Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-15
By KATHARINE sEDLEY.

~ Doth good and new IN psyche
4 4 analysis. but that which is good
10 not new; and that which Is
new Is not good"
No sooner was the study Of psychology
reduced to words Of one syllable and to
the schoolboy's understanding than 1t
was hailed by the child experts with
cheers as the long-sought-for panacea
for all the troubles of modern youth.
They thought that with the tool of
psychology they could open a chtld's
brain, dissect 1t. cut out the faults, plant
only good and pure thoughts, and so
produce perfect child. just as II
brains could be turned out like ma
chimes, each one human cash register.
Men are built. not born" says Dr.
John Watson, defying all the laws Of
heredity and making no distinction be-
tween men and robots.
Books entitled Psychology IN the
Nursery" Psychology for Normal
People" Understanding Our Children
or other similar titles are published
almost weekly. A person with o well
balanced adult mind finds the study Of
all mental phenomena Of vital signif-
icance In social contacts and in analyz-
ing motives and results Of actions. But
only 3 person with q mature mind can
wade into this sea Of knowledge and
keep his head above water. The person
with youthful and unframed mind
can only struggle with the first cold
waves Of introspection and self-analysis,
and is then rapidly dragged beyond his
depth, to sink on the mud fats of utter
confusion and morbidity.
In too many instances the adults ef-
fort to search into the cfild's brain has
led the child 10 do likewise, and as his
emotions and reactions have been an
q luz0% aud his ATmaYNa and hfc iyrrVnnot
| thoughts pulled out, discussed and ex-
amined, his brain has become tired and
worn out, with confusion resulting
rather than the peace and order which
had been sought.
For this reason I am convinced that
too great an emphasis should not be
placed upon the value of psyche
| analysis for our children, nor should
psychology be dished out in college to
| every boy and girl alike, quite ire
! spective Of their powers Of mental d.
gestion.
Parents have almost lost their heads
over what they consider the latest
scientific method for producing perfect
children. A recent book about under
| standing children, by q prominent
psychologist, boasts that mothers con-
suit him before their children are born
for the newest recipe to create brilliant
brains In coming genius; whereas q
mother should realize that the child IL
J but the composite of hundreds of
ancestors and that her efforts could
have but little effect, If any, upon the
child before its birth.
Fever Traced 10 Brain.
Recently o young mother found her
| 2-year-old child with q slight degree
of fever and consulted doctor about 10.
As the physician could find nothing
wrong with the childs digestion, he had
| to search elsewhere. Proud of his
powers of psychoanalysis, he announced
that the child's brain was overdevel-
oped, that she had too much excitement
and he prescribed a regime Of almost
solitary confinement, with few toys and
no playmates.
The young mother was naturally
greatly worried at the thought of her
child's brain being in an abnormal con-
dition, and she prepared to follow strict
| ly the doctors orders. Every member
Of the family was banished from the
nursery, and rocking horses, drums.
trains and all exciting toys" were
cleared away. Then suddenly a new
tooth appeared and the fever went
away Immediately.
If that physicians prescription had
been followed for long, the childs brain
would have been abnormal, and the
child made dreadfully shy, self-con-
scious and afraid of strangers, perhaps
of life. This doctor has q wide and en-
viable reputation, and this Is no unusual
case.
The words "introspection," self
analysis mental complex" Sup
pressed desires" and the like are house
hold words today and are used and mis-
used frequently by all the younger gen.
Grafton with great ease and unconcealed
pride.
One girl wrote home from college to
her mother and said, Mother, 1t is not
that do not think of you, or love you
less, all this past month, but seem to
be IN q mental complex that prevents
me from sitting down to collect my
thoughts sufficiently to write to you
OF course, her mother knew that it was
no mental complex at all. 1t was sheer
old-fashioned laziness. but 1t was true
that the child could not write while
she herself felt that her mind was grip
ped IN complex, or wise, which re-
strained her She was proud of her dis
covery Of a mental complex and gloried
in her powers of self-analysis, whereas
formerly she would have been ashamed
Of the fault Of laziness and would have
tried to conquer 1t.
That alone is one of the dangers of
introspection. A child often regards
mental complex as an inherent quality
Of his brain and an ultimate condition.
II we could persuade him that 1t Is only
an old-time, stupid fault or q prosaic
virtue, he might realize that his will
power could eradicate the one or de-
velop and strengthen the other. With
out this knowledge self-analysis fire.
quent produces stagnation Of the will
power.
OF course, these unfortunate results
are not at all what the professors of
psychology intend to bring about in
the minds Of their pupils, but they are
the very direct consequences that I see
repeatedly IN my many contacts with
Tests that ere applied in the school
room under the guidance Of q professor
are later tried by the children on each
other and on themselves until the
youngsters minds are dizzy and the re-
suits of the tests assume a purely
imaginative importance. They search
for hidden motives for even the most
insignificant reactions; they try to ana
lyze every emotion and sensation; they !
search inward to ind, or create, depths
of thought. One pallid youth told me
in all seriousness that he was seeking
for truth in his subconsciousness"
Test Opposed for Youths.
am convinced that young mind
should be discouraged from thinking
Of self at all or from turning inward on
its own consciousness. An unframed
mind Is unable to reach a sound con-
clusion upon any subject, far less q sub
ject that involves itsalf. 1t is hard
enough for an adult to- pass the test,
and young boys and girls should not be |
subjected to It, It all tends to a
neurotic sort of development and an
acute sensitiveneSs.
One brilliant student Of psychology |
(brilliaph In the quality Of her mind |
but STUPID IN her conclusions. > wunsl