SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— I, J. 605 



The dosage given to a patient from any lamp is measured by exposing a paper 

 along with the patient for the time of the treatment, the resulting tint giving the 

 number of standard lamp minutes. To avoid very dark tints, the distance of the 

 paper may be increased, as the effect on the paper is proportional to time divided by 

 square of distance. Variations of the lamp do not matter, for paper and patient 

 receive the same treatment. 



It is proposed that small books of the standard series of tints, sheets of suitable 

 photo-paper and standard absorption glasses shall be obtainable, to enable any 

 practitioner to have definite knowledge of lamps and dosage. 



Demonstrations : — 



(a) Dr. W. A. Burnett. — Chronaxie. 



(b) Dr. F. W. Edridge-Green, C.B.'E.— Colour Contrast. 



(c) Mr. W. D. Paterson. — The Recording of Blood-presstire in Man. 



(d) Mr. F. Gairns. — The Staining of Nerve-endings by a modified 

 gold-chloride technique. 



(e) Dr. WiSHART. — Metabolic Research Apparatus. 



(/) Mr. McCall. — A Device for recording at a distance the variations 

 of blood-pressure. 



(g) Dr. R. C. Garry. — A Demonstration of Trendelenburg's Technique 

 for showing boivel peristalsis in vitro. 



(h) Mr. M'Farlane. — Micro-determination of Phosphorus. 



SECTION J.— PSYCHOLOGY. 



(For reference to the publication elsewhere of communications entered in the 

 following list of transactions, see p. 687.) 



Thursday, September 6. 



Dr. C. S. Myers, C.B.E., ¥.11.8.— Educability. 



The problem of educability is here considered from the standpoint of vocational 

 psychology — the capacity to profit from training with a view to proficiency in some 

 occupation. 



The experimental evidence on the relation between innate ability and trainability 

 is at present highly conflicting. In some tasks individual differences in innate ability 

 seem the more important, practice producing little change in these relative dififerences ; 

 in others a very poor correlation has been claimed between the ranking of persons 

 based on their initial performance of a task and their ranking based on performances 

 after equal practice at it. The causes of this conflict are examined. A psychologically 

 efiective measurement of improvement and improvability is shown to be extremely 

 diflficult. 



Despite his neglect of educability, the vocational psychologist's success may be 

 due to the number of different abilities which he examines for any one occupation, 

 to the differences in educability in these difierent abilities, and to the use which he 

 makes of intelligence tests in his guidance and selection. 



A fundamental distinction must be drawn between (a) the mechanical, repetitive 

 ' practice ' of an innate ability which results in a precocious ripening, or even in a 

 hypertrophy of it ; and (b) that higher ' training ' which leads to the acquisition of 

 the best attitude, the best technique and style and an adequate knowledge of general 

 guiding principles, enabling the best use to be made of an innate ability. Laboratory 

 experiments, e.g. on the transfer of practice, have been hitherto necessarily concerned 

 chiefly with the former ; whereas in true educability and in every-day life, the latt«r 

 plays a most important part. 



