From time to time some special tests of these general tendencies were applied. From the results already set forth, one could predict that there was a strong probability that when the tone-series was combined with a constant touch-series, active or passive, the appreciation of the tones would be raised. This was tried by allowing the subject M. to rub his hand over the somewhat rough pillow of a tilting board. The results showed that the appreciation of twenty-five out of twenty-seven tones was raised. Other predictions were similarly verified.
Of course, any experiment of this nature is exposed to a great many chances of error. The subjects may be fatigued, or depressed generally. But the wide range of different readings taken is a reasonable assurance that the chances of error are minimized. And it is to be noted, also, that individual differences of appreciation do not vitiate the results. In getting the "standards" no less than 2000 judgments were given by each subject, while for the tables each subject gave no less than 4000 judgments. The curves made from these data show the effect of each separate combination by their variation from the standard. The tables and analyses and conclusions already introduced show, in general, that our appreciation of each of several stimuli in combination is different from our appreciation of the same stimuli when taken separately. The results show that this appreciation may be either raised or lowered; that is to say, our feeling of values is not constant for a given stimulus under all conditions.
From Table XIII I have found the average displacement of each series to be as follows:
- Tones, .90.
- Colors, .37.
- A. Touches, .28.
- P. Touches, .23.
This shows that passive touches are subject to the least displacement, while active touches, colors, and tones are respectively subject to a greater variation. The sight-touch world is more stable than the auditory world. With M. the tones go over a full point both below and above the standard.
This report does not treat of the particular effects of a qualitative nature that follow from the possible combinations of series of stimuli of different feeling values,—such as the effect of an agreeable touch upon a slightly disagreeable tone, or upon an indifferent color, and so on. All such effects can be traced by rearranging the data already collected, and this may be done in a subsequent paper which may enter also into the theoretical discussion of the whole problem.