48 A METHOD OF MEASURING THE DEVELOPMENT 



3. — Why is a bad action do>ne when one is angry more 

 excusable than the same action done when one is not angry f Cor- 

 rect responses : Because an act done in anger is not inten- 

 tional. — An angry person is not responsible. — An angry person 

 does not realize ivhat he does. The incorrect answers result 

 either from a total failure to compreliend the question, or from 

 the fact that the child's attention is arrested by the word anger, 

 which suggests to him disapproval of that state. When one is 

 angry one will not listen. He should not allow himself to get 

 angry. This question is the most difficult of all, and often the 

 c'hild understands without being able to express his thought. 

 The expression is not important if the experimenter is able to 

 assure himself that the child has the thought that anger consti- 

 tutes an excuse. 



4. — What would yon do if you were asked your opinion of 

 someone zvhom you did not know well? Correct responses: / 

 coidd not give any. — / coidd not speak without knowing. — / 

 would have to be silent for fear of giving incorrect information. 

 The incorrect responses are usually unintelligible. / should have 

 to ask. I should have to answer. Say to him, Be wise. Say 

 that I did not know his name. 



5. — Why should one judge a person by his acts rather 

 than by his words? Correct responses: Because zvords lie 

 and acts speak the truth. Because one is more sure of acts 

 than of words. Incorrect answers, unintelligible: It is un- 

 necessary to lie. Because one does not knozv. With the 

 two preceding tests, one is often met by the silence of the 

 child, and the difficulty is to know what this silence covers ; 

 it may be that the child can think of no reply or that he has 

 thought of an incorrect one which fails to satisfy him, or even 

 that he has thought of a good answer which does not satisfy 

 his judgment. The experimenter is often quite puzzled. Con- 

 sideration of the whole group of a child's answers assists 

 much in the judgment of each. The examiner should have the 

 patience to allow the child at least 20 seconds for reflection 

 on each question. Two incorrect responses in five are allowed. 



