conditions of sleep. The
synapses, or interlacing of fibers, which connect a cell
with other cells or incoming fibers, are interrupted in most
DISSOCIATION 281
ssfor cases, not by any gross movement of the dendrites but rather
que in by some chemical change in the tissue which makes it
soment difficult for the stimulation to pass across from one cell to
50 cent another. There are known chemical substances which affect
eden primarily the synapses and prevent stimulations from being
tdegr transmitted from cell to cell. All of these indications go to
not show that the nerve cell, when it enters on the process of
onth recuperation, tends to give up its normal transmitting func 1
miche tion, and devotes itself for the time being to the processes
LOSTU of building up tissue.
Tr The closing of avenues of stimulation in sleep . The ex
atic ternal characteristics of a sleeping individual are clearly
intelligible in terms of the physiological changes which have
TEND been described. In the first place, the individual becomes
less and less susceptible to stimulations from the outside
2469 world. This means that when any form of external energy
acts on the nervous system, it finds the nervous system rela
tively inert. The receiving organs are closed and their cells
are probably in a chemical condition unfavorable to any vig
orous activity. Even when stimulations are received at the
periphery and are transmitted to the central nervous system ,
they make headway through the tissues with the greatest
difficulty. They do not follow the well-defined paths which
are used in normal life, but are diffused throughout the
whole organ .
Various degrees of dissociation. The condition of the

individual need not be a condition of complete sleep in
order to show this inertness of the nervous system. There
are many conditions of fatigue in which the nervous system
shows, before sleep sets in, more or less of a tendency to
resist external stimulation. Furthermore, the different stages
of sleep are by no means equal in their degree of dissocia
tion . This has been shown by experiments in which the
amount of noise necessary to arouse a sleeping individual
has been made the measure of the intensity of sleep. The
282 PSYCHOLOGY
result of such experiments is to show that a person goes to

sleep rapidly and profoundly during the early part of the
night, and from this time on gradually comes back to a con
dition of susceptibility to stimulation . Fig. 59 shows a sleep
curve of the kind which results from these experiments.
S
800
700
600
500
A
400
300
200
100
Hours 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 7.8
FIG. 59. Curve showing the intensity of sound necessary to awaken a
sleeper at different periods of sleep
Along the horizontal line are represented the hours of sleep ; along the vertical, the
relative intensities of sound. Thus, at the end of the first half hour an intensity of
sound somewhat over six hundred is necessary to awaken the sleeper. At the end
of two hours the intensity of sound is approximately one hundred. The curve indi
cates that the sleeper falls rapidly into a profound sleep and then gradually comes
into a condition of very light slumber preceding for a long time the waking. (After
Kohlschütter)
The curve rises rapidly, indicating, as stated, that the amount

of stimulation necessary to arouse the nervous system in
creases rapidly in the early hours of sleep ; it falls off
gradually toward the end, indicating a gradual waking of
the subject .
Dissociation in the central processes . Not only are the
cells of the sleeper's nervous system impervious to external
stimulation, but they are uncoupled in such a way that the
stimulations which succeed in entering the nervous system
DISSOCIATION 283
do not follow the ordinary paths of discharge . This uncoup

=rson ge
ling of the central nerve cells does not take place in equal
partof 2
ckto degree in all parts of the nervous system. The large cells
owsade of the spinal cord are able to resist the effects of fatigue,
and the spinal cord may be said never to sleep under normal
xperi
conditions. For this reason, stimulations which reach the
spinal cord from the surface of the body are always trans
formed into reflex impulses and sent to the muscles of the
trunk and limbs . The spinal cord is in this case uncoupled,
not within itself, but only with reference to the higher centers.
The reflexes are very much simpler in form and more likely
to appear under these conditions than when the stimulus has
an open path to the higher centers. Thus a cold or uncom
fortable hand will always be moved reflexly in sleep. The
medulla, like the cord, seems to be able to resist, to a great
extent, the tendencies toward fatigue, for many of the organic
processes, such as circulation and respiration, are maintained
through the nerve centers in the medulla, while the rest of
the nervous system is closed to external stimulation and to
any well-ordered activities.
Dreams as dissociated groups of ideas. One effect of the
uncoupling of the various nerve tracts in the organs of the
central nervous system above the medulla is that any proc
esses which take place in these higher organs because of
strong stimulations, or because of some abnormal excita
bility in the nervous system, are fleeting and irregular. The
higher centers probably do not all of them sink into the
same degree of inactivity even in a normal individual, and
the slightest abnormality may result in a heightened activity
in certain parts . The facts of consciousness which corre
spond to these irregular, detached activities in the central
nervous system during sleep are easily understood when it
is recognized that the nervous system is acting not as a
single organized system but as a disorganized group of
centers. To put the matter in terms of experience, one may
284 PSYCHOLOGY
say that an idea which presents itself during sleep is not

related to the general body of ideas by which the experi
ences of ordinary life are checked and held under criticism.
If, in ordinary life, the idea suggests itself to some indi
vidual that he has enormous possessions, he is immediately
reminded by the evidences of his senses and by the familiar
surroundings and limitations of his sphere of action that the
idea is merely a subjective imagination. If, on the other
hand, one should have this idea in his dreams, under con
ditions which would remove it from all restricting relations,
it would obviously be compelling in its force and would be
accepted by consciousness as an unqualified and unlimited
truth . It would be dissociated from the other ideas which
fill normal consciousness, and this dissociation would deter
mine its character in such a way as to make it distinctly
different from the processes of coherent thought built up in
normal life.
Dreams impressive only because they are uncriticized.
It will be seen from such considerations as these that a
mature individual is brought in his sleep into a condition
somewhat similar to that exhibited in the irregular and un
restrained imaginings of children. The young child con
structs imaginations and is quite unable to criticize them
because of his lack of experience and because of the lack of
organization within his experience. The lines of organiza
tion are not laid down in the child ; in the dreaming adult,
though systems of ideas have been built up, they are for
the time being interrupted, and the processes of mental life
lapse into unsystematic and uncritical forms . There is, for
this reason, a certain freedom from all kinds of restraint,
which accounts for the highly erratic character of dreams.
Motor processes suspended by dissociations in sleep. The
third characteristic of sleep follows naturally from these
which we have been discussing. Muscular movements are
almost completely suspended in normal sleep. The muscles
DISSOCIATION 285
ngsleepi relax more than they do in any condition of waking life, just
ich the because the nervous system sends only very much reduced
under cr stimulations to the muscles, and, as we have repeatedly
to some seen, the muscles are quite unable to perform their work
Simmett when they are not stimulated by the nerves. The few
ythefir straggling stimulations which succeed in getting through
ctionthe the nervous system to the muscles are lower reflexes or they
on the are irregular and without coördination. The movements
under which appear are, therefore, often more incoherent than the
5
greb fleeting dream experiences which accompany the activities
dwork in the central nervous organs. Indeed, in most cases, any 1
unli intense movements of the muscles during sleep indicate a
leas distinctly abnormal condition and are closely related in char
Gold & acter to the irregular coördinations which appear in certain
distic forms of drug poisoning .
wiltgp Narcotic drugs dissociative in their effects . The discus
sion of the phenomena which attend the use of drugs will
aid in the understanding of what has been said about sleep.
It is a familiar fact that certain narcotics produce a condi
nd tion very closely related to sleep. The narcotic drug closes
and the avenues of sensory reception, reduces central activity or
renders its processes irregular and incoherent, and suspends
muscular contraction. If the drug is taken in a relatively
small dose, so that its effect upon the nervous system is
slight, these various effects may be produced in slight
degree only. The effect in this case will be most marked
in the irregularity of ideas and in the incoördination of
the movements .
Effect of alcohol on the nervous system. A familiar effect
of a drug is the intoxication which is produced by alcohol.
The chemical condition of nerve cells and consequently the
relations between them are in some way affected by alcohol,
and the stimulations are interrupted or become irregular
in their transmission through the tissues. The fact that a
!
man under the influence of alcohol sees things moving
286 PSYCHOLOGY
irregularly, or sees them double, depends upon the incoördina

tion of the muscles of the eyes. The fact that he is unable
to walk steadily shows the incoördination of the muscles of
the legs . There is a corresponding irregularity in the flow of
his ideas ; and his credulousness for the ideas which suggest
themselves to him is analogous to the ordinary credulous
ness of a dreaming sleeper. The imperviousness of such an
individual to the stimulations of the outside world is also
a well-known fact.
Overexcitation is also dissociative . In the case of any
one of the drugs which produces dissociative conditions in
the nervous system, the condition may be overcome by the
ordinary processes of recuperation by which the organism
throws out the drug. In some cases the effort of the organ
ism to restore the normal condition leads to a reaction which
is abnormally intense . We may then have for a time, as a
result of reaction to the drug, a state of hypersensitivity and
a more vigorous activity within the central nervous system
and in the muscles . The dissociating effects of such intense
activity in the nervous system may be, so far as consciousness
and muscular coördination are concerned, quite as abnormal
as the depressing effects of fatigue or complete suspension
of nervous activity. Thus, if the stimulations coming tothe
central nervous system are much increased in their intensity
because the nervous tissue has been thrown into a condition
of heightened activity, there may be an irregularity in the
central nervous processes due to the abnormally strong cur
rents of excitation and to the impossibility of restraining
these currents of stimulation within the ordinary channels
of connection and discharge . The disorganization here is
like the disorganized behavior of a stream that overflows
its banks.
Toxic effects of certain diseases . There are certain condi 1
tions produced in nature which are quite analogous to those 1
which are produced by drugs . Such conditions appear in 1
DISSOCIATION 287
incoint fevers when the organism is under the influence of certain

he isu toxic substances produced by the organism itself or by
musclesd bacteria lodged in the body ; under such conditions the
the Lor nervous system is rendered hypersensitive through the
ch sugges chemical action of these foreign substances on the tissues.
credits The delirium of the fever patient presents clearly the picture
ofsu of too intense activity in the central nervous system, and the
dis muscular activity of such an individual is directly related to
his irregular and excessive central processes. Such a person
ef= may also be excessively sensitive to slight sounds or other
itions irritations of the organs of sense .
br These negative cases as evidences of the relation between
Trans normal consciousness and organization . These different
orges cases show the relation between nervous organization and
7WE mental organization, and by their negative characteristics con
€331 firm the discussions of the preceding chapters, in which it
bya has been maintained that normal mental life is a continuous
SE process of integration and organization .
Ten Hypnosis a form of dissociation closely allied to sleep.
STAT The condition known as hypnosis has long been the source
of superstitious wonder, and much has been said and written
in regard to it which would tend to increase the mystery
which attaches to it. In many respects it is a condition
closely related to normal sleep . On the other hand, it has
certain peculiar characteristics which differentiate it from
‫ا‬ ordinary sleep. These peculiarities can, however, be fully
understood under the formula adopted in explanation of
normal sleep, provided that formula is slightly modified to
include certain specialized forms of dissociation .
Hypnosis as partial dissociation . While normal sleep in
volves the uncoupling or dissociation of the nervous ele
ments, especially of the type which suspends activity in
the higher centers, hypnosis involves a dissociation which
is partial and leaves a part of the higher centers in action .
To put the matter in simple terms, we may say that in
288 PSYCHOLOGY
normal sleep the cerebrum is dissociated from the lower

centers, and all the centers in the cerebrum are dissociated
from each other ; whereas, in hypnosis only a part of the
cerebrum is dissociated from the lower centers. The
remaining part of the cerebrum continues to carry on its
activities and, indeed, profits by the cessation of activity
in the dormant portion , for the active part of the nervous
system is, in such a case as this, supplied with an unusually
large amount of blood, and its activity may reach a much
higher level of intensity, because of this superior nutritive
supply and because of the concentration of all of the nerv
ous activity in one region . Such a crude statement as this
is undoubtedly too simple in its terms, and yet it represents
the situation in principle .
Methods of inducing hypnosis. The way in which the con
dition of partial or hypnotic dissociation is produced in the
nervous system differs with the practice of different hypno
tizers. One of the characteristic methods of producing
hypnosis is to require the subject to gaze at some bright
object until a kind of partial stupor comes over him . He
may then be aroused to activity through the sense of hear
ing. The ideas which he receives and the activities which
he performs have, under these conditions, many of the
characteristics of dissociation . Another way of producing
hypnosis is to soothe the subject into a sleeplike condition.
Stroking the forehead or the face is very commonly prac
ticed by hypnotizers . Here again, the appeal to the subject,
after the dormant condition has set in, is through the sense
of hearing or even through the sense of vision .
Hypnosis more readily induced after it has once been estab
lished in a subject. When a subject has been frequently
hypnotized, it is possible to reproduce the hypnotic condi
tion without elaborate preliminaries. The subject acquires
what may be called a habit of dissociation . A simple order
from the hypnotizer is enough to throw the subject into the
DISSOCIATION 289
from the condition. Sometimes the habit is carried to such an ex

are dis tent that the subject is able to throw himself into the hyp
apart notic condition. Such self-induced hypnosis is known as
centers. auto-hypnosis . The ability to produce the hypnotic state
carry in the subject does not depend upon any peculiar powers
On ofat on the part of the hypnotizer ; it depends rather upon his
the ne ability so to influence his subject that the condition of par
anun tial sleep described shall be induced. The essential condi
acha tion with which the subject himself must comply, in order
or nut to come under the influence of a hypnotizer, is that he con
of the centrate his attention . The only persons who cannot be
entas hypnotized are young children, idiots, and insane persons,
repres all of whom are unable to concentrate attention . This state
ment effectually disposes of the popular belief that only
chec weak-minded persons can be hypnotized . The most effec
edin tive method of avoiding hypnosis is to scatter attention as
much as possible over a great variety of objects. Concen
roda: tration of attention is always favorable to hypnosis and
allied conditions . The audience which gives close attention
to a speaker or performer is susceptible to a species of
hypnosis ; while, on the other hand, there is no danger of
hypnosis in a distracted audience . The methods of induc
fe ing hypnosis have been accidentally discovered from time
to time by performers who are then able to give striking
exhibitions of their discovery. Many oriental jugglers be
gin their performance, the success of which undoubtedly
depends upon their hypnotic influence over their audiences,
with a dance in which the body of the performer is moved
with a gradually increasing speed, which inevitably induces
a gradually increased concentration of attention on the part
of the observer. When this dance grows more and more
rapid and more and more engaging to the attention, the
observer is completely mastered and the main performance
may be undertaken. The hypnotic influence of such a dance
is very frequently augmented by the burning of incense,
290 PSYCHOLOGY
which has more or less of a narcotic effect upon the ob

servers. In like manner, certain animals are probably
drawn into a hypnotic state by the movement of snakes.
This has frequently been reported in the case of birds and
monkeys.
Various characteristics of the hypnotized subject. When
the hypnotic state has been produced, the phenomena ex
hibited are of two distinct types. First, there is a suspen
sion of certain activities, and, second, there is an abnormal
heightening of other activities . This may be seen with
reference to the reception of sensory stimulations . Certain
stimulations are no longer received by the hypnotized sub
ject.For this reason the condition has sometimes been
used by savage tribes for surgical purposes, exactly as in
modern life we use drugs which will produce a dissociation
of the nervous system and thus prevent pain from exces
sive external stimulation . On the other hand, certain other
senses may be opened to stimulation . A hypnotized subject
may be wholly anæsthetic in his skin, while still retaining
the ability to receive impressions through certain of his
other senses. Indeed, the concentration of nervous activity
in certain particular senses results in such a heightening
of their ability to receive impressions that the subject may
perform most astonishing feats of sensory receptivity. He
may hear very faint sounds or he may see remote visual
objects. It is to be noted that this hyperæsthesia of the
senses is not so extraordinary as it would at first sight seem
to be. We all become hyperæsthetic when we concentrate
attention in any direction . If one is listening for an im
portant signal or watching for some object which is of
great importance to him, he will be using his nervous
energy in the emphasized direction and will be correspond
ingly impervious to impressions from other sources. The
conditions in hypnosis are merely exaggerations of those
which appear in ordinary life.
DISSOCIATION 291
Ideas not subjected to criticism in hypnosis. Turning

upon the
from the sensory processes to the central processes, we
are prote
find again that certain activities are entirely in abeyance,
nt of sale
while others are much intensified . If, for example, it is
ofbirds
suggested to a hypnotized subject that he is an animal
instead of a human being, the suggested idea may take such
ject. Wiz
large possession of him as to command his whole attention
enomena
and guide his activity. If a normal individual is told that
Is a Suspe
he is an animal, he immediately brings to bear upon the
nabnor
suggested idea a great variety of incompatible experiences,
Seen
which make it clear that the statement is false and unaccept
Cer
able. In the case of the hypnotized subject, very much as
tined
in the case of the dreamer, the corrective ideas, which con
mes bet
stitute the fabric of normal life, are absent, so that the
the
single idea takes full possession of the mind and commands
SSOCED
2012 U belief as the accepted content of consciousness. This credu
SIG
lousness of the hypnotic consciousness is described by say

in othe
A
ing that the subject is very open to suggestion . Anything

that is said to him will be accepted, and any form of inter
pretation of experience which is offered to him will be
taken up without serious question and 'without any effort
on his part to criticize the ideas which have been given him
by the hypnotizer. Suggestibility has very frequently been
t St
emphasized to the exclusion of the converse fact that the
hypnotized subject is quite incapable of subjecting any ideas
to critical comparison. So also the positive increase in
sensitivity has been the impressive fact ; the diminution of
sensibility has often been overlooked. The negative con
siderations are, however, essential to a complete under
standing of the case, just as the negative considerations
are of importance if we would understand the credulousness
exhibited in dreams.
Dual personalities in hypnosis. The central nervous con
ditions which are induced in hypnosis are sometimes suffi
ciently unstable to produce the most complex phenomena.
292 PSYCHOLOGY
It is sometimes found that the dissociated parts of the cere

brum are not only dissociated from each other, but they
are also, to a certain extent, capable of independent action.
Thus, while one part of the cerebrum seems to be dealing
with impressions received through the sense of hearing,
another part may be engaged in responding to tactual im
pressions . Or, the case may be rendered even more com
plicated by the fact that the impressions coming from one
ear seem to serve as stimulations for certain activities, while
auditory impressions received on the opposite side of the
body are effective in producing an entirely different set of
experiences and responses. There result in such cases.
what are known as dual and multiple personalities. By
personality, as the term is used in such cases, is meant
any organized group or system of ideas and activities.
The various groups of systematized activities and ideas
which exist side by side in a hypnotized subject owe
their separation to nervous and mental dissociation ; each
personality is, therefore, a relatively less complex system
than that which exists when the whole cerebrum is acting
as a single organ. The division of an individual into a
number of systems of organization appears in other states
than the hypnotic state, and it may result in certain per
manent or certain temporary disruptions of personality,
which have been noted in such stories as that of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde.
Dual personalities in other than hypnotic conditions.
From time to time one reads of a case of lapse in memory
which amounts to a dissociation of personality. A man for
gets who he is or what business he has been following. He
is sufficiently normal in his general organization to respond
to a great variety of impressions in a regular fashion, but
the complex structure of mental life breaks down and
the man is only partly reconstructed in the second self.
Tertiary and quaternary personalities may appear in all
DISSOCIATION 293
ts ofthe possible combinations. The secondary or tertiary personality

her,but may know its fellows, but may be itself quite forgotten.
nd Several cases have been described in which personality B
obedea knows not only its own acts and emotions but also the acts
ofhe and emotions of the other personality A. Sometimes B not
tacul only knows but heartily dislikes A. Sometimes two per
more sonalities exist simultaneously within the same body and
seem to have separate lives and characters . The writer
¡from
itie,s knew of a case of a young man who was the object of
&
B
superstitious wonder in the village in which he lived, be

antSE cause he had two personalities. These two personalities
knew each other and held long discussions with each other. "
chc
desi Often, when they came to a turn in the road, they dis
De agreed with each other as to the direction in which their
body should move, and the passer-by could see the abnormal
man mumbling an argument between his two selves.
IS Dual and multiple personalities analogous to the various

selves of normal life . The details of such cases are baffling
‫لا‬
in the extreme, but nothing can be clearer from our earlier
studies than the general formula of dissociation, with the
added fact of partial organization around different centers .
The matter becomes more intelligible if we remember that
even in ordinary life there is a subdivision of experience
into different systems . We distinguish, even in common
parlance, between the business self, the social self, and so
on. Each one of these selves is only partially related to the
other systems of experience and forms of behavior. The
man who is buried in the details of a business transaction
I
is just as oblivious to considerations of a literary sort as the
hypnotized subject is oblivious to a certain group of possible
experiences. We do not call the ordinary absorption of the
self in business a case of multiple personality, because
the neglected personality in the case of the business man
is not so remote but that it can be immediately called out,
if he turns his attention to some literary considerations.
294 PSYCHOLOGY
The normal individual is capable of transferring his atten

tion and interest from center to center according as the
external environment demands, while the hypnotized subject
or abnormal person is, through dissociation, quite incapable
of a rapid transfer of attention or of correlating the different
phases of his experience. 1
Hypnosis a transient condition , insanity permanent. We
shall return to the discussion of multiple personality under }
the general head of insanity, for the fundamental distinction I
between insanity and hypnosis is to be found in the degree
of permanency which is attained in the former state, as T
contrasted with the more transient character of the hypnotic
condition.
Movements sometimes normal in hypnosis, because the
lower centers are not dissociated . In the meantime, it is
necessary to add a few comments on the motor activities of
hypnotized subjects. These motor activities frequently ex
hibit little or no departure from the ordinary coördinations
of normal life . The hypnotized subject is capable of walk
ing, often of writing or producing certain other complex
forms of movement. Such continuation of the bodily coördi
nations is explicable on the ground that the lower centers of
the nervous system are not dissociated by the changes that
take place in the higher centers. Whenever the higher
centers are able to send stimulations to the lower centers,
these lower centers are capable of responding with their
usual degree of coördination. The lack of organization is
exhibited rather in the inability to maintain a normal bal
ance between the various centers which call the lower centers
into play. It is to be noted, however, that the movements
of hypnotized subjects sometimes indicate by their clumsi
ness and lack of precision that the disintegrating force has
affected certain of the motor channels as well as the central
organizations . This is especially true when the attempted
act involves a complicated coördination .
DISSOCIATION 295
ringhi The after-effects of hypnosis tend to become permanent.

ording a There is one group of facts in hypnosis which should
notizeds perhaps be made the subject of special comments. The
uitein suggestions received by the hypnotized subject may, in
thed some cases, be carried over so as to become operative in a
later period, after the subject has apparently recovered from
JAmaneUCntH the hypnotic trance. Such after-effects are known as post
nality hypnotic effects, and the suggestions are described as
Idisti post-hypnotic suggestions . Even more significant is the fact
the that after-effects of the hypnotic trance are of a general
kind. It is a fact that the effect of the hypnotic state is in
RS J
the direction of a perpetuation of dissociative tendencies.

骨
Sleep is transient and leads to a more vigorous form of

F
CAUSE activity after it is over. Hypnosis , on the other hand, tends

me not to restore the nervous system to a more vigorous condi
tion but to perpetuate dissociation . This is due to the fact
that sleep is negative, while hypnosis is positive in certain
of its phases , in that it trains certain centers to act without
reference to others. It therefore operates by virtue of its
positive phases toward permanent disorganization . It is for
ጋር such reasons as these that the use of hypnosis is in general
to be avoided. The disorganizing effects of hypnosis are of
the same general type as the disrupting tendencies of certain
drugs. The individual, who with sufficient frequency comes
under the influence of these drugs or of hypnosis, will
ultimately settle into a state of nervous disorganization from
which it will be quite impossible for him to recover, even
when recovery is demanded for the purposes of normal
life. Hypnosis is not utilized by reputable practitioners,
because its ultimate effects are not as readily controllable
as are the effects even of the narcotic drugs ; and there is
no justification whatever for the use of hypnosis as a means
of amusement, any more than there would be for using a
strong narcotic drug to bring an individual into a condition
which would make him a source of entertainment.
296 PSYCHOLOGY
Insanity a permanent form of disorganization , intro

duced in many cases by dissociation and settling into an
abnormal reorganization . As has been indicated in the
earlier paragraphs, insanity is a form of relatively permanent
dissociation . Certain forms of delirium , which have been
referred to before, furnish the best introduction to the study
of insanity. In delirium the subject is so highly excitable
that the normal avenues of stimulation and discharge are
for the time being completely disrupted, and the currents
of nervous activity and the corresponding facts of experience
are dissociated. As delirium disappears and gives place to
the usual intensity of nervous activity the individual may
return to the earlier normal condition or, on the other
hand, there may be left behind a permanent abnormal state,
because the earlier forms of organization are not fully
restored. One of the most characteristic symptoms of all
forms of insanity is found to be the existence of certain
hallucinations or fundamental abnormalities in the subject's
world of ideas . The insane person believes himself to be
Julius Cæsar or some Biblical character, or even some
divinity. There is no difficulty in recognizing the fact that
the idea of transferred identity may come into the mind of
any normal individual . It is, however, in the case of a
normal individual immediately criticized and abandoned,
because of its incompatibility with the person's general
knowledge of the world and his place in it. When the
compact organization which has been built up in normal
experiences has once given way, and the idea that one is
Julius Cæsar or some other character has presented itself
as a center of reconstruction in the midst of the resulting
chaos, there is a possibility of an abnormal reorganization
of experience . The individual is no longer restrained by
that system of ideas which has been laboriously built up
through contact with the world ; the result is that the whole
later ideational life of the individual loses its adaptation to
DISSOCIATION 297
tion,i the real world. The characteristic fact in certain cases

ingin of insanity is, accordingly, not describable in simple terms
red i of dissociation ; it is rather to be defined in terms of disso
perment ciation with an abnormal association or integration following
have upon the breaking down of the normal system. In other
the cases, disintegration is the more obvious fact. The individual
ero simply loses control of his ideas, and his mind seems to be
harge flooded with an incoherent mass of experience. His words
CLANE reflect this incoherency of ideas, and his behavior indicates
Spene an absence of self-control. Such disintegrated forms of
consciousness and behavior commonly appear in the last
place
۱۰ stages of almost every kind of insanity, even where there
has been for a time reorganization about an abnormal center.
Melancholia as a typical form of dissociation. One of
the very general forms of dissociative abnormality is that
which appears in so-called melancholia. In melancholia
there is a general reduction of all the bodily activities,
including the activities in the nervous system. The subject
becomes phlegmatic and depressed in all his functions.
The whole feeling tone of experience takes on a marked
disagreeable character, which can be explained in terms of
our earlier discussion of feeling by saying that the individual
does not arouse himself easily to respond to any form of
stimulation, and when his nervous system is in any way
aroused by powerful external excitation, the reaction upon
the stimulus is so laborious and contrary to his tendencies
and mood that he has a strong feeling tone of a disagree
able type. The ideas which such a subject has are often
organized about each other in a way that furnishes a kind
of false explanation of the subject's mood. The melancholic
subject has certain grievances against the world. Sometimes
these grievances are of a trivial character and make it clear
that the grievance could not have been the exciting cause of
the subject's condition. Sometimes the grievance is more
real and furnishes an apparent ground for the condition .
296
Insar
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abnorm
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CHAPTER XV
VOLUNTARY ACTION AND VOLUNTARY ATTENTION

i
1
Voluntary action a special form of behavior. Though the
preceding chapters have discussed at length many of the
relations between bodily activity and mental processes, they
have not dealt specifically with that form of behavior which
is described by the term " voluntary choice. " One may
reach out and pick up the book before him, or one may
decide not to touch the book. One may take the pen and
sign a contract, or one may refuse to sign. The whole per
sonality enters into such a decision, and we recognize both
in ordinary thought and in scientific consideration of the
matter that the ability to choose, especially the ability to
choose wisely and consistently, is the supreme power culti
vated in the development of the individual. Our penal code
recognizes the fact that an immature child is not responsible
for his actions in the measure in which a full-grown man is
responsible. Those who are mentally defective are exempt
from the penalties of the law just in the degree in which
they fall short of normal development. These and other
illustrations of common practice show that voluntary choice
is the fullest expression of the developed normal self.
Instinctive behavior different from voluntary action. The
explanation of voluntary action depends on a series of dis
tinctions which have been implied in earlier chapters. Thus
instinctive acts are not forms of voluntary behavior. For
example, the infant swallows not from deliberate choice but
because nature has provided a nervous and muscular mecha
nism which responds promptly to the proper sensory stimulus.
301
298 PSYCHOLOGY
Even in such a case it is to be said that the person's

physical condition must have developed into one of general
debility before the apparent cause of his mental conditions
could have become the source of abnormal melancholia. 1
The distinction between a passing case of depression in
normal life and melancholia is that passing depression is
temporary, and nature rebounds from it in such a way as
to produce normal conditions after the depressing circum
stances are past. In the case of melancholia the depressing
tendencies become permanent, and it is this permanency
rather than the fact of depression or its corresponding
nervous conditions which constitutes the characteristic fact
in insanity. Indeed, one can find almost every possible
grade of transition from normal life to extreme abnormality.
The result is that those who have made a special study of
these transitions, and those whose attention is for the first
time called to the possibility of such transition, are likely
to indulge in the extravagant statement that all persons are
at times or on certain subjects more or less insane . It is
undoubtedly true that all persons do depart at times from
the type of mental and bodily organization which constitutes
normal life, but unless these states become fixed and lead
to distorted and unadapted forms of behavior, they should
not be classified as cases of insanity.
Excessive excitation as a second typical case of insanity.
The opposite tendency to the melancholic condition just
described appears in certain cases of excessive excitation.
A person when abnormally excited is very frequently pos
sessed of excessive bodily strength. This is not due to any
change in the structure of his muscles, but rather to the
fact that the nervous system which is in control of the mus
cles is sending to the active organs stimulations of excessive
intensity. There are numerous cases in normal life which
will help us to understand this fact. If an individual is
fatigued, encouragement and stimulation from the outside
DISSOCIATION 299
the pest world will appreciably increase his ability to execute muscular
e ofg movements. In the same way an individual may be so
l cond stimulated by abnormal substances in the blood that his
whole nervous behavior is raised to a high level of activity
ressio and the motor discharges are abnormally intense . The
pression muscular activity of such a person is typical of his whole
1a T condition. His ideas come in an overwhelming flood and
lead him into the most extravagant excesses of imagination
and lack of self- control.
depress
POTUL Fundamental disturbances of instinctive and emotional
life. Of late much attention has been given to the fact that
in all cases of dissociation the fundamental instincts assert
themselves and play a leading part in the behavior and
Om ideation of the abnormal individual. For example, there 1
are types of fear which haunt a patient and distract him
from all normal modes of thought and life . Or the sex
instinct becomes dominant, or the food instinct leads to
irregular or irrational behavior. The mode of treatment
which is adopted in such cases aims in part to restore
normal nutritive conditions and then proceeds on the as
sumption that the individual must be started on the road to
a reconstruction of his mental world. Often the shortest
route to this latter goal is to bring out in explicit detail some
of the deep-seated dissociations. Thus, the person who is
suffering from terror is made aware of the sources of his
terror and is encouraged to reorganize his thinking and his
attitudes toward the object of his dissociation . The abnormal
state can be compared to physical clumsiness. The indi
vidual whose muscles will not coördinate must develop
physical coöperation of the organs of his body by using
them in a well-ordered, systematic fashion . So with the
person suffering from mental incoördination, there must be
a well-directed effort at mental recoördination.
Relation of psychiatry to psychology. These illustrations
must suffice for our present purposes. There are all possible
300 PSYCHOLOGY
combinations of disintegration and reorganization exhibited

in insanity. There is a science known as psychiatry which
Ideals with these forms of dissociation and abnormal associ
ation, and there is a large field of practical observation and
study open here to the trained scientist. The chief lesson
for our general science is that the normal processes are
processes of integration leading to forms of association which
contribute to adaptation . There are frequently illustrations
which throw light upon important principles of normal asso
ciation, to be found by making a careful study of the facts
of dissociation, but in general the explanation of abnormal
states is made easier by a careful examination of normal
processes rather than the reverse . It does not follow that
dissociation will be along the same lines as association, and
the effort to work out the details of one by the other often
leads to fallacies. The general tendency of normal life is,
however, obviously in the direction of adaptive organization ;
the tendency of sleep, hypnosis, and insanity, on the other
hand, is in the opposite direction. The particular path fol
lowed in each case can be defined only through empirical
examination of the case.
-11
CHAPTER XV
VOLUNTARY ACTION AND VOLUNTARY ATTENTION
Voluntary action a special form of behavior. Though the

preceding chapters have discussed at length many of the
relations between bodily activity and mental processes, they
have not dealt specifically with that form of behavior which
is described by the term " voluntary choice." One may
reach out and pick up the book before him, or one may
decide not to touch the book. One may take the pen and
sign a contract, or one may refuse to sign . The whole per
sonality enters into such a decision, and we recognize both I
1
in ordinary thought and in scientific consideration of the 證
1
matter that the ability to choose, especially the ability to
choose wisely and consistently, is the supreme power culti
vated in the development of the individual . Our penal code
recognizes the fact that an immature child is not responsible I
for his actions in the measure in which a full-grown man is
responsible. Those who are mentally defective are exempt
from the penalties of the law just in the degree in which
they fall short of normal development. These and other
illustrations of common practice show that voluntary choice
is the fullest expression of the developed normal self.
Instinctive behavior different from voluntary action. The
explanation of voluntary action depends on a series of dis
tinctions which have been implied in earlier chapters. Thus
instinctive acts are not forms of voluntary behavior. For
example, the infant swallows not from deliberate choice but
because nature has provided a nervous and muscular mecha
nism which responds promptly to the proper sensory stimulus.
301
302 PSYCHOLOGY
One has only to think of the cases in adult experience where

the swallowing reflex acts when the swallower would gladly
check it. Furthermore, most people do not know that they
cannot carry out the act of swallowing without a proper sen
sory stimulus. Let one try the experiment of swallowing
five times in succession . All the saliva in the mouth will
have been swallowed the second or third time the effort is
made, and after that the mechanism refuses to work until
more sensory stimulation is supplied . Instinctive acts are
therefore different from volitions. Sometimes we can volun
tarily check one of these acts, although here our powers are
limited, and we can in some measure decide when an act
provided by the inherited nervous mechanism shall be
allowed to take place, but here again our control is limited
as shown in the example given above .
Impulsive acts distinct from higher forms of voluntary
action. If we follow the development of an individual from
infancy, we find that there are other forms of behavior which
resemble the instincts in that they are not fully under con
trol . For this general class of acts we commonly use the
term " impulsive acts . " It is almost impossible not to imi
tate a yawn ; it is very difficult not to look around when one
hears an unfamiliar noise . The impulse to take food when
one is hungry is very strong ; the impulse to strike back
when one is struck is so strong that the interpretation of re
sponsibility is always based on an examination of provocation.
Impulsive acts as phases of general muscular tension.
Impulsive acts can be explained by formulas which have
been discussed at length in earlier chapters. It was there
pointed out that the whole organism is constantly at a higher
or lower level of tension. The muscles of a waking person
are always on the stretch. There are internal activities of
respiration and circulation and digestion which are not only
in a state of tension but are in an actual state of continuous
operation. The eyes are usually focused on some object ;
VOLUNTARY ACTION AND ATTENTION 303
iencen the hand is seldom at rest and still more seldom in a state
wouldgl of relaxation. This state of muscular tension and internal
wthat action is due to the continuous stream of nervous impulses
properse which flow out to the active organs . The outgoing motor
swallowd impulses are in turn the results of the sensory stimulations
nouth w of the moment and the reverberations of sensory impressions
eeffor which are circulating through the massive cerebrum.
1
work Impulsive acts explicable through nervous organization.
acts An impulsive act exhibits in its particular form the past
an n experience and training of the individual. We often judge 14
wers of a person's character and education by his impulsive acts.
7ATM The spy who was betrayed by his impulsive and wholly
hall& uncontrolled response to a sudden military order to stand
to attention exhibited his training by his very lack of vol
untary control. One may guide his impulses in some
Unter measure by the slow process of changing his habits. If
one tends to look up from his work every time a shadow
passes over his desk, one may overcome this tendency by self
OC discipline ; but in that case the inadvertent lapses into the
old mode of looking up will furnish the strongest evidence
of the difference between impulse and voluntary control.
It's Impulse comparable to involuntary attention . The term
"e
' impulse " as applied to behavior finds a parallel in certain
terms which are used in describing strictly mental processes .
One tends to look at any object that moves through the
edge of the field of vision. This is an impulsive tendency.
On the psychical side we describe this fact by saying that
moving objects in the edge of the field of vision attract
involuntary attention . Attention of the involuntary type is
then contrasted with certain higher types of attention
which are designated as voluntary. Thus, when one keeps
his eyes fixed steadily on the signal which he is set to
watch in spite of distracting appeals to his involuntary
attention, we speak of his effort as an exhibition of volun
tary choice or self-control.
304 PSYCHOLOGY
Impulse and involuntary attention related to perception

and habit. It is hardly necessary to elaborate here the
matter of the relation of impulsive activity to perception
and habit. Our earlier chapters have abundantly illustrated
this relation and shown its importance. We have, however,
reached the point where we must face the problem of the
distinction between voluntary attention and all lower forms of
perception and thought, and the problem of the distinction
between voluntary action and impulse .
Simple case of choice . Perhaps the best method of
making progress toward the solution of our problem is to
analyze one of the simpler cases of volition . For this pur
pose let us consider choice in the presence of two clearly
apprehended alternatives. There lies before the man who
is out on a walk a fork in the road . Sometimes he will
thoughtlessly strike out on that path which he has often
followed, or because he is absorbed in thought he will be
guided by mere accident. But in the case in which we are
interested he sees the two roads clearly ; each is inviting,
and in terms of his experience and training, equally acces
sible ; he may even pause a moment and then he turns to
the left or right. We can explain this turning in a broad,
loose way by using such phrases as " he decided, " " he
chose, " " he selected." The impressive fact about each
of these phrases is that it brings out the truth that we are
in the presence of an explanation which includes and in
volves personality. We may speak of impulse in an imper
sonal way. One is led to do something when he acts under
the spell of impulse, but one makes the decision himself
when he chooses his road.
Behavior of the higher types dependent on ideas. The
broad terms of our explanation do not satisfy the demand
for a scientific account of the process of choice . We
must go into greater detail. We can do this in some
measure by pointing out that bodily activity is related to
ideas no less than it is to percepts. One thinks of a tall

orate her object and, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, he tends
to pen to move his eye and his hand upward. One thinks over
antlyill an offense which has been committed against him and he
have, ho grows red with rage and tense for an attack. Ideas are
problem related to actions because the nervous processes involved
Jowerfir in the formation of ideas are, like all nervous processes,
he disti parts of a succession of processes leading to a motor dis

charge. In the association areas of the cerebrum there
meth are complex nervous combinations and deposits of earlier
excitations which are the immediate conditions of ideation
roblem
and at the same time links in the chain of processes
Forthis
twoc connecting the sense organs with the motor centers .
eman When as a result of experience an individual becomes
neshe mature enough so that his sensory impulses are taken up
has t into a highly developed train of cerebral processes before
hew they are allowed to go to the motor centers, we say of the
individual that he acts on the basis of ideas . We mean by
this statement that the instinctive tracts are relatively less
and less important in this individual's life . We mean that
TUNIS the inner organization is more and more important. The
inner organization of the cerebrum is, as we have seen,
relatively remote from mere sensation . Hence, when the
d
inner processes come more into control we find the expla
nation of individual conduct not in present impressions
but in past experience. The first and most evident con
clusion about voluntary choice is therefore that it depends
on a high development of central paths and is related to
the higher conscious processes .
Voluntary action and its complex background as contrasted
with lower forms of behavior. The significance of the fore
going conclusion will be fully grasped only when it is re
called that the central or ideational conscious processes are
complex as contrasted with mere perceptions and other
conscious processes which involve only the lower elements
GY
306 PSYCHOLO .
of the nervous system and the lower phases of experience.

An idea is a composite of experience . The general fact
about ideational consciousness is that it brings into a single
instant of experience a vast variety of elements. Conduct
which is based on ideation is, accordingly, conduct which
springs, not out of some simple single impression, but out
of a combination of manifold impressions.
We have commented in earlier chapters on the advantage
which comes to the individual from the possession of a
world of ideas in which the whole of experience can be
compactly represented and readily rearranged. We see now
the advantage to conduct of ideational powers . The indi
vidual who has ideas can act on a broader basis than can
the victim of mere impulse, or the undeveloped individual
who has only the most immediate sensory motives for his
comings and goings .
Decision a process of balancing ideas. Let us consider
once more our individual who must choose at the fork of the
road which branch he will follow. No outsider can fathom
his choice . The inner world is the scene of a balancing
and comparing, and out of this inner world comes a decision
which turns the scale of muscular tension and results in a
movement. If at the moment before decision an outsider
would influence choice, he must appeal to the inner world ;
he must reach the thought process of the individual who
is deciding.
Decision largely influenced by organization built out of past
experiences. When we trace decision back into the inner
world, we find justification for a second general conclusion.
Volition is determined in very large measure by past experi
ences . All ideas, as we know, are explicable only in terms of
organizations of experience which have been set up in the past.
The choice which an individual makes to-day has its roots in
the experiences of yesterday and of the earlier education be
fore yesterday. To be sure, the present may bring into the
of exper mind a manifold of experiences out of which choice must

gene issue, but this manifold will be arranged and organized in
intoas terms which comport with the past as well as with the present.
ts, Cac We know in ordinary life that it is safe to assume that an
Induct individual who has made his decisions thus and so in the past
sion, be will in the future exhibit like tendencies of choice.
The relation of choice to past experience is impressively
e adva illustrated by the fact that voluntary attention is controlled
ession cl by what one has learned to think about. If one puts oneself
ice c through a series of experiences in which æsthetical objects

Ve seet are again and again examined and recorded in thought, it is
The safe to predict that æsthetic objects will in the future be centers
of long concentrated attention. If one gives heed for years
this
Indiv to matters of business to the exclusion of all other objects of
sfor thought, it is sure to be a great deal easier to fix attention on

matters of this type in all future experience.
Cons We come back to the formula with which our explanation
began. Whatever enters into the personality of a man enters
into his voluntary choice. When a man chooses, he expresses
his personality. This is the essential fact about volition ; choice
is not an arbitrary, sudden mode of thought or action ; it is,
rather, the consummate expression of all that has entered
into individual life.
The meaning of prevision. While emphasizing the impor
1πi tance of past experience in the development of voluntary con
trol it is important that we should understand also the fact
that volition looks by means of imagination into the future .
One recombines ideas and foresees in this world of ideas
certain consequences of this or that combination . Behavior
is then dominated, not by present impressions or by habits
alone, it is guided by the products of imagination . The thinker
has tried out consequences in the world of thought and has
the advantage in conduct of these purely mental trials. The
power of imagination thus comes to be more important for
human conduct than even habit or instinct.
LOGY
308 PSYCHO
For example, the general plans his movements with a map

before him and with a thousand items of information in mind
about the enemy and his own forces. His final orders are the
results of his comparisons and mental experiments.
The power of choice becomes thus a matter of the relation
of complex ideational processes to behavior. Conduct is re
lated to ideas, and any elaborate process of combining ideas
which results in a new idea will influence behavior.
The problem of the freedom of the will. We are now in
a position to consider one of the problems which has long
been a subject of hot debate among students of human life
and conduct ; namely, the problem of the freedom of the will.
It has been argued on the one side that in a given emergency
an individual can follow any one of the various courses which
lie before him. The five or six paths which he might follow
all attract him, but he is free to follow the one which he
chooses. So far we must agree. But the extremists seem to
argue at times that the chooser is in no wise bound even by
his own earlier experiences and training. The individual is
free in the absolute sense, we are sometimes told. He may
at this given moment strike out without reference to his past
or to any other cause. His action is without determining
cause. He is a wholly independent being, unguided by any
outer or inner considerations except as he is willing in his
sovereign independence to give heed to these considerations.
This last statement of the doctrine has sometimes been called
the doctrine of libertarianism. For this view there is no evi
dence. Personality is never free from its own past, even when
it is producing new combinations of ideas through imagination.
Personality is a product of organization . Personality is the
name of that individual nature which has been developed out
of the play and interplay of impressions and instincts and
conscious comparisons and imaginations . Personality is never
free from itself. Voluntary choice is an expression of per
sonality, not of sheer caprice . I
11
1
ntswith Voluntary choice guided by purposes . The conclusion

nationin to which we are thus led gives the largest emphasis to those
orders are reorganizations of experience which were discussed in the
ents. chapter on concepts. We saw in that chapter how a dominant
of the inner purpose may control the organization of all thought.
onduct I may resolve to think about a geometrical proposition, and
all my ideational processes will be rearranged and worked out
rior. in conformity with this central purpose. The rise in the mind
areno of a dominant idea is therefore an important event, not merely
hhas in a vague, abstract sense, but in a practical sense as well .
humer When some personality takes up with fixed purpose a definite
ofthe line of thought, his own conduct and ultimately that of his
merge social environment will be affected . This is what was meant
ses by the statement that consciousness is a cause and a very
potent cause in the world of affairs .
ghtf
whicICh b Behavior of a higher type is related to education . A text
VO
OCCoCIomA book on the science of human mental processes is not the
e125 place for a homily on conduct, but it is so obvious an in

idu ference from what has been said that one can hardly refrain
HE from recording the principle that all choice and all signifi
JIS20 cant human influence in the world are dependent for their
character on the growth of ideas. He who would influence
his own conduct or that of others must therefore look to
the roots of conduct in organized processes of ideation and
thought.
It will be proper, therefore, for us to follow the study of
voluntary behavior by a discussion of some of the more
obvious devices by which human choices may be turned in
the direction of fruitful and efficient developments .
1.IN Early scientific studies of behavior purely external . Before
we apply the lessons we have learned , we owe it to the his
tory of scientific method to comment briefly on the develop
ment of scientific studies of human behavior. The earliest
scientific investigations of bodily activities were undertaken
from a wholly external point of view. The specific method
310 PSYCHOLOGY
which was used for such investigations was devised bythe I

astronomers who were interested in understanding the defi
ciencies of human movements when attempts were made to (
use these movements in recording the transit of stars through
the field of the telescope. The astronomers found that the
hand cannot be moved as soon as the eye sees a light. I
They therefore measured the interval which elapsed between I
visual impression and hand movement. They found further E
that different individuals have different personal equations, I
or periods of reaction . Evidently the observations of the as
tronomers are very suggestive as foundations for psychological
investigations . The early psychological investigators, how D
ever, did not transform the method into a psychological
method ; they took it over unmodified . Their investigations
of the active processes were not based upon any elaborate
analysis. Certain simple movements were measured with
reference to the time which elapsed between the stimulus
and the muscular contraction , exactly as this time had been
measured bythe astronomers. The investigation of this time
of reaction was treated as an indirect means of getting at the
complexity of the nervous and conscious processes preceding
the reaction. It was found, for example, that the length of
time required for a simple reaction was appreciably shorter
than the length of time required for a reaction which involved
the discrimination of two simple colors from each other. Thus,
if the reactor were required to move his finger as soon as
possible after being stimulated by a flash of light, the meas
urement of this interval gave what was called a simple reac
tion time of about 1000
180 of a second, or 1800, the letter o
being used as the symbol for a thousandth of a second. If,
on the other hand, the experiment was arranged in such a
way that a number of different colors could be presented to
the subject, and it was prescribed that he should react only
after a clear recognition of one of these colors, then the clear
recognition or discrimination added appreciably to the time
1
which elapsed between the giving of the stimulus and the

movement, sometimes as much as 60σ . This longer period
of time was known as discrimination time. Again, if instead
of reacting always with the same hand or finger the reactor
was instructed to respond to one kind of stimulation with one
movement and to another kind of stimulation with a second
movement, the process involved not merely discrimination
.
but also a simple choice of the organ to be moved. The
reaction time in this case was called choice time.
Purely external investigations not productive . The earlier
experimenters on reaction were satisfied to seek exact defi
nitions of the lengths of these various kinds of reaction
time. They paid little or no attention to introspection on
the part of the reactor. The results of a large number of
reactions were averaged, and the comparison between differ
ent simple mental processes was made in terms of these
general averages . The outcome for psychology of these ex
ternal studies was by no means large. There is very little I
contribution to the knowledge of human nature in the details

of reaction times.
Recent investigations and their stress on introspection and
analysis of movement. Recent investigations of reactions
differ from the earlier external measurements in two re
spects. First, the effort has been made to find out, as far
as possible, what are the conditions in the experience of
the reactor during the reaction process . Attention has been
called, for example, to the fact that if the reactor's atten
tion is turned toward his hand, rather than toward the organ
of sense which is to be stimulated, the time of reaction will
for most individuals be shorter. A distinction may therefore
be drawn between so-called muscular reactions and sensory
reactions. The average difference in time corresponding to
this introspective difference is often as great as 100σ . Again,
the different types of discrimination and choice have been
introspectively examined . The question of whether the
312 PSYCHOLOGY
content of consciousness before a choice reaction is an image

of the movement to be executed, or a concentration of atten
tion upon the sensation received, has been introspectively
studied. The results of these introspective studies have done
much to clear up the psychological doctrine of volition. Fur
thermore, the general outcome of a more careful examina
tion of conscious correlates of reaction has shown how utterly
formal was the gross averaging of all kinds of cases in the
earlier investigations. It may be said that no introspective
differences ever occur without some modification in the dura
tion of the reaction process ; hence, differences in duration
are highly significant when supported by introspective ob
servation and should not be eliminated by an arbitrary
method of mathematical averaging.
Analysis of the form of movement. The second way in
which recent reaction experiments have been elaborated is
by analyzing the forms of the reaction movement. It was
formerly assumed that the act of lifting the hand from a
reaction key was so simple a process that it could be re
garded as uniform in character throughout a long series of
experiments . Recent investigations show that there is no
such thing as an absolutely uniform series of movement proc
esses . There are certain reactors, for example, who, when
they make an effort to lift the hand as rapidly as possible,
frequently go through a preliminary downward movement
before beginning the upward movement. There are other
preliminary phases of movement which prepare the way for
the final reaction , and the relation between these preliminary
movements and the final movement of the hand may be so
complicated as to influence measurably the duration of the
reaction period. The relation of these complexities of move
ment to nervous organization is most intimate. The studies
in earlier chapters of the relation of perception and feeling
to reaction have indicated the significance for psychology
of the analysis of reactions. By way of criticism of the
HOMEAD
earlier studies, it may be said that they treated reactions as if

they were merely uniform mechanical processes . The recent
investigations have made it clear that the study of muscular
behavior is productive only when it is related to a complete
account of the introspective processes and the antecedent or
ganizations which condition the particular form of movement.
Concept of organization as fundamental in all psychologi
cal studies . The study of movement has therefore brought
us back to the consideration of principles of organization .
Volition and impulse are merely the active correlates of or
ganized forms of ideational and perceptual experience. The
earlier studies of mental activity and the present study of
behavior are mutually supplementary. We do not require
any unique formulas or the recognition of any new factors .
Behavior is a necessary and ever-present physical correlate
of experience and, at the same time, a product of all those
organizations which lie back of experience itself.
t
C
S
S+
CHAPTER XVI
ti
As
MENTAL HYGIENE a
‫بم‬
Hygiene a suggestive term for psychology. Just as there
S .‫ ܝ‬.‫ܝ‬
is a way of keeping one's physical organs in good condition
through the adoption of rational principles of nutrition and
exercise and sleep, so there is a way of organizing one's
10
mental processes with a view to meeting most efficiently the Pl
ä
demands of life. W
Relation of psychological hygiene to physiological . The
first maxim of mental hygiene is that the nervous system
must be kept in a healthy condition . Indeed, physical hy
giene here becomes an essential part of the application of
psychology. If the nutrition of the body is defective, the
nervous system suffers with the other organs, and the mental
processes become abnormal. The same is true of sleep and C
the excretory processes. The body must be in good condition
if the mind is to do its work.
Coördination of bodily activities . Assuming for the pur
poses of our discussion that the general physiological condi
tion is favorable, the next maxim of mental hygiene is that
all one's activities must be brought into harmonious coöpera
tion, for the first function of the central nervous system is
to control and coördinate the parts of the body. Thus, when
muscles are contracting vigorously, there is a call for blood
in the particular part of the body which is in action . The
nervous system must distribute the blood supply of the body
in such a way as to meet the strenuous local demand and at
the same time keep all of the supporting organs properly
supplied . The young child has to acquire the ability to do
314
MENTAL HYGIENE 315
this. At first his organic activities are subject to all kinds

of distractions and incoördinations. He is unprepared for any
sustained effort because his body is not yet a well-coördinated
system .
Perhaps the most striking illustration of the incoördina
tion of a child's body is seen in the fact that excitement of
any kind interferes with digestion . Digestion is in very
large measure an active process . The glands are active in
secretion, and the muscles of the digestive organs contract
in rhythmical movements that are necessary in carrying the
food through the alimentary tract. The elaborate system of
organs thus involved in digestion must coöperate or the whole
process will be disturbed . Suppose that all is going well,
when suddenly a shock of violent stimulation comes to the
nervous system. The flood of uncontrolled excitement will
be discharged by the motor fibers into the inner muscular
system, and digestion and circulation and respiration will
be violently disturbed. It is one of the important results
of training that disturbances of this type are overcome in
increasing measure. The mature nervous system tends to
check and distribute excitements so that the organism may
not be disturbed in its fundamental activities .
Little children are very often disturbed by mere social
excitements to an extent which seriously interferes with
life. An adult, on the other hand, can receive the same
kind and amount of stimulation and not be distracted from
the inner activities of organic life. The training of one
self to receive all sorts of external stimulations without dis
locating the inner machinery is one of the important lines
of personal training.
Control of excessive stimulations . The formulas which
can be adopted for such training are apparently contradic
tory. First, one should have regular habits of life . This
will set up wholesome and balanced forms of action.
Second, one should expose himself from time to time to
LOGY
316 PSYCHO
irregular and exciting situations. Or, perhaps better put, one

is sure, if he lives in the world with its various kinds of
experience, to be drawn out of mere routine by forms of
excitement which tend to break up his simple habits of life.
Then one should aim to overcome the disturbance of inner
life by deliberately controlling the excitement in order to
give the organic habits an opportunity to reassert them
selves. Control often means relaxation. Let an excited
person take two or three long breaths ; let him relax the
jaw muscles or the muscles of the hands. Excitement which
tightens up the muscles can often be overcome by these
sheer physical devices. If the physical devices do not
suffice, let there be an appeal to voluntary effort. If the
excitement is one of fear, let the excited person face the
problem and explore the source of the fear. Let one reason
himself, if he can, into a less tense attitude . The fact is
that every experienced adult has in the course of his life
come to the point where he can deal more or less success
fully with excitement. Ability to master excitement shows
an internal state of coördination of a high type . The organ
ism has acquired ability to undertake several kinds of action.
at once without interfering with its own life.
While emphasizing the importance of internal harmony,
it may be well to refer once more to the disintegrating
effects which follow chronic incoördination. All the disso
ciations which were discussed in an earlier chapter have in
them elements of internal discord . The individual whose 0
nervous system is sending out conflicting and discordant
impulses is an unhappy individual in his conscious experi
ence and an incoördinated individual in his active life.
Perceptual analysis. A third maxim of mental hygiene is
one which relates to perception . All progress in perception
and in muscular coördination results from particularization
or concentration of attention on definite items of experience.
It is worth the effort for everyone to learn to analyze the
MENTAL HYGIENE 317
better objects in his environment. Even if one is not going to use

iouski the details of information at the moment, it is valuable from
byfe the point of view of future adaptation to be able to concen

habits trate attention and action on particular aspects of a situa
nceofc tion. Most games illustrate this kind of demand. If a boy
learns to catch a ball, he trains himself in concentration of
S
attention and control of his muscles. In the animal world

Essen
an nature provides young animals with a play impulse through
nrela which the untrained individual is led into exploratory forms
ment of behavior which in later life will be of use in nosing out
real enemies and real prey.
eby
As a practical measure of self-training, it may be urged
that everyone ought always to analyze what he encounters.
He should notice the details of behavior of those whom he
fac
IN meets ; he should note the contour of the objects he sees.
If he gets a hint that there are details which he has over
looked, let him train himself to go back and find these
details. The value of such self-control is not merely in the
results gained at the moment, but in the conscious tendency
to analyze . It was pointed out in an earlier chapter that
perception is an active process initiated by the individual.
The application of that lesson is that the individual must
be active if he would perceive completely.
Perceptual synthesis. The counterpart of the foregoing
demand for analysis is the demand that one cultivate the
power of grasping many impressions at the same time. The
observer should train himself to recognize at a glance as
much as possible. It is said that the schools which train
performers to give exhibitions of ability to recall a whole
box full of trinkets after a single glance begin in childhood
by exposing to the prospective performer for recognition,
after a very brief exposure, three objects, then four, then
five, and so on. The scope of attention is thus broadened.
All forms of expert observation involve this breadth of
apprehension. The expertness cultivated in reading involves
318 PSYCHOLOGY
the power of recognizing at a glance a series of words. The

child is limited in his ability to grasp words and only gradu
ally reaches the stage where he can take in many at once.
The poor reader is found to be one who has made little
progress in the cultivation of a broad range of attention.
Many an adult is seriously handicapped because he can
recognize at a glance only one word . The individual who
finds himself thus limited should train himself by going
rapidly over familiar material. , The familiarity will give the
necessary clearness to details, for familiarity is likely to im
ply some earlier analysis . The rapid view of the familiar
material will help to synthesize many elements into a single
experience. The limits to which skill may be cultivated in
this matter are described by saying that an expert reader
can very often surpass by two or three hundred per cent
an ordinary reader.
What is true of reading is true of other situations in
which expertness can be cultivated . The person who draws
learns not only to see minutely but to take in the totality
of a situation . The architect sees many features of a build
ing and shows a grasp of both detail and general appear
ance which the untrained individual can hardly compre
hend. The skilled artisan sees more in every piece of
work of the type which he knows than can an inexpert
observer.
Dangers of specialization . There appears at this point
one of the crucial difficulties in education . Perception is a
process in which individual development is often highly
specialized . For example, the skilled artisan may see much
in the kind of materials with which he is used to dealing
and be quite oblivious to other perceptual facts ; the shoe
maker sees the shoes which a passerby wears, but has no
interest in his tailoring. The fact is that perception is closely
related, as was shown in an earlier chapter, to special train
ing in direct manipulation. The extension of experience to
MENTAL HYGIENE 319
include many different kinds of percepts will therefore re

ndonly quire deliberate effort on the part of the observer ; other
manya wise he will fall into narrow modes of seeing only a small
as made part of the world .
of atte Control of perceptual attitudes. Not only so, but the
cause he limited range of ordinary perceptual experience is exhibited
dividual in the fact that our attitudes toward the objects about us
are very often quite irrational . One dislikes a person whom L
one meets, for no better reason than that the stranger re
肇
Bek sembles an acquaintance whom the observer does not like.
thefir The child likes a color because he saw it first in an agree }
ntoas able setting. If experience takes its course without super
ltivate vision, these attitudes become fixed and the narrowness of
perti perceptual interpretation passes into a lifelong habit.
Practical study of one's own attitudes ought to raise one
above the level of accidental attitudes. It often requires
uations time and effort to set aside one of the ready-made reactions
The da which so easily attach to percepts. The person who is afraid
e of thunder and lightning may have to drill himself for years
Eati to overcome this attitude which has become second nature,
# but a new attitude can be cultivated by anyone who will set
22095 himself to the task.
Tar Control of attitudes as a case of volition. In general, the
DRIVE types of training which have been advocated in the last two
물
paragraphs are types which can be accomplished only through

the domination of experience by higher mental processes.
A man must know something of himself in an ideational way
if he is deliberately to cultivate new ranges of perception and
new attitudes. What he accomplishes through self-control
will ultimately reach back into his perceptual life and will
make him alert about many new opportunities to see and
hear; it will also make his personal attitudes more rational.
The result will be a richer perceptual life and a more whole
some series of attitudes. Perception will thus grow and
overcome the inherent tendency toward specialization .
320 PSYCHOLOGY
Rules of wholesome ideation. When one comes to

memory and ideation, to language and abstraction, the field
of applications in personal life is unbounded. A few par
ticular maxims of mental hygiene in these fields may be
selected, but the student will have to supply for his own case
most of the rules which will insure success of his mental
processes.
Economy of mental effort. One of the special problems
of memory is the problem of economy of effort. If one has
a passage of prose to learn by heart, how should he do it
by learning a line at a time or by taking in large units ?
The answer supplied by careful experimentation is that he
should learn by large units. The reason why learning by
large units is advantageous is not far to seek. If one reads
to the end of a line and then goes back to the beginning of
the line, he sets up an association between the two ends of
the same line, whereas he ought to set up an association
between the end of the first line and the beginning of
the next.
The maxim that one should learn by large units can be
amplified to include many cognate cases. The student trans
lating a foreign word looks up the word in the vocabulary
and glances through a long list of meanings, most of which
he rejects. It would be economy of mental effort in the
long run if he would master all the meanings, rejecting none
but including all in a complete view of the word . The failure
of the student to see this is due to the apparent ease of
accomplishing the limited immediate purpose, whereas he
ought to cultivate a broad, though more remote, purpose.
Preparation as aid to memory. Another general principle
of memory is that even a very abstract scheme which pre
pares the mind in advance to retain experiences will make
it possible to hold more in memory than can be taken in
if the material is not arranged . This is illustrated by the
man who prepared himself to remember long arbitrary lists
MENTAL HYGIENE 321
她齔 E N
ne comes of words by setting up in his mind a series of a hundred

on,de rooms, arranged in fixed order, in each of which was hung
a single mental picture ; then when the words to be re
eldsm membered were given, he associated one with each succes

hisown sive mental room and picture . Later, by going through the
rooms in order, he could recall the series of associated
his
ideas. The prearranged mental scheme was the key to his
power to retain.
Still better is a rational scheme. The student of science
Ifthe
gets ultimately an outline of his subject in mind, and every
E
hedit
new author whom he reads falls into this scheme and is D
rgeL
classified in detail . A trained student thus cultivates a
amics method of remembering a great body of opinion by classi

Oneto fying it.
If one wants to learn to remember what cards have been
OCON played in a card game, let him have a plan of arranging

his own hand, and then the accidents of the game will be
ME
forced into an orderly scheme.
Organization the key to all correct thought. The general
formula which emerges from all these examples is the
formula of organization . Ideas should be arranged. When
ideas are arranged, they can be carried in greater bulk
than when they are isolated . Indeed, they can never be
isolated in any absolute sense because some kind of asso
ciation will always couple them together. Arrangement
means, therefore, an association which is dominated by
some clear purpose or plan .
The domination of thought by some leading idea. This
general formula can be employed also in treating briefly
some of the phases of abstraction . The world is for each
individual rearranged in terms of personal interests and
personal modes of abstraction . The man whose ambition
is wealth selects out of everything that comes into his
experience those elements which have to do with money.
He comes ultimately to see the world from the one point
322 PSYCHOLOGY
of view. The man whose ambition is power sees men and

things from an entirely different point of view. The man
without ambition drifts about, looking at his world to-day
from one point of view, to-morrow from another. Abstrac
tion is the most subtle and pervasive fact in individual life.
We all transform the worlds in which we live by the pur
poses which control us in life. So absorbed do we become
in our personal points of view that it requires a serious jolt
to bring us back to the point where we are willing to make
revisions.
Language of great importance in furnishing central ideas.
The importance of language as an instrument of social ab
straction will be instantly recognized in the light of what
has gone before. There are phrases current in language
which dominate personal thought and make our thinking
like that of our neighbors . Take such a word as " effi
ciency " ; the world is different to a man after he acquires
that word as a part of his working vocabulary.
The ineffectiveness of a detached verbal idea. The mean
ing of these statements for individual development can
hardly be misunderstood. The practices of the schools in
making language subjects the center of the course of study
can be defended in the light of a psychological study of
language. To be sure there is danger in mere verbal
reactions. Language subjects in the schools need to be
brought back into relation with the practical activities of
life in order to insure the use of words as instruments
of real abstraction and social intercourse. Mere words may
be trivial, but words as guides to thought and as instru
ments for the determination of abstractions are powerful
factors in controlling personal thought and action.
To the student who spends most of his time dealing
with books perhaps the warning in the last paragraph
should be made somewhat clearer. The cerebrum is so
complex in its structure that a tract may be established
MENTAL HYGIENE 323
seesm through its tissue, leading from the visual center directly
ew. The to the speech center. Words read will be repeated, but if
s world this short circuit alone is set in action, the process will
ther. A have to be described as one of mere repetition .
ndividu Higher organization as a cure for verbalism. The remedy
byc for mere verbalism is the development of larger systems of
owebecer behavior. The eye may see a long stick and the hand
aserious may use this stick under the guidance of organized experi
ingto ence to pry up a weight. This reaction with the stick may
not arouse at all the speech tract above described , even
ntral though the speech tract has been aroused by a textbook
ofsuc in physics to repeat a passage about a lever. The indi
The ef vidual thus contains within his complex life one series
which is a series of reactions with a real lever and another
thirt series which tells about levers. There is a possibility that
these two tracts existing side by side will not affect each
eart other in any way. The individual who is aware of this
dangerous type of separation of relatable activities within
himself will make a conscious effort to unite verbal reac
ent tions with practical reactions . He will aim to set up a
Dabr higher internal organization including both speech and
ofstud hand adjustment.
A neglect of this demand for complete internal develop
ment is one of the most serious dangers of our present-day
education. The real trouble is not that words in themselves
are bad or that handwork in itself is limited, but in the
rush of modern life the two are cultivated side by side and
neither gets the benefit of the other. What is needed is
a higher type of organization which will include the ver
bal or theoretical discussion of levers and the illuminating
experiences that come from having levers in the hand.
This higher form of experience will bring to practical life
all the advantages of abstraction and to abstract life all
the advantages of concrete application. Both ends can be
reached in one and the same individual.
324 PSYCHOLOGY
Self-directed organization as the goal of the higher mental

life. Again we find ourselves speaking in terms of higher
forms of organization . Wherever the individual can compre
hend in a single system of nervous or mental organization
more elements, there the adaptations of life and experience
will be broader and better. The lesson is clear. The indi
vidual must seek of his own initiative those higher forms
of organization which will realize most fully the possibilities
of his life.
The highest level of individual organization is reached
when mental development becomes a matter of voluntary
control . Under the definition of volition which was worked
out in the last chapter it was seen that volition consists in
a control of action through intellectual prevision of results.
So it is also in the mental world . When the mind by self
study sees the goal which self-development should reach,
it is possible by voluntary effort to move toward this goal.
Thus we have seen how knowledge of the nature of per
ceptual attitudes may guide one in modifying these atti
tudes . In like fashion, knowledge of the limitations of
study of theory may guide one in cultivating applications.
Knowledge of one's own limitations may lead to a per
sistent attack upon these limitations. In short, voluntary
self-development means the cultivation of the broadest
possible systems of behavior.
mehigher
erms of
al canc
nd exper CHAPTER XVII

ar. The
,,,
APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
epassin
Psychology a basis of scientific thinking about human
IS T conduct. There are many phases of practical and scientific
ofroh thought regarding human activity which are illuminated by
Waswas the study of psychology. Indeed, wherever human nature is
Constr a factor in any set of phenomena, there is need of a clear
ofre understanding of the human contribution to the situation,
1
and this can be supplied in scientific form only by a study
HE of psychology. The complete demonstration of the useful
ness of psychology would require a series of supplementary
e ofa chapters. It will be enough for our present purposes if the
general outlines of some of these discussions are presented.
thurs Design in art as a psychological fact. Our first illustration
ication can be drawn from the field of the fine arts. This is a sphere
in which the relations of the individual to his external en
017
lint vironment are relatively free. When the artist paints a pic
needs ture, he is guided, so far as the design of his production is
concerned, by the laws of his own taste. Art grows out of
the demand for subjective satisfactions , not out of any com
pulsion imposed by the physical world. It is for this reason
that psychology draws many of its best illustrations from the
sphere of art. If we find a general principle running through
art, we are led at once to the conclusion that there is a cor
responding tendency in human nature. Certain simple illus
trations may be offered . Thus, there is a certain proportion
between the long and short sides of rectangular figures which
is pleasant to look at. The proportion can be expressed mathe
matically by saying that the long side is to the short side as
325
326 PSYCHOLOGY
the sum of both is to the long side. If we examine those

objects which have been freely constructed without special
external limitations, we shall find that a great many of them
take on this proportion . For example, when an extensive
series of measurements was made of the two legs of orna
mental crosses, it was found that they maintain the propor
tion described. This fact can have no objective explanation
and must have been dictated by human subjective attitudes.
Freedom in art. Again, certain of the types of sym
metry in architecture are efforts to meet the demands of
human nature rather than of external requirements . If we
examine the forms of architecture which grew up in a period
when men were free , so far as the external environment was
concerned, to construct buildings of any size which they
pleased , rather than to fit their constructions to the require
ments of a city building lot, we find that the size and form
of these free buildings assumed certain general proportions
which were determined, not by the external conditions, but
rather by the demands of taste . Indeed, one of the funda
mental distinctions between ancient and modern architecture
is a distinction which can be described by saying that the
early builders followed their sense of proportion, while modern
builders follow certain definite laws of mechanical construc
tion . A Gothic cathedral of the pure type very commonly a
exhibits certain irregularities in the position and size of its
columns, which yield in the mass an impression of solidity
and symmetry that could not be obtained if every part of the
building had been made to conform to exact mechanical rules.
A modern building is constructed with definite reference to
mathematical regularity of dimensions and with reference
also to the strain which is to be placed upon every given
part of its floors and walls . There is little tendency to
use the material freely ; there is much greater tendency to do
only what is necessary to meet the simpler mechanical re
quirements. A column made of steel is designed to support
APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY 327
examine a certain weight, and the size of the column used in a build
without s ing is usually determined by the weight which it is to carry
manyofthe rather than by its appearance. The immediate effect of at
anext tention to such mechanical requirements is that we have
many ugly buildings.
legs of
Architectural harmony analogous to musical rhythm and
harmony. There are many indications in the earlier, freer
e explanat
iveatt architecture of the Greeks that they followed certain broad
c principles of rhythmical proportion which correspond so closely
pes of
demands to what we find to be the principles of musical rhythm and
ents. li harmony, that there is a suggestion of a common type of
human organization lying back of both spheres of art . It has
ape
ment! been pointed out, for example, that the height of a Greek
Whichthe column is an exact multiple of its diameter. Furthermore, the
space between the columns always stands in definite relation
thereq
to the diameter of the column. In details of construction
andfr
also, as, for example, in the various portions of the decora
roperti
tions in the Ionic capital, the parts are related to each other
tions
in definite unit ratios, so that a constructive symmetry runs
hefie
through the whole and gives the observer a feeling of com
posure and unity.
that
Literary art and psychological laws. What is true of
mode
architecture is much more obvious with reference to literary
CONFE
art. It is clear that the laws of literary composition must be
laws of human nature, and the great artists have unquestion
eaf
ably followed with sufficient closeness the demands of human
Whi
nature to leave their works as standards for future develop
ment and as expressions of the direction in which all individual
rala
development must tend.
1775
Prose rhythms as related to the personal organization of
writers. Some purely formal indications of the complete
ness with which great literature conforms to the demands of
human nature may be found in the fact that there are even
in prose compositions certain typical rhythms which give to
these compositions a regular symmetry of character, which
OGY
328 PSYCHOL
undoubtedly constitutes one of its charms. It is a striking

example of the fact that art may outstrip science, that it is
not yet possible to give any complete theoretical account of
the prose rhythms of the best writers . Evidently those who
have contributed the great works to literature have succeeded
in utilizing the language in which they wrote in such a way
as to express an internal organization of their own which was
altogether appropriate to their theme and to the vernacular,
and this they have done spontaneously and very often without
complete theoretical recognition of what they were doing.
When the student of such prose arrives by laborious analysis
at some knowledge of the rhythms which it contains, he is
not creating rhythms, but rather rediscovering by the tardy
methods of scientific analysis a formula which has been
achieved by the great writer through intuition.
Verse another example of the same type. If the forms
of prose composition have exhibited complexity of structure,
together with a fundamental regularity of form, it is even
more true of verse that its masters have never followed rigid
mechanical principles in their work. And yet they have ade
quately met the demands of human nature. Their conformity
to a limited group of principles is seen in their adherence to
certain regular forms which are sufficiently obvious to be imi
tated in gross outline by writers of less taste and power; but
the full and effective use of verse forms has always involved I
a certain freedom of manipulation which has defied any com
plete theoretical account. Psychology must frankly admit in
such a case as this that it follows in the steps of a complete
adaptation, very far behind the adaptation itself. Neverthe
less, the psychological problem is clear, and a general sug
gestion as to the explanation of these facts may be found in
what has been said in an earlier connection regarding the
nature of rhythm. Whatever the unknown details, rhythm
is certainly in keeping with the natural demands of the nerv
ous system. Because the nervous system is rhythmical in a
I
isa sm complex way in its own functioning, it responds favorably to
ce, that rhythms of impressions.
al accoun Literary content controlled by psychological laws. It is
ythose not alone in its form that literature expresses the demands
e SUC of human nature ; the content may be studied from the same
sucha point of view. It is possible by a psychological analysis to
throw much light on one case which has been the subject of
vermar much mystical speculation . It has often been suggested that
tenwi human intuitions and vague feelings frequently bring us much
weredi nearer to that which afterward proves to be the truth than do
USanais our most elaborate processes of reasoning. The poet has
ains, be always claimed for himself a higher position than he would
the allow to the scientist who is bound by the demands of rigid
hasbe evidence. We often speak of the insights of the artist, and
mean by this phrase that the artist sees beyond the ordinary
facts of definite observation and clear vision to ranges of facts
he fir
STUND which are of importance, but are not open to our inspection .
ise Feeling and intuition . What has been said in an earlier
red chapter with regard to the nature of feelings will be of some

MESS assistance in clearing up the paradox which here appears.
fo When explaining the feelings, we discovered that whatever

W1/2 " runs counter to the organized nature of the individual will
arouse a disagreeable feeling. Whatever is in fundamental
agreement with nature will give pleasure. If now the ex
periences of life are in subtle agreement or disagreement
Ott with the organization of the individual, it does not follow
that the individual will become clearly conscious of this fact
in ideational or abstract terms , and yet he may be vividly
aware of the disagreeable feeling imposed upon him by a
certain experience. For example, as we have seen in earlier
discussions, the organization of an animal may be such that
certain color stimulations are fundamentally opposed to its
natural organization . Feeling is, therefore, a kind of spon
taneous adjustment with a practical value which often sur
passes that of incomplete theoretical judgments . Feeling
330 PSYCHOLOGY
may be relied upon in those situations where the organiza

tion is simple enough or the response direct enough to
a
give an unbiased reflection of the individual's relation to the
impression. On the other hand, when life becomes complex,
S
as it is in human beings, native instincts and native feelings
are often overlaid by a series of developments so indirect F
J
that there comes to be a certain rivalry between the author
ity of feeling and the authority of abstract knowledge.
s
There can be no doubt, for example , that the social selec
tions by which one determines who shall be his friends are
1
dependent in large measure on intuitions, but one does not
0
need to be very old or worldly-wise to recognize that the
complexities of social life are such that the instinctive feel
W
ings which we have in making the acquaintance of new
individuals are not always safe guides in the development a
of social relations . What is true of social relations is true,
undoubtedly, of artistic intuitions and of larger intuitions of
universal truth. It is quite impossible to persuade one who
regards a line of poetry as beautiful that it is not beautiful
because it violates some rigid law of versification . It is C
quite impossible to convince one who enjoys a certain pic

ture that the picture is deficient because it does not comply
with certain canons of a certain school of art. On the other
hand, it is frequently possible, by a series of educative con
tacts with better artistic and literary forms, gradually to
modify an individual's organized feelings so that he shall
completely change the character of his judgment . Intuition
is, therefore, not a separate and distinct faculty of life ; itis
rather an expression of that immediate form of recognition
of congruity or incongruity which characterizes the feelings
as distinguished from abstract theoretical knowledge . The
statement made by the poet may express an attitude which
is true to the facts and will later be fully explicated by the
clearer ideational view cultivated in abstract thought. There
is no ultimate opposition between feeling and thought.
the Many of the social sciences predominantly objective in

their methods . When we turn from the discussion of art
ct eng
elation t and feeling to certain more practical spheres of investigation
involving human nature, — namely, those taken up in the
mescom
social sciences and anthropology, ―― we find that the study of
ativefe
SSO C psychology is very direct in its application to these spheres
of study and explanation . It has not always been fully
thea
recognized that psychology has a relation to the social
knowle
sciences. Certain schools of social scientists have treated
SocialSe
the institutions which they study merely as objective facts .
friends
To show this, we may take as an illustration one of the
nedoes
oldest of social sciences ; namely, the science which deals
zethe
with language. Language is a product of human activity
nctive
which has a sufficiently independent existence to make it
œdz
an easy subject for examination and analysis. To trace the
relop
history of a word is to undertake an investigation which
nsist
calls for little reference to the individuals who may have
Cutie
made use of this word. In like fashion, the study of a sys
OBE
tem of sounds and written symbols may result in the dis
beaugh
covery of certain regularities and laws of phonetics without
n.k
$1 reference to the human beings who used this language and
who were the ultimate sources of regularities in the lan
guage itself. The same historical and objective methods
To th
have been applied to the study of other institutions . For
example, religious systems have been described and their
uniformities and divergencies have been ascertained without
more than a passing reference to the individuals who
developed these systems or adhered to them.
Introspective psychology and its limited support to social
science. The tendency to confine attention to an objective
study of human institutions has been strengthened by the
attitude which for a long time prevailed in psychology, when
the chief method of investigation was the introspective
method, according to which the individual attempted to dis
cover the laws of mental life through an examination of
332 PSYCHOLOGY
his own immediate experience, and with very little refer

ence to the modifying influence of his fellow beings or the
secondary factors of his environment. When the problem i
of psychology is more broadly conceived, so that it is seen
that the character of human mental life can be defined only
by a more elaborate study of numerous examples and ex 1
ternal relations, the spheres of institutional study and of
psychological investigation are gradually brought nearer to
each other.
Interrelation of psychology and social science. In the
course of recent psychological study, much valuable illus
trative material has been borrowed from the sciences which
deal with language and from anthropology. Psychology has
thus expanded under the influence of the new body of
material which has been adopted into it. The methods of
psychology have become more objective, and the results
of individual introspection have been broadened . On the
other hand, the scientific study of all other human beings
must be based upon one's own personal experiences. One
naturally thinks of primitive man in terms of his own men
tal experiences. If there is no scientific study of the matter,
the student is likely to carry over analogies and apply them
to cases where they do not illustrate, but rather obscure,
the truth. Thus, as has been pointed out by a recent writer, (
there is a widespread tendency to describe the mental abili
ties of savages by means of a succession of negatives . Savages
do not count, they do not have a full series of color terms,
they do not paint pictures or write. All these negatives
are mere expressions of the natural tendency to accept our
selves as standards. We should become sufficiently imper
sonal in our studies to recognize that savages probably have
a nicety of space perception which is very much greater
than ours . They may not select color qualities and name
them , but for the finer grades of variation in plant and
animal life as indicated by color they have the most highly
ery little developed discrimination . Not only the savage, but even
beings our contemporaries in different civilizations from our own,
the p are exceedingly baffling unless we make some study of their
hat itse types of mental development . The institutions of Tibet,
defined China, and Japan are obviously different from our own , but
iples and the character of the mental processes back of these insti
studyand tutions has been little thought of and little studied . The
ht Da careful scientific study of the mental characteristics of
different peoples is one of the most promising lines of
ce : extension of psychological study.
TheZ Human evolution psychical . So intimately is social
ences organization bound up with the mental development of the
chology individual that we are justified in the statement that psychol
w bet ogy is the basis of any explanatory account of social insti
metho tutions. There is one particular anthropological problem
the re where the significance of psychological analysis can be
On made very clear. Anthropology has never succeeded in
anbir finding structural modifications in the human body which
ces, would at all adequately account for the great superiority of
WAR highly developed races over the more primitive tribes of
$ mankind. Even the explanation of the crucial development
by which man became differentiated from the animals is
Oba one of the obscure chapters in anthropology. It cannot be
denied that the explanation of all these matters must be
sought in terms which refer to the development of intelli
gence, especially the development of language and the use
of tools, as has been indicated in an earlier discussion.
The problem of anthropology is thus distinguished from
the purely biological problem, where intelligence is not rec
ognized as playing any part. How could a certain group of
animals suddenly break away from the established type of
evolution in which changes in structures played a large part
and become animals characterized by intelligence, meet
ing the emergencies of their lives by a mental adaptation
1
of themselves rather than by a purely physical adaptation ?
334 PSYCHOLOGY
Why should this group of animals turn to the develop

ment of all the instruments of civilization ? The problem
stated in this form becomes a problem of functional de
velopment rather than a problem of physical development.
This animal must have been driven at some time into a
situation where his development turned upon his ability
to adopt a new type of behavior and a new mode of life.
There can be no doubt that the scientific explanation of
the breach between man and the animals depends upon
the recognition of a transformation in the mode of behavior
and mental life rather than upon any fact of gross bodily
change. Put in another way, the statement may be made
that we need no animal form to serve as a connecting
link between man and the animals . The common struc
ture, the common physical needs of man and the animals,
are now made out so fully that what science requires is an
explanation of the gap, rather than the link, between man
and the animals . The doctrine of biological evolution has
successfully established the principle of continuity. It re
mains for genetic psychology to explain the discontinuity
which appears when intelligence begins to dominate, when
sensory-motor adjustments of the reflex and instinctive type
give place to habit acquired through individual intelligence
and to the more elaborate forms of thought.
A hypothesis to explain the break between man and
the animals . An interesting hypothesis has been suggested
which illustrates the possibility of assuming a distinctly func
1
tional attitude toward the question of the evolution of man.
This hypothesis suggests that the gradual changes in physi
cal organization which characterize all of the different species
of primates lead up to the appearance of man only because
at one time a number of these primates were forced, prob 0
ably by the emergencies of a glacial climate in certain quar
ters in which they were confined, to adopt a mode of life a
which brought them down out of the trees and forced upon
당
the deve them types of activity which led to their construction of arti
Thepr ficial shelters and to the preparation of forms of food which

unctional had not been previously utilized by their race. The change
evelopme here assumed depends on the rise of a powerful motive for
timein new ways of behavior. Whatever change there was in the
his individual consisted in the opening of new paths in the cen
ode d tral nervous system. This change in the trend of evolution ,
lanation when once it appeared, was so important that the further
ends history of the group of animals which succeeded in effecting
1
ofbeha it was in the direction of adaptation through intelligence
ossby and nervous organization rather than through gross changes
bem in bodily structures. Whether we give any credence to this

Conne hypothesis or not, it expresses admirably the functional atti
Ton S tude in the explanation of human evolution . It expresses

clearly the fact that the nature of mental and functional
Tres 5 adaptation is the significant problem for anthropology rather

ATC than the mere search for changes in physical organization ;
then it gives to anthropology a definite impetus in the direction

of the study of mental organization, as distinguished from
the study of bodily structures .
ente Spencer's application of psychology to sociology . Another

illustration from a later period of human development which
re ha,
will also emphasize the significance of psychological study
for anthropology is to be found in Spencer's discussions, in
which he calls attention to the fact that the growth of civili
zation depends upon the broadening of the individual's men
tal horizon. He points out the fact that the savage who had
interest in only a small range of territory and the present
enjoyment of objects immediately about him gradually de
veloped into the semicivilized man interested in a larger
territory, a larger number of individuals, and a longer period
of time. The planting of crops and the erection of perma
nent buildings cannot be explained by objective conditions
as has sometimes been attempted in the history of civiliza
tion . There must be ideas and imaginations in the mind of
336 PSYCHOLOGY
some active being before the future can be anticipated suffi

ciently to lead to the planting of the crop or the erection
of the building.
Relation of educational practices to scientific psychology.
Conspicuous among the social institutions to which psychol
ogy may be applied in a direct and practical fashion is the
institution of education . Here again is a type of adaptation
which has grown in an unscientific way to a high degree of
maturity. This statement implies no disposition to deny the
effectiveness of many of the practices of educational institu
tions . They may be effective without being scientific. They
are the outgrowth of a need which has been felt by every
generation, and the educational institutions which have been
developed in response to this general need have been refined
and modified in view of experience , until finally they express
with a high degree of perfection the final judgment of many
generations upon important questions connected with the
training of the younger generation. Yet there are obvious
reasons why these historical institutions should be reëxam
ined. Some of the uncritical methods of education are found
to be wasteful ; again, the educational practices of different
peoples or different sections of the same nation are found
to be inharmonious . There arises, therefore, a demand for
a careful analysis of the whole situation and the establish
ment of those practices which scientific analysis can justify.
It is true that many hold the same attitude with regard to
education that they do with regard to art ; namely, that it is
safer to rely upon the intuitions of human feeling than to
attempt to formulate an abstract system of education . Those
who adopt this position with regard to the advantages of in
tuition in education have justification for their position, in
C
so far as educational practices are refined to a point beyond
our knowledge of the laws of human development. The
most acceptable plea for a scientific study of education which
a
could be presented to such persons would consist in a plea
ticipated for a more complete knowledge of the same sort which they
or the era have in their native intuitions . It might be said, for exam
ple, that the study of educational methods involves nothing
cpsychol more than the bringing together of the individual experi
-hich p ences and practices of all those who have become skilled in
ashio educational practice . A comparative study would help to
of adape eliminate those individual intuitions which are incorrect,
h deg because they are based upon too narrow experience .
todar Psychology as a preparation for the intelligent diagnosis
onalinst of particular situations which arise in educational practice .
tific The final examination of educational practices must go much
ItbyE further, however, than is implied in this appeal for a com
have parative study of intuitions . Attention must be called to the
enre fact that much of our devotion to traditional educational prac
erexte tices is nothing more or less than a deliberate confession of
HE our ignorance of the way in which the human mind develops .
When a teacher is confronted by children who are unable
ed to comprehend the lesson which has been set, he very com
Ittel monly can make no analysis of the child's difficulty. He
velve then covers up his ignorance of the step which should be
Citter taken by requiring repeated efforts on the child's part, until
efo in some unknown fashion the difficulties are mastered . It
does not follow that the particular difficulty encountered in
any given case would have been recognizable if the teacher
had made a study of human development in other individ
uals, but the probability that the trained teacher will be able
to make a scientific analysis of the difficult situation at hand
is increased if he becomes acquainted with the principles
and results of scientific psychology. Intuition should there
fore be supplemented by as full an account as can be given
of the way in which mental processes go on and of the
methods by which these processes may be examined.
A few illustrations may serve to make clear the place
and value of the psychological study of educational prob
lems. First, a number of investigations have recently been
338 PSYCHOLOGY
undertaken with a view to defining in detail the course of

development of certain habits. Broadly stated, the conclu
sions of these studies show that no habit develops in all of
its stages at a uniform rate. There is at the outset a period
during which improvement is relatively very rapid ; this is
followed by a period of slow development, which in turn
gives way to successive periods of rapid and slow growth.
Weeks ofPractice
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40
140
Sending
Minute
130
Letters
9នគឩឬដ
120
per
110
100
Slowest Main Line Rate

ng
60 c e ivi
Re
FIG. 60. Curves for sending and receiving telegraphic messages

The curve is published by Bryan and Harter. The number of weeks of practice is
indicated in the upper part of the figure. The number of letters which can be
received and sent in a minute is represented in the vertical. The figure is divided
. by a horizontal line, which shows the standard rate
A curve illustrating the process of learning. One of the

earliest investigations of the way in which an individual
learns may be described in detail . This investigation was
undertaken to determine the rate at which a learner acquired
the ability to send and receive telegraphic messages . The
selection of this particular case for the test was due to the
ease with which measurements of proficiency could be made
and to the maturity of the persons investigated, which made
it easy to subject them to a series of tests. In Fig. 60 the
results of the investigation are represented in a curve. Along

the top of the figure are marked the successive weeks during
which the investigation was carried on ; along the vertical
line at the left the number of letters which could be received
or sent in a minute . A single point on the curve repre
sents, accordingly, both a stage in the practice series and
the number of letters which could be received or sent dur
ing a minute at this stage of development. The curves taken
in their entirety represent the gradual increase in the ability
of the subject. It will be noticed, in the first place, that the
improvement in sending and in receiving messages followed
an entirely different course, both with reference to rate of
improvement and also with reference to the successive stages
of development. Concentrating attention for the moment
upon the curve which records improvement in receiving,
we see that the development is at first rapid and then for a 1
long time practically stationary. After the stationary period,
or plateau as the authors called this part of the figure, came
a second rapid rise in the curve .
Significance of a " plateau " in development. In Fig. 61
a second curve of the same sort is shown, which makes it
possible to explain the pause, or plateau, in development.
The lowest curve in this second diagram represents the
development of proficiency in recognizing isolated letters .
The second curve represents the development of proficiency
in receiving isolated words which did not unite into sentences,
and the full curve represents, as before, the development of
efficiency in receiving words which constituted sentences . It
will be noticed that the ability to receive isolated letters and
the ability to receive isolated words developed rapidly for a
time, until they reached their maxima, and then they con
tinued indefinitely at the same level. This level is so related
to the plateau in the total curve that the plateau can safely
be defined as the period during which the subject was in
the word stage of development, rather than in the sentence
340 PSYCHOLOGY
stage. Only after the ability to receive single words had

been thoroughly matured was a new type of development
possible.
Other examples of the same type of development . Such
an analysis as this of a case of learning shows much with
regard to the psychological character of the process . It also
Weeks of Practice
8 12 16 20 24 28 32
T
108
Minute
Letters
96
per
84
d
e
te
rs
Slowest Main Line Rate

ec
ou
nn
sc
Co
Di
60 Words
Letters
36 01
n
24
St
12 01
FIG. 61. Analysis of the receiving curve

This figure is similar to Fig. 60. For further discussion, see text (p. 339)
suggests the possibility of including the process of mental

development under certain broad laws of development.
There are many analogous cases in general evolution where
it has been noted again and again that periods of rapid
development are followed by long periods of assimilation.
It is a well-known fact of bodily growth that the enlarge
ment of the body is most marked at certain periods in the
year and at certain well-defined periods in the child's life.
After one of the sudden enlargements of the body, there
follows a period of gradual assimilation of the new develop
ments, during which the body remains stationary in its size
for a considerable time . The facts of organic evolution on

1-1
a larger scale are of the same type. During certain periods

the animal kingdom has advanced rapidly by the production
of new forms, after which long stationary periods appear,
during which these new forms are more completely adjusted
to their environment without being in any important sense
modified . Such statements as these make clear the distinc
tion between assimilation and acquisition in both the physical
and mental worlds.
The fact that certain forms of mental development are
periodic rather than continuous is illustrated in many cases
where quantitative tests have not been made. It has often
been casually observed that a mature subject learns a foreign
language, not with uniform rapidity, but in a way analogous
to that shown in the curves given above. At first there is
rapid acquisition of the words and grammatical constructions
of the new language, but after a time the power to acquire
new phases of the language seems to be brought to a stand
still, and the period of discouragement which follows is
often felt by the learner to be a period of no development,
while in reality it is a period of assimilation and preparation
for the later stages of growth. When the later development
into the full use of the language comes, it is so sudden and
striking in its character that it has been noted time and time
again as a period of astonishing mental achievement.
Motor habits intermittent. Many habits of action exhibit
the same type of intermittent development. If one learns
some manual art, he finds that the incoördinations with
which he begins are only gradually eliminated ; but finally he
learns the combination which is advantageous, and from that
point on the improvement seems for a time to be very rapid.
It is sometimes advantageous in a course of training to give
up practice for a time in order that the various elements of
the coördination may have an opportunity to readjust them
selves and in order that the new efforts at development may
342 PSYCHOLOGY
begin at a new level. Professor James has made the striking

remark that we learn to skate during the summer and to swim 11
during the winter. The significance of this observation is P
that it recognizes the intermittent character of the develop
ment of habit and the advantage of a period of assimilation, St
sometimes even of a period of complete cessation of the
activity in question.
School training in its relation to the stage of development
attained by the mind . From the point of view of practical S
education, it is obvious that the types' of training which
should be given at the different periods in mental develop
ment are by no means the same . During a period of rapid
acquirement of new material, one sort of training is appro e
priate ; during a period of delayed assimilation, that form e
of training is most appropriate which is technically known
in the schools as drill. The ordinary unscientific education
has recognized vaguely that there is a difference in the
kinds of training demanded at different times ; but the ad
justment of these different types of training to the demands
of individual mental development is an intricate problem 01
which can be worked out satisfactorily only when a careful ne
study is made of educational practice.
Significance of scientific studies often indirect. The value
of scientific studies of habits and of forms of training is
shown by such considerations as the foregoing. It also
becomes evident that such studies do not necessarily change
the subjects of instruction nor even the general methods
established by tradition, but serve rather to refine our knowl
edge of the process of mental growth and make it possible
for us to deal with different stages of the educational process
with much greater precision . To justify scientific investiga
tions which seem at first sight remote from school problems,
it may be well to point out that the solution of one problem
in mental development makes it possible to attack all other
problems of a similar kind more intelligently. If one knows
thes
with scientific precision that a period of assimilation occurs
in one case of mental development, he will be better pre
servati pared to discover and understand a similar period in other
heder cases where it may be less easy to make an exact scientific
ssimil study. For example, we get useful suggestions to guide us
ion d in understanding children's reading from the study reported
above on learning telegraphy. The mastery of the word ele
ments in ordinary reading is similar to the mastery of these
{prati same elements in the case of the telegrapher.
inga Expression as an essential condition of mental life. An
Idevel other concrete illustration of educational progress may be
found in the fact that there is a general disposition among
educators to-day to recognize the importance and value of
hati expressive activities in all educational processes . The early
type of education was that in which sensation processes were
ducati emphasized almost to the exclusion of activities. Whether
the educational practice which emphasized impressions can
be attributed to the sensation psychology which was contem
ema porary with it, or whether the sensation psychology was the
唐
noble outgrowth of a false educational theory, is a question which

need not be discussed here. Certain it is that the limited
view of mental life and the false principle of education, both
of which emphasized impressions rather than expression,
existed for a long period side by side. It may have been
the growing experience of practical teachers which led to
the discovery of the fallacy in the doctrine that mind is
conditioned primarily by impressions. It may have been
the insight of scientific students which gradually made it
clear that human activity must always be recognized in dis
cussing the processes of mental development ; or it may be
that the two lines of thought and practice grew up together.
In any case, it is certain that a transformation of educational
practice and a corresponding transformation of psychology

have been going on for a generation, until now we have
in both an emphasis on bodily activities.
344 PSYCHOLOGY
(
Psychology historically a part of philosophy. Turning
F
from these practical applications of psychology to education,
it remains for us to discuss one of the applications of psy F
chology which has always been recognized in the historical
development of this science ; namely, the relation of psy
chology to the philosophical disciplines . Indeed , it may be
said that psychology was not only applied to the problems

of philosophy ; it was originally devoted to the discussion of
a
these problems to such an extent that it was regarded as an
integral part of philosophy, not as an independent science.
Philosophy deals with the ultimate nature of matter and
mind, with the fundamental laws of reality and the relation
of reality to human experience, with the ultimate nature of
truth, goodness, and beauty. There have been times, for
example during the medieval period, when the interest in
such ultimate problems ran so high that there was little or
no attention given to the special problems of science . The
time came, however, with the development of modern
thought when these larger problems receded into the back
ground and men began to concern themselves with the
phenomena in the world rather than with the ultimate reali
ties underlying these phenomena. It is characteristic of the
present scientific period that the special sciences neglect
to as great an extent as possible the questions of ultimate
reality. The student of psychology participates to a very
large extent in this tendency to omit from his discussion
questions relating to the ultimate nature of mind. He
cannot, however, accept as final this aloofness from the
broader questions, for he finds himself, more than his
neighbor who deals exclusively with the natural sciences,
led to ultimate problems .
Relation of psychology to philosophy closer than that of
any of the special sciences. When, for example, one points
out that a sensation is related to a fact of external energy
indirectly through the organs of sense, or when one points
out that space is a definite form of perception on the one

hand, and of arrangement of objects on the other, the
psychologist is driven to consider the relation between con
sciousness and the external world more than the student of
the other particular sciences. The student of natural science
uses in every act of observation the relation between subjec
tive experience and the physical world ; he exercises his
mind in trying to know the world, but his interests are
always centered on the relations between things, never on
the relation between things and consciousness. Hence the
student of natural science easily avoids questions relating
to the ultimate interaction between himself and the physical
world . The student of psychology cannot escape these
questions. His study of sensation pushes him in the direc
tion of an examination of this relation . Furthermore, when
the student of psychology finds that the construction of
concepts is an elaborate mental activity, he is immediately
led to ask not only what are the laws which control such
conceptual activity, but also what are the relations of scien
tific ideas to external reality, and what are the laws which
determine the validity or lack of validity of these concepts.
It is true that psychology cannot answer all of these ques
tions, and it has been our purpose in the foregoing discus
sions to adhere as closely as possible to the sphere of strict
psychological inquiry, postponing these ultimate questions
or entirely omitting them . It is, therefore, very appropriate
that we should call attention at the end of our inquiry to
the disciplines which deal with these more elaborate inquiries,
and that we should define their relation to psychology.
Psychology and logic. Logic attempts to formulate the
laws of valid reasoning . To be sure, logical principles can
be worked out without the aid of psychology, through
repeated efforts to reason correctly, but the clear definition
of logical relations waits on the psychological descriptions
of the mental processes involved in reasoning.
LOGY
346 PSYCHO
Psychology and æsthetics. The second branch of phi

losophy is æsthetics . In earlier chapters reference has
been made repeatedly to the underlying principles which
SOC
control the recognition of symmetry and regularity of form,
mu
and it was pointed out in earlier paragraphs of this chapter
tha
that the canons of architecture and painting are directly re
are
lated to certain fundamental principles of human feeling and
as
recognition. There still remain a large number of special
can
analyses and special considerations which must be worked
lies
out in order to define fully the canons of taste in each field
Cor
of art and the general canons of taste which underlie all
-
forms of art. Such considerations of the canons of art
constitute a legitimate development of the general psycho
Spe
logical studies which have been suggested, and constitute
the special discipline of æsthetics . phy
2
Psychology and ethics . When we turn to the third of
tion
the special philosophical disciplines, namely ethics, we find
of
again a natural relation to psychology, though it is perhaps
log
proper to emphasize here more than in the case of logic or
to
æsthetics the independence of ethical canons from purely
all
subjective organizations . The rightness or wrongness of
Can
human behavior is not understood primarily through an
analysis of the processes of behavior themselves . The Spe
On
rightness or wrongness of behavior depends upon certain
broad considerations involving the social interrelationships ple
of the active individual . It is necessary, therefore, to make Jea
the
a study of the extra-mental or social relations of the indi
tha
vidual in order to establish the canons of ethical conduct.
an
One does not need to discuss the extra-mental relations to
anything like the same extent when he attempts to define ger
the
the laws of reasoning in logic or the laws of appreciation
in æsthetics . It is true that the individual's modes of be, the
em
havior, as they have been worked out in the course of
res
social life, come to embody much of the social interrelation
ship which determines their ethical validity. The individual of
nch de
who has grown up in a social group ultimately conforms
ference&
in his modes of thought and internal organization to those
ipleswit I
social demands which are imposed upon him by the com
ity of f
LEROSTU munity in which he lives . It is probably true, therefore,
that in the last analysis the fundamental truths of ethics
directh
are expressed in the internal organization of the individual
feeling - as well as in the forms which are approved under the
of spec
canons of social life, but the development of ethical laws
bemade
lies somewhat beyond the application of psychology. We
eachEar
come to ethics chiefly through the study of the applications
of psychology to the sciences of social institutions.
Psychology and metaphysics. When we turn from the
special philosophical disciplines to the broader field of meta
Consti
physics , or the general theory of reality, we find that the
Lind-/ relation of psychology to these broader types of considera
tion is relatively indirect . Metaphysics takes up the results
WeL
of natural science which deals with matter and of psycho
logical science which deals with consciousness, and attempts
Ig to formulate some general principles of the relations between
all forms of reality. To this general discussion psychology
cannot contribute final answers any more than could the
special sciences of physics or chemistry. Psychology can
only present its conclusions after it has carried out as com
Chib
plete an analysis of consciousness as possible, and must
07503
leave it for metaphysics to make an ultimate comparison of
these facts with the physical facts . The student who finds
that an empirical analysis of consciousness conflicts with
M any of the established views which constitute a part of his
general theory of the world should recognize that it is not
the function of any single science to reconstruct his total
theory of the world . He will have to accept the results of
empirical analysis in all the different spheres of exact
research and work out a general view which will include all
of these results . The conclusions of psychology need to be
generalized exactly as do the conclusions of physics and
OLOGY
348 PSYCH
chemistry. No generalization will be finally valid which

does not comprehend the empirical analysis of each one of
these sciences . Furthermore, it should not be forgotten
that there are many types of consideration which forced
themselves upon human attention long before the various
forms of scientific analysis could be worked out, and these
considerations must also be recognized in the - construction
of a broad philosophy of life. The generalizations which
were reached before the development of the special sciences
require revision in order to include the results of these
sciences . This fact should not disturb the mind of any
student and need not lead him to ignore many nonscientific
types of experience . The training in scientific inference
which he has received in the study of empirical psychology
should lead him to recognize that all generalizations are
subjective constructs built up from a great variety of experi
ences, many of which are superficially in disagreement with
each other. The subjective construct is not to be discarded
as invalid, because it changes with the acquisition of new
1
knowledge ; one's theory of the world must change in order 2
to fulfill its function as a complete, organized expression of
the manifold experiences which enter into life. Psychology,
more than any other science, should lead to a recognition
of this demand for a constantly progressing enlargement of
philosophic view. While, therefore, modern psychology as a
science has freed itself from the obligation of dealing with
the broad philosophical questions, it continues, when rightly
understood , not only to contribute material for philosophic
thought, but also to urge the student to the rational recon
struction of his general abstract views. It is therefore intro
ductory, not merely to the special philosophical disciplines
दद द द द द
but also to the more remote discussions of metaphysics itself.

1
alid
물
을
ch cat
for
ch for INDEX
De van
and thes Abnormals, psychology of, 11 Arithmetic, development of, 229
structi Abstract words , 236
Armstrong, A. C., vi
Abstraction, 232, 263 Art , 325
IIS WR Accommodation, 86 freedom in, 326
Achromatic sensations, 74 Articulation, selection of, 214
Action, voluntary, 301 Association , 245
ofthe and words , 235 principle of, 59
Active organs, glands as, 138 Association area, Broca's, 57
dz muscles as, 134 Association areas, in cortex, 50,
scient Adaptation, conscious, 4 52, 53 P
human, and ideas, 251 frontal , 58
nferens Aërial perspective, 184 in human cerebrum, 54
choly Esthetics, 346 Association centers, 29
After- effects of hypnosis, 295 Atom, concept of, 262
Jons After-images, auditory, 114 Attention , 62, 156, 160
table of, 100 and gesture, 216
visual , 94 involuntary, 303
en Agreement, internal, as test of im voluntary, 301
scard agination, 257 Attitudes, 66, 69, 142, 233
Alcohol, 285 control of, 319
ofne Alligator, nervous system of, 31 external, 155
ords Alphabet, blind , 167 fundamental, 146
evolution of, 222 ideational , 254
Altruism , 151 mental , 207
American Crowbar Case, 58 Auditory area in cerebrum, 52, 53, 54
Ws
Amplitude, 78 Auditory organ, 109
gmit of vibrations , 78 Auditory sensations, 100
entof Anæsthesia in hypnosis , 290 Auditory sensory processes ,
Analysis, perceptual, 316 Auditory space, 169
yasa scientific, of consciousness, 65 Axis cylinder, 39
gwi Analytical psychology , v Axone, 39
Anger, 152
igh!t Angier, R. P., vii Barter, 252
Animal language, 212 Basilar membrane , 109
opii Animal psychology , 10 Beats, auditory, 112
recur Animals , unicellular , 15 Behavior, 5
Anthropology and psychology , 333 animal, 248
Aphasia, 56 and attitudes, 142
plite Apparatus in experiments, 8 and belief, 266
Application and verbalism, 323
tself Applications of psychology, 69, 325
and consciousness, 17
and education, 343
Aqueous humor, 85 and experience, 130
Arabic numerals , 229
Architectural harmony, 327 fundamental forms of, 23
of higher animals, 34
349
350 PSYCHOLOGY
Behavior, higher forms of, 34, 68, Chemical senses, 123

253 Child psychology, 10
higher types of, and ideas, 304 Child's idea of self, 270
ideational, 248 Child's imagination, 259
and imagination, 256 Chinese writing, 221
individual, 136 Choice, simple, 304
inherited, 138 voluntary, 68
and instincts, 199 Choroid coat of eye, 85, 87
of multicellular animals, 22 Chromatic sensations, 74
nerve cells, 41 Circulatory activities, 154
and organization , 313 Circulatory movements, 154
organization of, 140 Classification, of conscious proc
scientific studies of, 309 esses, 61
selective consciousness , 132 threefold, 63
and sensitivity, 17 Cochlea, auditory, 108
simplest types of, 16 Codfish, nervous system of, 31
speech, a form of, 209, 217 Coherency, criterion of, 258
of unicellular animals, 16 Cold spots, 122
voluntary, 301 Color, 74
and words , 235 Color blindness, 90
Behaviorism, iii of periphery of retina, 89
Belief, 265 table of, 99
Berkeley, 179 Color circle, 76
Binocular vision, 180 Color-mixing, 92
Biological evolution, 334 table of, 100
Biology and psychology, 3 Color names , 75
Blind spot, 9 Colors, complementary, 93
Blind, the, tactual percepts of, 167 Combinations of sensations, 163
Brightness, 77 Communication, animal, 213
Broca, 56 systems of, 212
Bryan, 338, 340 Complementary colors, 93
Concept of self, 269, 272
Cajal, 41 , 44, 45, 49 Concepts, 251
Cameron, E. H., vii scientific , 262
Canals, semicircular, 107 validity of, 263
Cause, idea of, and self, 275 Concrete words, 235
Cells, gustatory, 120, 121 Conduct, control of, 253
muscle, 134 Cones of retina, 87, 88
nerve, 39 Conflict of instincts , 200
olfactory, 117, 118 Conn, 83
Centers, in cerebrum, 50, 52, 53 Consciousness, and behavior, 17
higher, 29 definition of, 12
nervous, 29 and evolution, 3, 250
Central nerve cells, 22 and heredity, 203
Central nervous system, 25 nervous conditions of, 5
Cerebellum, 28, 45 and nervous structures, 38
evolution of, 31 and physical facts, 72
human, 38 selective , 130
Cerebral processes and choice, 305 and sympathy, 160
Cerebrum , 28 Content, literary, 329
cortex of, 50 Contiguity, association by, 245
evolution of, 31 Contractile cells, 19
human, 38, 47 Contractility, 15
INDEX 351
Contrast, association by, 246 Distance, of sounds, 171

of self and not- self, 271 visual, 178
space, 174 Dog, nervous system of, 31
visual, 96 Dove, nervous system of, 31
visual, table of, 100 Dreams, 283
Control , of behavior, 135 Drugs , 279, 285
in mental hygiene, 315 Dual personality , 292
Coördinating center, nervous sys in hypnosis , 291
tem as, 25
Coördination , 136 Ear, evolution of, 103
of activities, 314 structure of, 104
Cord, human, 38, 42, 44 Ebbinghaus, 113
spinal, 28 Economy of mental effort, 320
Cornea of eye, 87 Edinger, 46, 47, 48
Cortex, of cerebellum, 45 Education , 336
cerebral, 44, 49, 50 and choice, 309
Corti, arch of, 110 Efficient cause and self, 275
Creation theory of language, 210 Elements of consciousness, 73
Criticism, of ideas in hypnotism, Embryological methods of localiza
291 tion , 53
of imagination , 256 Emotional expression and speech,
literary, 260 211
Crowbar Case, 58 Emotional life, disturbance of, 299
Current, nervous, 21 Emotional reactions, 253
Czermak , 104 Emotions , 147
in experiments , 8 P
Darwin, 202 higher experiences , 153
Deafness , tone , 115 Empirical tests of imagination, 257 J
Decision, 306 Equilibration , organ of, 107
Definition of psychology, 12 ९९
Essay toward a New Theory of
Delayed instincts, 198 Vision," 180
Delirium, 287 Ether, concept of, 258
Dendrites, 39 Ethics, 346
Depth, visual, 179, 186 Eustachian tube, 106
Design in art, 324 Evolution, and behavior, 133
Development, plateau in, 339 of belief, 265
of self-consciousness, 269 of complex organisms, 32
of space, 165 and consciousness , 3 , 250
Diagnosis, psychological, 337 of ear, 103
Difference tones , 112 of eye, 80
Differences, individual, 2 of gestures, 217
Diffusion, 203, 204, 206 human, 333
nervous, 60 of ideas , 253
Digestion, 15 of instincts, 198
in higher forms , 19 of muscles, 134
Direct behavior, 248 of nervous system, 31
Disappointment , 155 parallel of behavior and structure,
Discord, 114 23
Discrimination and words, 227 Excessive excitation, 298
Diseases, toxic effects of, 286 Excitation, process of, 21
Displeasure, 147 Experience, and behavior, 130 1
Dissociation, 278 definition of, 12 1
degrees of, 281 and emotions , 152 !
352 PSYCHOLOGY
Experience, of lower animals, 27 Human nervous system, 38

ordinary, I Involuntary movements during
and physical facts, 2 attention , 157
and time, 191 Localization of functions, 52, 53
Experiences, classifications of, 63 Movements of unicellular ani
Experiment, auditory space, 170 mals, 16
in psychology, 7 Müller- Lyer illusion, 172
Experimental psychology, 11 Muscle cell, 134
Experiments, on the present, 191 Muscle cells, primitive, 20
reaction, 310 Muscular contraction, 135
Expression and mental life, 343 Nasal cavity, 116
Extensor movements, 154 Nerve cells, 20, 39, 40
Extirpation, 51 Nerve cells, evolution of, 41
as method of localization, 51 Nervous system of alligator, 31
Eye, evolution of, 80 Nervous system of codfish, 31
human, 84 Nervous system of dog, 31
Nervous system of dove, 31
Facilitation, principle of, 59 Nervous system of frog, 28
Familiarity, visual perception , 184 Ojibwa love letter, 220
Fatigue, 280 Olfactory cells, 117 , 118
Fatigued nerve cells, 280 Peduncular fibers, 46
Fear, 148 , 149 , 150, 201 Photographs of eye movements,
Fechner, 129 177
Feeling, 63 Poggendorff illusion, 176
and intuition, 329 Relation of retinal image to size
organic, 153 of object, 179
Feelings, cultivated, 147 Retina , 88
Fibers, in cerebrum, 47 Sensory cells in vestibule of ear,
nerve, 39 108
systems of, in cerebrum, 47 Sensory processes and reactions,
Figures : 143
Association fibers, 47 Sound waves in beats, 113
Association by similarity, 245 Space-contrast illusion, 174
Balance , 158 Spinal cord, human, 42, 44
Binocular parallax, 182 Stag beetle, nervous system of, 25
Blind spot, 9 Starfish and nervous system, 24
Cerebellum, human, 45 Structure of hydra, 18
Cerebral centers, 52, 53 Synapses , 40
Cerebral cortex, 49, 50 Taste bulbs, 119, 120, 121
Cerebrum, human, 46 Touch organs, 124 , 125 , 126, 127
Chinese writing, 221 Wave forms, 77
Cochlea, auditory, 109 Zöllner illusion, 176
Color circle , 76 Figures of speech, 238
Cord, human, 44 Fiske, John, 151 , 152
Corpus callosum, 48 Flechsig, 52 i
Curve of sleep, 282 Flexor movements , 154
Development of telegraphic lan Food instincts, 198
guage, 338, 340 Form, recognition of, 132
Ear, 104 Fovea centralis, 89
Evolution of eye, 82 Franklin, Mrs. C. L., 97
Evolution of letter M, 222 Freedom of will, 308
Eye, human, 85 Frog, behavior of, 35
Fatigued nerve cells, 280 nervous system of, 28
INDEX
353
Fusion , 64, 67, 70
U
general, 264
of sensations, 163 higher behavior, 304
and space , 187
and use , 190 and higher social life, 268
312 and impressions , 240 , 241 , 254
Galton, 242 influence of, 249
General ideas and words, 234 and memory, 240
Generalization , 264 scientific , 258
Geometrical perspective , 184 and speech, 209, 215
verbal, 233
Gesture language , 216
Glands, active organs, 138 Ideation , 68
wholesome, 320
Golgi- Mazzoni corpuscle , 125 Ideational attitudes, 254
! Gossip, evolution of word, 231 Ideational behavior, 248
Gravity , concept of, 232 Illusion of weights, 159
Gray, sensations of, 74
Gray matter, nervous , 42 Illusions, 278
Greeff, 88 optical, 172
Greek column , 158 Imageless ideas, 232
Greek philosophy and psychology, 2 Imageless thought, 246
Imagery, and ideas , 246
Habit, 304 individual variations in, 242
and consciousness, 207 and words , 232, 233
and diffusion, 203 Images, and ideas, 237
and instinct, 202 memory, 6
and perception , 191 as obstructions to thought, 238
Habits, 195 Imagi nation, 251 , 254
derived from instincts , 199 child's , 259
motor, 341 literary, 260, 330
Hair, nerves around , 126 personifying, 255
Haller, 18, 20 uncritic al , 259
Hallucinations, 278 Imitation, and speech, 212
Handwriting, habit of, 204 theory of speech, 210
Harmony, musical, 114 Impressions, and ideas, 254
Harter, 338, 340 not ideas , 240
Heat spots, 123 sensory, 66
Hebrew alphabet, 223 Impulse , 302
Helmholtz, 110, III Incus, 106
Herrick, 108, 109 Indirect behavior, 219, 248 I
Higher animals , behavior of, 34 Indirect nervous centers, 30
Hodge , 280 Individual, higher, self- sufficiency
Hydra , 18 of, 33
Hygiene , mental , 314 Infant expression , 214
Hyperæsthesia in hypnosis, 290 Infant recognition of space, 165
Hypnosis, 279, 287, 288 Inheritance of nervous structures,
26
Idea of self, 269 Insanity, 279, 294, 296
Ideas, 70 Instinctive behavior, 301
abstract, 263 Instinctive life, disturbance of, 299
balancing of, 306 Instincts, 26, 138, 196, 198, 207
character istic of man , 239 and religion, 267
dominant, 321 and sentiments, 267
in dreams , 283 Intensities, sensation, 126 1
flexibility of, 247 Intensity of sounds, 102
Interest and behavior 132
354 PSYCHOLOGY
Interjection theory of speech, 211 Meatus, external, 104

•
Intervening objects and visual internal, 106
space, 185 Mechanical laws and space, 187
Intoxication, 286 Mechanical senses, 123
Introspection, 4, 13, 14, 311 Medulla, 28
and classification, 66 human, 38
defects of, 6 Melancholia, 297
sensations, 141 Memory, 14, 64, 67, 70, 196, 320
Introspective psychology, 331 experiments in, 7
Intuition and feeling, 329 and ideas, 240
Involuntary attention, 303 physiological conditions of, 32
Irritability, 15 training of, 243
Irritable cells in higher forms, 19 and words, 226
Mental hygiene , 314
James, William, vi, 342 Metaphysics, 347
Jastrow, 157 Method , indirect, in psychology, 14
Jealousy, 152 in psychology , 4
Methods of brain localization, 50
Jennings , 16
Judgment , 264 Mind and evolution , 333
Missenian corpuscle , 124
Kipling, 149, 150, 151 Mixed colors , 77
Knowledge, 63 Motive for psychology, 1 , 2
Kohlschütter, 282 Motor area, cerebral, 55
Motor areas in cerebral cortex, 50,
Language, 209 52, 53
and ideas, 215, 322 Motor nervous process, 22
Law, Weber's, 127 Motor processes, 59, 64
Learning curve, 338, 340 in sleep, 284
Learning handwriting , 205 Motor reactions, 311
Learning, units of, 320 Movements, analysis of, 311
Lens, evolution of, 83 and attitudes, 154
of eye, 85 eye, 175, 176
Letters, evolution of, 222 in reactions, 312
Libertarianism, 308 undeveloped, 206
Life, concept of, 275 and visual perception, 186
Light, analysis of, 3 Müller-Lyer illusion, 172
external, 78 Multicellular animals, 18
Literary content, 329 Multiple personality, 293
Literary imagination, 260 Muscle cell, 134
Local signs, 168 Muscle, sense organs in, 125
Localization ofbrain functions, 50, 58 Muscles of eye, 84
Muscular tension , general , 302
Location, auditory, 169
Locke, John, I Mythology , 259
Locomotion, instinct of, 199
Loeb, 24 Nagel , 52
Logic, 265, 345 Narcotics, 285
Lotze, 168 Nasal cavity, 116
Loudness of sounds, 102 Negative after-images, 95
Love, parental, 151 Nerve cells, 39
evolution of, 41
M, letter, evolution of, 222 fatigued, 280
Mallery, 220 types of, 22
Malleus , 105 Nervous centers , higher, 31
INDEX
355
Nervous conditions, of conscious
Overexcitation , 286
ness, 5 Overtones , 102
and drugs, 285
e, 18 Nervous current, 21
Pacinian corpuscles , 124
Nervous processes and sensations, 72
Nervous structures and conscious Pain, 62 •
Pain spots, 123
ness, 38 Parental love, 151
Nervous system, as basis of psycho
logical classification, 61 Paths, nervous , 26
and behavior, 35 nervous, in cord, 42
centralized , 23 Peduncular fibers , 46
Perception , 67 , 164 , 174 , 304
of frog, 28
human , 38 of objects, 188
stag beetle , 25 summary of, 194
starfish, 24 Percepts, of blind, 167
vertebrate, 27 et seq. and habits , 191
Neurones , 39 and repetition , 190
du evolution and development of, 41 Perceptual analysis , 316
Newton , Isaac, 3 Perceptual behavior, 248
Noise, 102 Perceptual process, example of, 252
Number names, 228 Perceptual synthesis, 317
Number terminology, 227 Personality, disorganized, 278
Numerals, systems of, 229 dual , 292
dual, in hypnosis, 291
Objective, 13, 271 multiple, 293
Objects and perception, 188 scientific idea of, 274
Observation, and classification, 61 and volition, 308
in psychology , 8 Personifying imagination, 255
self-, 4 Perspective, aërial, 184
Occult in psychology , 2 geometrical, 184
Ojibwa writing, 220 Philosophy, 344
Olfactory lobes, 28 Photographic records of eye move
Olfactory organ, 116 ments, 175
Optic lobes, 28 Phrenology, 57
Optical illusions , 172 Physical facts, and consciousness,
Organ of Corti, 109, 110, 111 72, 79
Organic activities, 315 and experience , 2
Organic feelings , 153 Physiological conditions, of con
Organic retentiveness , 195 scious processes , 249
Organic sensations , 125 of experience , 14
Organization, 64 of habit, 201
for behavior, 34 of sleep, 279
of behavior, 141 Physiological psychology, v, II
concept of, in psychology, 313 Physiology, visual perception, 175
and decision , 306 Pictographic writing, 219
and diffusion, 60 Pigment- mixing, 94
idea of, 275 Pinna of ear, 193
of ideas, 254 Pitch, 101
normal consciousness , 287 Plateau in learning , 339
principle of, 60 Play, 137
self- directed, 324 Pleasure, 62, 146
and thought, 320 Poggendorff, 176
Ossicles, chain of, 106 Positive after- images, 95
Post-hypnotic effects, 295
356 PSYCHOLOGY
Practice, effects on illusions, 173 Religious belief, 267

and illusions, 177 Reproduction, 15
Preface, first edition, v evolution of, 33
second edition, iii in higher forms, 19
Present, the, 191 Retention and memory, 244
Pressure spots, 123 Retentiveness, organic, 195
Prevision , 307 Retina, 87
Primary colors, 75 Retinal image, size of, 178
Problem , meaning of term, 237 Retinal rivalry, 183
Protective instincts, 197 Retzius, 126, 127
Protoplasm , 15 Rhythm, prose, 327
Psychiatry, 11, 299 and time, 193
Psychology, abnormal, 278 Rivalry, retinal, 183
and æsthetics, 346 Rods of retina, 87, 88
animal , 10 Rolando, fissure of, 53
and its applications , 268, 325 Roman numerals , 229
and biology, 3 Ruffini, 125
child, 10
definition of, 12 Saturation , color, 77
and ethics, 346 Scala, tympani, 109
experimental, 8, II vestibuli , 109
forms of, 10, II Science , development of, 261
functional, v Scientific ideas, 258
Greek, 2 Scientific studies of learning, 342
and logic, 345 Self, idea of, 269
and metaphysics, 347 as scientific concept, 272
and philosophy, 344 unity of, 275
Self-consciousness , 273
and physics , 3
physiological, v, 5 , 11 development of, 269
Self-directed organization , 324
scope of, 12, 69, 70
social, II Self-observation , 4, 13
structural , v Semicircular canals, 107
Sensation intensities , 126
subdivisions of, 10
Psycho-physics, 73 Sensations , 66, 69, 71
Purple, 76 ory , ion
auditinat 101
comb and arrangement of,
Purpose and choice, 309
162
Quality, tonal, 101 introspective , 141
muscle , 125
Reaction experiments, 310 organic, 125
Reaction times, 310 of smell , 117
Reactions , 66 of taste, 119
motor, 311 of touch, 121
visual , 74
an and visual sensations,
sensory, 311 Sense org
Reading of blind, 167
Reasoning, 264 80, chemical and mechanical,
Senses
Rebus and alphabet, 223
Recall and memory, 244 123
Recency and memory, 243 Sensitive cells, 19
Recognition and attention , 161 Sensitivity, 17
Reflex, 44 Sensoryy area, cerebral, 55al
Sensor areas in cerebr cortex,
Relativity of temperature sense, 123
Religion and self-consciousness, 273 50, 52, 53
INDEX
357
Sensory cells, 20 Stimulation, 21
Sensory centers , 29
Sensory impressions , 34 as method of localization, 51
Stimuli, gustatory, 121
meaning of, 139
Sensory nervous centers, 29 olfactory, 118
Stimulus, 20
Sensory processes, 22, 64
Sensory reactions, 311 physical , 127
Sentiments , 267 Structural psychology, v
Shadows, 185 Subdivisions of psychology, 10
Shame, 152 Subjective, 13, 271
Sheath of Schwann, 39 Suggestions, 289, 291
Summation tones , 113
Signs, local, 168
Similarity, association by, 245 Sylvian fissure, 54
Size , perception of, 175 Symbolic value, 252
visual, 178 Symbols , number, 228
Sleep, 279, 281 writing , 221
curve, 282 Sympathy, 158
and motor processes, 284 and consciousness, 160
Smell, 116 Synapses , 40, 41
rudimentary sense, 118 in sleep, 280
Smith, C. H., vii Synthesis, perceptual, 317
Social consciousness and self, 272
Social influence and thought of in Tables :
dividual , 225 After- images, 100
Social life and higher mental proc Auditory processes , 115
Color blindness , 99
esses, 267 Color contrasts , 100
Social motives and language, 223
Social psychology , 11 Color- mixing, 100
Social sciences , 208, 331 Experiences, 37.
Sociology, 335 Forms of behavior, 36, 37
Solidity, visual, 181 Nervous structures , 36, 37
Sound, localization of, 171 Physical light and sensations, 79 ⚫
physical, 101 Red-green color blindness, 91
Sounds and communication , 213 Tallies, 228
Space, auditory, 169 and number, 228
many senses, 169 Taste, sensations of, 116, 119
and movement , 187 Taste bulbs , 119
product of fusion, 163 Taylor, I., 222
tactual, 164 Telegraphic language, 338
visual , 172 Temperature, production of, in ani
Specialization, 318 mals , 32
of functions , 18 Temperature spots, 122
Spectrum , 76 Tension, constant, in muscles,
Speech, 209 138
and ideas, 215 experiments on, 156
origin of, 210 Tensor tympani , 105
Speech center in cerebrum , 56 Tests of imagination, 256
Speech centers, 54 Testute, 39, 124
Spencer, 335 Theories, of color vision, 97
Spinal cord, frog's , 28 of origin of language, 211
Stapes, 106 Thought relations, 234
Starfish, nervous system of, 24 Timbre, 102
Stereoscope, 181 Time, 191
Tone deafness , 115
i
|
358 PSYCHOLOGY 1
Tones, difference, 112 Visual area in cerebrum, 52, 53, 54

summation , 113 Visual space, 172
Tool-consciousness, 249 Visualizers, 242
Tooth, nerve in, 127 Vitreous humor, 85
Touch, inner, 168 Vividness , 62
organs of, 122 and memory, 243
sensations, 121 Volition, 63, 70, 301
space, 164 and attitudes, 319
Toxic substances, 286 Voluntary choice, 68
Tracts, nervous, 59
Trench, 230 Walking as instinct, 199
Tschermak, 52 Wave forms, 77
Tympanic membrane, 105 Weber, 127, 164
Weber's Law, 127
Uncritical imagination in dreams, 284 interpretations of, 128
Unicellular animals, 15 White, sensations of, 74
behavior of, 16 Will, 63
Unity, concept of, 276 freedom of, 308
of objects, 189 Wonder, motive for psychology, I
of self, 275 Words, abstract, 236
evolution of, 230
Value, ideas of, 252 experiments, 226
Verbalism, 266, 322 and general ideas, 234
Verse, 328 interpretation of, 6
and time, 192 recognition of, 318
Vesicle, auditory, 103 social values of, 224
Vestibule, auditory, 107 Work song and language , 218
Vibrations, light, 78 Writing, evolution of, 219
sound, IOI Wundt, Wilhelm , vi, 167
Vision, adaptation of, to behavior, 132
and touch, 166 Zöllner, 176
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tive processes, ――― affection, feeling, emotion, and sentiment ;
the ideational processes, - memory, imagination, conception,
and thought ; and the processes of complex conscious adapta
tion, -the will.
Considerable space has been given to practical applications,
as they help decidedly in making clear and in fixing in mind
the principles involved. Applications of psychology are, of
course, especially useful to the teacher, and the learning and
teaching processes have received much attention.
As its title indicates, this is a first book in psychology. It
is especially designed for use as a text in normal schools , teach
ers' training classes in high schools, and in elementary courses
in colleges.
1922
GINN AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS 6
B
TWO BOOKS BY
LESTER F. WARD
APPLIED SOCIOLOGY
384 pages, with charts, $2.50
THE author's purpose in this volume is to point out how the obstacles
to human progress may be overcome by the application of the princi
ples of social science, and how the human race may be brought into
the full fruition of its powers.
The argument is supported by historical facts, and the work is to a
considerable extent statistical. It is illustrated by colored maps, charts,
and tabular exhibits.
The clearness, brilliancy, and vigorous defense of some pronounced doctrine
which we have learned to expect from Professor Ward are characteristic of this
book. It concerns real facts, not verbal distinctions ; it delights by its cleverness
of thought and style . - Science
THE PSYCHIC FACTORS OF CIVILI

ZATION (Second Edition )
xxi +369 pages, $2.00
THIS work is an original contribution to both psychology and sociol
ogy, and is, in fact, a combination of these two departments of science.
It shows in a systematic and fundamental way the workings of mind in
social phenomena.
The work is divided into three parts - the subjective factors, the
objective factors, and the social synthesis of the factors ; and appeals
especially to the following classes of readers : psychologists, sociologists,
economists, philosophers and thinkers, biologists and naturalists, also
to socialists and to social and political reformers.
It is impossible to indicate in a brief notice the variety of interest in the con
tent of Professor Ward's book, which boldly correlates still disputed doctrines
from psychology and evolutionary science, and connects with them a theory of
rational and aggressive social action, based upon the primary egotistic forces
" believing that neither meliorism nor sociocracy is dependent upon altruistic
props for its support."—.-Philosophical Review
189
GINN AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS
stacles
princ
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Stanford University Libraries
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This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

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A STUDY OF THE POPULAR MIND

NOTE TO THE READER

The paper in this volume is brittle or the

GENERAL BOOKBINDING CO., CHESTERLAND, OH.

A STUDY OF THE POPULAR MIND

THE following work is devoted to an account of the

question that is the subject of impassioned controversy.

prejudices and precon It is necessary, in consequence, when studying a

it possible to change exact geometrical forms would be to distort nature and

very difficult for such persons to attain to an exact

consideration. Every conclusion drawn from our

rawn from our

THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.

THEIR THE ERA OF CROWDS.

The evolution of the present age-The great changes in

that there is nothing so stable in a race as the inherited

with respect to their interests which are very clearly

growing at an early date. Whatever fate it may

the masses marks one of the last stages of Western grou

civilisation, a complete return to those periods of asyet i

Their rule is always tantamount to a barbarian phase. a partic

is at such a juncture that their chief mission is plainly of th

Whatever fate it may

insight into the psychology of the masses of the country

I His most subtle advisers, moreover, did not understand

It is for this reason that an indirect tax, however

that it never occurred to him to study the genius of

it never occurred to him to study the genius of

IN its ordinary sense the word " crowd " means a

circumstances, and only under those circumstances,

gathering take one and the same direction, and their

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. 3

THE MIND OF CROWDS.

ties which permit of the two kinds of crowds being

But before occupying ourselves with the different

are found to traverse their whole life with an unvarying

constitutions contain possibilities of character which

or their intelligence, the fact that they have been

and feelings which do not come into being, or do not

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. 7

elements of their character-the fruit of education,

aptitudes of the individuals, and in consequence their

THE MIND OF CROWDS. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. 9

een a great mathematician and his bootmaker, understood.

y in allows him to yield to instincts which, had he been

bility which always controls individuals disappears

those phenomena of a hypnotic order, which we shall

THE MIND OF CROWDS. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS . II

ity which always controls individuals disappears

irely. character and habits. The most careful observations

reciprocity. Х.The individualities in the crowd who

+ Moreover, by the mere fact that he forms part of an

le to attempt a diversion by means of different which the wind stirs up at will.

nce approve in his own person. Taken separately, the

The conclusion to be drawn from what precedes is,

§ 5. The morality of crowds. The morality of crowds,

HAVING indicated in a general way the principal

It will be remarked that among the special charac

siveness, irritability, incapacity to reason, the absence

§ 1. IMPULSIVENESS , MOBILITY, AND IRRITABILITY

bloodthirsty ferocity to the most extreme generosity