RECORDS OF MEETINGS 429 



Summary of Papers. 



Dr. Wells said in abstract : When subjects are practised in the free 

 association test through a long series of different words each day, there 

 normally appears a decrease in the association time that may be as high 

 as forty per cent. This practise effect consists essentially in bringing 

 down the long times of a series to the approximate level of the few words 

 showing the shortest time at the beginning of practise. It is an over- 

 coming of the resistances originally present in the majority of responses. 

 It is very striking that the practise of this test, where the given situation 

 is essentially different in each observation, is not markedly less than in 

 other psychological tests where the situations are the same or but slightly 

 different, as in the addition or the number cheeking tests. Besides this 

 practise effect in the reaction time, it also appears that there are certain 

 changes in the character of the responses ; they tend to become more spe- 

 cific, but also more superficial, and less determined by the influence of so- 

 called emotional "complexes." 



Dr. Hollingworth reported an attempt to study the hitherto inade- 

 quately explored transition state between waking and sleeping. Two ob- 

 servers have for two years recorded hallucinations occurring during the 

 drowsy state, and typical cases are reported. Their examination discloses 

 several clearly-defined principles or tendencies, the exposition of which 

 seems to constitute a fairly true though perhaps only partially complete 

 analysis of the state of drowsiness. 



1. Transformation of imagery type. Imagery modes ordinarily vague 

 and feeble become dominant and vivid, even tending to replace customary 

 imagery habits. Thus H — who is predominantly auditory and motor in 

 type and can only with difficulty summon up visual images of even the 

 most moderate vividness — has, in the drowsy state, visual experiences 

 which constantly startly him by their clearness. I — to whom visual 

 imagery is a common habit, but who, in her waking consciousness, can 

 not understand what kinesthetic imagery is like — tends, in the drowsy 

 state, to relive motor experiences almost exclusively. 



2. Substitution of three types, sensory, perseverative, and ideal. 

 Within the drowsiness fusion a present impression, a perseverative ten- 

 dency, or even a pure memory element often substitutes itself for some 

 other datum whose role it fills in the perceived composition of the halluci- 

 nation. 



3. Fluid association on a sensory basis, with removal of constraining 

 mental sets and controls, leading to bizarre analogies, naive statements, 

 and unusual verbal juxtapositions. 



G' — NY 



