36 A METHOD OF MEASURING THE DEVELOPMENT 



understood. Similar questions are asked about wood and 

 glass, and paper and cardboard. We always begin by asking 

 the subject whether he knows the objects in question, and 

 whether he finds that the objects "are not alike." Then atten- 

 tion is given to the response and above all to the value of the 

 response. A mere naming of the object is considered insuffi- 

 cient. The child is asked: "In what way are the cardboard 

 and paper not alike?" If the child responds: the cardboard, 

 it evidently proves that he has not understood. A bad re- 

 sponse, though somewhat better than a mere repetition, is : 

 A fly, it is a fly. More often the difference noted is one of 

 size: The butterfly is larger, and the fly is smaller; the card- 

 hoard is larger; the zvood is larger. Often details are noted: 

 The butterfly has the largest wings — the butterfly has zvhit^ 

 wings — the butterfly is yellow — they are not the same color — ■ 

 the fly is black, the butterfly is many colored — it is that butter- 

 flies fly on the flowers and flies fly on the food — paper is soft, 

 cardboard is harder — cardboard does not tear — wood does not 

 break — zvood is not transparent — glass is used for windows, and 

 wood is used to make floors. 



For success, two at least of the three comparisons must 

 be correctly given. To be considered correct the difference 

 must be exactly given. It often happens that having found a 

 differential character for the first pair, the subject repeats it 

 for the other two ; having said that the butterfly is larger, 

 the repetition of this for the cardboard and the wood is not 

 a sufficiently good response. It often takes a child as long as 

 a minute to respond ; so much the worse if at the end of this 

 time the response is incorrect. At six years one-third of the 

 children make the correct comparison; at seven, almost all; 

 at eight, all. 



It is very difficult to distinguish between the intellectual 

 levels of seven and eight years, and we use some tests de- 

 pending upon instruction, introducing them because they are 

 also valuable as tests of intelligence. 



II. Counts from 20 to 0. — This is partly a test of school 



