RECORDS OF MEETINGS OF 1908 499 



SECTION OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. 



November 23, 1908. 



Section met in conjunction with the New York Branch of the American 

 Psychological Association at 4 P. M. at Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia 

 University, Professor Pillsburg presiding, and at 8:15 P. M. at the American 

 Museum of Natural History, Professor Woodworth presiding. 



The following program was offered: 



Afternoon Session. 



H. H. Woodrow, The Meaning of Rhythmical Grouping. 

 H. L. Hollingworth, The Indifference Point. 



J. V. Breitwieser, The Effect of Varying Resistance on Reaction 



Time. 



Evening Session. 



F. J. E. Woodbridge, Mental Operations and Their Material. 

 W. P. Montague, Consciousness and Energy. 



Summary of Papers. 



Mr. Woodrow performed, in connection with his paper, experiments on 

 auditory rhythm in which the intensity, duration and intervals of the sounds 

 were independently and systematically varied, and the judgment of the 

 observer was required as to the sort of rhythm perceived. By comparison 

 of the results of this experiment with another in which judgment of intervals 

 was called for, it was found that the two sorts of judgment correspond so 

 closely as to lead to the conclusion that the rhythmical grouping is essentially 

 a matter of time judgment. 



Mr. Hollingworth said in abstract: The point at which the positive 

 constant error in the reproduction of small magnitudes (here extents of arm 

 movement) passes over into the negative error in the reproduction of large 

 magnitudes was found to depend on the series of magnitudes used. When 

 only one magnitude is used in a series of reproductions, no great constant 

 error appeared, whatever the magnitude. When a series of magnitudes 

 was used together, the indifference point lay always near the middle of the 

 series. Whatever the absolute magnitudes in the series, it always contains 



