Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 15.djvu/297

 PHILOSOPHICAL PERIODICALS. 283 ' An Experimental Examination of the Phenomena usually attributed to Fluctuation of Attention.' [Liminal pressure and electro-cutaneous stimuli give no fluctuation. The intermittences of sensation resulting from minimal visual stimuli or stimulus -differences are explained as adaptation phenomena somewhat obscured by the special conditions. Adaptation is in itself a continuous phenomenon, but its continuity is interfered with by eye-movements, blinking, etc. The theory is sup- ported by a wide range of observations, and by elaborate experiments with variation of intensity and area of the stimuli.] M. P. Washburn. Minor Studies from the Psychological Laboratory of Vassar College.' (n.) A. Bell and Zi. Muckenhoupt. ' A Comparison of Methods for the De- termination of the Ideational Type.' [A test of the mutual consistency of the methods given in Titchener's Kxper. Psychol., I., ii. General agreement is found ; though the writers insist on the importance of distinguishing vividness and frequency of imagery.] C. H. Town. ' The Kinaesthetic Element in Endophasia and Auditory Hallucination.' [Re- port of eight cases, illustrating the different varieties of internal speech, isolated and not inhibited.] C. H. Town. ' The Negative Aspect of Hallucinations.' [Hallucination is based not upon dissociation but upon a narrowing of the field of Attention.] Literature. Notes and News. THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY. Vol. i., Part 4. October, 1905. W. H. R. Rivers. ' Observations on the Senses of the Todas.' [Results of an examination of the Todas in Southern India by means of visual, tactile, and olfactory tests. The value of these results is increased by comparison with those obtained from various other civilised and un- civilised races.] Charles S. Myers. 'A Study of Rhythm in Primitive Music.' [An analysis of the complex combinations of rhythms found in the music of the Malays of Sarawak, and showing that, whereas modern music has developed complexities of harmony, primitive music is char- acterised by complexity of rhythm and rests on the possibility of apprehending 'relatively long periods filled with measures of diverse length ... as an organic whole or "phrase".'] James Ward. 'Is ' Black " a Sensation ? ' [An examination of the facts, as well as of the various Revises of Helmholtz, Hering, Wundt, and S. E. Miiller, makes it probable that black is not a positive sensation.] W. M'Dougall. ' The Illusion of the "Fluttering Heart" and the Visual Functions of the Rods of the Retina.' [The term ' fluttering heart ' covers two different illusions, which ought to be distinguished. One of these illusions is observed in bright light only, and its explanation is physical, viz., difference in the refrangibility of the light-rays employed. The other illusion is observed in dim light only, and with dark-adapted eye, and must be explained with Von Kries as due to the fact that the rods respond to stimulation more slowly than the cones. This supports the theory that the rods are a special apparatus for vision in dim light, and if so, it is an argument in favour of Helmholtz as against fiering's Theory of Vision.] W. M'Dougall. ' On a New Method for the Study of Concurrent Mental Operations and of Mental Fatigue.' [Description of an apparatus securing uninterrupted attention to one process and recording at the same time the effects of the interference of a second process of attention.] Proceedings of the Psychological Society. THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC METHODS. II. 23. Kate Gordon. ' The Relation of Feeling to Discrimination and Conception.' [Feeling is pure quality and homogeneous.] I. King. ' The Real and the Pseudo-psychology of Religion.' [Criticism of Stoops : II. 19, For psychology religion consists of 'value attitudes'.] W. P.