Psychology Part 41

[Footnote: See pp. 346-348.] Facts recalled are facts previously observed.

It is true, of course, that recalled facts can be compared and new facts be observed by the comparison. We may recall how John looks, and how James looks, and note the fact, not previously observed, that they look alike. A great deal can be inferred in this way by a person who is sitting in his room far from the objects thought about. But this noting of the relationships of different objects is a very different matter from observing what is there, in a single object or scene. What is there can only be observed when you are there.

The Question of Non-Sensory Recall

Many observed facts are not strictly facts of sensation, though observed by means of the senses. Let us suppose, for an example, that your attention is caught by the bright green new leaves at the tips of the branches of an evergreen tree in summer, and that you notice also the darker green of the older leaves further back along the branches, and, exploring deeper, find leaves that are dead and brown, while still further in they have all fallen off, leaving bare branches reaching back to the trunk; so that you finally "see" how the tree is constructed, as a hollow cone of foliage supported by an interior framework of branches. All this has meant a lot of different reactions on your part, and the final "seeing" of how the tree is constructed would scarcely be called a sensation, since it has required mental work beyond that of simply seeing the tree. It is a response additional to the strictly sensory response of seeing the tree.

Now the question is whether this additional response can be recalled, without recalling at the same time the primary {374} response of seeing the tree. Can we recall the fact observed about the tree without at the same time seeing the tree "in the mind's eye"? Must we necessarily have an image of the tree when we recall the way the tree is constructed?

Since getting the general sensory appearance of the tree, and observing the way it is constructed, are two different responses, it seems quite conceivable that either fact should be recalled without the other; and no one doubts that the sensory appearance of the tree can be recalled without the other observed fact coming up along with it. But many authorities have held that the non-sensory fact could not be recalled alone; in other words, they have held that every recalled fact comes as a sensory image, or with a sensory image. Persons with ready visual imagery are of course likely to get a visual image with any fact they may recall. But persons whose visual imagery is hard to arouse say that they recall facts without any visual image. I who write these words, being such a person, testify that while I have been writing and thinking about that tree I have not seen it before my mind's eye.

It is true, however, that I have had images during this time--auditory images of words expressing the facts mentioned. Another individual might have had kinesthetic images instead of either visual or auditory. But can there be a recall of fact without _any_ sensory image?

On this question, which has been called the question of "imageless thought", though it might better be called that of "imageless recall", controversy has raged and is not yet at rest, so that a generally accepted conclusion cannot be stated. But the best indications are to the effect, first, that vague and fleeting images, especially of the kinesthetic sort, are often present without being detected except by very fine introspection, some image being pretty sure to come up every few seconds when we are engaged in silent thought or {375} recall; but, second, that images are not present every second of the time, and that at the instant when a non-sensory fact is recalled it is apt to be alone.

Hallucinations

Since a vivid mental image may be "in all respects the same as an actual sensation", according to the testimony of some people, the question arises how, then, an image is distinguished from a sensation.

Well, the image does not usually fit into the objective situation present to the senses. But if it does fit, or if the objective situation is lost track of, then, as a matter of fact, the image may be taken for a sensation.

You see some beautiful roses in the florist's window, and you _smell_ them; the odor fits into the objective situation very well, till you notice that the shop door is shut and the window gla.s.s impervious to odors, from which you conclude that the odor must have been your image.

You are lost in thought of an absent person, till, forgetting where you are, you seem to see him entering the door; he "fits" well enough for an instant, but then the present situation forces itself upon you and the image takes its proper place.

You are half asleep, almost lost to the world, and some scene comes before you so vividly as to seem real till its oddity wakens you to the reality of your bedroom. Or you are fully asleep, and then the images that come are dreams and seem entirely real, since contact with the objective situation has been broken.

Images taken for real things are common in some forms of mental disorder. Here the subject's hold on objective fact is weakened by his absorption in his own desires and fears, and he hears reviling voices and smells suspicious {376} odors or sees visions that are in line with his desires and fears.

Such false sensations are called "hallucinations". An hallucination is an image taken for a sensation, a recalled fact taken for a present objective fact. It is a sensory response, aroused by a subst.i.tute stimulus, without the subject's noticing that it is thus aroused instead of by its regular peripheral stimulus.

Synesthesia.

Quite a large number of people are so const.i.tuted as to hear sounds as if colored, a deep tone perhaps seeming dark blue, the sound of a trumpet a vivid red, etc. Each vowel and even each consonant may have its own special color, which combine to give a complex color scheme for a word. Numbers also may be colored. This colored hearing is the commonest form of "synesthesia", which consists in responding to a stimulus acting on one sense, by sensations belonging to a different sense. Whether the persons so const.i.tuted as to respond in this way are const.i.tuted thus by nature or by experience is uncertain, though the best guess is that the extra sensations are images that have become firmly attached to their subst.i.tute stimuli during early childhood.

Free a.s.sociation

Mental processes that depend on recall are called "a.s.sociative processes", since they make use of a.s.sociations or linkages previously formed. When some definite interest or purpose steers the a.s.sociative processes, we speak of "controlled a.s.sociation", contrasting this with the "free a.s.sociation" that occurs in an idle mood, when one thought simply calls up another with no object in view and no more than fleeting desires to give direction to the sequence of thoughts.

_Revery_ affords the best example of free a.s.sociation. I {377} see my neighbor's dog out of my window, and am reminded of one time when I took charge of that dog while my neighbor was away, and then of my neighbor's coming back and taking the dog from the cellar where I had shut him up; next of my neighbor's advice with respect to an automobile collision in which I was concerned; next of the stranger with whom I had collided, and of the stranger's business address on the card which he gave me; next comes a query as to this stranger's line of business and whether he was well-to-do; and from there my thoughts switch naturally to the high cost of living.

This is rather a drab, middle-aged type of revery, and youth might show more life and color; but the linkages between one thought and the next are typical of any revery. The linkages belong in the category of "facts previously observed". I had previously observed the ownership of this dog by my neighbor, and this observation linked the dog and the neighbor and enabled the dog to recall the neighbor to my mind.

Most of the linkages in this revery are quite concrete, but some are rather abstract, such as the connection between being well-to-do (or not) and the high cost of living; but, concrete or abstract, they are connections previously observed by the subject. Sometimes the linkage keeps the thoughts within the sphere of the same original experience, and sometimes switches them from one past experience to another, or even away from any specific past experience to general considerations; yet always the linkage has this character, that the item that now acts as stimulus has been formerly combined in observation with the other item that now follows as the response. One fact recalls another when the two have been previously observed as belonging together.

But suppose, as is commonly the case, that the fact now present in my mind has been linked, in different past {378} experiences, with several different facts. Then two questions demand our attention: whether all these facts are recalled; and, if not, what gives the advantage to the fact actually recalled over the others that are not recalled.

The answer to the first question is plain. The fact first present in mind does not call up all the a.s.sociated facts, but usually only one of them, or at least only one at a time. My neighbor, in the example given, though previously a.s.sociated with a dozen other facts, now calls up but two of these facts, and those two not simultaneously but one after the other. We see a law here that is very similar to a law stated under the head of attention. There, we said that of all the objects before us that might be noticed only one was noticed at a time; and here we say that of all the objects that might be recalled to mind by a.s.sociation only one is recalled at a time. Both statements can be combined into the one general "law of reaction" which was mentioned before, that of all the responses linked to a given stimulus (or complex of stimuli) only one is actually aroused at the same instant, though several may be aroused in succession, provided the stimulus continues.

In revery, the stimulus usually does not continue. The first fact thought of gives way to the fact that it recalls, and that to one that it recalls in turn, and so on, without much dwelling on any fact. But if we do dwell on any fact--as upon the thought of a certain person--then this stimulus, continuing to act, calls up in succession quite a number of a.s.sociated facts.

If, then, only one of the several facts a.s.sociated with the stimulus is recalled at once, our second question presents itself, as to what are the factors of advantage that cause one rather than another of the possible responses to occur. The fact first in mind might have called up any one of several facts, having been linked with each of them in past {379} experience; and we want to know why it recalls one of these facts rather than the rest.

The factors of advantage in recall are the factors that determine the strength of linkage between two facts; and they are:

the _frequency_ with which the linkage has occurred; the _recency_ with which it has occurred; and the _intensity_ with which it has occurred.

If I have frequently observed the connection of two facts, the linkage between them is strong; if I have recently observed their connection, the linkage between them is strong till the "recency value" dies away; and if my observation of the connection of the two facts was a vivid experience, or intense reaction, then, also, the linkage between them is strong. If these three factors of advantage work together in favor of the same response, then that response is sure to occur; but if the three factors pull different ways, we should have to figure out the balance of advantage before we could predict which of the possible responses would actually be made. Naturally enough, even the skilful psychologist is often unable to strike the balance between the three factors. He does know, however, and all of us know in a practical way, that strong recency value offsets a lot of frequency; so that a mere vague allusion to a very recent topic of conversation can be depended on to recall the right facts to the hearer's mind, even though they lie outside of his habitual line of interest. "James", by virtue of frequency, means your brother or friend; but after the lecturer has been talking about the psychologist James, repet.i.tion of this name infallibly recalls the psychologist to mind.

Besides frequency, recency and intensity, there is, indeed, another factor to be taken into account; and that is the {380} present state of the subject's mind. If he is unhappy, unpleasant a.s.sociations have the advantage; if happy, pleasant. If he is absorbed in a given matter, facts related to that matter have the advantage. Frequency, recency and intensity summarize the _history_ of a.s.sociations, and measure their strength as dependent on their history; but the present state of mind is an additional directive factor, and when it has much to do with recall, we speak of directed or controlled a.s.sociation.

Before we pa.s.s to the topic of controlled a.s.sociation, however, there is another form of free a.s.sociation, quite different from revery, to be examined. There is an experiment, called the _free a.s.sociation test_, in which the subject is given a series of words as stimuli, and is asked to respond to each word by speaking some other word, the first that is recalled by the stimulus. No special kind of word need be given in response, but simply the _first word recalled_. Though this is called free a.s.sociation, it is controlled to the extent that the response must be a word, and the result is very different from revery. Instead of the recall of concrete facts from past experience, there is recall of words. If you give the subject the stimulus word, "table", his response is "chair" or "dinner", etc., and often he does not think of any particular table, but simply of the word. Words are so often linked one with another that it is no wonder that one recalls another automatically. What particular word shall be recalled depends on the frequency, recency and intensity of past linkage.

Though this form of test seems so simple as almost to be silly, it is of use in several ways. When a large number of stimulus words are used, and the responses cla.s.sified, some persons are found to favor linkages that have a personal significance--"egocentric responses", these are called--while other persons run to connections that are {381} impersonal and objective. Thus the test throws some light on the individual's _habits_ of attention. The test has also a "detective"

use, based upon the great efficacy of the factor of _recency_; you may be able by it to tell whether an individual has recently had a certain matter in mind. If he happens to be an individual who has recently committed some crime, properly selected stimulus words will lead him to recall the scene of the crime, and thus to make responses that betray him, unless he checks them and so arouses suspicion by his hesitation. Another use of the test is for unearthing a person's emotional "complexes", which of course possess a high _intensity_ value. If the subject shows hesitation and embarra.s.sment in responding to words referring to money, the indication is that he is emotionally disturbed over the state of his finances. One person who consulted a doctor for nervousness made peculiar responses to stimulus words relating to the family, and was discovered to be much disturbed over his family's opposition to his projected marriage. The free a.s.sociation test is useful rather as giving the experienced psychologist hints to be followed up than as furnishing sure proof of the contents of the subject's mind.

Controlled a.s.sociation

There is a controlled a.s.sociation test conducted like this one in free a.s.sociation, except that the subject is required to respond to each stimulus word by a word standing in a specified relation to it. To one series of words he must respond by saying their opposites; to another, by mentioning a part of each object named; to another series, consisting of names of countries, he must respond by naming as quickly as possible the capital of each country named; and there are many tests of this sort, each dealing with some cla.s.s of relationships which, being often observed, are easily handled {382} by a person of normal intelligence. The intelligent subject makes few errors in such a test, and responds in very quick time. Indeed, the remarkable fact is that he takes less time to respond in an easy controlled a.s.sociation test than in the free a.s.sociation test; which shows that the "control" acts not simply to limit the response, but also to _facilitate_ it.

The "control" here is often called by the name of "mental set". It is a good example of a "reaction tendency". On being told you are to give opposites, you somehow set or adjust your mental machinery for making this type of response. The mental set thus thrown into action facilitates responses of the required type, while inhibiting other responses that would readily occur in the absence of any directive tendency. If the word "good" came as a stimulus word in a free a.s.sociation test, it might easily arouse the responses, "good day", "good night", "good boy", "good better", and many besides, since all of these combinations have been frequently used in the past; and the balance of frequency, recency and intensity might favor any one of these responses. But when the subject is set for opposites, the balance of these factors has little force as against the mental set.

The mental set for opposites favors the revival of such combinations as "new--old", "good--bad", and such others of this cla.s.s as have been noted and used in the subject's past experience.

Mental set is a selective factor, a factor of advantage. It does not supersede the previously formed a.s.sociations, or work independently of them, but selects from among them the one which fits the present task.

Does it get in its work after recall has done its part, or before?

Does it wait till recall has brought up a number of responses, and then pick out the one that fills the bill? No, it often works much too quickly for that, giving the right response instantly; and introspection is often perfectly clear that none but the right {383} response is recalled at all. The selective influence of the mental set is exerted _before recall_; it facilitates the right recall and inhibits recall of any but the right response.

In controlled a.s.sociation, as in free a.s.sociation, only one of the facts previously linked with the stimulus is recalled at a time; but while in free a.s.sociation the factors of frequency, recency and intensity of past linkage determine which of the many possible facts shall be recalled, in controlled a.s.sociation the additional factor of mental set is present and has a controlling influence in determining which fact shall be recalled. Thus, in an opposites test, the stimulus word "good" promptly calls up the pair "good--bad", because the mental set for opposites gives this response a great advantage over "good night" and other responses which may have a very strong linkage with the stimulus word.

The mental set is itself a response to a stimulus. It is an inner response thrown into activity by some stimulus, such as the stimulus of being asked to give the opposites of a series of words that are presently to be shown or spoken. This inner response of getting ready for the task can be introspectively observed by a person who is new to this type of test. It may take the form of mentally running over examples of opposites--or whatever kind of responses are to be called for--or it may take the form of calling up some image or diagram or gesture that symbolizes the task. A visual image of the nose on the face may serve as a symbol of the part-whole relationship, a small circle inside a larger one may symbolize the relation of an object to a cla.s.s of objects, and gesturing first to the right and then to the left may symbolize the relationship of opposites. But as the subject grows accustomed to a given task, these conscious symbols fade away, and nothing remains except a general "feeling of readiness" or of "knowing what you are {384} about". The mental set remains in force, however, and is no less efficient for becoming almost unconscious.

Examples of Controlled a.s.sociation

Dwelling so long on the test for controlled a.s.sociation may have created the impression that this is a rather artificial and unusual type of mental performance; but in reality controlled a.s.sociation is a very representative mental process, and enters very largely into all forms of mental work. This is true in arithmetical work, for example.

A pair of numbers, such as 8 and 3, has been linked in past experience with several responses; it means 83, it means 11, it means 5, and it means 24. But if you are adding, it means 11, and no other response occurs; if you are multiplying, it means 24, and only that response occurs. The mental set for multiplying facilitates the responses of the multiplication table and inhibits those of the addition table, while the mental set for adding does the reverse. Rapid adding or multiplying would be impossible without an efficient mental set. Thus in arithmetic, as in the tests, the mental set is an inner response to the _task_.

In reading, there is a mental set which is an inner response to the _context_, and which determines which of the several well-known meanings of a word shall actually be called to mind when the word is read. Presented alone, a word may call up any of its meanings, according to frequency, etc.; but in context it usually brings to mind just the one meaning that fits the context. The same is true of conversation.

The objective _situation_ arouses a mental set that controls both thought and action. The situation of being in church, for example, determines the meanings that are got from the words heard, and controls the motor behavior to {385} fit the occasion. The subject, observing the situation, adjusts himself to it, perhaps without any conscious effort, and his adjustment facilitates appropriate mental and motor reactions, while inhibiting others.

A _problem_ arouses a mental set directed towards solution of the problem. A difficult problem, however, differs from a context or familiar task or situation in this important respect, that the appropriate response has not been previously linked with the present stimulus, so that, in spite of ever so good a mental set, the right response cannot immediately be recalled. One must _search_ for the right response. Still, the mental set is useful here, in directing the search, and keeping it from degenerating into an aimless running hither and thither. Problem solution is so different a process from smooth-running controlled a.s.sociation that it deserves separate treatment, which will be given it a few chapters further on, under the caption of reasoning.

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EXERCISES