306 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



an optional subject for the ordinary degree may stimulate interest in 

 the subject and lead to systematic inquiry by individual students. It 

 would, in Dr. Myers' view, be of the greatest advantage to the cause, 

 if systematic co-operation between psychologists and pedagogical experts 

 could be secured. 



From Oxford Dr. McDougall says that there are no funds for the 

 support of the laboratory in which his psycho-physical work is done, 

 although an initial grant for its equipment was made from the Univer- 

 sity chest. The work of the laboratory is not specially directed to 

 educational problems, although its students have prosecuted inquiries 

 having important educational bearing, as, for example, Mr. C. L. Burt's 

 work on ' Intelligence, ' an instalment of which appeared in the ' British 

 Journal of Psychology,' December 1909. 



Professor Karl Pearson reports that a great deal of systematic 

 work is being done in the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratories of 

 University College, on the influence and relation of mental and physical 

 characteristics of school children to each other. The data at present 

 available deals with a hundred thousand children from all classes and 

 localities. The laboratories are each endowed to a small extent with 

 funds which enable them to undertake and publish statistical work of 

 this kind, but with more money much more might be done. 



In the Psychological Department of University College, under Dr. 

 Spearman's direction, research work, especially in connection with 

 education, has developed with surprising rapidity. Two investigations 

 are almost complete and two are well started, dealing with various 

 aspects of memory. Another is practically finished on the problem 

 known as ' Transfer of Training.' One is just being concluded on the 

 powers and the diagnosis of mentally defective children. Further work 

 is being started on ' Imagination ' and on ' Mental Inertia ' respec- 

 tively. Altogether, as much is being done as can be properly supervised 

 by one director. No lack has so far been felt, either of research facilities 

 or of able students, but only in respect of most of the students' previous 

 training in psychology. This has been little adapted for grappling with 

 actual scientific problems ; in fact, it has often been of a character that 

 should now be obsolete. 



Dr. W. Brown, in the Psychological Department of King's College, 

 has on hand researches concerning the measurement of simple mental 

 functions of school children and students in training colleges ; he is 

 following this up by correlating the results with each other and with 

 different measures of intelligence, using the general theory of multiple, 

 correlation as a means of evaluation. Dr. Brown has given courses of 

 lectures on Experimental Psychology as it concerns the school child to 

 audiences of teachers during last session, and a course on ' Statistical 

 Methods in Psychology ' preparatory to research work in the schools, 

 which is to begin next session. This research work has special reference 

 to the Higher Diploma in Pedagogy which has been recently instituted 

 by the University of London. 



From Bedford College, Miss Edgell reports that a student is working 

 in connection with the Physiological Laboratory of the University on 

 the problem of Fatigue in school children. At the College itself 



