Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/27

Rh the preponderant part taken by fear, awe, reverence and other emotions which are aroused when man is brought into contact with death. I shall begin by describing some of the leading conclusions reached by the modern psychologist and shall consider whether they will help us to decide between the rival views, and at the same time enable us to solve the apparent contradiction presented by the combination of conservatism and plasticity with which we are confronted whichever view we may adopt.

The first conclusion of modern psychology which I shall mention is one which will meet with general acceptance by all who have any practical acquaintance with the work upon which modern psychology is founded. It has become certain that the experience of early childhood has a vast influence on the formation of character and personality. As we might naturally expect, the investigation of the influences of early life has shown that the parents are especially potent in this respect, and psycho-analytic researches lay special stress on the role of the father.

There is much reason to believe that his influence is especially important in relation to the features of conservatism and plasticity with which we are now concerned. It is a prominent feature of the role of the father in the civilised family that he is the chief dispenser of authority, and we have reason to believe that the attitude of a person towards authority in later years is largely determined by the nature of the relation between father and child in early life. In our own civilisation the father is one of the chief agents, acting both directly and indirectly, by whom the ideals and traditions of the group are brought to bear upon the child, and so determine his attitude towards the society of which he or she is to be a member.

Innate disposition almost certainly contributes to determine whether a person readily follows the accepted custom of his group or rebels against it, but his attitude, and certainly the details of his attitude and the nature of