Chapter 38

INSTRUCTIONS FOR YEAR X

X, 1. VOCABULARY (THIRTY DEFINITIONS, 5400 WORDS)

PROCEDURE AND SCORING AS IN VIII, 6. At year X, thirty words should be correctly defined.

X, 2. DETECTING ABSURDITIES

PROCEDURE. Say to the child: "_I am going to read a sentence which has something foolish in it, some nonsense. I want you to listen carefully and tell me what is foolish about it._" Then read the sentences, rather slowly and in a matter-of-fact voice, saying after each: "_What is foolish about that?_" The sentences used are the following:--

(a) "_A man said: 'I know a road from my house to the city which is downhill all the way to the city and downhill all the way back home.'_" (b) "_An engineer said that the more cars he had on his train the faster he could go._" (c) "_Yesterday the police found the body of a girl cut into eighteen pieces. They believe that she killed herself._" (d) "_There was a railroad accident yesterday, but it was not very serious. Only forty-eight people were killed._" (e) "_A bicycle rider, being thrown from his bicycle in an accident, struck his head against a stone and was instantly killed. They picked him up and carried him to the hospital, and they do not think he will get well again._"

Each should ordinarily be answered within thirty seconds. If the child is silent, the sentence should be repeated; but no other questions or suggestions of any kind are permissible. Such questions as "_Could the road be downhill both ways?_" or, "_Do you think the girl could have killed herself?_" would, of course, put the answer in the child's mouth. It is even best to avoid laughing as the sentence is read.

Owing to the child's limited power of expression it is not always easy to judge from the answer given whether the absurdity has really been detected or not. In such cases ask him to explain himself, using some such formula as: "_I am not sure I know what you mean. Explain what you mean. Tell me what is foolish in the sentence I read._" This usually brings a reply the correctness or incorrectness of which is more apparent, while at the same time the formula is so general that it affords no hint as to the correct answer. Additional questions must be used with extreme caution.

SCORING. Passed if the absurdity is detected in _four out of the five_ statements. The following are samples of satisfactory and unsatisfactory answers:--

(a) _The road downhill_

_Satisfactory._ "If it was downhill to the city it would be uphill coming back." "It can't be downhill both directions." "That could not be." "That is foolish. (Explain.) Because it must be uphill one way or the other." "That would be a funny road. (Explain.) No road can be like that. It can't be downhill both ways."

_Unsatisfactory._ "Perhaps he took a little different road coming back." "I guess it is a very crooked road." "Coming back he goes around the hill." "The man lives down in a valley." "The road was made that way so it would be easy." "Just a road. I don't see anything foolish." "He should say, 'a road which goes.'"

(b) _What the engineer said_

_Satisfactory._ "If he has more cars he will go slower." "It is the other way. If he wants to go faster he mustn't have so many cars." "The man didn't mean what he said, or else it was a slip of the tongue." "That's the way it would be if he was going downhill." "Foolish, because the cars don't help pull the train." "He ought to say _slower_, not _faster_."

_Unsatisfactory._ "A long train is nicer." "The engine pulls harder if the train has lots of cars." "That's all right. I suppose he likes a big train." "Nothing foolish; when I went to the city I saw a train that had lots of cars and it was going awfully fast." "He should have said, 'the faster I can _run_.'"

(c) _The girl who was thought to have killed herself_

_Satisfactory._ "She could not have cut herself into eighteen pieces." "She would have been dead before that." "She might have cut two or three pieces off, but she couldn't do the rest." (Laughing) "Well, she may have killed herself; but if she did it's a sure thing that some one else came along after and chopped her up." "That policeman must have been a fool. (Explain.) To think that she could chop herself into eighteen pieces."

_Unsatisfactory._ "_Think_ that she killed herself; they _know_ she did." "They can't be sure. Some one may have killed her." "It was a foolish girl to kill herself." "How can they tell who killed her?" "No girl would kill herself unless she was crazy." "It ought to read: 'They think that she committed suicide.'"

(d) _The railroad accident_

_Satisfactory._ "That was very serious." "I should like to know what you would call a serious accident!" "You could say it was not serious if two or three people were killed, but forty-eight,--that is serious."

_Unsatisfactory._ "It was a foolish mistake that made the accident." "They couldn't help it. It was an accident." "It might have been worse." "Nothing foolish; it's just sad."

(e) _The bicycle rider_

_Satisfactory._ "How could he get well after he was already killed?" "Why, he's already dead." "No use to take a dead man to the hospital." "They ought to have taken him to a grave-yard!"

_Unsatisfactory._ "Foolish to fall off of a bicycle. He should have known how to ride." "They ought to have carried him home. (Why?) So his folks could get a doctor." "He should have been more careful." "Maybe they can cure him if he isn't hurt very bad." "There's nothing foolish in that."

REMARKS. The detection of absurdities is one of the most ingenious and serviceable tests of the entire scale. It is little influenced by schooling, and it comes nearer than any other to being a test of that species of mother-wit which we call common sense. Like the "comprehension questions," it may be called a test of judgment, using this term in the colloquial and not in the logical sense. The stupid person, whether depicted in literature, proverb, or the ephemeral joke column, is always (and justly, it would seem) characterized by a huge tolerance for absurd contradictions and by a blunt sensitivity for the fine points of a joke. Intellectual discrimination and judgment are inferior. The ideas do not cross-light each other, but remain relatively isolated. Hence, the most absurd contradictions are swallowed, so to speak, without arousing the protest of the critical faculty. The latter, indeed, is only a name for the tendency of intellectually irreconcilable elements to clash. If there is no clash, if the elements remain apart, it goes without saying that there will be no power of criticism.

The critical faculty begins its development in the early years and strengthens _pari passu_ with the growing wealth of inter-associations among ideas; but in the average child it is not until the age of about 10 years that it becomes equal to tasks like those presented in this test. Eight-year intelligence hardly ever scores more than two or three correct answers out of five. By 12, the critical ability has so far developed that the test is nearly always passed. It is an invaluable test for the higher grades of mental deficiency.

As a test of the critical powers Binet first used "trap questions"; as, for example, "Is snow red or black?" The results were disappointing, for it was found that owing to timidity, deference, and suggestibility normal children often failed on such questions. Deference is more marked in normal than in feeble-minded children, and it is because of the influence of this trait that it is necessary always to forewarn the subject that the sentence to be given contains nonsense.

Binet located the test in year XI of the 1908 scale, but changed it to year X in 1911. Goddard and Kuhlmann retain it in year XI. The large majority of the statistics, including those of Goddard and Kuhlmann, warrant the location of the test in year X. Not all have used the same absurdities, and these have not been worded uniformly. Most have required three successes out of five, but Bobertag and Kuhlmann require three out of four; Bobertag's procedure is also different in that he does not forewarn the child that an absurdity is to follow.

The present form of the test is the result of three successive refinements. It will be noted that we have made two substitutions in Binet's list of absurdities. Those omitted from the original scale are: "_I have three brothers--Paul, Ernest, and myself_," and, "_If I were going to commit suicide I would not choose Friday, because Friday is an unlucky day and would bring me misfortune._" The last has a puzzling feature which makes it much too hard for year X, and the other is objectionable with children who are accustomed to hear a foreign language in which the form of expression used in the absurdity is idiomatically correct.

The two we have substituted for these objectionable absurdities are, "The road downhill" and "What the engineer said." The five we have used, though of nearly equal difficulty, are here listed in the order from easiest to hardest. Our series as a whole is slightly easier than Binet's.

X, 3. DRAWING DESIGNS FROM MEMORY

PROCEDURE. Use the designs shown on the accompanying printed form. If copies are used they must be exact in size and shape. Before showing the card say: "_This card has two drawings on it. I am going to show them to you for ten seconds, then I will take the card away and let you draw from memory what you have seen. Examine both drawings carefully and remember that you have only ten seconds._"

Provide pencil and paper and then show the card for ten seconds, holding it at right angles to the child's line of vision and with the designs in the position given in the plate. Have the child draw the designs immediately after they are removed from sight.

SCORING. The test is passed if _one of the designs is reproduced correctly and the other about half correctly_. "Correctly" means that the _essential plan_ of the design has been grasped and reproduced. Ordinary irregularities due to lack of motor skill or to hasty execution are disregarded. "Half correctly" means that some essential part of the design has been omitted or misplaced, or that parts have been added.

The sample reproductions shown on the scoring card will serve as a guide. It will be noted that an inverted design, or one whose right and left sides have been transposed, is counted only half correct, however perfect it many be in other respects; also that design _b_ is counted only half correct if the inner rectangle is not located off center.

REMARKS. Binet states that the main factors involved in success are "attention, visual memory, and a little analysis." The power of rapid analysis would seem to be the most important, for if the designs are analyzed they may be reproduced from a verbal memory of the analysis. Without some analysis it would hardly be possible to remember the designs at all, as one of them contains thirteen lines and the other twelve. The memory span for unrelated objects is far too limited to permit us to grasp and retain that number of unrelated impressions. Success is possible only by grouping the lines according to their relationships, so that several of them are given a unitary value and remembered as one. In this manner, the design to the right, which is composed of twelve lines, may be reduced to four elements: (1) The outer rectangle; (2) the inner rectangle; (3) the off-center position of the inner rectangle; and (4) the joining of the angles. Of course the child does not ordinarily make an analysis as explicit as this; but analysis of some kind, even though it be unconscious, is necessary to success.

Ability to pass the test indicates the presence, in a certain definite amount, of the tendency for the contents of consciousness to fuse into a meaningful whole. Failure indicates that the elements have maintained their unitary character or have fused inadequately. It is seen, therefore, that the test has a close kinship with the test of memory for sentences. The latter, also, permits the fusion or grouping of impressions according to meaning, with the result that five or six times as many meaningful syllables as nonsense syllables or digits can be retained.

Binet had many more failures on design _a_ than on design _b_. This was probably due to the fact that he showed the designs with our _b_ to the left. A majority of subjects, probably because of the influence of reading habits, examine first the figure to the left, and because of the short time allowed for the inspection are unable to devote much time to the design at the right. We have placed the design of greater intrinsic difficulty at the left, with the result that the failures are almost equally divided between the two.

Binet used this test in his unstandardized series of 1905, omitted it in 1908, but included it in the 1911 revision, locating it in year X. Except for Goddard, who recommends year XI, there is rather general agreement that the test belongs at year X. Our own data show that it may be placed either at year X or year XI, according as the grading is rigid or lenient.

X, 4. READING FOR EIGHT MEMORIES

MATERIAL. We use Binet's selection, slightly adapted, as follows:--

_New York, September 5th. A fire last night burned three houses near the center of the city. It took some time to put it out. The loss was fifty thousand dollars, and seventeen families lost their homes. In saving a girl, who was asleep in a bed, a fireman was burned on the hands._

The copy of the selection used by the subject should be printed in heavy type and should not contain the bars dividing it into memories. The Stanford record booklet contains the selection in two forms, one suitable for use in scoring, the other in heavy type to be read by the subject.

PROCEDURE. Hand the selection to the subject, who should be seated comfortably in a good light, and say: "_I want you to read this for me as nicely as you can._" The subject must read aloud.

Pronounce all the words which the subject is unable to make out, not allowing more than five seconds' hesitation in such a case.

Record all errors made in reading the selection, and the exact time. By "error" is meant the omission, substitution, transposition, or mispronunciation of one word.

The subject is not warned in advance that he will be asked to report what he has read, but as soon as he has finished reading, put the selection out of sight and say: "_Very well done. Now, I want you to tell me what you read. Begin at the first and tell everything you can remember._" After the subject has repeated everything he can recall and has stopped, say: "_And what else? Can you remember any more of it?_" Give no other aid of any kind. It is of course not permissible, when the child stops, to prompt him with such questions as, "_And what next? Where were the houses burned? What happened to the fireman?_" etc. The report must be spontaneous.

Now and then, though not often, a subject hesitates or even refuses to try, saying he is unable to do it. Perhaps he has misunderstood the request and thinks he is expected to repeat the selection word for word, as in the tests of memory for sentences. We urge a little and repeat: "_Tell me in your own words all you can remember of it._" Others misunderstand in a different way, and thinking they are expected to tell merely what the story is about, they say: "It was about some houses that burned." In such cases we repeat the instructions with special emphasis on the words _all you can remember_.

SCORING. The test is passed _if the selection is read in thirty-five seconds with not more than two errors, and if the report contains at least eight "memories."_ By underscoring the memories correctly reproduced, and by interlineations to show serious departures from the text, the record can be made complete with a minimum of trouble.

The main difficulty in scoring is to decide whether a memory has been reproduced correctly enough to be counted. Absolutely literal reproduction is not expected. The rule is to count all memories whose thought is reproduced with only minor changes in the wording. "It took quite a while" instead of "it took some time" is satisfactory; likewise, "got burnt" for "was burned"; "who was sleeping" for "who was asleep"; "are homeless" for "lost their homes"; "in the middle" for "near the center"; "a big fire" for "a fire," etc.

Memories as badly mutilated as the following, however, are not counted: "A lot of buildings" for "three houses;" "a man" for "a fireman"; "who was sick" for "who was asleep"; etc. Occasionally we may give half credit, as in the case of "was seventeen thousand dollars" for "was fifty thousand dollars"; "and fifteen families" for "and seventeen families," etc.

REMARKS. Are we warranted in using at all as a measure of intelligence a test which depends as much on instruction as this one does? Many are inclined to answer this question in the negative. The test has been omitted from the revisions of Goddard, Kuhlmann, and Binet himself. As regards Binet's earlier test of reading for two memories, in year VIII, there could hardly be any difference of opinion. The ability to read at that age depends so much on the accident of environment that the test is meaningless unless we know all about the conditions which have surrounded the child.

The use of the test in year X, however, is a very different matter. There are comparatively few children of that age who will fail to pass it for lack of the requisite school instruction. Children of 10 years who have attended school with reasonable regularity for three years are practically always able to read the selection in thirty-five seconds and without over two mistakes unless they are retarded almost to the border-line of mental deficiency. Of our 10-year-olds who failed to meet the test, only a fourth did so because of inability to meet the reading requirements as regards time or mistakes. The remaining failures were caused by inadequate report, and most of these subjects were of the distinctly retarded group.

We may conclude, therefore, that given anything approaching normal educational advantages, the test is really a measure of intelligence. Used with due caution, it is perhaps as valuable as any other test in the scale. It is only necessary, in case of failure, to ascertain the facts regarding the child's educational opportunities. Even this precaution is superfluous in case the subject tests as low as 8 years by the remainder of the scale. A safe rule is to omit the test from the calculation of mental age if the subject has not attended school the equivalent of two or three years.

It has been contended by some that tests in which success depends upon language mastery cannot be real tests of intelligence. By such critics language tests have been set over against intelligence tests as contrasting opposites. It is easy to show, however, that this view is superficial and psychologically unsound. Every one who has an acquaintance with the facts of mental growth knows that language mastery of some degree is the _sine qua non_ of conceptual thinking. Language growth, in fact, mirrors the entire mental development. There are few more reliable indications of a subject's stage of intellectual maturity than his mastery of language.

The rate of reading, for example, is a measure of the rate of association. Letters become associated together in certain combinations making words, words into word groups and sentences. Recognition is for the most part an associative process. Rapid and accurate association will mean ready recognition of the printed form. Since language units (whether letters, words, or word groups) have more or less preferred associations according to their habitual arrangement into larger units, it comes about that in the normal mind under normal conditions these preferred sequences arouse the apperceptive complex necessary to make a running recognition rapid and easy. It is reasonable to suppose that in the subnormal mind the habitual common associations are less firmly fixed, thus diminishing the effectiveness of the ever-changing apperceptive expectancy. Reading is, therefore, largely dependent on what James calls the "fringe of consciousness" and the "consciousness of meaning." In reading connected matter, every unit is big with a mass of tendencies. The smaller and more isolated the unit, the greater is the number of possibilities. Every added unit acts as a modifier limiting the number of tendencies, until we have finally, in case of a large mental unit, a fairly manageable whole. When the most logical and suitable of these associations arise easily from subconsciousness to consciousness, recognition is made easy, and their doing so will depend on whether the habitual relations of the elements have left permanent traces in the mind.

The reading of the subnormal subject bears a close analogy to the reading of nonsense matter by the normal person. It has been ascertained by experiment that such reading requires about twice as much time as the reading of connected matter. This is true for the reason that out of thousands of associations possible with each word, no particular association is favored. The apperceptive expectancy, practically _nil_ in the reading of nonsense material, must be decidedly deficient in all poor reading.

Furthermore, in the case of the ordinary reader there is a feeling of rightness or wrongness about the thought sequences. That less intelligent subjects have this sense of fitness to a much less degree is evidenced by their passing over words so mutilated in pronunciation as to deprive them of all meaning. The transposition of letters and words, and the failure to observe marks of punctuation, point to the same thing. In other words, all the reading of the stupid subject is with material which to him is more or less nonsensical.[66]

[66] See "Genius and Stupidity," by Lewis M. Terman, in _Pedagogical Seminary_, September, 1906, p. 340 _ff._

A little observation will convince one that mentally retarded subjects, even when they possess a reasonable degree of fluency in recognizing printed words, do not sense shades of meaning. Their reading is by small units. Words and phrases do not fuse into one mental content, but remain relatively unconnected. The expression is monotonous and the voice has more of the unnatural "schoolroom" pitch. They read more slowly, more often misplace the emphasis, and miscall more words. In short, one who has psychological insight and is acquainted with reading standards can easily detect the symptoms of intellectual inferiority by hearing a dull subject read a brief selection.

The giving of memories is also significant. Feeble-minded adults who have been well schooled are sometimes able to read the words of the text fairly fluently, but are usually unable to give more than a scanty report of what has been read. The scope of attention has been exhausted in the mere recognition and pronouncing of words. In general, the greater the mechanical difficulties which a subject encounters, the less adequate is his report of memories.

The test has, however, one real fault. School children have a certain advantage in it over older persons _of the same mental age_ whose school experience is less recent. Adult subjects tend to give their report in less literal form. It is necessary, therefore, to give credit for the reproduction of the ideas of the passage rather than for strictly literal "memories."

The selection we have used is, with minor changes, the same as Binet's. His selection was divided into nineteen memories. The one here given has twenty-one memories. Binet used the test both in year VIII and year IX, requiring two memories at year VIII and six memories at year IX. When we require eight memories, as we have done, the test becomes difficult enough for non-selected school children of 10 years. Location in year X seems preferable, because it insures that the child will almost certainly have had the schooling requisite for learning to read a selection of this difficulty, even if he has started to school at a later age than is customary. Naturally, placing the test higher in the scale makes it more a test of report and less a test of ability to recognize and pronounce printed words.

X, 5. COMPREHENSION, FOURTH DEGREE

The questions for this year are:--

(a) "_What ought you to say when some one asks your opinion about a person you don't know very well?_" (b) "_What ought you to do before undertaking (beginning) something very important?_" (c) "_Why should we judge a person more by his actions than by his words?_"

The PROCEDURE is the same as for the previous comprehension tests. Each question may be repeated, but its form must not be changed. It is not permissible to make any explanation whatever as to the meaning of the question, except to substitute _beginning_ for _undertaking_ when (b) seems not to be comprehended.

SCORING. _Two out of the three_ questions must be answered satisfactorily. Study of the following classified responses should make scoring fairly easy in most cases:--

(a) _When some one asks your opinion_

_Satisfactory._ "I would say I don't know him very well" (42 per cent of the correct answers). "Tell him what I know and no more" (34 per cent of correct answers). "I would say that I'd rather not express any opinion about him" (20 per cent of the correct answers). "Tell him to ask some one else." "I would not express any opinion."

_Unsatisfactory._ Unsatisfactory responses are due either to failure to grasp the import of the question, or to inability to suggest the appropriate action demanded by the situation.

The latter form of failure is the more common; e.g.: "I'd say they are nice." "Say you like them." "Say what I think." "Say it's none of their business." "Tell them I mind my own business." "Say I would get acquainted with them." "Say that I don't talk about people." "Say I didn't know how he looked." "Tell them you ought not to say such things; you might get into trouble." "I wouldn't say anything." "I would try to answer." "Say I did not know his name," etc.

The following are samples of failure due to mistaking the import of the question: "I'd say, 'How do you do?'" "Say,'I'm glad to meet you.'"

(b) _Before undertaking something important_

_Satisfactory responses_ fall into the following classes:-- (1) Brief statement of preliminary consideration; as: "Think about it." "Look it over." "Plan it all out." "Make your plans." "Stop and think," etc. (2) Special emphasis on preliminary preparation and correct procedure; as: "Find out the best way to do it." "Find out what it is." "Get everything ready." "Do every little thing that would help you." "Get all the details you can." "Take your time and figure it out," etc. (3) Asking help; as: "Ask some one to help you who knows all about it." "Pray, if you are a Christian." "Ask advice," etc. (4) Preliminary testing of ability, self-analysis, etc.; as: "Try something easier first." "Practice and make sure I could do it." "Learn how to do it," etc. (5) Consider the wisdom or propriety of doing it: "Think whether it would be best to do it." "See whether it would be possible."

About 65 per cent of the correct responses belong either to group (1) or (2), about 20 per cent to group (3), and most of the remainder to group (4).

_Unsatisfactory responses_ are of the following types:-- (1) Due to mistaking the import of the question; e.g.: "Ask for it." "Ought to say please." "Ask whose it is." Replies of this kind can be nearly all eliminated by repeating the question, using _beginning_ instead of _undertaking_. (2) Replies more or less absurd or irrelevant; as: "Promise to do your best." "Wash your face and hands." "Get a lot of insurance." "Dress up and take a walk." "Tell your name." "Know whether it's correct." "Begin at the beginning." "Say you will do it." "See if it's a fake." "Go to school a long time." "Pass an examination." "Do what is right." "Add up and see how much it will cost." "Say I would do it." "Just start doing it." "Go away." "Consult a doctor." "See if you have time," etc.

(c) _Why we should judge a person more by his actions than by his words_

_Satisfactory responses_ fall into the following classes:-- (1) Words and deeds both mentioned and contrasted in reliability; as: "Actions speak louder than words" (this in 8 per cent of successes). "You can tell more by his actions than by his words." "He might talk nice and do bad things." "Sometimes people say things and don't do them." "It's not what you say but what you do that counts." "Talk is cheap; when he does a thing you can believe it." "People don't do everything they say." "A man might steal but talk like a nice man." Over 45 per cent of all correct responses belong to group (1). (2) Acts stressed without mention of words; as: "You can tell by his actions whether he is good or not." "If he _acts_ nice he _is_ nice." "Actions show for themselves." Group (2) contains about 25 per cent of the correct responses. (3) Emphasis on unreliability of words; as: "You can't tell by his words, he might lie or boast." "Because you can't always believe what people say." (Group (3) contains 15 per cent of the correct responses.) (4) Responses which state that a man's deeds are sometimes better than his words; as: "He might talk ugly and still not do bad things." "Some really kind-hearted people scold and swear." "A man's words may be worse than his deeds," etc. Group (4) contains over 10 per cent of the correct responses.

_Unsatisfactory responses_ are usually due to inability to comprehend the meaning of the question. If there is a complete lack of comprehension the result is either silence or a totally irrelevant response. If there is partial comprehension of the question the response may be partially relevant, but fail to make the expected distinction.

The following are sample failures: "You could tell by his words that he was educated." "It shows he is polite if he acts nice." "Sometimes people aren't polite." "Actions show who he might be." "Acts may be foolish." "Words ain't right." "A man might be dumb." "A fellow don't know what he says." "Some people can talk, but don't have control of themselves." "You can tell by his acts whether he goes with bad people." "If he doesn't act right you know he won't talk right." "Actions show if he has manners." "Might get embarrassed and not talk good." "He may not know how to express his thoughts." "He might be a rich man but a poor talker." "He might say the wrong thing and afterwards be sorry for it," etc. (The last four are nearer correct than the others, but they fall just short of expressing the essential contrast.)

REMARKS. For discussion of the comprehension questions as a test of intelligence, see page 158.

Binet used eight questions, three "easy" and five "difficult," and required that five out of eight be answered correctly in year X. The eight were as follows:--

(1) What to do when you have missed your train. (2) When you have been struck by a playmate, etc. (3) When you have broken something, etc. (4) When about to be late for school. (5) When about to undertake something important. (6) Why excuse a bad act committed in anger more readily than a bad act committed without anger. (7) What to do if some one asks your opinion, etc. (8) Why can you judge a person better by his actions, etc.

As we have shown, questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 are much too easy for year X. Question 6 is hard enough for year XII. We have omitted it because it was not needed and is not entirely satisfactory.

X, 6. NAMING SIXTY WORDS

PROCEDURE. Say: "_Now, I want to see how many different words you can name in three minutes. When I say ready, you must begin and name the words as fast as you can, and I will count them. Do you understand? Be sure to do your very best, and remember that just any words will do, like 'clouds,' 'dog,' 'chair,' 'happy'--Ready; go ahead!_"

The instructions may be repeated if the subject does not understand what is wanted. As a rule the task is comprehended instantly and entered into with great zest.

Do not stare at the child, and do not say anything as the test proceeds unless there is a pause of fifteen seconds. In this event say: "_Go ahead, as fast as you can. Any words will do._" Repeat this urging after every pause of fifteen seconds.

Some subjects, usually rather intelligent ones, hit upon the device of counting or putting words together in sentences. We then break in with: "_Counting_ (or _sentences_, as the case may be) _not allowed. You must name separate words. Go ahead._"

Record the individual words if possible, and mark the end of each half-minute. If the words are named so rapidly that they cannot be taken down, it is easy to keep the count by making a pencil stroke for each word. If the latter method is employed, repeated words may be indicated by making a cross instead of a single stroke. Always make record of repetitions.

SCORING. The test is passed if _sixty_ words, exclusive of repetitions, are named in three minutes. It is not allowable to accept twenty words in one minute or forty words in two minutes as an equivalent of the expected score. Only real words are counted.

REMARKS. Scoring, as we have seen, takes account only of the number of words. It is instructive, however, to note the kind of words given. Some subjects, more often those of the 8- or 9-year intelligence level, give mainly isolated, detached words. As well stated by Binet, "Little children exhaust an idea in naming it. They say, for example, _hat_, and then pass on to another word without noticing that hats differ in color, in form, have various parts, different uses and accessories, and that in enumerating all these they could find a large number of words."

Others quickly take advantage of such relationships and name many parts of an object before leaving it, or name a number of other objects belonging to the same class. _Hat_, for example, suggests _cap_, _hood_, _coat_, _shirt_, _shoes_, _stockings_, etc. _Pencil_ suggests _book_, _slate_, _paper_, _desk_, _ink_, _map_, _school-yard_, _teacher_, etc. Responses of this type may be made up of ten or a dozen plainly distinct word groups.

Another type of response consists in naming only objects present, or words which present objects immediately suggest. It is unfortunate that this occurs, since rooms in which testing is done vary so much with respect to furnishings. The subject who chooses this method is obviously handicapped if the room is relatively bare. One way to avoid this influence is to have all subjects name the words with eyes closed, but the distraction thus caused is sometimes rather disturbing. It is perhaps best for the present to adhere to the original procedure, and to follow the rule of making tests in a room containing few furnishings in addition to the necessary table and chairs.

A fourth type of response is that including a large proportion of unusual or abstract words. This is the best of all, and is hardly ever found except with subjects who are above the 11-year intelligence level.

It goes without saying that a response need not belong entirely to any one of the above types. Most responses, in fact, are characterized by a mixture of two or three of the types, one of them perhaps being dominant.

Though not without its shortcomings, the test is interesting and valuable. Success in it does not, as one might suppose, depend solely upon the size of the vocabulary. Even 8-year-olds ordinarily know the meaning of more than 3000 words, and by 10 years the vocabulary usually exceeds 5000 words, or eighty times as many as the child is expected to name in three minutes. The main factors in success are two, (1) richness and variety of previously made associations with common words; and (2) the readiness of these associations to reinstate themselves. The young or the retarded subject fishes in the ocean of his vocabulary with a single hook, so to speak. He brings up each time only one word. The subject endowed with superior intelligence employs a net (the idea of a class, for example) and brings up a half-dozen words or more. The latter accomplishes a greater amount and with less effort; but it requires intelligence and will power to avoid wasting time with detached words.

One is again and again astonished at the poverty of associations which this test discloses with retarded subjects. For twenty or thirty seconds such children may be unable to think of a single word. It would be interesting if at such periods we could get a glimpse into the subject's consciousness. There must be some kind of mental content, but it seems too vague to be crystallized in words. The ready association of thoughts with definite words connotes a relatively high degree of intellectual advancement. Language forms are the short-hand of thought; without facile command of language, thinking is vague, clumsy, and ineffective. Conversely, vague mental content entails language shortage.

Occasionally a child of 11- or 12-year intelligence will make a poor showing in this test. When this happens it is usually due either to excessive embarrassment or to a strange persistence in running down all the words of a given class before launching out upon a new series. Occasionally, too, an intelligent subject wastes time in thinking up a beautiful list of big or unusual words. As stated by Bobertag, success is favored by a certain amount of "intellectual nonchalance," a willingness to ignore sense and a readiness to break away from a train of associations as soon as the "point of diminishing returns" has been reached. This doubtless explains why adults sometimes make such a surprisingly poor showing in the test. They have less "intellectual nonchalance" than children, are less willing to subordinate such considerations as completeness and logical connection to the demands of speed. Knollin's unemployed men of 12- to 13-year intelligence succeeded no better than school children of the 10-year level.

We do not believe, however, that this fault is serious enough to warrant the elimination of the test. The fact is that in a large majority of cases the score which it yields agrees fairly closely with the result of the scale as a whole. Subjects more than a year or two below the mental age of 10 years seldom succeed. Those more than a year or two above the 10-year level seldom fail.

There is another reason why the test should be retained, it often has significance beyond that which appears in the mere number of words given. The naming of unusual and abstract words is an instance of this. An unusually large number of repetitions has symptomatic significance in the other direction. It indicates a tendency to mental stereotypy, so frequently encountered in testing the feeble-minded. The proportion of repetitions made by normal children of the 10- or 11-year intelligence level rarely exceeds 2 or 3 per cent of the total number of words named; those of older retarded children of the same level occasionally reach 6 or 8 per cent.

It is conceivable, of course, that a more satisfactory test of this general nature could be devised; such, for example, as having the subject name all the words he can of a given class (four-footed animals, things to eat, articles of household furniture, trees, birds, etc.). The main objection to this form of the test is that the performance would in all probability be more influenced by environment and formal instruction than is the case with the test of naming sixty words.

One other matter remains to be mentioned; namely, the relative number of words named in the half-minute periods. As would be expected, the rate of naming words decreases as the test proceeds. In the case of the 10-year-olds, we find the average number of words for the six successive half-minutes to be as follows:--

18, 12½, 10½, 9, 8½, 7.

Some subjects maintain an almost constant rate throughout the test, others rapidly exhaust themselves, while a very few make a bad beginning and improve as they go. As a rule it is only the very intelligent who improve after the first half-minute. On the other hand, mentally retarded subjects and very young normals exhaust themselves so quickly that only a few words are named in the last minute.

Binet first located this test in year XI, but shifted it to year XII in 1911. Goddard and Kuhlmann retain it in year XI, though Goddard's statistics suggest year X as the proper location, and Kuhlmann's even suggest year IX. Kuhlmann, however, accepts fifty words as satisfactory in case the response contains a considerable proportion of abstract or unusual words. All the American statistics except Rowe's agree in showing that the test is easy enough for year X.

X, ALTERNATIVE TEST 1: REPEATING SIX DIGITS

The digit series used are 3-7-4-8-5-9; and 5-2-1-7-4-6.

The PROCEDURE and SCORING are the same as in VII, 3, except that only two trials are given, one of which must be correct. The test is somewhat too easy for year 10 when three trials are given.

The test of repeating six digits did not appear in the Binet scale and seems not to have been standardized until inserted in the Stanford series.

X, ALTERNATIVE TEST 2: REPEATING TWENTY TO TWENTY-TWO SYLLABLES

The sentences for this year are:--

(a) "_The apple tree makes a cool, pleasant shade on the ground where the children are playing._" (b) "_It is nearly half-past one o'clock; the house is very quiet and the cat has gone to sleep._" (c) "_In summer the days are very warm and fine; in winter it snows and I am cold._"

PROCEDURE and SCORING exactly as in VI, 6.

REMARKS. It is interesting to note that five years of mental growth are required to pass from the ability to repeat sixteen or eighteen syllables (year VI) to the ability to repeat twenty or twenty-two syllables. Similarly in memory for digits. Five digits are almost as easy at year VII as six at year X. Two explanations are available: (1) The increased difficulty may be accounted for by a relatively slow growth of memory power after the age of 6 or 7 years; or (2) the increase in difficulty may be real, expressing an inner law as to the behavior of the memory span in dealing with material of increasing length. Both factors are probably involved.

This is another of the Stanford additions to the scale. Average children of 10 years ordinarily pass it, but older, retarded children of 10-year mental age make a poorer showing. In the case of mentally retarded adults, especially, the verbal memory is less exact than that of school children of the same mental age.

X, ALTERNATIVE TEST 3: CONSTRUCTION PUZZLE A (HEALY AND FERNALD)

MATERIAL. Use the form-board pictured on page 279. This may be purchased of C. H. Stoelting & Co., Chicago, Illinois. A home-made one will do as well if care is taken to get the dimensions exact. Quarter-inch wood should be used. The inside of the frame should be 3 × 4 inches, and the dimensions of the blocks should be as follows: 1+3/16 × 3; 1 × 1½; 1 × 2¾; 1 × 1½; 1¼ × 2.

PROCEDURE. Place the frame on the table before the subject, the short side nearest him. The blocks are placed in an irregular position on the side of the frame away from the subject. Take care that the board with the blocks in place is not exposed to view in advance of the experiment.

Say: "_I want you to put these blocks in this frame so that all the space will be filled up. If you do it rightly they will all fit in and there will be no space left over. Go ahead._"

Do not tell the subject to see how quickly he can do it. Say nothing that would even suggest hurrying, for this tends to call forth the trial-and-error procedure even with intelligent subjects.

SCORING. The test is passed if the child succeeds in fitting the blocks into place _three times in a total time of five minutes for the three trials_.

The method of procedure is fully as important as the time, but is not so easily scored in quantitative terms. Nevertheless, the examiner should always take observations on the method employed, noting especially any tendency to make and to repeat moves which lead to obvious impossibilities; i.e., moves which leave a space obviously unfitted to any of the remaining pieces. Some subjects repeat an absurd move many times over; others make an absurd move, but promptly correct it; others, and these are usually the bright ones, look far enough ahead to avoid error altogether.

REMARKS. This test was devised by Professor Freeman, was adapted slightly by Healy and Fernald, and was first standardized by Dr. Kuhlmann. Miss Gertrude Hall has also standardized it, but on a different procedure from that described above.[67]

[67] _Eugenics and Social Welfare Bulletin_, No. 5, The State Board of Charities, Albany, New York.

The test has a lower correlation with intelligence than most of the other tests of the scale. Many bright children of 10-year intelligence adopt the trial-and-error method and have little success, while retarded older children of only 8-year intelligence sometimes succeed. Age, apart from intelligence, seems to play an important part in determining the nature of the performance. A favorable feature of the test, however, is the fact that it makes no demand on language ability and that it brings into play an aspect of intelligence which is relatively neglected by the remainder of the scale. For this reason it is at least worth keeping as an alternative test.