Page:Mind (Old Series) Volume 11.djvu/527

 526 J, M. CATTELL : The perception-time was thus for B 38, for C 40<r longer than for colours, and the will-time for B 11, for C 43a longer for the choice between two motions than for the choice between making a motion and not making it. In most of my experiments the motion corresponding to the impression was made with the organs of speech. I consider the time of special interest, as we are constantly reading a word, nam- ing a colour, &c. In the experiments first to be considered two impressions were used ; the observer did not know which was to come, but named the one occurring as soon as possible after see- ing it. The motion was registered by means of the sound-key. These experiments are an extension of those given in Tables XVIII., XXII., XXVII. and XXVIII. There the observer made a determined motion (i.e., named an expected object), here the motion had to be found after the impression had been distin- guished. The relation between the processes is exactly th n same as when the motion is made with the hand, the only difference being that we are constantly giving the name blue (for example) to a certain colour, whereas the association between a motion of the left hand and the colour blue must be made for the experi- ments. The impressions were taken in pairs as indicated in Table XXXI. 26 reactions were made as usual in a series, 13 on each of the two impressions. These results in Table XXXI., when compared with those given in Tables XVIII., XXII., XXVII. and XXVIII., give the increased will-times shown in Table XXXII. We have already seen that with the hand B needed less addi- tional time than C to make the choice between two motions : the difference between the two observers is still more marked when the motions are made with the speech organs. Table XXXII. is further interesting in showing a difference between letters and words on the one hand, and colours and pictures on the other. The association between a printed letter or word and its name requires less time, and is consequently closer than between a colour or picture and its name. We can understand this, as the former association is being more continually practised; still we could not have foreseen it, as the association between a colour or object and its name is formed long before we learn how to read. In the experiments now to be described there were not two objects and two corresponding motions, but a large number of objects ; the one occurring to be named by the observer. In this case we determine the time it takes to see and name an impres- sion, as a word or a colour. We have in the preceding section determined approximately the time taken to see an object : the difference between the two times gives us the time it takes to name the object. We shall first consider the time needed to see and name a letter. All the letters of the alphabet (capital letters of the largest size in the text of MIND) were used, each occurring once in the course of the series. After thirteen series had been