The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-03-05
EDUCATIONAL DISCOVERY.
ew Science Brought to Light by New
ID York Psychologists.

IL ri 'AsiOub NJ W A%tkht " NO"
Enf York Psychologists.
In pe old theory of education was that
hildren had about the same mental
II r.. The chief difference was that
TT were possessed to a greater de-
than others with the perverse
lit of Adam, and required, in con-
uence, more frequent and intense
application of the birch stick to
quicken their mental operations. The
present theory is that the difference
y + very largely in the quality of their
bl pms. The aim of psychology now is
To- determine in some definite way the
amount of this difference.
\Ihls science is called pathology. 1t
is pursued with great care in the
psychological laboratory of the New
York school of pedagogy. Prof. Scrip
tuFe, OF Yale university, is investigat-
ing 1t also. Instruments have been in d.
verified that enable the investigator to
determine with absolute accuracy the
rapidity of children's thoughts, the
extent to which they can bear pain,
the degree of their nervousness, and
many other points of interest relative
10 their mental power. When sufi;-
crent data have been obtained it will be
| possible to grade pupils much better
Y. iAnow. They will be graded accord
| Ing to the quickness of their mental
operations-the slow ones being
grouped in classes, and the quick ones
grouped in other classes. There will
| then be no complaint that the former
are permitted to retard the progress
| of the latter.
One of the Instruments used in this
investigation is the graphic chronom-
eter. A child is told to look at shut
ter, and, when it is seen to fail, to
press a button. The interval between
the time that the shutter falls and the
| moment that the button is pressed
measures the child's power to respond
to an optical impression. The inter
val varies in different children. The
aim of the experiment is to determine
an average to be applied in grading
children. Another experiment with
this instrument is to determine the
time it takes child to write the letter
20" and the letter "g," the former being
the easiest and the latter the most diff
cult to write.
The algometer is the name of the
instrument used to determine the
amount of pain that a child can endure.
1t is described as resembling a small
pump, with Il spring balance in the
handle. "a piston" continues the de-
scription, with metal disk about the
size of a silver quarter at one end, pro-
jects from the tube. The disk is
pressed against the temporal of the
child's forehead until a slight pain is
felt. The amount of pressure eXerted
to produce this effect is indicated on
the spring of the pressure gauge, and
shows the sensitiveness of the child.'
The third instrument is called the
plethismograph, which is used to test
the child's nervousness and general
emotional sensibility. 1t is a little
rubber bellows, attached to a rubber
tube which carries small lever. The
lever is in contact with a revolving
drum. The bellows is applied to the
wrist just above the pulse. The heart
beats cause little puffs of air TO pass
through the bellows into the tube to
the lever, which moves in response to
them and records their rapidity on the
drum. The different degrees Cf SEN
sitiveness of children to the same effect
may thus be accurately obtained. y
practical result of this information
will be the grading of punishments.
There are other instruments, to test
the hearing, the eyesight and the touch.
| Spools wound with wire of different
sizes are used to test the sense of
touch. The more highly sensitive the
| touch, the smaller the size of the wire
that can be Observation-Disclosures Her.
aid