Page:First steps in mental growth (1906).djvu/32

 of mere description—being that the terminology of the adult psychology was devised for use in describing developed and not for describing undeveloped, just-appearing, undifferentiated processes. Such words as "idea," "memory," "volition" obviously relate to processes of the developed, not the undeveloped mind. A given process may be the forerunner, the promise of, may be the rudimentary form of an idea, a memory, a volition, but it is clearly misleading to describe such rudimentary affairs as ideas, volitions and so on—as it would be to call a tadpole a little frog, or a boy a little man. The situation is very like that in which the entomologist would find himself if he should suddenly lose the convenient words "pupa" and "larva" and should find himself reduced to the necessity of referring to his embryo specimens as "primitive forms of the butterfly," as "rudimentary beetles" and the like. Infant psychology, even of the functional type, is in great need of a vocabulary especially adapted to its needs just as the embryologist has a set of terms especially designed for his use.