March 20, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



427 



walking, through the association of a series 

 of movements whose stimuli have previously 

 accompanied the same stimulus (180). In 

 the formation of such associations inhibition 

 plays an important role. Bechterew defines 

 instinct as a complex movement or act which 

 follows internal stimulation and results in 

 satisfying some organic need or protecting the 

 organism from harmful or disturbing influ- 

 ences (188). In contrast with instinct, imita- 

 tion and the circular reflex are based on asso- 

 ciations which modify the responses to external 

 stimuli. 



The complex reflexes which involve associa- 

 tion find expression in all three motor modes 

 (movement, vasomotor activity and secretion) 

 and may be investigated in several ways. The 

 author prefers his own method, that of motor 

 association reflexes, to Pawlow's salivary 

 method (262). Considerable space is devoted 

 to an analysis of emotional expression, which 

 he calls mimicry. Bechterew holds that these 

 reflexes have more than a phylogenetic value; 

 they perform an important function in the 

 given reaction itself (327). 



The last part of the book examines three 

 specialized forms of complex response, the 

 concentration reflex, symbolic reflex and per- 

 sonal reflex. The concentration reflex is the 

 behavior analogue of attention, and one has 

 no difficulty in identifying the symbolic reflex 

 with language. The discussion of vocal lan- 

 guage is thorough, but the treatment of ges- 

 ture and writing is disappointingly brief. One 

 is surprised that the analysis of sensation and 

 perception, or rather sensory and discrimina- 

 tory responses, is taken up in connection with 

 symbolic reflexes. It is true that sensation as 

 such can not be brought into the behavior 

 psychology. It can only be investigated by 

 means of responses on the part of an observed 

 organism; and the quantitative measure of 

 sensation in man according to our classic 

 laboratory methods usually involves verbal re- 

 actions. Nevertheless this holding back of the 

 discussion of elementary phenomena in a sys- 

 tematic treatise will strike most psychologists 

 as a defect in the objective method itself. It 

 is but fair, however, to point out that the 



introspective psychology of our fathers rele- 

 gated elementary motor phenomena to the 

 footman's seat in much the same way. 



The analysis of personality from an objec- 

 tive standpoint will arouse special interest 

 and is likely to become the focus of criticism. 

 Bechterew holds that " the personal sphere 

 represents the totality of traces from organic 

 associative reflexes, around which a part of 

 the reflexes aroused by external stimuli group 

 themselves by association" (431). These 

 organic traces are experienced in connection 

 with every change of general bodily condition ; 

 their sum total forms the " inner kernel of 

 the Neuropsyche " (432). 



" Personal reactions are termed acts and 

 deeds" (435). They are distinguished from 

 other reactions, not by the character of the 

 external stimuli, but by the relation of the 

 present stimuli to the individual's past history. 

 The hunter is aroused to action by the flight 

 of a game bird, which is quite unnoticed by 

 the man with no sporting proclivities. The 

 same stimulus may even affect the same indi- 

 vidual differently at different times. Person- 

 ality in this objective sense guides all our 

 lower activities. Concentration (attention) 

 and the selection of association traces are thus 

 in part determined internally; this is Bech- 

 terew's substitute for the free-will experi- 

 ence of subjective psychology. Of interest is 

 his application of muscular work and fatigue 

 to the investigation of personality. Believing 

 that muscular fatigue is due to impairment of 

 both muscle and nerve centers, Bechterew con- 

 siders that the ergographic curve furnishes a 

 measure of individual efficiency. It is to be 

 regretted that the analysis of personality is 

 not so detailed as the rest of the work. 



Bechterew's book is the most consistent at- 

 tempt at a thorough-going objective psychol- 

 ogy so far made. It may be questioned, how- 

 ever, whether he has succeeded in banishing 

 subjective psychology altogether from his 

 pages. In many places affective and emotional 

 terms are used to characterize the basis of re- 

 action. This is especially noticeable in his 

 analysis of hedonic states (107-123), internal 

 reflexes (171-175), and emotional expression 



