Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-23
important Experiments in Child
Psychology BY the Distinguished
Or. William Healy Which Nav
Tell You Just What's Wrong
With Your Boy and Hou to
Make Him Good Agar,

as the cause Of delinquency are oftenest
found in the cases OF badly nourished
boys, mouth breathers and those SUI
fering from various physical defects a
bright boy of ten years, belonging IN this
class, got 10 running away and associat.
Ing with very bad boys. When examined
bE sympathetic and friendly expert
he poured out his troubles like this:
Il got TO running around with boy
who told bad stories and said bad words.
keep thinking OF these things. and
that's what spoils me. | used 10 tell bad
words. You can't help H. When a kid
gets TO knowing these things he feels
like saying them out. 1t makes me sick
! think of things that make me ashamed
and everything seems wrong so II don't
make much difference what you do.
When ! wake up at night something
bothers me. Something won't let me
sleep. The trouble is something works
In my head Sometimes /, is like some.
body right in front OF me making me take
things. 1t makes me get up at night
and take things. The other night could
see pictures OF shows, wicked pictures
fellows upsetting trains and like that.
And then one dream comes nearly every
night. Somebody falls out Of a balloon
and always rescue them. They fall
way out In the water. Sometimes get
money from them and maybe run away
WIN III ana dOn come back.
When this type of bad boy becomes
entirely frank with the investigator re
confesses that these mental images,
whether awake or dreaming put him all
out OF gear with the normal affairs OF
existence. They make me sick" Is a
phrase often used with more Significance
than-they probably imagine. A fortunate
circumstance is that when such a boy
fully reveals to a sympathetic listener
al RI tct,t ;ab ~
guarded so carefully-they Immediately
lose a large part Of their bearing on his
actions
When boys become very bad they &C.
quire a sort of cunning which makes i,
difficult to analyze their mental pro-
cesses and motives AS everything de-
Ponds upon a correct diagnosis. upon ac-
curately determining the main factor in
causing badness. the acquired shrewd.
ness of the investigator leads him 10 APP
ply tests which the subject views with
out suspicion, but which are merciless in
dragging forth the truth
10 the familiar Binet tests used in the
case OF mental detectives all over the
world, DR.. Healy adds several ingenious
ones Of his own devising, which perform
good service in making bad boys reveal
certain qualities, or deficiencies, OF their
mental apparatus Panfulness and fore.
sight. the lack OF which nearly always
stands at the root of crminalism. is
proved by ability quickly to perceive that
the complicated apparatus of a puzzle
box is merely to create an impression OF
great difficulty, stage by stage, in open.
ing the box, and that the solution really
is absurdly simple.
one or the commonest remarks con.
cernlng the unsuccessful, repeated Of
render is that such a boy does not seem
10 De able to profit by experience To
settle TINS question, Or. Healy uses thin
Dlts or wood of various sizes and shapes
"hlch, properly adjusted to each other
exactly fill a rectangular wooden frame
IL the boy always makes the same mis-
taxes, showing no. or little, progress to-
"ard correct arrangement Of the pieces
atter repeated attempts, then there Is no
DOUBT about it-he is constitutionally
lacking In ability TO profit by experience
Inc contrary result is, OF course, very en-
couraging in the case OF boy who has
only Just begun his evil practises.
Inc lesson for parents and guardians
10 learn from all this painstaking, scien-
tihc inquiry into the causative factors In
the bad-boy problem naturally is-never
Jump at the conclusion that the boy Is
beyond redemption; he is sick and needs
the doctor. 1t is a moral and mental
SICKNESS. with great many complca
lions which have to be determined. In
great majority OF instances, given a
correct diagnosis, the cure Is not q diff.
cult matter.