284 Dr. A. D. Waller [Feb. 4, 



was very quickly satisfied that this physical sign affords the most 

 convenient possible gauge and measure of human character and of 

 human temperament, seeing that it declares how much a given 

 subject is moved by his thoughts and feelings. A spot of light 

 showing the movements of a galvanometer connected with the palm 

 of the hand exhibits the fluctuating emotions of the person to whom 

 the hand belongs, and if the person be an ordinary normal person it 

 is only the palm of the hand, and not any other part of the skin of 

 the upper extremity, that shows the response. My first point is, then, 

 that the emotive response is, par excellence, a palmar phenomenon, 

 and I shall, as my first and chief experiment, undertake to demon- 

 strate this point. [Experiment.] 



3. Mr. X. Y. has been good enough to lend himself to my purpose. 

 His hand and his forearm are connected with each of galvanometers 

 and two Wheatstone bridges. The round spot belongs to the hand 

 circuit, the square spot to the forearm circuit, and balance can be 

 adjusted in each circuit separately by suitable manipulation of the 

 two resistance boxes. In both cases the wiring is such that increased 

 conductivity of the hand or of the forearm gives movement of the 

 spots to my right — i.e. any emotive impulses from the brain down 

 motor nerves to the hand or to the forearm will cause deflection to 

 the right. Let us watch the two spots for a while. I expect you 

 to see that the hand spot behaves irregularly, whereas the arm spot 

 creeps steadily across the scale without showing any of the vagaries 

 of the round spot. 



You realise now why I have been at trouble to show the 

 simultaneous behaviour of two spots. With only the hand in circuit 

 of one galvanometer you should at first have felt doubtful whether 

 the movements you saw were really due to emotive discharges, and 

 not to otherwise imperceptible muscular twitchings such as are 

 perceived and utilised by thought-readers. It would otherwise have 

 been desirable to set up some very delicate form of myograph to 

 satisfy this doubt. I shall show you presently, by asking the subject 

 to make a least possible movement of one of his fingers, that the 

 round spo: — i.e. that indicating the electrical resistance of the hand — 

 shows a deflection which is due to a minute disturbance of contact, 

 and, therefore, takes place in the direction opposed to that of an 

 emotive response. I am sure you will realise with me what a mercy 

 it is that the deflection by slight, often quite unavoidable movement 

 is, in general, the contrary of that of the emotive response. 



4. But to return to our experiment. The subject is at rest ; both 

 spots are reasonably steady, but by reason of his past experience he 

 knows that an evil moment is approaching. As you may see by the 

 irregular movements of the hand spot, he is beginning to worry, 

 making a picture in his mind of the pain he is about to undergo by 

 steel or fire, and, obviously, this disturbance of quietude creates a 

 condition that is not favourable for recognising or measuring: the 



