so constituted as to include only those characteristics that have been selected because of their utility, while the serial order their appearance is determined by the biological needs of the individual, and of the species. Consequently the individual possesses only a selection from among the various possible tendencies of the past with which to react upon its present environment, the temporal order of their realization depending altogether upon their utilization. According to the third theory dispositional traits are so constituted that the individual indicates the history of his development from the most primitive beginnings by typical forms of reaction to his environment which appear at every stage in his career. And these reactions correspond in a general way to the stages of racial development. There are, therefore, primitive, more highly developed, and very highly developed forms of reaction, each of a uniform type, whether they be found in ontogenesis or in phylogenesis. ... If we must declare ourselves with respect to these three theories, it is at once obvious that the third theory is far more cautious than either of the other two; its hypothesis being closer to the factual data, the way is left open to further theoretical constructions. The third theory relieves us from the necessity of deciding for any one theory. . . . We can dismiss both the recapitulation and the utility theories, and urge instead the collection of as many facts as possible which may prove helpful in tracing the correspondence between individual and racial development. This means that one should constantly endeavor to support, to control, and to supplement the results of one branch of developmental investigation with results obtained in another branch; as, for instance, by comparing child-psychology with folk-psychology; but one should never allow oneself to be led into the dogmatic construction of uniformities and dependencies. When material enough is at hand, one can then take up the problems of dependency which naturally arise without being in any wise hindered by theoretical presuppositions. 5. Order of the Development of Mental Traits We have two conflicting theories concerning the order of mental development. One postulates that certain mental processes, e. g., memory, begin their development earlier, develop more rapidly, and approach a maximal development earlier than some other mental traits, e. g., reasoning. As a consequence, its advocates argue that there is a golden age for memorizing, a golden age for reasoning, and so on. For the sake of convenience, this view has been called the Theory of Serial or Periodic Development. This theory has been held in some degree or other by Stanley Hall, Oscar Chrisman, and W. C. Bagley. The second theory assumes that, except as affected by exercise and training (factors that may be largely controlled), the fundamental mental processes develop gradually, continuously, and in a relative degree concomitantly throughout the school period until their maxima are approached, and that deterioration does not set in until long after the close of school life. Consequently its advocates argue, that there are no periods in school education when some mental processes are to be emphasized to the minimizing or neglect of others. This view is usually known as the Theory of Concomitant Development. John Dewey, Edward Lee Thorndike, Charles H. Judd, and the great majority of our psychologists and educators are its advocates. 6. Theory of Concomitant Development [DEWEY, John, How We Think, pp. 65-66. Copyright, 1910, D. C. Heath & Co., New York.] The method that emphasizes the psychological and natural, but yet fails to see what an important part of the natural tendencies is constituted at every period by growth of curiosity, inference, and the desire to test, cannot secure a natural development. In natural growth each successive stage of activity prepares unconsciously, but thoroughly, the conditions for the manifestation of the next stage-as in the cycle of a plant's growth. There is no ground for assuming that "thinking" is a special, isolated natural tendency that will bloom inevitably in due season simply because various sense and motor activities have been freely manifested before; or because observation, memory, imagination, and manual skill have been previously exercised without thought. Only when thinking is constantly employed in using the senses and muscles for the guidance and application of observations and movements, is the way prepared for subsequent higher types of thinking. At present the notion is current that childhood is almost entirely unreflective—a period of mere sensory, motor, and memory development, while adolescence suddenly brings the manifestation of thought and reason. Adolescence is not, however, a synonym for magic. Doubtless youth should bring with it an enlargement of the horizon of childhood, a susceptibility to larger concerns and issues, a more generous and a more general standpoint toward nature and social life. This development affords an opportunity for thinking of a more comprehensive and abstract type than has previously obtained. But thinking itself remains just what it has been all the time: a matter of following up and testing the conclusions suggested by the facts and events of life. Thinking begins as soon as the baby who has lost the ball that he is playing with begins to foresee the possibility of something not yet existing-its recovery; and begins to forecast steps toward the realization of this possibility, and, by experimentation, to guide his acts by his ideas and thereby also to test the ideas. Only by making the most of the thought-factor, already active in the experience of childhood, is there any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior reflective power at adolescence, or at any later period. 7. Theories of the Influence of Adolescence on Development of Mental Traits What influence has adolescence on the development of mental traits and consequently on the education of the child? Is the course of development of mental traits such that there are periods of relatively rapid and relatively slow growth, or is the process of development essentially continuous and gradual? Is the onset of adolescence relatively sudden and abrupt, or are the mental phenomena which are supposed to accompany adolescence characterized by gradual maturing? There are current in educational and psychological literature two theories. One assumes that development is relatively rapid and is characterized by more or less abrupt changes. It is commonly called the Theory of Saltatory Development. The other theory, known as the Theory of Gradual Development, assumes that development is essentially continuous and gradual. The two theories may be roughly contrasted by diagrams. The Theory of Saltatory Development has been ably represented by Stanley Hall and his disciples, notably Burnham, and Kirkpatrick. Thorndike, King, Pechstein and most present-day psychologists subscribe to the theory of gradual development. Advocates of the first theory depended largely for their data through the questionnaire method, while advocates of the second theory base their claims on evidence obtained by careful quantitative measurement. FIG. 20. DIAGRAM "A" ILLUSTRATES THE THEORY OF SAL- 8. Theory of Saltatory Development [HALL, G. S., Adolescence, Vol. I, (1), p. xiii, (2), Vol. II, p. 58, (3), Vol. II, p. 2, (4), Vol. II, pp. 144-145, (5), Vol. II, p. 377, (6), Vol. II, pp. 453-454. New York, D. Appleton and Co., 1904.] Adolescence is a new birth, for the higher and more completely human traits are now born. The qualities of body and soul that now emerge are far newer. The child comes from and harks back to a remoter past; the adolescent is neo-atavistic, and in him the later acquisitions of the race slowly become prepotent. Development is less gradual and more saltatory, suggestive of some ancient period of storm and stress when old moorings were broken and a higher level attained. The annual rate of growth in height, weight, and strength is increased and often doubled, and even more. Important functions previously non-existent arise. Growth of parts and organs loses its former proportions, some permanently and some for a season. these are still growing in old age, and others are soon arrested and atrophy. The old moduli of dimensions become obsolete and old harmonies are broken. The range of individual differences and average errors in all physical measurements and all psychic tests increases. Some linger long in the childish stage and advance late or slowly, while others push on with a sudden outburst of impulsion to early maturity (1). . . . ... In adolescence, individuation is suddenly augmented and begins to sense its limits and its gradual subordination to the race which the Fates prescribe (2). . At adolescence each of the senses undergoes certain characteristic changes of structure, function, or both. Interests change and with them the organs of apperception, so that aspects and elements different from those hitherto absorbing the complex but already familiar objects of sense become foci of attention. ... One of the most important and comprehensive modifications is that, whereas most sense stimuli before this age tend strongly to provoke reflex reactions, after it these tend to be delayed or better organized, as if there were a marked increase of associative or central functions. Before, the projection system predominated, and stimuli, suggestion, and afferent processes generally passed more readily over to the efferent or motor tracts; but now we have increased cerebral irradiations, and there is a marked advance in the development of the long-circuiting functions of thought, deliberation, and reflection (3). . . . Of all the changes normal at adolescence, none are more comprehensive and perhaps none are now more typical of the psychic transformation of this age than those that occur in the attitude toward the various aspects of nature. . . . The new life is first born in the heart, and is more or less unconscious, and among its first spontaneous creations are metaphors that may fade and be often recreated, so that language itself becomes fossil poetry. Allegory gives things a dual meaning; symbolism is now first possible and a widening circle of objects and events acquire a new purport (4). . . . At the dawn of adolescence this impulse to migrate or wander shows a great and sudden increase (5). . . . But with the teens all this begins to be changed and many of these precepts (for previous education) must be gradually reversed. There is an outburst of growth that needs a large part of the total kinetic energy of the body. . . . The mind at times grows in leaps and bounds in a way that seems to defy the great enemy, fatigue, and yet when the teacher grows a little tiresome the pupil is tired in a moment (6). . . . |