Finger Movement. 85 



for 6 seconds 29.5 and for 8 seconds 38.5 oscillations. The second 

 record for the first period of this same day, June 29, 1914, scored 9.9, 

 19.3, 28.5, and 37.6 complete oscillations, respectively, for 2, 4, 6, and 

 8 seconds. These values, if compared with those for the first record, 

 will be seen to be somewhat smaller. This decrease in the second record 

 is characteristic of all the data and is taken as an indication of fatigue. 

 From the averages in the column at the right in section i, some idea 

 of the size of this change from the first record to the second may be 

 gained. If we examine the normal daily averages obtained for the entire 

 8 seconds for the periods following the control dose, we find that the 

 decreases in the number of oscillations between the first and second 

 records are 1.0, 0.9, and 0.7, respectively, for the three normal days, 

 with an average of 0.9, that is, the first record in the period showed 

 approximately one complete oscillation more during 8 seconds than the 

 second record. On the alcohol days, the decreases for the second rec- 

 ords in the 8-second period are, for June 30, 1.5, and July 2, 2.7 oscilla- 

 tions. July 4 is the only exception to the general rule, as on that day 

 the second record shows a slightly better score than the first, i. e., +0.1. 

 The average difference between the two records on the alcohol days is a 

 decrease of 1.4; hence, after alcohol, the decrease between the first and 

 second records of an 8-second period is apparently a little greater than 

 on a normal day, i. e., approximately one-half of an oscillation in 8 

 seconds. 1 



The number of finger oscillations decreased in each succeeding 2 

 seconds. The average number of oscillations for each of these inter- 

 vals has been included in the table, although the individual records were 

 read for 2, 4, 6, and 8 seconds, as was done in Dodge and Benedict's 

 study. The total average number of movements occurring in the first 

 2 seconds of all normal days is 9.9 (see column of averages at the right 

 in section i). For the first 4 seconds the average value is 19.5; the 

 difference between this average and that for the first 2 seconds is 

 9.6, i. e., the average number of oscillations occurring in the second 2- 

 second interval. The average number in the third 2-second interval 

 is 9.3, and in the fourth, 9.1 oscillations. The comparable averages 

 in the alcohol data are given in the same column as those just 

 cited and are 9.7, 9.5, 9.2, and 9.0, respectively. The decrease from 

 second to second is thus evident on both normal and alcohol days. On 

 the normal days the falling off is at the rate of 0.3 oscillation every 2 

 seconds. On the alcohol days it is not quite so large, being more nearly 

 0.2 oscillation. While this is not a large difference, we may not as- 

 sume that it is entirely without significance. 



1 In period 6 of July 4, the greatest number of finger oscillations were performed of any period 

 in the six experimental days. This decided spurt of effort on the part of the subject confirms to 

 some extent what has been previously pointed out in reference to the records for word reactions 

 and memory in the latter part of this same day. The subject was glad to be finishing the experi- 

 ments. 



