THE ACQUISITION OF SKILL IN ARCHERY. 



119 



imitation played no large part in the learning. Plate 9 shows the different 

 methods of aiming which gave equally good results within the limit of practice. 

 In the one case (figure 1) the alignment was obtained by sighting along the 

 arrow, while the elevation was determined from the position of the right hand 

 in terms of kinsesthesia ; in other cases the subjects looked only at the bulls- 

 eye and determined the relative positions of the hands almost wholly by 

 kinesthetic stimuli (figure 2). In the method of aiming showm in figure ,3 the 

 position of the right hand was determined by contact with the face, almost the 

 whole adjustment being made in terms of visual and tactual stimuli. In the 



case of everj' subject some such peculiarities of aiming and loosuig could be 

 distinguished, and in most cases the aiming position could be traced out as the 

 result of adjustment by trial and error to difficulties occurring in the early 

 part of practice. Thus the position in figure 1 was assumed oi-iginally to 

 prevent the arrow from falling off of the left hand when the bow was drawn. 

 The great opjjortunity offered in the experiment for imitation and the small 

 extent to which it seems to have been used raises the question of the real value 

 of imitation in human learning. It is hoped that the further use of archery 

 will furnish more adequate evidence upon this point. 



