Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 2

by Unknown

In order to verify my somewhat personal descriptions here recorded a questionnaire was given each subject to fill out according to his own personal judgment of his emotional disposition. This was done toward the close of the investigation, and the answers agree in the main with the descriptions offered above.

For the first month's preliminary practice, and with the purpose of stimulating curiosity and interest, and of testing the comparative richness of even slight feeling-experiences, a great variety of stimulations was used. Twenty different tactual surfaces from softest plush to very rough sandpaper served for the tactual impressions. Twelve different odors, as many colors differing in saturation and intensity, and tones from high and low tuning-forks, and noises variously produced, were employed as stimulations for the other senses. Besides these, circles, upright and horizontal ovals of various sizes, imperfect circles and ovals, and other irregular shapes were all presented in the same large black frame. When studied alone indifferent gray fillings were used. When complex states were in question colors served as fillings. When the subjects thus became accustomed to these very simple but very definitely felt experiences, in these for the most part habitually ignored affective elements of ordinary sensations, the investigation at once became narrowed to more careful and minute attention to a few of these feeling-tones. It was soon found also that odors could not easily be used in combination, since they effectively effaced all feeling-tones for the simultaneously given colors or touches. Five colors, fairly representative for all subjects of different kinds of feeling-tones, were chosen, and were used throughout the whole investigation. These were the following: a soft deep red, light brilliant yellow, deep pure green, saturated blue, and a dingy greenish-yellow. The dimensions of the exposed surfaces were six by six inches.

For tactual impressions of approximately equal value soft plush, velvet, and two kinds of sandpaper were used, and for tones high and low tuning-forks. All the above-named forms were used in connection with the chosen colors. The subjects differed considerably as to the amount of feeling that could be obtained from such material. The variation of kinds and of intensity in the same subject was sometimes noticeable from day to day, but not great. It is hardly necessary to give detailed quotations from each subject. The following summary of the results of the experimental work, however, contains nothing that was not frequently reported by a majority of the subjects. This, then, does not represent at all what was once or occasionally reported by individual subjects, but what after training seemed to be reliable and definite and constant feeling-states.

PART I

Section A. The following are the collected expressions which many subjects used to describe the feeling for this particular shade of red. It feels as if it would be soft. It suggests warmth. The feeling is one of seriousness, pleasantness, quietness, of free repose,—a full feeling of the sense of safety. It is soothing, rich, full of strength, and inviting. One feels restful, grave, calm, appeased. There is an agreeable longing and a tendency to lose one's self in the color. The feeling is one of comfort, luxury, satisfaction, expansiveness, tranquillity, and quiescence, with no accompanying feeling of weakness by exertion of effort or energy. There is neither marked tension on the one hand, nor collapse on the other. There is a sense rather of easy self-control and command of one's body, but with no aggressive sorrow nor joy element,—a feeling of being attracted, with nothing to suggest any obstacle to the adaptation.

Occasionally to all subjects this color, and, indeed, all colors, seemed "dead," arousing no feeling whatever. Here the color "ought to be pleasant," but is only "for the time potentially not actually actively pleasant." Still more rarely did this red appear to be unpleasant. Some subjects thought that this afforded the greatest amount of sensual pleasure. More than any of the other colors they think it appears to "give you something." It does not so much stimulate as furnish a content itself. It has a direct effect rather than a tendency to make one wish to do something and thus give pleasure from the activity itself. Only one subject failed to find this color pleasant. His early association of it with blood and ghastly scenes could not be overcome. Some others, when a glare or glaze appeared on the red, found in it slight suggestions of stimulation and excitement, but the general decision in the great majority of cases was that the feeling was a sort of emotional massiveness compared with the effects from other colors.

In marked contrast, for the most part, appears the characteristic feeling-tone for our chosen shade of yellow. Almost universally subjects find such words as these descriptive of the feeling here in question. It is cheerful, brisk, pleasant[84] also, bright, gay, light, sprightly, merry, jovial, easy to get, pleasantly irritating, stimulating, stirring, spurring, thrilling, invigorating, and produces agreeable discontent. It is jolly, nice, trim, neat, awakening, full of the sense of motion, soaring, and arouses a feeling of welcome strain, of pleasure in action, of alertness and self-assertion. Here, in contrast for the most part to the red, there is no feeling of sinking into the color. The impulse rather is to be free, to enjoy motor expression, even if of some vague sort. There is a felt necessity to do something, a "joy of overflowing or of exuberance," it is called. There is little present here of what we mean by a suggestion of sensual richness found above in the feeling for red. Here there is less of amount of pleasure, but much more of the general activity element. Some subjects feel the demand for greater saturation, and occasionally it is unpleasant for just this reason apparently. Subjects C and B frequently reported this. They think the feeling would be more "stable" and "grave" and "secure" and "soothing" and one would not feel "unruffled," if it could be "toned down." Most of the subjects, however, think that it belongs to the ultimate elemental feeling for yellow that it should have just this distinguishing characteristic.

It is more difficult to describe the feeling for green. It is almost always agreeable. Two subjects, however, never like it. Sometimes it is somewhat soothing in character, but more often it is exciting. The feeling seems to be between that for red and that for yellow, partaking on the whole of the characters of feeling for the latter rather than the former. For all subjects associations tend to color the feeling-tone for green especially, and hence introspection for the feeling of pure color is doubly difficult. The most prominent partial feeling-tone for it is "irritating."[85] The agreeableness or disagreeableness of this stimulating character is particularly inconstant, varying greatly for the same subject, as well as for different subjects.

The feeling for the blue seems still more to be dependent upon the person. Many like it. Many others dislike it decidedly. When it affords a pleasant feeling, it is described in some such terms as these: The feeling is spiritual, lofty, beautiful, serene. The subject himself feels immoveable. To other subjects it is too rich and intense and painful. To one subject who heartily dislikes it always, it is offensive or revolting, calling up a feeling akin to the emotion one has toward insincerity in general. To none does this feeling seem to have any great amount of sensual significance. Even when it is called "too rich," the incongruity between the richness itself and the ultimate qualitative significance of the blue is spoken of. Even when pleasant, the feeling is of an "airy pleasure," volatile, unstable, and not reliable, nor safe and secure as is the feeling for red. One feels that it is always apt to vanish, vague, intangible, and with little immediate definiteness of meaning. Subjects often desire to call it an intellectual, æsthetic, or ideal sort of feeling.