Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-28
HILL COMMUNITY
MAY GIVE NEW KEY
in CHILD RESEARCH
Corbin Hollow Provides Ap-
proaCh to Laws Underlying
Civilizations Evolution.
MOON APPEARS INVOLVED
IN ONLY SUPERSTlTIONS
Fears and Beliefs Seem to Be In
creased Through Contact With
Outside World.

Inc prlmltlVe community OF COrbln
Hollow, Va, in the Blue Ridge Noun
tains, may have provided new APP
preach to determination of the laws
undeslying the evolution of civilization.
DIR. Manoel Sherman, director of the
Washington Child Research Center, has
just reported to the Child Study As
ISOLATION of America
Dr.. Sherman is directing an inten-
sive study of Corbin Hollow, other near
by mountain communities in closer con-
tact with the outside world, and a
border town with practically all the adj
.vantages of modern civilization. While
covering wide range, DR.. Sherman
reported especially on the curious vari-
atoms in intelligence and in fears and
Superstiticns.
In. Corbin Hollow, he said, there ap-
pears to be only one general fear-of
water. The only discernible supersti-
tons relate to the moon, the people
having held over some old English be-
l1efs regarding the effect of the posi-
ton OF that body on the giving of
medicines and planting of crops.
Progression Found.
In three other hollow" communities
progressively better in the social scale
ne found similar progression in the
fears and. superstitions, evidently due
to contact without understanding with
the institutions of the outside world
Most notable was fear of hell, which
was entirely absent in the most print
tive community. But in the country
town, where the contact with the out
side world was not only greater but
accompanied by more understanding,
there was very sharp decline in both
fears and SuperstitionS.
The most notable findings, he said
were in the variation OF supposedly in
herent intelligence with environment
Standard tests showed that the Younger
children of Corbin Hollow did not differ
markedly from those of a city. 1t was
slightly below the norms established
for the population as whole at those
age levels. But from the lowest age
levels upwards there was an increasing
divergence between the mental age and
the chronological age. Thus child of
might have mental age of 3ia, a
child of mental age of 4 and child
OF 10 a mental age of 6. The results
did net show the divergence between
families such as would have been ex-
pcted It it was case of inherent low
mentality and the intelligence curve
for the whole population "fiattened out"
at about the 7-year level.
community Basic FACTOR.
In the more advanced communities
there was, says DR.. Sherman. "a steady
decrease In this progressive increase of
the gap between chronological and
mental age until in the Nhwn the find
ings struck about 1te norm for the
country as whole"
Analysis of the results, DIR. Sherman
says, shows that the tables do not fit
with the superficial theory that the
less able stock is forced by Che compe-
tltlon in society to isolation in the least
desirable place and that a community
is advanced primarily according to the
basic intelligence of its people. The
conclusion Is rather that the status of
community itself is basic factor in
intelligence. the 16-year-old child in
Washington passing standard tests at
a higher level than the Corbin Hollow
child because the whole "set" of the
environment in Washington itself slim
ulates the intelligence.
The tests used reduced the influence
of education on the standing of the
children to a minimum. They appar-
emily measured, says DR.. Sherman, the
subtle indirect effects of education.
Previous studies of the Southern high
landers, he said, have confined them
selves to single communities without
trying to correlate the condition of the
people in one environment with that in
slightly different environment.
Complimentary Factors.
The study seems to show, he pointed
out. that basic intelligence and culture
are complementary factors, each react
ing upon the other, but with a strong
tendency for the native intelligence to
strike balance with the cultural level
rather than to raise or lower it. He be-
lieves the method developed in the Blue
Ridge Hollows is applicable to the study
of the cultures of primitive peoples
everywhere.
The study is being conducted, Dr.
Sherman reported. with frequent visits
of trained psychologists to the various
communities for the measurements and
with worker familiar with the noun
tain people living among them contin-
uously. This worker is Miss Miriam
Sizer, University of Virginia graduate,
who opened the first school in Corbin
Hollow, which attracted the attention of
the country last year to this exceedingly
primitive community within a few hours
of Washington.