896 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 963 



she does possess a unique body of facts not 

 adequately handled by any existing sci- 

 ence, and that she investigates these facts 

 by methods of her own. These facts con- 

 sist of individual mental variations, or the 

 phenomena of deviating or exceptional 

 mentality. In other words, clinical psy- 

 chology is concerned with the concrete 

 study and examination of the behavior of 

 the mentally exceptional individual (not 

 groups), by its own methods of observa- 

 tion, testing and experiment. 



In the study or examination of individ- 

 ual cases, the clinical psychologist seeks to 

 realize four fundamental aims: 



1. An Adequate Diagnosis or Classifica- 

 tion. — He attempts to give a correct de- 

 scription of the nature of the mental devia- 

 tions shown by his cases; he tries to de- 

 termine whether they are specific or gen- 

 eral, whether they affect native or acquired 

 traits ; he attempts to measure by standard 

 objective tests the degree of deviation of 

 various mental traits or of the general level 

 of functioning ; he seeks to arrive at a com- 

 prehensive clinical picture, to disentangle 

 syraptom-complexes and to reduce the dis- 

 orders to various reaction types. 



2. An Analysis of the Etiological Back- 

 ground. — His examination is bent not only 

 on determining the present mental statiis 

 of the case, but on discovering the causative 

 factors or agents which have produced the 

 deviations — whether these factors are phys- 

 ical, mental, social, moral, educational, en- 

 vironmental or hereditary. In order to ar- 

 rive at a correct etiology the psycho-clini- 

 cian makes not only a cross-section analysis 

 of the case, but also a longitudinal study of 

 the evolution of the deviation or symptom- 

 complex. Therefore he does not limit 

 himself merely to a psychological exami- 

 nation, but requires a dento-medical ex- 

 amination and a sociological and hereditary 

 examination. The physical examination 



should be made by experts in dentistry and 

 in the various specialties in the field of 

 medicine. The psycho-clinicist, however, 

 should be so trained in physical diagnosis 

 that he can detect the chief physical dis- 

 orders, so that he can properly refer his 

 cases for expert physical examination. 



3. A determination of the modification 

 which the disorder has wrought in the be- 

 havior of the individual. He should de- 

 termine what its consequences have been: 

 what effects it has had upon his opinions, be- 

 liefs, thoughts, disposition, attitudes, in- 

 terests, habits, conduct, capacity for adap- 

 tation, learning ability, capacity to acquire 

 certain kinds of knowledge or various ac- 

 complishments, or to do certain kinds of 

 school work. He should seek to locate the 

 conflicts between instincts and habits 

 which may have been caused by the devia- 

 tions. 



4. The determination of the degree of 

 modifiatility of the variations discovered. 

 Can the deviations be corrected or modi- 

 fied, and if so to what extent and by what 

 kinds of orthogenic measures? A clinical 

 psychologist is no less a scientific investi- 

 gator than a consulting specialist; he diag- 

 noses in order to prognose and prescribe. 

 His aim first and last is eminently practi- 

 cal. 



BASIS OF SELECTION OP CASES 



The clinical psychologist selects his cases 

 not so much on the nature of the cause of 

 the deviations as on the nature of the devia- 

 tions themselves, and the nature of the 

 treatment. He is interested in cases which, 

 first of all, depart from the limits of men- 

 tal normality. Exceptional mentality, or, 

 if you please, mental exceptionality, is his 

 first criterion. In the second place, he is 

 interested in those cases in which the na- 

 ture of the treatment — the process of right- 

 ing the mental variations, of straighten- 

 ing out the deviations, the orthogenesis — 



