The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-21
GROWTH OF CHARACTER.
Or. Sanford On the Subject effectively
and 6ubiectiveIy.

DR.. Sanford spoke on Normal growth
of character" and in substance said:
By personality or character, viewed OBJ
jectively, I mean the sum total of all
the responses you can get out Of an in
dividual. Subjectively, the responses
the three, and the first and the most
transient one is perception. Then
comes the idea of self. Then the con-
cept of self. Neither the objective
nor subjective views can give a COM
plete idea of self No man can see
all in himself, and no man can show
to others all there is about him.
Emotion is fundamental to the idea
OF self; the very thing it does is to
make change in the internal sensa-
tions. Right at this point, the so-calIed
diseases of personality arise. There are
good many cases on record where
personality changes, and the funda-
mental change seems to be a change
In emotion. We are all aware of GER
tain temporary changes in ourselves.
Character changes with age and physi-
cal growth. The periods of mans life
nave been divided on many schemes.
II we should make a division as Shaks-
pere did, it would probably be in this
order: Birth to 8; to Is; 10 to 25: %
TO 40; 40 to IS; S. to 70; rs onward. TAX
ing these stages in a rough way. In
the lrst, babyhood is the age of physi-
cal adjustment. It gets control Of the
senses; then Of the muscles. The CON
tinual novings of a child are autoxnat
ic and give the child an idea of mo-
ton. Psychleally, he is born very in
complete. He is continually developing
the mental processes by Touching and
handling everything. In this period
he learns to walk and talk and In emo
tons he is tickle. There Is a. certainty
OF character, however, that enables one
to predict somewhat his personality.
After three years he becomes too
complex to note carefully When
we cross the line into boy
MOOD, It Is the school age, the age
Of social adjustments. Physically, it is
a continuation Of the other stage. on
the mental side, he is learning. In
feeling he is still self-regardful, but not
as much SO as formerly. He has
reached the grade when he finds that
1t pays to attend to the rights of 9TH
ers.
He is susceptible to social influence.
Reflective thought Is low.
just before the arrival at the newt
period the physical development is
fairly complete. He is not very per-
sistent nor has he much quality of
will. -
The next period, that of youth, from
10 to rs years, is transition perio /
All that concerns boy is now prac-
tically complete. AL the organs Of the
body grow rapidly, important elements
OF heredity come out; vitality is
strong. In the earlier stages of adoIes-
cence there is a lack of strength com
pared with the size of the muscles. whe
most natural place to look for mental
changes Is in the emotions, and there
they are found.
The susceptibility to social influences
at this age is immense. AS soon as a
boy grows up, he is treated differently
than when he Is younger.
II the treatment Of boys and girls was
reversed, probably the girl would be
masculine and the boy feminine in
character. A good deal of the pain and
stress which comes at this period is
caused by the treatment of the chill
dren. There is lack of adjustment.
A new sense ofselfand of others eonas
at this time. The child wishes indie
pendence, and there is a tendency to
get away, to resist authority. They
wish to think for themselves; they be-
gin to do right, because they feel the
thing to be right.
There is a craving for notice, for
sympathy and admiration. There is a
yearning for companionship. The young
man is nearer to the life which he has
been approaching, and it is natural
that he should dream of the future; he
has ideals; there is hero worship; Tiers
is love for novels and for romantic lit
erature. This is the point where relig-
ion begins; the love of nature and of
solitude comes at this time.
These elements may lead downwards
as well as upwards. Some of the most
terrible crimes are committed by young
people; there Is the insanity Of Adde'S
cence. 1t all depends on conditions Of
influence.
In the next period. that Of the young
man; there is q period of action. There
is quite a break between the young
man and the middle aged The main