December 22, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



877 



interests of the station demand that it be 

 represented. In such cases, the proper official 

 should be sent as the station's representative 

 and at its expense." 



This was brought to the attention of the 

 committee by the American Association of 

 Economic Entomologists, but of course applies 

 to all divisions of the experiment stations. 

 The details of such arrangements are to be 

 regarded as matters belonging to the adminis- 

 tration and they are naturally left to the 

 officers, of each institution concerned. The 

 association can not, of course, dictate to di- 

 rectors or boards of trustees; the above is, 

 therefore, to be regarded only in the light of a 

 recommendation showing the sentiment of the 

 association. 



P. L. Washburn, 

 President of the Am, Assoc, of 

 Economic Entomologists 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Introduction to Psychology. By Robert M. 

 Teekes. New York, Henry Holt & Co. 

 1911. Pp. xii + 427. 

 The Essentials of Psychology. By W. B. 

 PiLLSBURY. New York, The Macmillan 

 Company. 1911. Pp. xi + 362. 

 An Introduction to Experimental Psychology. 

 By Charles S. Myers. Cambridge, Uni- 

 versity Press. 1911. Pp. vi ~\- 156. 

 Elements of Physiological Psychology. By 

 George Trumbull Ladd and Egbert Ses- 

 sions WooDWORTH. (Thoroughly revised 

 and rewritten.) New York, Charles Scrib- 

 ner's Sons. 1911. Pp. xix + Y04. 

 The present year has been an unusually 

 fruitful one in systematic works on psychol- 

 ogy. Of the above-noted four text-books in 

 English, three are by Americans. One is an 

 elementary introduction to experimental re- 

 search, another is a compendium of physiolog- 

 ical psychology, and two are general outlines 

 of psychology by writers long known for their 

 special contributions, who have not hitherto 

 given us surveys of the whole science. 



The works of Yerkes and Pillsbury form an 

 interesting contrast in standpoint. Professor 



Pillsbury, trained in a school which regards 

 introspection as final arbiter, takes a remark- 

 ably objective attitude in his book. Psychol- 

 ogy is treated as the science of behavior, and 

 the structure and functions of the nervous 

 system receive prominent attention. On the 

 other hand, Professor Yerkes, whose investiga- 

 tions in animal psychology would suggest a 

 predilection for objective criteria, proves to be 

 an out-and-out introspectionist, and omits the 

 customary discussion of the nervous system 

 on the ground that it does not belong in a 

 psychological text-book; nervous structure 

 and animal behavior are merely " signs of 

 consciousness." 



Professor Yerkes's book is a capital intro- 

 duction to scientiiic psychology. It outlines 

 the fundamental facts, emphasizing the classic 

 " descriptive " psychology, but at the same 

 time seeking to familiarize students with the 

 more important experimental and genetic 

 work. Of its six parts, the first is introduc- 

 tory and discusses the scope and methods of 

 the science; four deal with particular aspects 

 of psychology; while the last part indicates 

 some practical applications. 



Part I. examines the relations of psychology 

 to physical science. The data are shown to 

 be substantially the same; but physics and 

 chemistry treat the common material from the 

 objective standpoint, while psychology views it 

 subjectively. It is on. the basis of this distinc- 

 tion that the author emphasizes introspection 

 and subordinates behavior to consciousness 

 throughout the work. This part contains an 

 unusually interesting critique of scientific 

 method, well worked out, though possibly too 

 detailed for beginners. In place of the usual 

 terms " observation " and " experiment," the 

 distinction is more logically entitled " nat- 

 uralistic " and " experimental " observation 

 (p. 45). 



Part II. is devoted to descriptive psychol- 

 ogy. Professor Yerkes is a champion of the 

 structural psychology, and believes that the 

 first aim of the science is to discover the con- 

 stitution of consciousness. His account of the 



