TABLE 13
MEANS, ETC., FOR LETTER-COUNTING
| Males. | ||||||||
| Age | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Average |
| M. | 92.81 | 92.48 | 94.00 | 95.87 | 92.66 | 97.06 | 89.06 | 93.42 |
| M. V. | 10.29 | 15.31 | 16.50 | 12.90 | 7.81 | 13.04 | 19.20 | 13.58 |
| +V. | 11.76 | 22.96 | 16.50 | 11.70 | 8.13 | 16.30 | 21.94 | 15.61 |
| No. +V. | 7 | 9 | 20 | 37 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 16.96 |
| -V. | 9.15 | 11.48 | 16.50 | 14.40 | 7.51 | 10.87 | 17.09 | 12.57 |
| No. -V. | 9 | 18 | 20 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 9 | 19.00 |
| R. V. | 11.1 | 16.5 | 17.6 | 13.5 | 8.4 | 13.4 | 21.6 | 14.59 |
| Errors | 0.88 | 1.04 | 2.10 | 3.03 | 1.70 | 0.89 | 2.75 | 1.77 |
| Females. | ||||||||
| Age | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Average | |||
| M. | 97.74 | 95.51 | 89.21 | 85.09 | 91.89 | |||
| M. V. | 17.06 | 14.56 | 11.30 | 11.28 | 13.55 | |||
| +V | 18.67 | 18.49 | 12.06 | 14.56 | 15.94 | |||
| No. +V. | 32 | 21 | 30 | 31 | 28.50 | |||
| -V. | 15.71 | 12.14 | 11.66 | 9.21 | 12.18 | |||
| No. -V. | 38 | 32 | 31 | 49 | 37.50 | |||
| R. V. | 17.5 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 13.3 | 14.70 | |||
| Errors | 1.35 | 1.46 | 1.49 | 1.65 | 1.47 | |||
SUMMARY
(1) The length of a second is slightly overestimated by men, greatly underestimated by women.
(2) Intervals of from 18 to 108 seconds are usually slightly underestimated by men (ages 17 to 23 years), and greatly overestimated by women (ages 17 to 20 years).
(3) The time-estimates of women are far more variable than those of men, and on the whole markedly less accurate.
(4) Both men and women favor estimates which end in 0 or 5, as well as simple fractions of a minute, but the tendency is stronger in women than in men. Over one third of the estimates reported in this paper were 15 seconds or simple multiples thereof.
(5) In letter-counting the groups of subjects studied (251 men and 274 women) exhibited differences just the opposite of those in time-estimation, for the men counted more rapidly and less accurately than did the women.
(6) Of the four fillings for the intervals used in the experiments, "writing" gave the smallest estimates of the intervals, listening to "reading" next, while "idleness" and "estimating" were conditions in which the intervals seemed much longer to both men and women.
(7) This preliminary study of sex-differences in time-estimation, by which it has been learned that women overestimate and are notably inaccurate in comparison with men, is to be followed and supplemented by the results of an investigation now in progress concerning the relations of sex-differences in time-estimation to age and physiological rhythms.
ASSOCIATIONS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT IDEAS
BY BIRD T. BALDWIN
The purpose of the following investigation was to study the influence of two or more starting-points on the train of associated ideas. It was begun in October, 1902, and concluded in January, 1905. Nineteen graduate students acted as subjects, and the experiments were conducted with each individually for one hour per week, except in a few instances where two subjects were present together. Occasionally the experimenter acted as subject in order to get a clearer insight into introspective data. There are recorded here thirteen groups of one hundred and eight sections, including eight hundred and fifty-five separate experiments, with a sum total of eleven thousand, one hundred and thirty-five named associations.
So far the field has not been studied experimentally, although Cordes,[133] while attempting to observe the effect of an unconscious intermediating factor in 'mediate association,' noticed that the accompanying factor (particularly with a tone) sometimes combined with the starting-point in determining the associated series. The fact is simply mentioned, and Scripture's[134] conclusions from the same are inadequate when he states, "In general we may say that two simultaneous ideas have an effect that depends on their relative masses; if one of the ideas is over-poweringly weighty the next idea will be chiefly influenced by it, but if the two are nearly balanced the next idea will be the result of the two." Miss Calkins[135] makes a near approach to the problem in a study of "Mental Combination," where auditory words were given as nearly simultaneously as possible and the subject was required to remain for four seconds in silence and then to write the train of imagery which passed in six following seconds; the words as auditory starting-points were finally excluded from the experiments "because the first word pronounced tends often to establish itself so firmly that its association-images are proof against the intrusion of the second word, which has therefore no chance to be grasped with the first." These results differ from the ones here recorded which were obtained independently and under different conditions. In her valuable monograph on Association[136] there is in one instance a suggestion of the problem, but no results are given.
The two or more starting-points were nonsense syllables, concrete or abstract words, pronounced by the investigator or shown on cards, or finally, pictures. The associations continued for a period of fifty seconds unless otherwise indicated. The same letters denote the same subjects throughout all the experiments, K. and R. being women. In the examples given, Roman numbers have been used, in place of the letters, as it was found impossible to get representative series which were entirely devoid of personal references.
After the associations had been "jotted down," the subjects in each case copied them, noting also the suggesting ideas, and giving, in many cases, a number of introspective notes. It is important to mention that in all of the work these records of suggesting ideas were made by the subjects without any questions on the part of the investigator.
GROUP I. TWO NONSENSE SYLLABLES
In order that a standard might be obtained that would serve as a basis for subsequent experiments, two nonsense syllables were pronounced with equal emphasis, as starting-points, and the subject was asked merely to wait until both had entered consciousness and not to favor nor inhibit either. If the subject stated that associations arose between the pronunciation of the starting-points the results were discarded.
Turning to the notes we find that K. reported, "The first just hovered around," and the associations followed the second, or as V. states it, "Sof was carried subconsciously for a while without influence," while By. frequently noticed that "The first may be in the background on the point of breaking in but be inhibited involuntarily," or in another, "It was frequently present but exerting no influence." A. "forgot what the other word was, but felt it trying to get a hand in." Ro. goes further and states in terms similar to A., "The words which might have been suggested by 'taf' were wholly inhibited, though I am sure 'taf' was present to me throughout the series, but was not efficacious as against the other syllable." It is unnecessary to multiply instances to show that the wraith, so to speak, of one may linger for a short time, or occasionally for the entire series, but that the associations are determined by the other. Or the lingering wraith of a starting-point may hover ineffectively in consciousness and exert no determining influence on the series until toward its close; then, however, although both starting-points still persist, they exchange places so far as effectiveness is concerned, and the former wraith becomes the primary factor in effecting the series of associations. For example, "The two syllables were present all the way through, but the former exhausted itself as a word-suggester after a few words." Again Ro. gives examples where "One alone may be in consciousness and determine the associations when the other may enter without effect upon the series, or may determine the series, the first persisting but losing its effect"; and a case of both ideas persisting and each alternately exerting an influence was noted by M. These last two conditions are exceptional.
Studying carefully the notes and graphic representations as given in the tables, it is apparent that one starting-point may be followed independently and exclusively; we find "'fef' suggesting 'theft,' and the subsequent associations monopolizing the field of consciousness and 'tuz' not again appearing." (V.) The results show that in the one hundred and seven experiments one was followed exclusively only twenty times. The following would be an example:
| III. Naf-Tam | |
|---|---|
| —tambour | tam |
| —experiment | tambour |
| —psychology | experiment |
| —laboratory | experiment |
| —space | psychology |
| —time | space |
| —ego | space and time |
| —Ebbinghaus | ego |
| —discussion | psychology |
| —posted notice | psychology |
| —door | posted notice |
| —gray | door |
| —stairs | door |
| —fishes | laboratory |
| —water | fishes |
| —decay | fishes |
| —animal | fishes |
| —meat | fishes |
| —odor | meat |
In other cases one starting-point may be followed and then the other for a few or many associations, each "occupying the mind to the exclusion of the other for a number of words, when suddenly the other appears and suggests a new series," which V. calls "a curious zigzagging in consciousness." This may take place at any point along the series. As Ro. indicates, "There was rivalry here; 'yud' wholly inhibited all the 'zid' associations, even 'zid' itself for the time, then, 'yud' apparently being exhausted, 'zid' entered again into the focus."
In contrast to the above forms, the tables indicate and the notes verify that while the associations primarily follow one there can be traced the modifying effect of the other; "The nature of the words was influenced by a fringe of consciousness which contains the other starting-point," M.'s comment runs, while J. adds, "The other helped in the mental picture but had no special significance." There are no experiments in the first group where this partial fusion took place throughout the series, and there are only six examples where it took place before the sixth word and continued to the end. While there are no cases here of alternating partial fusion, yet it sometimes happens, that is, the predominating influence is sometimes transferred from one to the other. The modifying influence may reach such a degree at any point in the series that the identity of each point of departure of the association is lost and there is total fusion, resulting in one idea or one train of thought. For example, 'rel' and 'mem' gave 'realm' for V.; for Ht. 'fef' and 'tuz' gave 'fezz'; for M. they gave 'fez'; for Ro. 'fuz.'
Of the twenty-one experiments where one starting-point was followed exclusively, there were two cases for the first and nineteen for the second. There were but two cases of alternating groups, a third one being unique in that after the first three words there was a persistent alternation between two apparently independent series of inter-related words and inter-related visual images. There were three cases of complete fusion throughout the series and nine where total fusion started before the fifth word and continued.
In a number of cases the initial starting-points were forgotten before the end of the series and the subjects were sometimes unable to recall them.
As the subjects were kept ignorant of the characteristic persistence of either starting-point in forming separate associations, and of the tendency towards fusion, as well as of the preponderance of influence of one over the other, it is to the tabulated results that we must look for quantitative measurement of these. 76.2% of the associations are due to the independent influence of one or the other of the starting-points; 23.9% are due to the combined influence; for the first starting-point we have 18.7%, for the second 57.5%. In 15.3% of all the associations the combined influence was the result of total fusion; in 4.1%, the result of a union where the first starting-point predominated in influence; in 4.4%, the second predominated. The following graphic representation indicates the order of influences for the first pair of syllables. The table gives the results for the ten pairs.
TABLE I. TWO NONSENSE SYLLABLES SPOKEN
Time—50 seconds.
Characters: | represents the influence of the first, - the second, + complete fusion, α fusion with the first predominating, β fusion with the second predominating.
| 1) Taf—Coz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M. | | | – | – | – | – | | | | | | | | | | | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||
| F. | – | – | | | | | + | + | + | + | | | | | | | + | + | β | β | β | β | β | β | |||||
| H. | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||
| R. | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| K. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||||||
| V. | | | | | – | – | – | – | | | – | – | | | + | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| Ro. | | | | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Bl. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| By. | | | – | | | | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bs. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Ht. | – | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||
Starting-points:
| (1) Taf—Coz. | (6) Fef—Tuz. |
| (2) Cim—Bef. | (7) Sar—Nef. |
| (3) Yud—Zid. | (8) Sek—Lub. |
| (4) Sof—Deb. | (9) Hov—Bes. |
| (5) Naf—Tam. | (10) Rel—Mem. |
Number of subjects, 11; number of sections, 10; number of experiments, 110; number of associations, 1569.
GROUP II
Two concrete nouns with apparently equivalent connotation were pronounced. In order that the subject get no clue as to the preponderance of one starting-point over the other, the nine sections were given at irregular intervals in connection with other experiments.
The tables show few cases of fusion, there being but one case in the eighty experiments where all the associations were the result of the combined influence of both starting-points. There was no other instance where complete fusion took place before the sixth association and continued throughout, and only six cases where any form of fusion took place in the eighty experiments within the first five words (7.6%), while in the one hundred and seven experiments of Group I there were twenty-five (23.9%).
The tables show a tendency which was noted when two syllables were used and which is emphatically brought out here, namely, it is the position or sequence which determines which of the two equivalent starting-points shall produce the greater influence. When the two starting-points are given in immediate succession, it is the second which predominates in influence. This preponderance may be clearly demonstrated by the tables alone, though there are many notes which show "the greater influence of one" (the second). A. seems to have realized this when he wrote, "While the first was uppermost the second hovered in subconsciousness, resting content, knowing that it would have its turn soon." In corroboration the tables give—abstracting from all cases of fusion—268 words (23.2%) for the first, 721 words (62.3%) for the second. In fifty-five of the eighty experiments the last had full control at the end of the series. Taking the cases where one was followed exclusively throughout the series, starting between the first and the sixth named association, we find eight for the first and twenty-nine for the second. This greater influence is again to be found in the cases of partial fusion; the first predominating in 2.6%, and the second in 4.3%.
The results of both groups show that the starting-points tend in a high degree toward independent influence, and also that such a method of presentation is one of sequence rather than simultaneity, as the two words show unequal influence. The former must in a manner be reproduced to become a point of departure for associations, while the latter acts directly. Is it then a condition of mind that when similar impressions are presented the one in the presence of which consciousness is reacting directly has a greater influence in arousing associations than one which is just past? This we are forced to conclude is the case, but the proof of the conclusion will be supplemented by later results.