Fig. 14.
Tracing D. —— single sister; ..... married sister.
Tracing E. Husband and wife. The wife is a sister of the two women of tracing D. She approaches very closely to the type of her husband. Her tracing is the direct opposite of that of her sisters.
Fig. 15.
Tracing E. —— husband; ..... wife.
The similarity of the associations is often very extraordinary. I will reproduce here the associations of a mother and daughter.
| Stimulus Word. | Mother. | Daughter. |
|---|---|---|
| to pay attention | diligent pupil | pupil |
| law | command of God | Moses |
| dear | child | father and mother |
| great | God | father |
| potato | bulbous root | bulbous root |
| family | many persons | 5 persons |
| strange | traveller | traveller |
| brother | dear to me | dear |
| to kiss | mother | mother |
| burn | great pain | painful |
| door | wide | big |
| hay | dry | dry |
| month | many days | 31 days |
| air | cool | moist |
| coal | sooty | black |
| fruit | sweet | sweet |
| merry | happy child | child |
One might indeed think that in this experiment, where full scope is given to chance, individuality would become a factor of the utmost importance, and that therefore one might expect a very great diversity and lawlessness of associations. But as we see the opposite is the case. Thus the daughter lives contentedly in the same circle of ideas as her mother, not only in her thought but in her form of expression; indeed, she even uses the same words. What could be regarded as more inconsequent, inconstant, and lawless than a fancy, a rapidly passing thought? It is not lawless, however, neither is it free, but closely determined within the limits of the milieu. If, therefore, even the superficial and manifestly most inconsequent formations of the intellect are altogether subject to the milieu-constellation, what must we not expect for the more important conditions of the mind, for the emotions, wishes, hopes, and intentions? Let us consider a concrete example, illustrated by tracing A.