I*Ki/r/ioft>r/icaf In veHti<i(ttiouH 



235 



up who might repoat my oxp«riinenta. Therefore one ««« clearly, and I may say one can nee 

 mtiaturably how impoMHihle it is in a general wny for two growii-u|> p«!r«<jnH to lay their niinclH 

 side by side together in jiorfect accorfi. The miiiie senUMice cannot procluce preeiMcIy the Name 

 effect on l)oth, and the lir«t <|iiick iiiiprexHionH that any given word in it may convey, will 

 differ widely in the two mindN." (p. ir>7.) 



Gallon was able in 124 cases of associated idojis to determine the |)eriod 

 of life at wliicli they became associated with the word. His results may be 

 thus abstracted : 



Associations formed at foUotinng periods of Life. 



The greater fixity of the earlier associations is clear as well as the fact 

 that half the associations date fioni the period of life Ix^fore leaving college. 

 As.sociation8 are largely fixed in childhood and adolescence, but I do not 

 think it necessarily fI)ll()WK as Galton seems to suggest that early education 

 has a huge efi'ect in fixing our associations. The result may fiow from menUd 

 j)lasticity, or the unstocked condition of the mental storehouse of youth. 



Lastly Galton divides the original words into three classes, and the 

 associated ideius into four. 

 The original words : 



(i) were capable of mental images, as 'abbey,' 'alx)rigine.s,' 'abyss.' 

 (ii) re])resented actions or states of mind as 'abasement,' 'al)horrence,' 



'ablution.' 

 (iii) fornu^d more abstract notions as 'aptness,' 'ability,' 'abnormal.' 

 'i'he as.sociated ideas were : 



(rt) Sense imagery, chiefly visual. 



[h) Histrionic, the mind visualised it.self acting a part. 

 ((•) Merely verbal associations as names of persons. 

 (a) Verbal associations as in phrases and (quotations. 

 Galton gives the following analysis : 



30_2 



