Here,then,thequestionofthecausalityistakenoutofpsychologyandgivenovertophysiologyinsteadoftometaphysics,asinthetheorydiscussedbefore。Inreality,however,itisheretoolostinmetaphysicsinattemptingtocrosstophysiology。Forphysiologymust,asanempiricalscience,abandontheattempttogiveacompletecausalexplanationofacomplexvolitionalactfromitsantecedents,notonlyforthepresent,butforalltime,becausethisleadstotheproblemofaninfinitesuccession。Theonlypossiblebasisforsuchatheoryis,therefore,theprincipleofmaterialisticmetaphysics,thattheso-calledmaterialprocessesareallthatmakeuptherealityofthingsandthatpsychicalprocessesmustaccordinglybeexplainedfrommaterialprocesses。Butitisanindispensableprincipleofpsychologyasanempiricalscience,thatitshallinvestigatethefactsofpsychicalprocessesastheyarepresentedinimmediateexperience,andthatitshallnotexaminetheirinterconnectionsfrompointsofviewthatareentirelyforeigntothem(§;1andp。17,sq。)。Itisimpossibletofindouthowavolitionproceedsinanyotherwaythanbyfollowingitexactlyasitispresentedtousinimmediateexperience。Here,however,itisnotpresentedasanabstractconcept,butasaconcretesinglevolition。Ofthisparticularvolition,too,weknownothingexceptwhatisimmediatelyperceptibleintheprocess。Wecanknownothingofanunconsciousor,whatamountstothesamethingforpsychology,amaterialprocesswhichisnotimmediatelyperceivedbutmerelyassumedhypotheticallyonthebasisofmetaphysicalpresuppositions。Suchmetaphysicalassumptionsareobviouslymerelydevicestocoverupanincompleteorentirelywantingpsychologicalobservation。Thepsychologistwhopaysattentiontoonlytheterminationofthewholevolitionalprocess,willveryeasilyhituponthethoughtthattheimmediatecauseofvolitionissomeunconsciousimmaterialormaterialagent。
11。Theexactobservationofvolitionalprocessesis,forthereasonsgivenabove,impossibleinthecaseofvolitional[p。177]actsthatcomenaturallyinthecourseoflife;theonlywayinwhichathoroughpsychologicalinvestigationcanbemade,is,therefore,thatofexperimentalobservation。
Tobesure,wecannotproducevolitionalactsofeverykindatwill,butwemustlimitourselvestotheobservationofcertainprocesseswhichcanbeeasilyinfluencedthroughexternalmeansandwhichterminateinexternalacts。Theexperimentswhichservethispurposearetheso-calledreaction-experiments。Theymaybedescribedintheiressentialsasfollows。Asimpleorcomplexvolitionalprocessisincitedbyanexternalsense-stimulusandthenaftertheoccurrenceofcertainpsychicalprocesseswhichserveinpartasmotives,thevolitionisbroughttoanendbyamotorreaction。
Reaction-experimentshaveasecondandmoregeneralsignificancebesidesthatmentioned。Theyfurnishmeansforthemeasurementoftherateofcertainpsychicalandpsycho-physicalprocesses。Infact,suchmeasurementsarealwaysmadeintheseexperiments。Theprimarysignificanceoftheexperiments,however,consistsinthefactthateachoneincludesavolitionandthatitisthereforepossible,inthisway,bymeansofintrospectiontofollowwithexactnessthesuccessionofpsychicalprocessesinsuchavolition,andatthesametime,bythedeliberatevariationoftheconditions,toinfluencethissuccessioninasystematicmanner。
Thesimplestreaction-experimentthatcanbemadeisasfollows。Ashortinterval(2-3see。)afterasignalthatservestoconcentratetheattention,anexternalstimulusisallowedtoactonsomesense-organ。Atthemomentwhenthestimulusisperceived,amovementthathasbeendetermineduponandpreparedbefore,as,forexample,amovementofthehand,isexecuted。
Thepsychologicalconditionsinthisexperimentcorrespondessentiallytothoseofasimplevolition。Thesensibleimpressionservesasa[p。198]simplemotive,andthisistobefollowedinvariablybyaparticularact。Ifnowwemeasureobjectivelybymeansofeithergraphicorotherchronometricapparatus,theintervalthatelapsesbetweentheactionofthestimulusandtheexecutionofthemovement,itwillbepossible,byfrequentlyrepeatedexperimentsofthesamekind,tobecomethoroughlyacquaintedwiththesubjectiveprocessesthatmakeupthewholereaction,whileatthesametimetheresultsoftheobjectivemeasurementwillfurnishacheekfortheconstancyorpossiblevariationsinthesesubjectiveprocesses。
Thischeekisespeciallyusefulinthosecaseswheresomeconditionintheexperimentandtherebythesubjectivecourseofthevolitionitselfisintentionallymodified。
Suchamodificationmay,indeed,beintroducedeveninthesimpleformoftheexperimentjustdescribed,byvaryingthewayinwhichthereactorprepares,beforetheappearanceofthestimulus,fortheexecutionoftheact。Whentheexpectationisdirectedtowardthestimuluswhichistoserveasthemotive,。theformofreactionknownassensorialresults。When,ontheotherhand,thepreparatoryexpectationisdirectedtowardtheacttobeexecutedinresponsetothemotive,wehavetheso-calledmuscularreaction。Inthefirstcasetheideationalfactoroftheexpectationisapalememory-imageofthefamiliarsense-impression。Whentheperiodofpreparationismoreextended,thisimageoscillatesbetweenalternatingclearnessandobscurity。Theselectiveelementisafeelingofexpectationthatoscillatesinasimilarmannerandisconnectedwithsensationsofstrainfromthesense-organtobeaffected,as,forexample,withtensionofthetympanumoroftheocularmusclesofaccommodationandmovement。Inthesecondcase,ontheotherhand,wherethereactionismuscular,wemayobserveduringtheperiodofpreparatoryexpectationapale,waveringmemory-imageofthemotor[p。199]organthatistoreact(e。g。,thehand)togetherwithstrongsensationsofstraininthesame,andafairlycontinuousfeelingofexpectationconnectedwiththesesensations。Sensorialreaction-timeisontheaverage0。210-0。290sec。
(theshortesttimeisforsound,thelongestforlight),withameanvariationof0。020sec。forthesingleobservations。Muscularreaction-timeis0。120-0。190
sec。,withameanvariationof0。010see。Thedifferentvaluesofthemeanvariationinthetwocasesarechieflyimportantasobjectivecheeksforthediscriminationoftheseformsofreaction。[1]
12。Byintroducingspecialconditionswemaymakesensorialandmuscularreactionsthestartingpointsforthestudyofthedevelopmentofvolitionsintwodifferentdirections。Sensorialreactionsfurnishthemeansofpassingfromsimpletocomplexvolitionsbecausewecaninthiscaseeasilyinsertdifferentpsychicalprocessesbetweentheperceptionoftheimpressionandtheexecutionofthereaction。Thuswehaveavoluntaryactofrelativelysimplecharacterwhenweallowanactofcognitionordiscriminationtofollowtheperceptionoftheimpressionandthenletthemovementdependonthissecondprocess。Inthiscasenottheimmediateimpressionbuttheideathatresultsfromtheactofcognitionordiscriminationisthemotivefortheacttobeperformed。Thismotiveisonlyoneofagreaterorsmallernumberofequallypossiblemotivesthatcouldhavecomeupinplaceofit;asaresultthereaction-movementtakesonthecharacterofavoluntaryact。Infact,wemay[p。200]observeclearlythefeelingofresolutionantecedenttotheactandalsothefeelingsprecedingthatandconnectedwiththeperceptionoftheimpression。Thisisstillmoreemphaticallythecase,andthesuccessionofideationalandaffectiveprocessesisatthesametimemorecomplicated,whenwebringinstillanotherpsychicalprocess,as,forexample,anassociation,toserveasthedecisivemotivefortheexecutionofthemovement。Finally,thevoluntaryprocessbecomesoneofchoicewhen,insuchexperiments,theactisnotmerelyinfluencedbyapluralityofmotivesinsuchawaythatseveralmustfollowoneanotherbeforeonedeterminestheact,butwhen,inadditiontothat,oneofanumberofpossibledifferentactsisdecideduponaccordingtothemotivepresented。Thistakesplacewhenpreparationsaremadefordifferentmovements,forexample,onewiththeright,anotherwiththelefthand,oronewitheachofthetenfingers,andtheconditionisprescribedforeachmovementthatanimpressionofaparticularqualityshallserveasitsmotive,forexample,theimpressionbluefortherighthand,redfortheleft。
13。Muscularreactions,onthecontrary,maybeusedfollowouttheretrogradationofvolitionalactstoreflexmovement。Inthisformofreactionthepreparatoryexpectationisdirectedentirelytowardstheexternalact,sothatavoluntaryinhibitionorexecutionoftheactinaccordancewiththespecialcharacteroftheimpression,thatis,atransitionfromsimpletocomplexactsofwill,isinthiscaseimpossible。
Ontheotherhand,itiseasybypracticesotohabituateone\'sselftotheinvariableconnectionofanimpressionandaparticularmovement,thattheprocessperceptionfadesoutmoreandmoreortakesplacethemotorimpulse,andfinallythemovementbecomeslikeareflexmovement。Thisreductionofvolitionto[p。201]mechanicalprocess,whichinthecaseofsensorialreactionsisneverpossiblefromtheverynatureoftheirconditions,showsitselfintheshorteningoftheobjectivetimetothatobservedforpurereflexes,andinthesubjectivecoincidenceinpointoftimeofimpressionandreaction,whilethecharacteristicfeelingofresolutiongraduallydisappearsentirely。
13a。Thechronometricexperimentsfamiliarinexperimentalpsychologyunderthenameof“reaction-experiments“,areimportantfortworeasons:
first,asaidsintheanalysisofvolitionalprocesses,andsecondly,asmeansfortheinvestigationofthetemporalcourseofpsychicalprocessesingeneral。Thistwofoldimportanceofreaction-experimentsreflectsthecentralimportanceofvolitions。Ontheonehand,thesimplerprocesses,feelings,emotions,andtheirrelatedideas,arecomponentsofacompletevolition;ontheother,allpossibleformsoftheinterconnectionofpsychicalcompoundsmayappearascomponentsofavolition。Volitionalprocessesare,consequently,anappropriatetransitiontotheinterconnectionbetweenpsychicalcompoundstobediscussedinthenextchapter。
Fora“reaction-experiment“whichistobethebasisofananalysisofavolitionalprocessoranyofitscomponentpsychicalprocesses,wemusthavefirstofallexactandsufficientlyfine(readingwithexactnessto1/1000sec。)chronometricapparatus(electricclockorgraphicregister)。Theapparatusmustbesoarrangedthatwecandetermineexactlythemomentatwhichthestimulusactsandthatatwhichthesubjectreacts。
Thiscanbeaccomplishedbyallowingthestimulusitself(sound,light,ortactualstimulus)tocloseanelectriccurrentthatsetsanelectricclockreadingto1/1000sec。,inmotion,andthenallowingtheobserver,bymeansofasimplemovementofthehandwhichraisesatelegraph-key,tobreakthecurrentagainatthemomentinwhichheapprehendsthestimulus。
Inthiswaywemaymeasuresimplereactionsvariedindifferentways(sensorialandmuscularreactions,reactionswithorwithoutprecedingsignals),orwemaybringintotheprocessvariousotherpsychicalacts(discriminations,cognitions,associations,selectiveprocesses)whichmayberegardedeitherasmotivesforthevolition[p。202]orascomponentsofthegeneralinterconnectionofpsychicalcompounds。Asimplereactionalwaysincludes,alongwiththevolitionalprocess,purelyphysiologicalfactors(conductionofthesensoryexcitationtothebrainandofthemotorexcitationtothemuscle)。If,now,weinsertfurtherpsychicalprocesses(discriminations,cognitions,associations,actsofchoice),amodificationwhichcanbemadeonlywhensensorialreactionsareemployed,thedurationofclearlydefinablepsychicalprocessesmaybegainedbysubtractingtheintervalfoundforsimplereactionsfromthosefoundforthecompoundreactions。Inthiswayithasbeendeterminedthatthetimerequiredforthecognitionandforthediscriminationofrelativelysimpleimpressions(colors,letters,shortwords)is0。03-
0。05“;thetimeforchoicebetweentwomovements(rightandlefthand)
is0。06“,betweentenmovements,thetenfingers)0。4“,etc。Asalreadyremarked,thevalueofthesefiguresisnottheirabsolutemagnitude,butrathertheirutilityascheeksforintrospection,whileatthesametimewemayapplythisintrospectiveobservationtoprocessessubjecttoconditionswhichareprescribedwithexactnessbymeansofexperimentalmethodsandwhichmaythereforeberepeatedatpleasure。
[1]Thereaction-timesforsensationsoftaste,smell,temperature,andpainarenotreckonedinthefiguresgiven。Theyarealllonger。Thedifferencesare,however,obviouslytobeattributedtopurephysiologicalconditions(slowtransmissionofthestimulationtothenerve-endings,andinthecaseofpainslowercentralconduction),sothattheyareofnointerestforpsychology。
ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology——Wundt(1897)Section15OutlinesofPsychologyWilhelmMaxWundt(1897)TranslatedbyCharlesHubbardJudd(1897)III。INTERCONNECTION
OFPSYCHICALCOMPOUNDS。§;15。CONSCIOUSNESSANDATTENTION
1。Everypsychicalcompoundiscomposedofanumberofpsychicalelementswhichdonotusuallyallbeginorendatexactlythesamemoment。Asaresult,theinterconnectionwhichunitestheelementstoasinglewholealwaysreachesbeyondtheindividualcompounds,sothatdifferentsimultaneousandsuccessivecompoundsareunited,thoughindeedsomewhatmoreloosely。Wecallthisinterconnectionofpsychicalcompoundsconscious。
Consciousness,accordingly,doesnotmeananythingthatexistsapartfrompsychicalprocesses,nordoesitrefermerelytothesumoftheseprocesseswithoutreferencetohowtheyarerelatedtooneanother。Itexpressesthegeneralsynthesisofpsychicalprocesses,inwhichthesinglecompoundsaremarkedoffasmoreintimatecombinations。Astateinwhichthisinterconnectionisinterrupted,asdeepsleeporafaint,iscalledanunconsciousstate;andwespeakof“disturbancesofconsciousness“whenabnormalchangesinthecombinationofpsychicalcompoundsarise,eventhoughthesecompoundsthemselvesshownochangeswhatever。
Consciousnessinthissense,asacomprehensiveinterconnectionofsimultaneousandsuccessivepsychicalprocesses,showsitselfinexperiencefirstofallinthepsychicallifeof[p。204]theindividualasindividualconsciousness。Butwehaveanalogousinterconnectioninthecombinationofindividuals,althoughitislimitedtocertainsidesofmentallife,sothatwemayfurtherincludeunderthemoregeneralconceptconsciousnesstheconceptsofcollectiveconsciousness,ofsocialconsciousness,etc。Forallthesebroaderforms,however,thefoundationistheindividualconsciousness,anditistothisthatwewillfirstturnourattention。
(Forcollectiveconsciousnesssee§;21,14。)
Individualconsciousnessstandsunderthesameexternalconditionsaspsychicalphenomenaingeneral,forwhichitis,indeed,merelyanotherexpression,referringmoreparticularlytothemutualrelationsofthecomponentsofthesephenomenatooneanother。Asthesubstratumforthemanifestationsofanindividualconsciousnesswehaveineverycaseanindividualanimalorganism。Inthecaseofmenandsimilarhigheranimalsthecerebralcortex,inthecellsandfibresofwhichalltheorgansthatstandinrelationtopsychicalprocessesarerepresented,appearsastheimmediateorganofthisconsciousness。Thecompleteinterconnectionofthecorticalelementsmaybelookeduponasthephysiologicalcorrelateoftheinterconnectionofpsychicalprocessesinconsciousness,andthedifferentiationinthefunctionsofdifferentcorticalregionsasthephysiologicalcorrelateofthegreatvarietyofsingleconsciousprocesses。Thedifferentiationoffunctionsinthecentralorganis,indeed,alwaysmerelyrelative;everypsychicalcompoundrequiresthecooperationofnumerouselementsandmanycentralregions。Whenthedestructionofcertaincorticalregionsproducesdefinitedisturbancesinvoluntarymovements,orinsensations,orwhenitinterfereswhichtheformationofcertainclassesofideas,itisperfectlyjustifiabletoconcludethatthisregionfurnishescertainlinksinthechainofpsychical[p。
205]elementsthatareindispensablefortheprocessesinquestion。Theassumptionsoftenmadeonthebasisofthesephenomena,thatthereisinthebrainaspecialorganforthefacultiesofspeechandwriting,orthatvisual,tonal,andverbalideasarestoredinspecialcorticalcells,arenotonlytheresultsofthegrossestphysiologicalmisconceptions,buttheyareabsolutelyirreconcilablewiththepsychologicalanalysisofthesefunctions。Psychologicallyregarded,theseassumptionsarenothingbutmodernrevivalsofthatmostunfortunateformoffaculty-psychologyknownasphrenology。
2a。Thefactsthathavebeendiscoveredinregardtothelocalizationofcertainpsycho-physicalfunctionsinthecortex,arederivedpartlyfrompathologicalandanatomicalobservationsonmenandpartlyfromexperimentsonanimals。Theymaybesummedupasfollows:1)Certaincorticalregionscorrespondtocertainperipheralsensoryandmuscularregions。Thus,thecortexoftheoccipitallobeisconnectedwiththeretina,apartoftheparietallobewiththetactualsurface,andapartofthetemporalwiththeauditoryorgan。Thecentralgangliaofspecialgroupsofmusclesgenerallyliedirectlynexttoorbetweenthesensorycentresfunctionallyrelatedtothem。2)Certaincomplexdisturbanceshavebeendemonstratedwhencertaincorticalregionswhicharenotdirectlyconnectedwithperipheralorgans,butareinsertedbetweenothercentralregions,failtocarryouttheirfunctions。Theonlyrelationofthiskindwhichhasbeenprovedwithcertainty,isthatofacertainregionofthetemporallobetothefunctionsofspeech。Thefrontpartofthisregionisconnectedinparticularwiththearticulationofwords(itsdisturbanceresultsininterferencewithmotorcoordination,so-called“ataxicaphasic“),thepartfurtherbackisconnectedwiththeformationofword-ideas(itsdisturbancehinderssensorialcoordinationandproducesinthiswaytheso-called“amnesicaphasia“)。Itisalsoobservedthatthesefunctionsareasaruleconfinedentirelytothelefttemporallobeandthatgenerallyapoplecticdisturbancesintherightlobedonotinterferewithspeech,whilethoseintheleftlobedo。Furthermore,inallthesecases,inbothsimpleandcomplexdisturbances,there[p。206]isusuallyagradualrestorationofthefunctionsinthecourseoftime。Thisisprobablyeffectedbythevicariousfunctioningofsome,generallyaneighboringcorticalregioninplaceofthatwhichisdisturbed(indisturbancesofspeech,perhapsitistheopposite,beforeuntrained,sidethatcomesintoplay)。Localizationofothercomplexpsychicalfunctions,suchasprocessesofmemoryandassociation,hasnotyetbeendemonstratedwithcertainty。Thename“psychicalcentres“,appliedtocertaincorticalregionsbymanyanatomists,isforthepresentatleastbasedexclusivelyeitherontheveryquestionableinterpretationofexperimentsonanimals,orelseonthemereanatomicalfactthatnomotororsensoryfibresrunningdirectlytotheseregionscanbefound,andthattheirconnectivefibresingeneralaredevelopedrelativelylate。
Thecortexofthefrontalbrainissucharegion。Inthehumanbrainitisnoticeableforitslargedevelopment。Ithasbeenobservedinmanycasesthatdisturbancesofthispartofthebrainsoonresultinmarkedinabilitytoconcentratetheattentionorinotherintellectualdefectswhicharepossiblyreduceabletothis;andfromtheseobservationsthehypothesishasbeenmadethatthisregionistoberegardedastheseatofthefunctionofapperceptionwhichwillbediscussedlater(4),andofallthosecomponentsofpsychicalexperienceinwhichasinthefeelings,theunitaryinterconnectionofmentallifefindsitsexpression(comp。p。89)。Thishypothesisrequires,however,afirmerempiricalfoundationthanithasatpresent。Itistobenotedthatthosecaseswhere,incontrastwiththefirstones,mentioned,apartialinjuryofthefrontallobeissustainedwithoutanynoticeabledisturbanceofintelligence,arebynomeansproofsagainstthishypothesis。Thereismuchevidencetoshowthatjusthere,inthehighercentres,localinjuriesmayoccurwithoutanyapparentresults。
Thisisprobablyduetothegreatcomplexityoftheconnectionsandtothevariouswaysinwhichthedifferentelementscan,therefore,taketheplaceofoneanother。Theexpression“centre“inallthesecasesis,ofcourse,employedinthesensethatisjustifiedbythegeneralrelationofpsychicaltophysicalfunctions,thatis,inthesenseofaparallelismbetweenthetwoclassesofelementaryprocesses,theoneregardedfromthepointofviewofthenaturalsciences,theotherfromthatofpsychology(comp。§;1,2and§;22,9)。[p。207]
3。Theinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesses,whichconstituteswhatweunderstandundertheconceptconsciousness,isinpartasimultaneous,inpartasuccessiveinterconnection。Thesumofalltheprocessespresentatagivenmomentisalwaysaunitarywholewhosepartsaremoreorlesscloselyunited。Thisisthesimultaneousinterconnection。
Apresentstateisderiveddirectlyfromthatimmediatelyprecedingeitherthroughthedisappearanceofcertainprocesseswhileotherschangetheircourseandstillothersbegin,or,whenastateofunconsciousnessintervenes,thenewprocessesarebroughtintorelationwiththosethatwerepresentbefore。Thesearesuccessiveinterconnections。Inallthesecasesthescopeofthesinglecombinationsbetweenprecedingandfollowingprocessesdeterminesthestateofconsciousness。Consciousnessgivesplacetounconsciousnesswhenthisinterconnectioniscompletelyinterrupted,anditismoreincompletetheloosertheconnectionoftheprocessesofthemomentwiththosepreceding,Thus,afteraperiodofunconsciousnessthenormalstateofconsciousnessisgenerallyonlyslowlyrecoveredthroughagradualreestablishmentofrelationswithearlierexperiences。
Sowecometodistinguishgradesofconsciousness。Thelowerlimit,orzerograde,isunconsciousness。Thiscondition,whichconsistsinanabsoluteabsenceofallpsychicalinterconnections,isessentiallydifferentfromthedisappearanceofsinglepsychicalcontentsfromconsciousness。Thelatteriscontinuallytakingplaceintheflowofmentalprocesses。Complexideasandfeelingsandevensingleelementsofthesecompoundsmaydisappear,andnewonestaketheirplaces。Thiscontinuousappearanceanddisappearanceofelementaryandcompositeprocessesinconsciousnessiswhatmakesupitssuccessiveinterconnection。
Withoutthischange,suchaninterconnectionwould,ofcourse,beimpossible。
Anypsychicalelementthathasdisappearedfromconsciousness,istobe[p。208]calledunconsciousinthesensethatweassumethepossibilityofitsrenewal,thatinitsreappearanceintheactualinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesses。Ourknowledgeofanelementthathasbecomeunconsciousdoesnotextendbeyondthispossibilityofitsrenewal。Forpsychology,therefore,ithasnomeaningexceptasadispositionfortheriseoffuturecomponentsofpsychicalprocesseswhichareconnectedwithothersbeforepresent。Assumptionsastothestateofthe“unconscious“orasto“unconsciousprocesses“ofanykindwhicharethoughtofasexistingalongwiththeconsciousprocessesofexperience,areentirelyunproductiveforpsychology。Thereare,ofcourse,physicalconcomitantsofthepsychicaldispositionsmentioned,ofwhichsomecanbedirectlydemonstrated,someinferredfromvariousexperiences。Thesephysicalconcomitantsaretheeffectswhichpracticeproducesonallorgans,especiallythoseofthenervoussystem。Asauniversalresultofpracticeweobserveafacilitationofactionwhichrendersarepetitionoftheprocesseasier。Tobesure,wedonotknowanydetailsinregardtothechangesthatareeffectedinthestructureofthenervouselementsthroughpractice,butwecanrepresentthemtoourselvesthroughverynaturalanalogieswithmechanicalprocesses,such,forexample,asthereductionoffrictionresultingfromtherubbingoftwosurfacesagainsteachother。
Itwasnotedinthecaseoftemporalideas,thatthememberofaseriesofsuccessiveideaswhichisimmediately,presentinourperception,hasthemostfavorableposition。Similarlyinthesimultaneousinterconnectionofconsciousness,forexampleinacompoundclangorinaseriesofnewobjects,certainsinglecomponentsarefavoredabovetheothers。Inbothcaseswedesignatethedifferencesinperceptionasdifferencesincleannessanddistinctness。Clearness,isthe,relativelyfavorablecomprehensionoftheobjectinitself[p。209]distinctnessthesharpdiscriminationfromotherobjects,whichisgenerallyconnectedwithclearness。Thestatewhichaccompaniesthecleargraspofanypsychical。
contentandischaracterizedbyaspecialfeeling,wecallattention。Theprocessthroughwhichanysuchcontentisbroughttoclearcomprehensionwecallapperception。Incontrastwiththis,perceptionwhichisnotaccompaniedbyastateofattention,wedesignateapprehension。Thosecontentsofconsciousnessuponwhichtheattentionisconcentratedarespokenof,aftertheanalogyoftheexternalopticalfixationpoint,asthefixation-pointofconsciousness,ortheinnerfixation-point。Ontheotherhand,thewholecontentofconsciousnessatanygivenmomentiscalledthefieldofconscious。Whenapsychicalprocesspassesintoanunconsciousstatewespeakofitssinkingbelowthethresholdofconsciousnessandwhensuchaprocessariseswesayitappearsabovethethresholdofconsciousness。Theseareallfigurativeexpressionsandmustnotbeunderstoodliterally。Theyareuseful,however,becauseofthebrevityandclearnesstheypermitinthedescriptionofconsciousprocesses。
5。Ifwetrytodescribethetrainofpsychicalcompoundsintheirinterconnectionwiththeaidofthesefigurativeexpressions,wemaysaythatitismadeupofacontinualcomingandgoing。Atfirstsomecompoundcomesintothefieldofconsciousnessandthenadvancesintotheinnerfixation-point,fromwhichitreturnstothefieldofconsciousnessbeforedisappearingentirely。Besidesthistrainofpsychicalcompoundswhichareapperceived,thereisalsoacomingandgoingofotherswhicharemerelyapprehended,thatis,enterthefieldofconsciousnessandpassoutagainwithoutreachingtheinnerfixation-point。Boththeapperceivedandtheapprehendedcompoundsmayhavedifferentgradesofclearness。Inthecaseofthefirstclassthisappearsin[p。210]thefactthattheclearnessanddistinctnessofapperceptioningeneralisvariableaccordingtothestateofconsciousness。Toillustrate:itcaneasilybeshownthatwhenoneandthesameimpressionisapperceivedseveraltimesinsuccessioniftheotherconditionsremainthesame,thesuccessiveapperceptionsareusuallyclearerandmoredistinct。The,differentdegreesofclearnessinthecaseofcompoundsthat,merelyapprehended,maybeobservedmosteasilywhentheimpressionsarecomposite。Itisthenfound,especiallywhentheimpressionslastbutaninstant,thatevenhere,:whereallthecomponentsareobscurefromthefirst,thattherearestilldifferentgradations。
Someseemtorisemoreabovethethresholdofconsciousness,someless。
6。Theserelationscannotbedeterminedthroughchanceintrospections,butonlybysystematicexperimentalobservations。
Thebestkindsofconsciouscontentstouseforsuchobservationsareideasbecausetheycanbeeasilyproducedatanytimethroughexternalimpressions。
Now,inanytemporalidea,asalreadyremarked(§;11,p。155),thosecomponentswhichbelongtothepresentmomentareinthefixation-pointofconsciousness。Thoseoftheprecedingimpressionswhichwerepresentshortlybefore,arestillinthefieldofconsciousness,whilethosewhichwerepresentlongerbefore,haveappearedfromconsciousnessentirely。
Aspacialidea,onthe,otherhand,whenithasonlyalimitedextent,maybeapperceivedatonceinitstotality。Ifitismorecomposite,thenitspartstoomustpasssuccessivelythroughtheinnerfixation-pointiftheyaretobeclearlyapprehended。Itfollows,therefore,thatcompositespacialideas(especiallymomentaryvisualimpressions)arepeculiarlywellsuitedtofurnishameasureoftheamountofcontentthatcanbeapperceivedinasingleact,orofthescopeofattention;while,compositetemporalideas(forexample,rhythmicalauditoryimpressions,[p。
211]hammer-strokes)maybeusedformeasuringtheamountofallthecontentsthatcanenterintoconsciousnessatagivenmoment,orthescopeofconsciousness。Experimentsmadeinthiswaygive,underdifferentconditions,ascopeoffrom6to12simpleimpressionsforattentionandof16to40
suchimpressionsforconsciousness。Thesmallerfiguresareforthoseimpressionswhichdonotuniteatalltoideationalcombinations,oratmostveryincompletely,thelargerforthoseinwhichtheelementscombineasfaraspossibletocompositeideas。
6a。Themostaccuratewayofdeterminingthescopeofattentionistousespacialimpressionsofsight,forinsuchcasesitisveryeasy,bymeansofanelectricspark,orthefallofascreenmadewithanopeninginthecentre,toexposetheobjectsforandistantandinsuchawaythattheyalllieintheregionofclearestvision。Thisgivesusphysiologicalconditionsthatdonotpreventtheapperceptionofagreaternumberofimpressionsthanitispossibletoapperceivebecauseofthelimitedscopeofattention。Intheseexperimentstheremustbeapointforfixationinthemiddleofthesurfaceonwhichtheimpressionslie,beforethemomentaryillumination。Immediatelyaftertheexperiment,ifitisproperlyarranged,theobserverknowsthatthenumberofobjectswhichwereclearlyseeninaphysiologicalsense,isgreaterthanthenumberincludedwithinthescopeofattention。When,forexample,amomentaryimpressionismadeupofletters,itispossible,bycallingupamemory-imageoftheimpression,toreadafterwardssomeofthelettersthatwereonlyindistinctlyapprehendedatthemomentofillumination。Thismemory-image,however,isclearlydistinguishedintimefromtheimpressionitself,sothatthedeterminationofthescopeofattentionisnotdisturbedbyit。Carefulintrospectioneasilysucceedsinfixatingthestateofconsciousnessatthemomenttheimpressionarrives,andindistinguishingthisfromthesubsequentactsofmemory,whicharealwaysseparatedfromitbyanoticeableinterval。Experimentsmadeinthiswayshowthatthescopeofattentionisbynomeansaconstantmagnitude,butthat,even[p。212]whentheconcentrationoftheattentionisapproximatelyatitsmaximum,itsscopedependsinpartonthesimplicityorcomplexityoftheimpressions,inpartontheirfamiliarity。Thesimplestspacialimpressionsarearbitrarilydistributedpoints。Oftheseamaximumofsixcanbeapperceivedatonetime。Whentheimpressionsaresomewhatmorecomplexbutofafamiliarcharacter,suchassimplelines,figures,andletters,threeorfourofthemaregenerallyapperceivedsimultaneously,or,underfavorableconditions,evenfive。Thefiguresjustgivenholdforvision;fortouchthesamelimitsseemtoholdonlyinthecaseofpoints。Sixsuchsimpleimpressionscan,underfavorableconditions,beapperceivedinthesameinstant。Whentheimpressionsarefamiliarbutcomplex,evenforvision,thenumberofideasdecreases,whilethatofthesingleelementsincreasesverymarkedly。Thus,wecanapperceivetwooreventhreefamiliarmonosyllabicwords,whichcontaininalltenortwelvesingleletters。Underanycircumstances,then,theassertionoftenmade,thattheattentioncanbeconcentratedononlyoneideaatatime,isfalse。
Then,too,theseobservationsoverthrowtheassumptionsometimesaccepted,thattheattentioncansweepcontinuouslyandwithgreatrapidityoveragreatnumberofsingleideas。Intheexperimentdescribed,iftheattemptismadetofillupfrommemorytheimagewhichisclearlyperceivedaninstantaftertheimpression,averynoticeableintervalisrequiredtobringintoclearconsciousnessanimpressionthatwasnotapperceivedatfirst;andintheprocessthefirstimagealwaysdisappearsfromattention。Thesuccessivemovementofattentionoveranumberofobjectsis,accordingly,adiscontinuousprocess,madeupofanumberofseparateactsofapperceptionfollowingoneanother。Thisdiscontinuityisduetothefactthateverysingleapperceptionismadeupofaperiodofincreasingfollowedofbyaperioddecreasingstrain。Theperiodofmaximaltensionbetweenthetwo,mayvaryconsiderablyinitsduration。
Inthecaseofmomentary,andrapidlychangingimpressions,itisverybrief;when,ontheotherhand,weconcentrateonparticularobjects,itislonger。But,evenwhentheattentionisthusconcentratedonobjectsofaconstantcharacter,aperiodicinterruption,duetothealternatingrelaxationandrenewedconcentration,alwaysappears。Thismaybe[p。213]
easilyobserved,evenintheordinaryactionofattention。Buthere,too,wegainmoredetailedinformationthroughexperiments。Ifweallowaweak,continuousimpressiontoactonasense-organandremovesofaraspossibleallotherstimuli,itwillbeobservedwhentheattentionisconcentrateduponitthatatcertain,generallyirregular,intervalstheimpressionbecomesforashorttimeindistinct,orevenappears。tofadeoutentirely,onlytoappearagainthenextmoment。Thiswaveringbegins,whentheimpressionsareveryweak,after3-6“;whentheyaresomewhatstronger,after18-24“。
Thesevariationsarereadilydistinguishedfromchangesintheintensityoftheimpressionitself,asmaybeeasilydemonstratedwhen,inthecourseoftheexperiment,thestimulusispurposelyweakenedorinterrupted。Thereareessentiallytwocharacteristicsthatdistinguishthesubjectivevariationsfromthoseduetothechangesinthestimulus。First,solongastheimpressionmerelypassesbackandforthfromtheobscurefieldofconsciousnesstotheinnerfixation-point,thereisalwaysanideaofitscontinuance,justastherewasintheexperimentswithmomentaryimpressionsanindefiniteandobscureideaofthecomponentswhichwerenotapperceived。Secondly,theoscillationsofattentionareattendedbycharacteristicfeelingsandsensationswhichareentirelyabsentwhenthechangesareobjective。Thecharacteristicfeelingsarethoseofexpectationandactivity,whichregularlyincreasewiththeconcentrationofattentionanddecreasewithitsrelaxation。
Thesewillbediscussedmorefullylater。Thesensationscomefromthesense-organaffected,oratleastemanateindirectlyfromit。Theyconsistinsensationsoftensioninthetympanum,orinthoseofaccommodationandconvergence,etc。Thesetwoseriesofcharacteristicsdistinguishtheconceptsoftheclearnessanddistinctnessofpsychicalcontentsfromthatoftheintensityoftheirsensationalelements。Astrongimpressionmaybeobscureandaweakoneclear。Theonlycausalrelationbetweenthesetwodifferentconceptsistobefoundinthefactthatingeneralthestrongerimpressionsforcethemselvesmoreupontheapperception。Whetherornottheyarereallymoreclearlyapperceived,dependsontheotherconditionspresentatthemoment。Thesameistrueoftheadvantageswhichthosepartsofavisualimpressionhavethatfallwithintheregionofclearestvision。
Asarule,thefixated[p。214]objectsarealsotheonesapperceived。
But,intheexperimentswithmomentaryimpressionsdescribedabove,itcanbeshownthatthisinterconnectionmaybebrokenup。Thishappenswhenwevoluntarilyconcentrateourattentiononapointintheeccentricregionsofthefieldofvision。Theobjectwhichisobscurelyseenthenbecomestheonewhichisclearlyideated。
6b。Inthesamewaythatmomentaryspacialimpressionsareusedtodeterminethescopeofattention,wemayusethosewhichsucceedoneanotherintime,asameasureforthescopeofconsciousness。Inthiscasewestartwiththeassumptionthataseriesofimpressionscanbeunitedinasingleunitaryideaonlywhentheyarealltogetherinconsciousness,atleastforonemoment。Ifwelistentoaseriesofhammer-strokes,itisobviousthatwhilethepresentsoundisapperceived,thoseimmediatelyprecedingitarestillinthefieldofconsciousness。
Theirclearnessdiminishes,however,justinproportiontotheirdistanceintimefromtheapperceivedimpression,andthoselyingbeyondacertainlimitdisappearfromconsciousnessentirely。Ifwecandeterminethislimit,weshallhaveadirectmeasureforthescopeofconsciousnessunderthespecialconditionsgivenintheexperiment。Asameansforthedeterminationofthislimitwemayusetheabilitytocomparetemporalideasthatfollowoneanotherimmediately。Solongassuchanideaispresentinconsciousnessasasingleunitarywhole,wecancompareasucceedingideawithitanddecidewhetherthetwoarealikeornot。Ontheotherhand,suchacomparisonisabsolutelyimpossiblewhentheprecedingtemporalseriesisnotaunitarywholeforconsciousness,thatis,whenapartofitsconstituentshavepassedintounconsciousnessbeforetheendisreached。If,then,wepresenttwoseriesofstrokes,suchascanbeproduced,forexample,byametronome,oneimmediatelyaftertheother,markingofeachseriesbyasignalatitsbeginning,as,forexample,withabellstroke,wecanjudgedirectlyfromtheimpression,solongastheycanbegraspedassingleunitsinconsciousness,whetherthe,twoseriesarealikeornot。Ofcourse,insuchexperimentscountingofthestrokesmustbestrictlyavoided。judgmentsitmaybenoticedthattheimpressionproducedbytheaffectiveelementsofthetemporalbefore(p。156)。Everystrokeinthesecondseriesispreceded[p。215]byafeelingofexpectationcorrespondingtotheanalogousstrokeofthefirstseries,sothateverystroketoomanyortoofewproducesafeelingofdisappointmentattendingthedisturbanceoftheexpectation。
Itfollowsthatitisnotnecessaryforthetwosuccessiveseriestobepresentinconsciousnessatthesametimeinorderthattheymaybecompared;
butwhatisrequiredistheunionofalltheimpressionsofoneseriestogetherinasingleunitaryidea。Therelativelyfixedboundaryofthescopeofconsciousnessisclearlyshowninthefactthatthelikenessoftwotemporalideasisalwaysrecognizedwithcertaintysolongastheydonotpasstheboundthatholdsfortheconditionsunderwhichtheyaregiven,whilethejudgementbecomesabsolutelyuncertainwhenthislimitisoncecrossed。Theextentofthescopeofconsciousnessasfoundinmeasurementsmadewhentheconditionsofattentionremainthesame,dependspartlyontherateofthesuccessiveimpressionsandpartlyontheirmoreorlesscompleterhythmicalcombination。Whentherateofsuccessionisslowerthanabout4“,itbecomesimpossibletocombinesucessiveimpressionstoatemporalidea;bythetimeanewimpressionarrives,theprecedingonehasalreadydisappearedfromconsciousness。Whentheratepassestheupperlimitofabout0。18“,theformationofdistinctlydefinedtemporalideasisimpossiblebecausetheattentioncannotfollowtheimpressionsanylonger。Themostfavorablerateisasuccessionofstrokesevery0。2-0。3“。
Withthisrate,andwiththesimplestrhythm,whichgenerallyarisesofitselfwhentheperceptionisuninfluencedbyanyspecialobjectiveconditions,the2/8-time8doubleor16singleimpressionscanbejustgraspedtogether。
Thebestmeasurefortheapprehensionofthegreatestpossiblenumberofsingleimpressionsisthe4/4measurewiththestrongaccentonthefirststrokeandthemediumaccentonthefifth。Inthiscaseamaximumoffivefeetorfortysingleimpressionscanbegraspedatonce。Ifthesefiguresarecomparedwiththoseobtainedwhenthescopeofattentionwasmeasured,puttingsimpleandcompoundtemporalimpressionsequaltothecorrespondingspacialimpressions,wefindthatthescopeofconsciousnessisaboutfourtimesasgreatasthatofattention。[p。216]
7。Besidesthepropertiesofclearnessanddistinctness,whichbelongtoconsciouscontentsinthemselvesorintheir,mutualrelationstooneanother,thereareregularlyotherswhichareimmediatelyrecognizedasaccompanyingprocesses。Thesearepartlyaffectiveprocessesthatarecharacteristicforparticularformsofapprehensionandapperception,partly,sensationsofasomewhatvariablecharacter。Especiallythewaysinwhichpsychicalcontentsenterthefieldandfixation-pointofconsciousnessvaryaccordingtothedifferentconditionsunderwhichthisentrancemaytakeplace。Whenanypsychicalprocessrisesabovethethresholdofconsciousness,theaffectiveelements,assoonastheyarestrongenough,arewhatfirstbecomenoticeable。Theybegintoforcethemselvesenergeticallyintothefixation-pointofconsciousnessbeforeanythingisperceivedoftheideationalelements。Thisisthecasewhethertheimpressionsareneworrevivalsofearlierprocesses。Thisiswhatcausesthepeculiarstatesofmindwhichwearenotexactlyabletoaccountfor,some-timesofapleasurableorunpleasurablecharacter,sometimespredominantlystatesofstrainedexpectation。Inthislastcasethesuddenentranceoftheideationalelementsbelongingtothefeelings,intothescopeoftheattention,isaccompaniedbyfeelingsofrelieforsatisfaction。Whenwearetryingtorecallsomethingthathasbeenforgotten,thesameaffectivestatemayarise。Oftenthereisvividlypresentinsuchacase,besidestheregularfeelingofstrain,thespecialaffectivetoneoftheforgottenidea,althoughtheideaitselfstillremainsinthebackgroundofconsciousness。Inasimilarmanner,asweshallseelater(§;16),theclearapperceptionofideasinactsofcognitionandrecognitionisalwaysprecededbyspecialfeelings。Similaraffectivestatesmaybeproducedexperimentallybythemomentaryilluminationofafieldofvisioninwhichthereareimpressionsofthestrongest[p。217]possibleaffectivetoneintheregionofindirectvision。Alltheseexperiencesseemtoshowthateverycontentofconsciousnesshassomeinfluenceonattention。Itshowsthisregularlyinitsownaffectivecoloring,partlyinthefeelingsregularlyconnectedwithactsofattention。Thewholeeffectoftheseobscurecontentsofconsciousnessontheattentionfuses,accordingtothegenerallawofthesynthesisofaffectivecomponents(p。159),withthefeelingsattendingtheapperceivedcontentstoformasingletotalfeeling。
8。Whenpsychicalcontententersthefixationpointofconsciousness,newandpeculiaraffectiveprocessesareaddedtothosethathavebeendescribed。Thesenewfeelingsmaybeofavarietyofkinds,accordingtothedifferentconditionsattendingthisentranceintothefixation-point。Theconditionsareoftwoclasses,andareinterconnectedforthemostpartwiththeabovedescribedpreparatoryaffectiveinfluencesofthecontentnotyetapperceived。
First,thenewcontentforcesitselfontheattentionsuddenlyandwithoutpreparatoryaffectiveinfluences;thiswecallpassageapperception。Whilethecontentofconsciousnessisbecomingclearerbothinitsideationalandaffectiveelements,thereisfirstofallaconcomitantfeelingofpassivereceptivity,whichisadepressingfeeling,andgenerallystrongerthemoreintensethepsychicalprocesses,andthemorerapiditsrise。Thisfeelingsoonsinksandthengivesplacetoanantagonistic,excitingfeelingofactivity。Thereareconnectedwithboththesefeelingscharacteristicsensationsinthemusclesofthesense-organfromwhichtheideationalcomponentsoftheprocessproceed。ThefeelingofreceptivityisgenerallyaccompaniedbyatransientsensationOfrelaxation,thatofactivitybyasucceedingsensationofstrain。
Secondly,thenewcontentisprecededbythepreparatory[p。218]affectiveinfluencesmentionedabove(7),andasaresulttheattentionisconcentrateduponitevenbeforeitarrives;
thiswecallactiveapperception。Insuchacasetheapperceptionofthecontentisprecededbyafeelingofexpectation,sometimesoflonger,sometimesofshorterduration。Thisfeelingisgenerallyoneofstrainandmayatthesametimebeoneofexcitement;itmayalsohavepleasurableorunpleasurablefactors,accordingtoitsideationalelements。
Thisfeelingofexpectationisusuallyaccompaniedbyfairlyintensesensationsoftensioninthemusclesofthesense-organaffected。Atthemomentinwhichthecontentarisesinclearconsciousness,thisfeelinggivesplacetoafeelingoffulfillmentwhichisgenerallyveryshortandalwayshasthecharacterofafeelingofrelief。Undercircumstancesitmayalsobedepressingorexciting,pleasurableorunpleasurable。Afterthisfeelingoffulfillmentwehaveatoncethatofactivity——thesamethatappearedatthecloseofpassiveapperception,andishere,too,unitedwithanincreaseinfeelingsofstrain。
8a。Theexperimentalobservationofthedifferentformsofapperceptioncanbecarriedoutbestwiththeaidofthereaction-experimentsdescribedin§;14,11sq。Passiveapperceptionmaybestudiedbytheuseofunexpected,andactivebytheuseofexpectedimpressions。Atthesametimeitwillbeobservedthatbetweenthesetypicaldifferencesthereareintermediatestages。Eitherthepassiveformwillapproachtheactivebecauseoftheweaknessofthefirststage,ortheactivewillapproachthepassiveformbecauseinthesuddenrelaxationoftheexpectationthecontrastbetweentheexpectationandthereliefanddepressionwhichcomeinthesucceedingfeelingoffulfillment,ismoremarkedthanusual。Inrealitywehaveeverywherecontinuouslyinterconnectedprocesseswhichareoppositecharacteronlyinextremecases。
9。Iftheaffectivesideoftheseprocessesofattentionaxemorecloselyexamined,itisobviousthattheyareexactlythesameastheaffectivecontentofallvolitionalprocesses。[p。
219]
Atthesametimeitisclearthatinitsessentialcharacterpassiveapperceptioncorrespondstoasimpleimpulsiveact,whiletheactiveformcorrespondstoacomplexvoluntaryact。Inthefirstcasewemayevidentlyregardthepsychicalcontentthatforcesitselfuponattentionwithoutpreparation,asthesinglemotivewhich,withoutanyconflictwithothermotives,givesrisetotheactofapperception。
Theactisheretooconnectedwiththefeelingofactivitycharacteristicofallvolitionalacts。Inthecaseofactiveapperception,ontheotherhand,otherpsychicalcontentswiththeiraffectiveelementstendtoforcethemselvesupontheattentionduringthepreparatoryaffectivestages,sothattheactofapperceptionwhenitfinallyisperformedisoftenrecognizedasavoluntaryprocessorevenasaselectiveprocesswhentheconflictbetweendifferentcontentscomesclearlyintoconsciousness。Theexistenceofsuchselectiveactsunderthecircumstancesmentionedwasrecognizedeveninolderpsychologywhere“voluntaryattention“wasspokenof。Butheretoo,asinthecaseofexternalvolitionalacts,willstoodalone;
therewasnoexplanationofitbyitsantecedents,forthecentralpointinthedevelopment,namely,thefactthatso-calledinvoluntaryattentionisonlyasimplerformofinternalvolition,wasentirelyoverlooked。Then,too,infullaccordwiththemethodsoftheoldfaculty-theory“attention“
and“will“wereregardedasdifferent,sometimesasrelated,sometimesasmutuallyexcludingpsychicalforces,whilethetruthevidentlyisthatthesetwoconceptsrefertothesameclassofpsychicalprocesses。Theonlydifferenceisthatprocessesofapperceptionandattentionarethosewhichoccuronlyasso-calledinternalacts,thatis,havenoexternaleffectsexceptindirectlywhentheyleadtootherprocesses。
10。Connectedwiththeseinternalvolitionalacts,whichwecallprocessesofattention,theretakesplaceaformation[p。220]ofcertainconceptsofthehighestimportanceforallpsychical,development。Thisistheformationoftheconceptsubjectandthecorrelatepresuppositionofobjectsasindependentrealitiesstandingoveragainstthesubject。Thiscanbecarriedoutinitslogicalformonlywiththeaidofscientificreflection,stillithasitssubstratumintheprocessesofattention。
Eveninimmediateexperiencethereisadivisionbetweencomponentsofthisexperience。Ontheonehandarethosewhicharearrangedinspacewithrelationtothepointoforientationmentionedabove(p。131),andarecalledeitherobjects,thatis,somethingoutsidetheperceivingsubject,or,whenweattendtothemodeoftheirriseinconsciousness,ideas,thatissomethingwhichthesubjectperceives。
Ontheotherhand,therearethosecontentsofexperiencewhichdonotbelongtothisspacialorder,thoughtheyarecontinuallybroughtintorelationwithitthroughtheirqualityandintensity。Theselattercontents,aswesawin§;12-14,areintimatelyinterconnected。Feelingsarepartsofemotionsandemotionsaretobeconsideredascomponentsofvolitionalprocesses。Theprocess,mayendbeforeitisfullycompleted,asoftenwhenafeelinggivesrisetononoticeableemotion,orwhenanemotionfadesoutwithoutreallycausingthevolitionalactforwhichpreparedtheway。Alltheseaffectiveprocessesmay,accordingly,besubsumedunderthegeneralconceptvolitionalprocess。Thisisthecompleteprocessofwhichthetwoothersaremerelycomponentsofsimplerormorecomplexcharacter。Fromthispointofviewwecaneasilyunderstandhowitisthatevensimplefeelingscontain,intheextremesbetheyvary,avolitionaldirection;andexpress,inthesamewaytheamountofvolitionalenergypresentatagivenmoment;andfinally,correspondtocertainparticularphasesofthevolitionalprocessitself。Thedirectionofvolitionisobviouslyindicatedbythepleasurableorunpleasurabledirectionsof[p。221]feelings,whichcorresponddirectlytosomesortofefforttoreachsomethingortoavoidit。Theenergyofvolitionfindsitsexpressioninthearousingandsubduingdirectionsoffeelings,whiletheoppositephasesofavolitionalprocessarerelatedtothedirectionsofstrainandrelaxation。
11。Thus,volitionprovestobethefundamentalfactfromwhichallthoseprocessesarisewhicharemadeupoffeelings。Then,too,intheprocessofapperception,whichisfoundthroughpsychologicalanalysistohaveallthecharacteristicsofavolitionalact,wehaveadirectrelationbetweenthisfundamentalfactandtheideationalcontentsofexperiencewhicharisefromthespacialarrangementofsensations。Now,volitionalprocessesareapprehendedasunitaryprocessesandasbeinguniformincharacterinthemidstofallthevariationsintheircomponents。Asaresulttherearisesanimmediatefeelingofthisunitaryinterconnection,whichismostintimatelyconnectedwiththefeelingofactivitythataccompaniesallvolition,andtheniscarriedovertoallconsciouscontentsbecauseoftheirrelationtowill,asmentionedabove。Thisfeelingoftheinterconnectionofallsinglepsychicalexperiencesiscalledthe“ego“。Itisafeeling,notanideaasitisoftencalled。Likeallfeelings,however,itisconnectedwithcertainsensationsandideas。Theideationalcomponentsmostcloselyrelatedtotheegoarethecommonsensationsandtheideaofone\'sownbody。
Thatpartoftheaffectiveandideationalcontentswhichseparatesofffromthetotalityofconsciousnessandfusescloselywiththefeelingoftheego,iscalledself-consciousness。Itisnomoreareality,apartfromtheprocessesofwhichitismadeup,thanisconsciousnessingeneral,butmerelyPointsouttheinterconnectionoftheseprocesses,whichfurthermore,especiallyintheirideationalcomponents,canneverbesharplydistinguishedfromtherestofconsciousness。This[p。222]showsitselfmostofallinthefactthattheideaofone\'sownbodysometimesfuseswiththefeelingoftheego,sometimesisdistinctfromitastheideaofanobject,andthatingeneralself-consciousnessinitsdevelopmentalwaystendstoreduceitselftoitsaffectivebasis。
12。Thisseparationofself-consciousnessfromtheothercontentsofconsciousnessalsogivesrisetothediscriminationofsubjectandobjects。Thisdiscriminationwaspreparedfor,tobesure,bythecharacteristicdifferencesamongtheoriginalcontentsofconsciousness,butisfullycarriedoutonlyasaconsequenceofthisseparation。Theconceptsubjecthasaccordinglyasaresultofitspsychologicaldevelopmentthreedifferentmeaningsofdifferentscope,eachofwhichmayatdifferenttimesbetheoneemployed。Initsnarrowestsensethesubjectistheinterconnectionofvolitionalprocesseswhichfindsexpressioninthefeelingoftheego。Inthenextwidersenseitincludestherealcontentofthesevolitionalprocessestogetherwiththefeelingsandemotionsthatpreparetheirway。Finally,initswidestsignificanceitembracestheconstantideationalsubstratumofthesesubjectiveprocesses,thatis,thebodyoftheindividualastheseatofthecommonsensations。
Inthelineofdevelopmentthewidestsignificanceistheoldest,andinactualpsychicalexperiencethenarrowestiscontinuallygivingwaytoareturnofoneoftheothersbecauseitcanbefullyattainedonlythroughconceptualabstraction。Thishighestformis,then,inrealitymerelyakindoflimitstowardswhichtheself-consciousnessmayapproachmoreorlessclosely。
12a。Thisdiscriminationofsubjectandobjects,ortheegoandtheouterworldasitiscommonlyexpressedbyreducingfirstconcepttoitsoriginalaffectivesubstratumandthesecondtogetherinageneralconcept——thisdiscriminationofalltheconsiderationsresponsibleforthedualism[p。223]whichfirstgainedcurrencyinthepopularviewofthingsandwasthencarriedoverintothephilosophicalsystems。Itisonthisgroundthatpsychologycomestobesetoveragainsttheothersciences,inparticularthenaturalsciences,asascienceofthesubject(§;1,3a。)Thisviewcouldberightonlyundertheconditionsthatthediscriminationoftheegofromtheouterworldwereafactprecedingallexperienceandthattheconceptssubjectandobjectscouldbeunequivocallydistinguishedonceforall。Butneitheroftheseconditionsisfulfilled。Self-consciousnessdependsonawholeseriesofpsychicalprocessesofwhichitistheproduct,nottheproducer。
Subjectandobjectare,therefore,neitheroriginallynorinlaterdevelopmentabsolutelydifferentcontentsofexperience,buttheyareconceptswhichareduetothereflectionresultingfromtheinterrelationsofthevariouscomponentsoftheabsolutelyunitarycontentofourimmediateexperience。
13。Theinterconnectionofpsychicalprocesseswhichmakesupconsciousness,necessarilyhasitsdeepestspringintheprocessesofcombinationwhicharecontinuallytakingplacebetweentheelementsofthesinglecontentsofexperience。Suchprocessesareoperativeintheformationofsinglepsychicalcompoundsandtheyarewhatgiverisetothesimultaneousunityofthestateofconsciousnesspresentatagivenmomentandalsotothecontinuityofsuccessivestates。Theseprocessesofcombinationareofthemostvariouskinds;eachonehasitsindividualcoloring,whichisneverexactlyreproducedinanysecondcase。Still,themostgeneraldifferencesarethoseexhibitedbytheattentioninthepassivereceptionofimpressionsandtheactiveapperceptionofthesame。
Asshortnamesforthesedifferencesweusethetermassociationtoindicateaprocessofcombinationinapassivestateofattention,andapperceptivecombinationtoindicateacombinationinwhichtheattentionisactive。
ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology——Wundt(1897)Section16OutlinesofPsychologyWilhelmMaxWundt(1897)TranslatedbyCharlesHubbardJudd(1897)III。INTERCONNECTION
OFPSYCHICALCOMPOUNDS。§;16。ASSOCIATIONS。
1。Theconceptassociationhasundergone,inthedevelopmentofpsychology,anecessaryandveryradicalchangeinmeaning。Tobesure,thischangehasnotbeenacceptedeverywhere,andtheoriginalmeaningisstillretained,especiallybythosepsychologistswhosupport,eventoday,thefundamentalpositionsonwhichtheassociation-psychologygrewup(§;2,p。13sq。)。Thispsychologyispredominantlyintellectualistic,paysattentiontonothingbuttheideationalcontentsofconsciousnessand,accordinglimitstheconceptofassociationtothecombinationsofideas。HartleyandHume,thetwofoundersofassociation-psychology,spokeof“associationofideas“inthislimitedsense。[1]Ideaswereregardedasobjects,oratleastasprocessesthatcouldberepeatedinconsciousnesswithexactlysamecharacterasthatinwhichtheywerepresentatfirst(p。13,8)。Thisledtotheviewthatassociationwasaprinciplefortheexplanationoftheso-called“reproduction“ofideas。
Furthermore,itwasnotconsiderednecessarytoaccountfortheriseofcompositeideaswiththeaidofpsychologicalanalysis,sinceitwasassumedthatthephysicalunionofimpressionsinsense-perceptionwassufficienttoexplainthepsychologicalcompositionandsotheconceptofassociationwaslimitedtothoseformsofso-calledreproductioninwhichtheassociatedideassucceedoneanotherintime。ForthediscriminationofthechiefformsofsuccessiveassociationsAristotle\'slogicalschemeforthememory-processeswasaccepted,andinaccordancewiththeprincipleclassificationbyoppositesthefollowingformswerediscriminated:[p。
225]associationbysimilarityandcontrast,andassociationbysimultaneityandsuccession。Theseclass-conceptsgainedbyalogicaldichotomicprocessweredignifiedwiththenameof“lawofassociations“。Modernpsychologyhasgenerallysoughttoreducethenumberoftheselaws。Contrastisasaspecialformofsimilarity,foronlythoseconceptsareassociatedwhichbelongtothesameclass;andassociationsbysimultaneityandsuccessionincludedundercontiguity。Contiguityisthenregardedasouterassociationandcontrastedwithinnerassociationbysimilarity。Somepsychologistsbelieveitpossibletoreducetwoformstoasingle,stillmorefundamental,“lawofassociation“bymakingassociationbycontiguityaspecialformofsimilaritywhatisstillmorecommon,byexplainingsimilarityasaresultofassociationbycontiguity。Inbothcasesassociationisgenerallybroughtunderthemoregeneralideaofpracticeorhabituation。
2。Thewholefoundationforthiskindoftheorizingisdestroyedbytwofactswhichforcethemselvesirresistiblyuponusassoonaswebegintostudythematterexperimentally。
Thefirstofthesefactsisthegeneralresultofthepsychologicalanalysisofsense-perceptions,thatcompositeideas,whichassociation-psychologyregardsasirreduciblepsychicalunits,areinfacttheresultsofsyntheticprocesseswhichareobviouslyincloseinterconnectionwiththeprocessescommonlycalledassociations。Thesecondfactcomesfromtheexperimentalinvestigationofmemory-processes。Itisfoundthatthereproductionofideasinthestrictsenseofarenewalinitsunchangedformofanearlieridea,takesplaceatall,butthatwhatreallydoeshappenofmemoryistheriseofanewideainconsciousness,alwaysdifferingfromtheearlierideatowhichitisreferred,andderivingitselementsasarulefromvariousprecedingideas。[p。226]
Itfollowsfromthefirstfactthatthereareelementaryprocessesofassociationbetweenthecomponentsofideasprecedingtheassociationsofcompositeideaswithoneanotherwhichthenameisgenerallylimited。Thesecondfactprovesthatordinaryassociationscanbenothingbutcomplexproductsofsuchelementaryassociations。Thesecanshowtheutterunjustifiablenessofexcludingtheelementaryprocesseswhoseproductsaresimultaneousideasratherthansuccessive,fromtheconceptassociation。Then,too,therenoreasonforlimitingtheconcepttoideationalprocesses。Theexistenceofcompositefeelings,emotions,etc。,shows,onthecontrary,thataffectiveelementsalsoenterintoregularcombinations,whichmayinturnunitewithassociationsofsensationalelementstoformcomplexproducts,aswesawintheriseoftemporalideas(§;11,p。156sq。)。Theintimaterelationbetweenthevariousordersofcombiningprocessesandthenecessityofelementaryassociationsasantecedentstoallcomplexcombinations,furnishesfurthersupportfortheobservationmadeonthegeneralmodeoftheoccurrenceofconsciousprocesses,thatitisneverpossibletodrawasharpboundarylinebetweenthecombinationsoftheelementsthatcomposepsychicalcompounds,andtheinterconnectionofthevariouspsychicalcompounds,inconsciousness(p。203)。
3。Itfollowsthattheconceptofassociationcangainafixed,andinanyparticularcaseunequivocal,significance,onlyassociationisregardedasanelementaryprocesswhichnevershowsitselfintheactualpsychicalprocessesexceptinandorlesscomplexform,sothattheonlywaytofindoutcharacterofelementaryassociationistosubjectitscomplexproductstoapsychologicalanalysis。Theordinarilyso-calledassociations(thesuccessiveassociations)areonlyone,andloosestatthat,ofalltheformsofcombination。Incontrastwiththesewehavetheclosercombinationsfromwhichthe[p。227]differentkindsofpsychicalcompoundsariseandtowhichweapplythegeneralnamefusions,becauseoftheclosenessoftheunion(p。94,sq。)。Theelementaryprocessesfromwhichthecompounds,theintensive,spacial,andtemporalideas,compositefeelings,theemotions,andthevolitionalprocessesarise,are,accordingly,tobeconsideredasassociativeprocesses。Forthepurposeofpracticaldiscrimination,however,itwillbewelltolimittheword“association“tothosecombiningprocesseswhichtakeplacebetweenelementsofdifferentcompounds。Thisnarrowermeaningwhichwegivethetermincontrastwithfusion,isinonerespectanapproachtothemeaningthatithadinolderpsychologyforitrefersexclusivelytotheinterconnectionofcompoundsinconsciousness。Itdiffersfromtheolderconcept,however,intwoimportantcharacteristics。Firstitishereregardedasanelementaryprocess,or,whenwearedealingwithcomplexphenomena,asaproductofsuchelementaryprocesses。Secondly,werecognize,justasinthefusions,simultaneousassociationsaswellassuccessive。Infact,theformeraretobelookeduponastheearlier。A。SIMULTANEOUSASSOCIATIONS。
4。Simultaneousassociationsmadeupofelementsfrompsychicalcompoundsmaybedividedintotwoclasses:
intoassimilations,orassociationsbetweentheelementsoflikecompounds,andcomplications,orassociationselementsofunlikecompounds。Bothmaytakeplace,inaccordancewithourlimitationoftheconceptassociation,betweenthosecompoundsonlywhicharethemselvessimultaneouscombinations,thatis,betweenintensiveandspacialideasbetweencompositefeelings。[p。228]a。Assimilations5。Assimilationsareaformofassociationthatiscontinuallymetwith,especiallyinthecaseofintensivespacialideas。Itisanessentialsupplementtotheprocessofformationofideasbyfusion。Inthecaseofcompositefeelingsthisformofcombinationneverseemstoappearexceptwherewehaveatthesametimeanassimilationofideationalelements。Itismostclearlydemonstrablewithcertainsinglecomponentsoftheproductofanassimilationgiventhroughexternalsense-impressions,whileothersbelievetoearlierideas。Insuchacasetheassimilationmaybedemonstratedbythefactthatcertaincomponentsofideaswhicharewantingintheobjectiveimpressionorarethererepresentedbycomponentsotherthanthoseactuallypresentintheideaitself,canbeshowntoarisefromideas。Experienceshowsthatofthesereproducedcomponentsarethosearemostfavoredwhichareveryfrequentlypresent。Still,certainsingleelementsoftheimpressionareusuallyofmoreimportanceindeterminingtheassociationthanothersare,sothatwhenthesedominatingelementsarealtered,asmaybethecaseespeciallywithassimilationofthevisualsense,theproductoftheassimilationundergoesacorrespondingchange。
6。Amongintensivecompoundsitisespeciallytheauditoryideaswhichareveryoftentheresultsofassimilation。Theyalsofurnishthemoststrikingexamplesfortheprincipleoffrequencymentionedabove。Ofalltheauditoryideasthemostfamiliararethereadilyavailableideasofwords,fortheseareattendedtomorethanothersound-impressions。Asaresultthehearingofwordsiscontinuallyaccompaniedbyassimilations;thesound-impressionisincomplete,butisentirelyfilledoutbyearlierimpressions,sothatwedonot[p。229]noticetheincompleteness。Soitcomesthatnotthecorrecthearingofwords,butthemisunderstandingofthem,thatis,theerroneousfillingoutofincompleteimpressionsthroughincorrectassimilations,iswhatgenerallyleadsustonoticetheprocess。
Wemayfindanexpressionofthesamefactintheeasewithwhichanysoundwhatever,as,forexample,thecryofananimal,thenoiseofwater,wind,machinery,etc。,canbetosoundlikewordsalmostatwill。
7。Inthecaseofintensivefeelingswenotethepresenceofassimilationsinthefactthatimpressionswhichareaccompaniedbysense-feelingsandelementaryaestheticfeelings,veryexerciseaseconddirectaffectiveinfluenceforwhichaccountonlywhenwerecallcertainideasofwhichweareremindedbytheimpressions。Insuchcasestheassociationisusuallyatfirstonlyaformofaffectiveassociationandonlysolongasthisistrueistheassimilationsimultaneous。
Theideationalassociationwhichexplainsthesis,onthecontrary,alaterprocessbelongingtotheformsofsuccessiveassociation。Forthisreasonitishardlypossible,whenwehaveclang-impressionsorcolor-impressionsaccompaniedbyparticularfeelings,orwhenwehavesimplespacialideas,todecidewhattheimmediateaffectiveinfluenceimpressionofitselfisandwhatisthatoftheassociation。Asarule,insuchcasestheaffectiveprocessistobelookeduponastheresultantofanimmediateandanassociativefactorwhichunitetoformasingle,unitarytotalfeelinginaccordancewiththegenerallawsofaffectivefusion(p。159)。
8。Associationinthecaseofspacialideasisofthemostcomprehensivecharacter。Itisnotverynoticeableinthesphereoftouchwhenvisionispresent,onaccountoftheimportanceoftactualideasingeneralandespeciallyformemory。Fortheblind,ontheotherhand,itisthemeansfortherapidorientationinspacewhichis[p。230]necessary,forexample,intherapidreadingoftheblind-alphabet。Theeffectsofassimilationaremoststrikinglyevidentwhenseveraltactualsurfacesareconcerned,becauseinsuchcasesitspresenceiseasilybetrayedbytheillusionswhichariseinconsequenceofsomedisturbanceintheusualrelationofthesensations。Thus,forexample,whenwetouchasmall,ballwiththeindexandmiddlefingerscrossed,wehavetheideaoftwoballs。Theexplanationisobvious。
Intheordinarypositionofthefingerstheexternalimpressionheregivenactuallycorrespondstotwoballs,andthemanyperceptionsofthiskindthathavebeenreceivedbeforeexerciseanassimilativeactiononthenewimpression。
9。Invisualsense-perceptionsassimilativeprocessesplayaverylargepart。Heretheyaidintheformationofideasofmagnitude,distance,andthree-dimensionalcharacterofvisualobjects。
Inthislastrespecttheyareessentialsupplementsofimmediatebinocularmotivesforprojectionintodepth。Thus,thecorrelationthatexistsbetweentheideasofthedistanceandmagnitudeofobjects,as,forexample,theapparentdifferingthesizeofthesunormoononthehorizonandatthezenith,istobeexplainedasaneffectofassimilation。Theperspectiveofdrawingandpaintingalsodependsontheseinfluences。Apicturedrawnorpaintedonaplanesurfacecanappearthree-dimensionalonlyonconditionthattheimpressionarousesearlierthree-dimensionalideaswhicharealwayswiththenewimpression。Theinfluenceoftheseassimilationmostevidentinthecaseofunshadeddrawingsthatcanbeeitherinrelieforinintaglio。
Observationshowsthatthesedifferencesinappearancearebynomeansaccidentalordependupontheso-called“powerofimagination“,butthattherearealwayselementsintheimmediateimpressionwhichdeterminecompletelytheassimilativeprocess。Theelementsthatthusoperativeare,aboveall,thesensationsarisingfromthe[p。231]positionandmovementsoftheeye。Thus,forexample,adesignwhichcanbeinterpretedaseitherasolidorahollowprism,isseenalternatelyinreliefandinintaglioaccordingaswefixateinthetwocasesthepartsofthewhichcorrespondordinarilytoasolidortoahollowobject。Asolidanglerepresentedbythreelinesinthesameappearsinreliefwhenthefixation-pointismovedalongofthelines,startingfromtheapex,itappearsinintagliowhenthemovementisintheoppositedirection,fromtheofthelinetowardstheapex。Intheseandalllikecasesassimilationisdeterminedbytherulethatinitsmovementthefixation-linesofobjectstheeyealwayspassesfromnearertomoredistantpoints。
Inothercasesthegeometricopticalillusions(§;10,19and20)whichareduetothelawsofocularmovements,producecertainideasofdistance,andthesenotinfrequentlyeliminatethecontradictionsbroughtaboutinthebytheillusions。Thus,toillustrate,aninterruptedstraightlineappearslongerthananequaluninterruptedline(p。125);asaresultwetendtoprojectthefirsttoagreaterdepththanthelatter。Herebothlinescoverjustthesamedistancesontheretinainspiteofthefactthattheirlengthisperceivedasdifferent,becauseofthedifferentmotorenergyconnectedwiththeirestimation。Aneliminationofthiscontradictioniseffectedbymeansofthedifferentideasofdistance,forwhenoneoftwolineswhoseretinalimagesareappearslongerthantheother,itmust,undertheordinaryconditionsofvision,belongtoamoredistantobject。
Again,onestraightlineisintersectedatanacuteanglebyanother,theresultisanoverestimationoftheacuteangle,sometimesgivesrise,whenthelineislong,toanapparentbendingnearthepointofintersection(p。125)。Herecontradictionbetweenthecourseofthelineandthe[p。
232]increaseinthesizeoftheangleofintersection,isofteneliminatedbytheapparentextensionofthelineinthethirddimension。
Inallthesecasestheperspectivecanbeexplainedonlyastheassimilativeeffectofearlierideasofcorrespendingcharacter。
10。Innoneoftheassimilationsdiscussedisitpossibletoshowthatanyformerideahasactedasawholethenewimpression。Generallythisisimpossiblebecausewemustattributetheassimilativeinfluencetoalargenumberofideas,differinginmanyrespectsfromoneanother。Thus,forexample,astraightlinewhichintersectsaverticalatanacuteangle,correspondstoinnumerablecasesinwhichaninclinationofthelinewithitsaccompanyingincreaseofangleappearedasacomponentofathree-dimensionalidea。Butallthesecasesmayhavebeenverydifferentinregardtothesizeoftheangle,thelengthofthelines,andotherattendingcircumstances。Wemust,accordingly,thinkofassimilativeprocessasaprocessinwhichnotasingledefiniteideaorevenadefinitecombinationofelementsfromideas,butasaruleagreatnumberofsuchcombinationsareoperative。Theseneedagreeonlyapproximatelywiththenewimpressioninordertoaffectconsciousness。
Wemaygainsomenotionofthewayinwhichthiseffectisproducedfromtheimportantpartthatcertainelementsconnectedwiththeimpressionplayintheprocess,forexample,thesensationsofocularpositionandmovementsinvisualideas。Obviouslyitistheseimmediatesensationalelementsthatservetopickoutfromthemassofideationalelementswhichreactupontheimpression,certainparticularonesthatcorrespondtothemselves,thenbringtheseselectedfactorsintoaformagreeingwiththatoftherestofthecomponentsoftheimmediateimpression。Atthesametimeitappearsthatnotmerelythe[p。233]elementsofourmemory-imagesarerelativelyindefiniteandthereforevariable,butthateventheperceptionofindefiniteimpressionmayvaryunderspecialconditionsfairlywidelimits。Inthiswaytheassimilativeprocessstartsprimarilyfromelementsoftheimmediateimpression,chieflyfromparticularoneswhichareofpreeminentimportancefortheformationoftheidea,as,forexample,thesensationsofocularpositionandmovementinvisualideas。Theseelementscallupcertainparticularmemory-elementscorrespondingtothemselves。Thesememoriesthenexerciseaneffectontheimmediateimpression,andtheimpressioninturnreactsinthesamewayonthereproducedmoments。Theseseparateactsare,likethewholeprocess,notsuccessive,but,atleastforourconsciousness,simultaneous。Forthisreasontheproductoftheassimilationisapperceivedimmediate,unitaryidea。Thetwodistinguishingcharacteristicsofassimilationare,accordingly,1)
thatitismadeupofaseriesofelementaryprocessesofcombination,thatis,processesthathavetodowiththecomponentsofideas,notwiththewholeideasthemselves,and2)thattheunitedcomponentsmodifyoneanotherthroughreciprocalassimilations。
11。Onthisbasiswecanexplainwithoutdifficultythedifferencesbetweencomplexassimilativeprocesses,bytheverydifferentpartsthatthevariousfactorsnecessarytosuchaprocessplayinthevariousconcretecases。Inordinarysense-perceptionsthedirectelementsaresopredominantthatthereproducedelementsareasaruleentirelyoverlooked,althoughinrealitytheyareneverabsentandareoftenveryimportantfortheperceptionoftheobjects。Thesereproducedelementsaremuchmorenoticeablewhentheassimilativeeffectofthedirectelementsishinderedthroughexternalorinternalinfluences,suchasindistinctness[p。234]oftheimpressionoraffectiveandemotionalexcitement。Inallcaseswherethedifferencebetweentheimpressiontheideabecomes,inthisway,sogreatthatitisapparentonceoncloserexamination,wecalltheproductofassimilationanillusion。
Theuniversalityofassimilationmakesitcertainthatsuchprocessesoccuralsobetweenreproducedelements,insuchawaythatanymemory-ideawhicharisesinourmindisimmediatelymodifiedbyitsinteractionwithothermemory-elements。Still,insuchacasewehave,ofcourse,nomeansofdemonstration。Al1thatcanbeestablishedasprobableisthateveninthecaseofso-called“purememory-processes“
directelementsintheformofsensationsandsense-feearousedbyperipheralstimuli,areneverentirelyabsent。reproducedvisualimages,forexample,suchelementspresentintheformofsensationsofocularpositionandmovement。b。Complications。
12。Complications,orthecombinationsbetweenupsychicalcompounds,arenolessregularcomponentsofconsciousnessthanareassimilations。Justasthereishardlyintensiveorextensiveideaorcompositefeelingwhichimodifiedinsomewaythroughtheprocessesofreciprocalassimilationwithmemory-elements,soalmosteveryoneofthesecompoundsisatthesametimeconnectedwithother,dissimilarcompounds,withwhichithassomeconstantrelations。Inallcases,however,complicationsaredifferentfromassimilationsinthefactthattheunlikenessofthecompamakestheconnectionlooser,howeverregularitmaybe,sothatwhenonecomponentisdirectandtheotherreproduced,thelattercanbereadilydistinguishedatonce。Still,isanotherreasonwhichmakestheproductofacomplication[p。235]unitaryinspiteoftheeasilyrecognizeddifferencebetweenitscomponents。Thiscauseisthepredominanceofoneofthecompounds,whichpushestheothercomponentsintotheobscurerfieldofconsciousness。
Ifthecomplicationunitesadirectimpressionwithmemory-elementsofdisparatecharacter,thedirectimpressionassimilationsisregularlythepredominantcomponentwhilethereproducedelementssometimeshaveanotice-ableinfluenceonlythroughtheiraffectivetone。Thus,whenwespeak,theauditoryword-ideasarethepredominantcomponents,andinadditionwehaveasobscuredirectmotorsensationsandreproductionsofimagesofthewords。Inreading,ontheotherhand,thevisualimagescometothefrontwhiletherestbecomeweaker。Ingeneralitmaybesaidthattheexistenceimplicationisfrequentlynoticeableonlythroughthecoloringofthetotalfeelingthataccompaniesthelentidea。Thisisduetotheabilityofobscureideastohavearelativelyintenseeffectontheattentionthroughbctivetones(p。216)。Thus,forexample,theicimpressionofaroughsurface,adagger-point,arisesfromacomplicationofvisualandtactuals,andinthelastcaseofauditoryimpressionsastasarulesuchcomplicationsarenoticeableonlythefeelingstheyexcite。B。SUCCESSIVEASSOCIATIONS。