694 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION I. 



A record of this character has been kept by one subject for a period of 

 thirty days (excluding a considerable period of preliminary practice). It affords 

 information : — 



(1) as to the relative proportions of Pleasure, Unpleasure and Indifference 



experienced by the subject, 



(2) lae to the relative frequency of different intensities of Pleasure and Un- 



pleasure, 



(3) as to the relative frequency of different moods and emotions and the nature 



and intensity of the Pleasure or Unpleasure accompanying them. 



Similar records kept by a number of individuals would probably throw 

 interesting light upon certain problems connected with individual differences 

 and mental ' make-up.' 



6. The Study of Character by Exact MetiioJs : its Possibility and 

 Difficulties. By E. Webb. 



1. Meaning of ' exact methods ' : the obtaining of some kind of measure- 

 ments of character-qualities and submitting I hem to controlled statistical 

 examination. 



[The powerful weapon of statistical mathematics only just beginning to be 

 recognised in psychology ; the same mathematical propositions have furnished 

 the basis of actuarial work, upon which the stability of all Insurance business 

 depends.] 



2. The Possibility of such a Procedure. — The ability to ' estimate ' qualities 

 is more reliable than is generally supposed (evidence will be submitted) — it 

 would seem to be an essential part of oirr equipment tor 'social safety.' In 

 actual life these estimates are biased in various ways ; in scientific work the 

 bias can and must be eliminated, or measured. Further, standardised ' tests ' 

 (comparable -with the present use of 'intelligence tests') in the nature of 

 definitely arranged situations could be devised. 



3. Its Difficulties. 



(a) To obtain a sufficiently numerous group of suitable subjects for prolonged 

 observation and subsequent judgment. Schools, colleges, clinics, hospitals, 

 soldiers' and sailors' headquarters, &c. 



(b) To select judges who can make a prolonged all-round observation and 

 study of the subjects. This must be entirely miknown to the latter. 



(c) To eliminate bias : personal prejudices of the judges : independence of 

 tlie work of studying and of estimating. 



('/) To choose a scale of measurement : suggested sevenfold grouping witli 

 the average of the group as the central class ; difficulty of ' distribution ' — 

 suggestion of an assumed ' regular ' distribution of normal type as a tentative 

 starting-point. 



7. General and Specific Factors underlying the Primary Emotions. 



By Cyril Burt. 



A. Melhoch of Estimating Emotional Tendencies. 



1. Method of Direct Judgment. — The person judging one subject to be mure 

 angry, timid, &c., than another (or than the average) bases his estimates simply 

 on direct impressions and simple observation. This method has been used in 

 most studies of character- qualities hitherto. But, as in other investigations 

 dealing with personal judgments, the results obtained necessarily measure the 

 capacities of the persons judging rather tlian the qualities of the persons judged. 



2. Method of Indirect Estimate. — Selected items of behaviour are systematic- 

 ally recorded in a way comparable for all members of the group observed. 

 Certain items are classed together as representing certain tendencies. From the 

 number, intensity, frequency, duration, and after-effects of the several reactions 

 are calculated arbitrary measures of the hypothetical tendencies. The fa^ts 

 observed are thus kept distinct from the estimates inferred from them. 



