EXACT METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY. 155 



in the left-hand column the names of the several States and Ter- 

 ritories. At the top of successive columns, counting from left to 

 right, we may enter words designating the social phenomena to 

 be observed. Then, taking the States and Territories in order, we 

 may enter opposite the name of each a symbol indicating that a 

 majority large or small, or a minority large or small, of the in- 

 habitants of the State or Territory in question manifests the trait 

 or follows the activity, or belongs to the social organization desig- 

 nated at the top of the column. The symbols that I have found 

 most convenient in use are these: For a large majority, a double 

 plus sign thus, -H-; for a small majority, a single plus sign thus, +; 

 for a large minority, a double plus sign in a circle thus, © ; for 

 a small minority, a single plus sign in a circle thus, © . 



The great possibilities in this method of giving precision to 

 observations and records of the facts of social psychology and ac- 

 tivity become daily more obvious to students w^ho practice it with 

 reasonable care. Almost any desired degree of accuracy can be 

 attained by taking smaller and smaller enumeration units. Thus, 

 if I wish to form and to record my judgment as to whether the 

 people of the United States as a whole manifest a high, a medium, 

 or a low degree of general intelligence, I seem to be raising a ques- 

 tion that admits of little better answer than a statement of vague 

 impressions. But let me take a concrete measure of high general 

 intelligence — for example, the general intelligence of a town noted 

 for its large proportion of scientific and professional men, its 

 graded schools, its satisfactory school attendance, and its low per- 

 centage of illiteracy. Let me then subdivide the United States 

 into fifty parts — namely, the Commonwealths and Territories — ■ 

 and let me enter in a column opposite the name of each a symbol 

 indicating that, as compared wdth the general intelligence of the 

 town which I have taken as a standard, a large majority or a small 

 majority, or a large minority or only a small minority, of the 

 people in that Commonwealth are of the high general intelligence ; 

 that a large majority or a small majority, or a large minority or 

 only a small minority, are of medium intelligence; and that a large 

 majority or a small majority, or a large minority or a small minor- 

 ity, are of low intelligence. Obviously, when I have completed this 

 process I have subjected my vague general impression that the peo- 

 ple of the United States as a whole are of high, medium, or low gen- 

 eral intelligence to a certain correction and measure. I count up 

 the entries in my columns. I discover that I have made, let us 

 say, nine entries indicating that a large majority of the people in 

 each of nine States are of high intelligence. I find that I have 

 made, let us say, eighteen entries indicating that in each of eight- 



