Herrick, Imitation and Volition. 379 



unconscious formation so that one is startled to find that he has 

 a spatially distributed field in memory for events in all his novels. 

 So in drawing even an imaginary object the eye foreruns the hand 

 and lays down its course. Such seems to be the origin of one great 

 class of imitative motions. When the stage of consciousness is 

 reached the child already has a large store of ocular vestiges at 

 disposal. It might be suggested that the tendency to imitate is 

 transferred to all other departments of effort from the visual 

 accommodation, but it is possible to detect a simpler law. In the 

 evolution of will we credit the impulsive performance of an act 

 with the power of preparing for its voluntary performance in such 

 way that an impulse to act when associated with a reproduction 

 of the end and form of the act, together with the muscular and 

 other sensations proper to the act, issues in that particular act. 

 By the law of association the repetition of any member of this 

 cycle of processes tends to reproduce all. So the action of another 

 person in a certain way leads to the reproduction in our minds of 

 the entire cycle of inner processes, even if it be but the fingering 

 of a mustache or watch chain. Pleasurable associations have 

 their usual effect in intensifying the concept and so in provoking 

 response in paths thus selected. 



Vocal imitation is one of the most remarkable and may be ex- 

 plained in accordance with the above somewhat as follows: First, 

 the basis is afforded by the cry reflex; second, modification of 

 accidental sounds by impulsive mouth motions; third, appreciation 

 of self-agency in the change; fourth, observation of mouth motions 

 in others; fifth, association of mouth motions with the changed 

 sounds of others; sixth, identification in association of certain 

 mouth movements with certain sounds; then finally such sounds 

 produced by others offering the conceptual initiative for the repro- 

 duction of the same sound. Nor should we omit the intense 

 stimulation from association of sounds with motions which have 

 already gained a place among the imitative powers of the child. 

 When imitating motions the desire to imitate the associated 

 sounds is undoubtedly enhanced. There may be other roots but 

 these two may be considered foremost among then. 



