SENSORY FARADIC THRESHOLD. 145 



IX, is within the expected error. The apparent notable decrease of 

 effect after dose B of alcohol can not be regarded as an accident. It 

 seemed probable that some new factor entered the situation with the 

 larger dose. At first we thought we had come upon an indication of 

 increased stimulation, but the total evidence is against this explanation. 

 While smaller than after dose A, the average is still in the same direc- 

 tion. A change in sign occurs only in one case out of six. We have 

 already mentioned a much more probable explanation of the phe- 

 nomenon, which at the same time accounts for the individual variation. 

 This is the change in the standard of assurance under alcohol, for which 

 we gave our incomplete introspective and objective evidence in the 

 earlier discussion. 



In view of all the facts, we may probably conclude that the sensory 

 threshold for electrical stimulation is raised by moderate doses of 

 alcohol. In other words, the average sensitivity to electrical stimu- 

 lation is decreased by moderate doses of alcohol. As this is diametri- 

 cally opposed to the finding of Specht 1 in the case of sound threshold, 

 we may not generalize our data. But we would emphasize the fact 

 that our threshold is uncontaminated by such complex adaptation 

 changes of the sense organ as may supervene in the case of the eye 

 and the ear. 



Specht, Archiv. f. d. ges. Psychol., 1907, 9, p. 180. 



