73 



was impressed upon this same gray matter by the action of 

 the objects on the sense organs in that same definite order. 



But, it may be asked, has such a connection ever been 

 shown to exist between these so-called 'orders of being'? If 

 the statement that physiological processes determine the psy- 

 chological process of association, is a fact, such fact ought to 

 be capable of verification. Not only is such verification not 

 forthcoming, however, but we are told that the physiological 

 and the psychological belong to distinct orders of being. On 

 the other hand, it is a fact of the science of psychology that 

 psychical processes are themselves being investigated to-day 

 without being prejudged because of a certain knowledge of 

 the physiological processes of the brain and nervous system. 

 Among the processes which have been thus investigated are 

 those of association. Knowledge of the association process 

 has been obtained first-hand, and although, as yet, not all is 

 known about its operation, experiment within recent years 

 has made it plain that the facts of association may be inves- 

 tigated irrespective of any physical or physiological as- 

 sumption. This may be seen in a particular case by reference 

 to experiments in connection with association, conducted 

 by Henry J. Watt, at Wiirzburg, in 1904. 1 



For these experiments "several hundred nouns of common 

 occurrence were printed in big type on cards and were shown 

 to the observing subject one at a time by means of an 

 automatic card-changer (Dr. Ach's). A metal plate, which 

 covered the card, sprang up, when a string was pulled, and by 

 so doing closed an electric current, which flowed through a 

 Hipp chronoscope and a speaking tube (Cattell's). The chron- 

 oscope therefore marked the time which passed from the 

 appearance of the printed word until the first vibrations from 

 the subject's voice broke the current in the speaking tube. 

 This constituted the measure of the duration of the reaction, 

 and formed, with a full account of all the reproducible ex- 

 periences of the observing subject, which were at once written 

 down in full, and any other remarks he had to make, the ex- 

 perimental data of the thesis." 



"In contrast to previous experiments, on association, 

 definite tasks (Aufgaben) were given, which the subject had to 

 accomplish in the reaction. These referred to what the printed 

 word on the card signified, and were as follows: to classify 



144 Experimentelle Beitrage zu einer Theorie des Denkens", Leipzig, 

 Engelmann, 1904. A brief summary- of these experiments is' also given by 

 Watt in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol.XL "Experimental 

 Contribution to a Theory of Thinking". The quotations are from this 

 journal. 



