Body and Mind 



287 



There are 477 sets of measurements 

 from which those of children with 

 jjhysical defects are excluded. The 

 results are ex]^ressed in coefficients of 

 correlation. 



Standing height. — ^The feebleminded 

 of all grades are below normal- in stand- 

 ing height. There is a marked de- 

 pendence of the degree of subnormality 

 upon degree of feeblemindedness. The 

 feebleminded not only grow tall at 

 a retarded rate, but cease growing at 

 an earlier age than normal children. 

 There is naturally a good deal of varia- 

 l)ility, but the conclusion of other in- 

 vestigators is, in general, confirmed. 

 Bright children tend to be taller than 

 the average, and dull children shorter. 



Sitting height. — This is consistently 

 even more subnormal than standing 

 height; that is, the feebleminded tend 

 to be unusually long-waisted and short- 

 legged. But the highest types, the 

 morons, approximate the normal aver- 

 age. Of all feebleminded, 75% fail to 

 reach the normal average. 



Weight. — There is not such a marked 

 connection here as in the height meas- 

 urements. Among the higher grades of 

 feebleminded, the boys are often normal 

 and the girls above normal. In the 

 lower grades, among idiots and im- 

 Ijeciles, weight is often considerably 

 l>elow par. 



Right grip. — Barr has aptly said that 

 strength of mind and strength of hand 

 accompany each other. Only 10% of 

 the feebleminded have a normal grip. 



Left grip. — Goddard has for some 

 \-ears held that the feebleminded are 

 markedly below normal in strength of 

 grip, with left superior to right (even 

 when they are not left-handed, in 

 ( )rdinary employments) . Doll finds this 

 conclusion borne out by the measure- 

 ments. They do not show a tendency 

 to ambidexterity, but toward actual 

 superiority of the left hand, in all ages 

 and grades of children. In low-grade 

 individuals there is often almost no 

 power of grip in tests, because of mental 



defect, although the individual may be 

 ]3hysically strong and may handle a 

 loaded wheelbarrow all day with ease. 



Lung capacity. — This shows the great- 

 est subnormality of all the measure- 

 ments, only 8% of -fill feebleminded 

 reaching the normal average. It is 

 little connected with height or weight. 

 It is so highly correlated with mental 

 age (r= .64) that it alone could be taken 

 as a fairly reliable index of mental 

 defect. It is rather hard to apply, for 

 the typical low-grade subjects are un- 

 accountably timid in the experiment 

 and often refuse to approach the in- 

 strument. The best of three trials was 

 recorded in each case, but the pupil too 

 often insisted on blowing through the 

 nose, or on stopping the mouthpiece 

 with his tongue. 



Average. — None of these tests alone 

 is a sure guide for diagnosis, but taken 

 together they are, in Doll's opinion, of 

 much value. Only 14% of feeble- 

 minded individuals come up to the 

 normal average. Variability, however, 

 is high. In individual diagnosis, con- 

 siderations of race, nationality, heredity, 

 environment, physiological develop- 

 ment, health, exercise, physical defects, 

 and special personal history must never 

 be omitted. 



One naturally wants to know whether 

 the child is feebleminded because of 

 his physical defects, or whether he is 

 physically defective because he is feeble- 

 minded. But this question cannot be 

 definitely answered, from the knowledge 

 now available. Probably defects of 

 both mind and body are due to very 

 complicated processes of development 

 involving the internal secretions, and 

 neither is to be looked upon as the actual 

 cause of the other. Doll takes pains 

 not to express an opinion on this point, 

 and to warn readers that his study is to 

 be looked on only as preliminary, and 

 intended only to supplement, not to 

 supplant, the customary mental tests, 

 in diagnosing feeblemindedness. 



2 The normal accomplishment of boys and girls of various ages, in these six tests, is shown 

 in Smedley's percentile tables. These have long been out of print, and the Training School 

 has done a service by republishing them as an appendix^to the present monograph. 



