OF THE INTELLIGENCE OF YOUNG CHILDREN 59 



For the second question the correct response is : He is very 

 ill, he is dying. — Someone is very ill there, dead. Incorrect re- 

 sponses : / do not knozv. An erroneous answer often consists 

 in a repetition of the question. It happens that he has received 

 a doctor and a priest. 



A correct response to each question is required. 



ADULTS.* 



I. Solves the paper cutting test. — A square sheet of 

 paper folded along both diameters is given to the subject; in 

 the middle of the edge which presents but a single fold, a 

 small triangle (1 cm. in height and having for its base the 

 paper's edge) is drawn. We say to the subject: "Here is a 

 sheet of paper which has been folded in four; suppose that 

 here (pointing to the triangle) I cut away the little triangle 

 of paper which is marked out. Now, if I should unfold the 

 paper, what would I see? Draw the paper, showing how 

 and where it would be cut" (Fig. 10, Appendix). The sub- 

 ject is not allowed to touch the paper in any manner, and is 

 forbidden also to fold another piece of paper. The attempt 

 to represent the result of cutting the folded paper must be 

 guided by the imagination alone. 



The test is difficult. Most subjects simplify the solution 

 greatly. They think that only one hole is cut, a square or a 

 lozenge, sometimes a 5 pointed star, and that its position is 

 the center of the paper. This position is suggested by the 

 position of the triangle in the middle of the edge. Some draw 

 two lozenges side by side. To be correct, two lozenges must 



*XOTE. — It is not necessary to take the expression "adult" liter- 

 ally and to suppose that the tests placed under this rubric indicate the 

 intellectual level of an adult. Adults have very different intellectual 

 levels dependent upon the social class to which they belong; there 

 does not exist a single adult level but several. The tests given here 

 simply indicate a level which is clearly higher than that of 15 years. 



