Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 9.djvu/291

 NEW BOOKS. 277 of lower middle claw standing, and belonging to the >'< niiiiiirm -hull' in Jena. All the experiments were conducted in one and the same room, almost all between 9 and 11 A.M., and lasted not longer than twenty minutes. It was generally sufficient to say to the child " Tell me what occurs to you first ". The initial idea was suggested verbally, and was chosen at random, r.y., one series begins "ship, gold, bed, green, bad, ink, freedom, grey, flesh, butterfly, similar ". The nature of the replies varies. Some children tend to explain the word ; some take refuge in alliteration, rhyme, or other verbal similarities ; and some follow the lions of close relationship (as horse-carriage, cat-mouse, bread- butter, Christmas-nuts). The mass of the answers, however, cannot be traced so largely as in adults to persisting associations. Here is a good sample from a boy nearly eleven years old : " red-yellow, Jena- Weimar, sun-moon, water-fish, yellow-money, donkey-horse, coachman-coach, white-black, school-children, table-chairs, book-school, exercise book- children, stick-man, black-white, house-wall," etc., etc. Prof. Ziehen think* it unquestionable that children, between eight and fourteen, are more pronounced visuals than adults. The origin of the associations our author traces to two sources contiguity and feeling tone ; pure and undisputable associations by similarity he has never observed. Lastly, he thinks that association inquiries offer valuable hints to teachers as to the individuality and capacity of children. This scanty outline misses of necessity several points of importance. The task which Prof. Ziehen has set to himself and which he has so conscientiously performed opens a field of inquiry that is certain to attract many to its cultivation. What strikes one, on the negative side, is the artificiality and cramped scope of these experiments. Children, like adults, are normally immersed in a topic, in a system of thought, and hence normal association, unlike what lies before us for review, is systematic. Is it, then, safe to deduce from such premisses conclusions as to regular thinking ? Again, we should like to see the initial ideas varied. Let the same word be given re- peatedly ; let words of one class be chosen ; let words such as " that, him, how, not " be selected ; let a number of associations be demanded ; in fine, let the normal process of association be examined. To us it seems that the mechanical or quantitative standpoint should be replaced by a more many-sided, comprehensive, and freer method, much like that which is employed in the physical sciences generally. Prof. Cramer's analysis of those causes of nervousness in children which lie outside the school, is admirable. He takes a very sane view of the whole subject. He holds that nervousness is not a disease in the strict sense, and that it can often be prevented or cured. He protests against the growing literature on Degeneration which produces what it is sup- posed to combat. He significantly points out that the presence of nervousness in a family is of limited importance, since half of those who are untainted have tainted relatives. He divides the causes into endo- genous and exogenous. Among the former he specially considers heredity, direct (father or mother) and indirect (more distant relatives). Among the latter he enumerates a large variety of factors, <:g., neglect, poverty, pampering, ignorance. He insists that children should not be artificially stimulated during illness and convalescence ; that parents should not be too eager as to the progress of their children at school ; and that corporal punishment, which is now dispensed with in madhouses and criminal establishments, should not be administered in the home. On the whole. Prof. Cramer regards the roots of nervousness as being widespread ;. but he thinks that intelligent treatment may reduce the evil to a minimum. The pamphlet is to be recommended to parents and teachers. OCSTAV SPII.I.KR.