188 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



observation, as much as in regions which happen to be more 

 accessible. 



Some days later, Dr. Jung again addressed a joint meeting 

 of the Aristotelian Society, the British Psychological Society, 

 and the Mind Association in the course of a symposium held 

 at Bedford College. At the time of writing none of the papers 

 then read have yet been published, though they have been 

 circulated privately. 



The British Journal of Psychology for May contains a paper 

 on the Psychological Interpretation of Sense Data by John 

 Laird ; and several papers on the existence of " General 

 Ability." Professor Carveth Read discusses The Unconscious , 

 especially emphasising that common cause of forgetfulness 

 which is due to unconscious repression of disagreeable memories. 



Among the Monograph Supplements of the British Journal 

 of Psychology must be mentioned The Distribution of Atten- 

 tion, by E. Neil McQueen, M.A., D.Sc. (Cambridge University 

 Press, 191 7), in which is discussed the capacity of dividing 

 attention simultaneously on several subjects. This capacity 

 does not appear to be specially characteristic of persons of 

 high general intelligence. Motor abilities and general intelli- 

 gence, on the other hand, seem to be inversely correlated. 

 Where attention is simultaneously directed to two different 

 operations, what actually happens is either that the attention 

 alternates from one to the other, or that one of them becomes 

 automatic, or there is a psychical fusion of the two. The true 

 fixation of attention on two separate tasks simultaneously is 

 found to be very rare. 



The Revue Philosophique of January — February is notable 

 for a long article by Dr. Pierre Janet, entitled Les fatigues 

 sociales et V antipathic The main purpose of this distinguished 

 writer is to insist on the contagious character of neurasthenic 

 and hysterical conditions, as a result of which an affected 

 individual constitutes a real danger to those with whom he 

 lives. Dr. Janet points out, further, that mental instability 

 is far more widely spread than commonly supposed, and that 

 a very large number of people commonly regarded as normal 

 are victims of minor mental disorders. We are glad to know 

 that this extremely interesting article is being republished in 

 a three-volume work by the author, entitled Les medications 

 psychologiques. 



