Oxford Group Intelligence Test. For ages 11-14 years
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Book Reviews & Abstracts Devised
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Perrie Wil liams, M.A.D.Litt. Harrap. Price 6d.
A set of five tests for normal children:
U) verbal classification, (ii) number series com- pletion, (iii) verbal analysis, (iv) rhythm com- pletion, (v) a new form of non-verbal test. (Jf these, the first four types of test have a 0llg experimental history behind them. The analysis and classification tests are now gener- ^ *y recognised as two of the most valuable 0rms of verbal test. Dr Perrie Williams’ *th test is novel and ingenious. An intro- spective consideration of this test would seem 0 s^ggest that achievement in it would be ?Hsiderably affected by differences in steadi- ess ?f application, persistence in search, ethods of solving and other individual differ- nces of a non-intellective kind. It is, how- er> an interesting contribution and may J^ve to correlate sufficiently highly with other ensures of intelligence to establish itself as Useful member in a series of tests.
C.A.S. Mental Defective. By Richard J. A. ?erry, M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.S.E., and R. G. ??rdon, M.D., D.Sc., F.R.P.E. London. egan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. ^rice 8/6 net. 1931.
bool!^S ^ a Pleasantly written and attractive ^on *’ several original ideas and terms. then? ^e however, do not commend trjb ^e^Ves. For instance, it does not con- ies e to a clear conception of Mental Defic- H?rrJ to apply the term ” unsane,” both to the s0ll ? baby and the mentally defective per- 0r they are never in the same category. the t ? r any justification for applying he^rf1 ” microcePlially ” to a different form Wit^ 5 to that which has long been associated ?f taf Wor<^> especially when the method ^ety ^e measurements required for the PriSejla^nosis are not described. We are sur- Cretin at statement on page 118 that ” the ? rarel’ Un^ess recognised very early indeed, is CUre(V ” and would ask where there On recor(l of a cretin that was cured ? 355 Cr?a?e ^30 the statement is made that of lnals examined by one of the authors in a prison in Australia ” 80 per cent, were at microcephalic levels.” This is an extraordin- ary finding. Recent authoritative investiga- tions in this country place only three to five per cent, of prisoners in the mentally defec- tive group. The authors’ figures accord with the records on page 20, the first of which states that ” Binet tests in an Illinois reformatory of girls committed for immorality, showed 97 per cent, of them to be feeble-minded.” This is more than three times the percentage found by experts in this country. The name of the Illinois investigator is not given. Such big figures are in harmony with the writers’ sug- gestion that the eight per thousand incidence of mental defectives in our population recorded by the Joint Committee of the Board of Con- trol and the Board of Education in 1929 “may not improbably be 15 to 20 per cent., not per thousand.” The larger figures suggested by the writers may be partly due to ignoring difficult cases who require a change of environ- ment, or Guidance, or Psychological treat- ment, or who are suffering from latent Tox- aemia, a condition to which they attach little importance. The menace of the Mentally De- fective is serious, but the authors’ obvious purpose to drive this home will not be achieved by sweeping into the net a large number of cases that can not only be better classified in other terms, but may be cured by appropriate treatment, a result the authors rightly admit to be impossible with the Mental Defective.
The Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Control for the year 1930. H.M. Stationery Office. Part I, 2/-; Part II, 6/6. The introductory paragraphs of the Board’s Report for 1929 examined certain aspects of the Mental Treatment Act, particularly with reference to early mental treatment; this year’s Report gives an excellent summary of the op- portunities for development of the mental health service which this Act affords, such as the extension of facilities for early treatment, the increased powers of Local Authorities with regard to after-care and research, the alteration in status of the rate-aided patient and so on. As the Board points out, it is too early yet to feel to any considerable extent the effects of these far reaching changes and an enquiry as to the progress made up to the end of Feb- ruary in the provision for out-patients, volun- tary and temporary, showed, as might be expected, very unequal results in different areas. The development of out-patient clinics is, however, most gratifying and the Board comments on the satisfactory co-operation be- tween the staff of clinics held at voluntary hospitals and the Superintendents of the men- tal hospitals. The Board also urges that teach- ing hospitals should be encouraged to admit voluntary patients in the earliest stages in order that students may have the opportunity of seeing cases not only in an advanced or chronic condition but also in the early phases of mental disorder.
In accordance with the provisions of the Mental Treatment Act the constitution of the Board was revised from 1st January, 1931, and now consists of five Senior Commissioners and eleven Commissioners.
Since the publication of the last Report three new Institutions for defectives have been opened, including Hensol Castle, Glamorgan, and Stallington Hall, Staffs. In addition to these a steadily increasing number of Local Authorities have acquired or are seeking to acquire estates with the object of establishing colonies. Up to the present time 39 estates have been acquired for this purpose, and should ultimately serve the needs of 74 Author- ities. Some Local Authorities have appropri- ated Public Assistance Institutions for the ex- clusive use of their mental deficiency service and it is hoped that this will lead to better classification and to more suitable conditions than have formerly been possible in a mixed Institution.
The Board expresses regret that Occupa- tion and Industrial Centres are not being more rapidly developed as they have proved to be an inexpensive and efficient way of meet- ing the needs of cases who are being looked after at home or who are suitable for placing out on licence or under Guardianship from Institutions. “It is not generally recognised,” the Board states, ” that all defectives, apart from the lowest grade idiots, benefit from training and that occupation and paid employ- ment, to which training may lead, is the most important factor in fitting them to take some part in community life. Without training or occupation even well-behaved defectives living in good homes are liable to degenerate into a condition which calls for institutional treat- ment. It is hardly too much to say that every place in a centre which is regularly filled means a bed saved for the time being in an Institution.”
There are now 171 Day Centres, of which have been established by Local Authorities and 161 by Voluntary Associations. Horne Teaching schemes are now in operation in three areas. In one area out of 41 defectives who are being trained in their homes 16 are doing some kind of paid work and a general improvement in alertness and response has been found in all cases. The Report gives statistics of the numbers in attendance at Occu- pation Centres, the number of sessions, etc-> and some account of the training. In discuss- ing the stalling and the necessary qualification5 for Supervisors of Centres the Board recom- mends in large areas the appointment of aj1 experienced general supervisor who will vis1* the Centres in turn, train the inexperienced supervisors, introduce new methods and ge?’ erally lead and organise the work.
The total number of cases under Guardian’ ship for whom the Local Authority were reS’ ponsible on 1st January, 1931, was 1,832, ^ increase of 306 cases during the year as con1’ pared with an increase of 188 cases during the year 1929. It is a matter of regret, however* that some mental defectives have been place out under Guardianship who are quite unsui*’ able for that form of care and the Board poin^5 out the necessity for extreme care both in t&, choice of cases and also in the selection 0 Guardians.
An analysis of 300 cases on licence from ^ stitutions shows that 178 of these are efl1 ployed. Of 103 women, 80 are employed 1 domestic work living in, and 23 employed 1 work living out. Taking 5/- a week P1.? board and lodging or 20/- a week “living <>v as being a ” self-supporting ” wage, it been found that 73 of the women and 37 of t ^ men on licence can be considered as se supporting. The Board considers that practice of sending defectives out on l}ceni0 is proving a success, but draws attention the danger of discharging these cases bet the condition of the defective and the envtf ment warrant it.
The question of the marriage of defect1 . and of sterilisation has again been consider^ The Board once more strongly recomine that the marriage of defectives under should be prohibited. With regard to Ster1 tion the Board states, ” Whether the State should go further and should, as many urge, hmit the danger by legalising sterilisation is a far more difficult question. We recognise that the question deserves, as we hope it will Receive, close and scientific study. But, as we have pointed out in previous Reports, the nec- essary data are not yet available to enable any considered judgment to be formed of the social and physical consequences of such legis- ation …. In the present state of our know- eoge we should not be justified in recom- mending the Government to introduce pgislation, even of the most cautious and United character, which would inevitably Provoke strong opposition from many bodies, ?n religious or other grounds, for the sake of ^vantages which may be arguable in theory, ut which have not yet been demonstrated in Practice.”
The Report is concluded with a review of ^search carried out in Mental Hospitals and ? tention is called to the Supplement (Part II) ft which two communications, one from Car- . and one from Wadsley (Sheffield) deal Vlth the subject of Out-Patient Clinics. Methods of Choosing a Career. By F. M. h-arle, Med., B.Sc. George G. Harrap & ^?- London. 1931. Price 12/6. r ^hile the value of vocational guidance is t, c?Snized to some extent in this country, J?*are many who still argue that the youth 0 takes the first job he can get ” is as ^o-ssful as his neighbour, whose career is TivCarefully planned and supervised. Util k??k is a record of an investigation? , -taken by the National Institute of In- to ,ri- Psychology?the object of which was to lS?mate the real value of vocational advice a cl S anc^ about to leave school. It is an<i detailed account of work, begun Jul, summer of 1925 and concluded in 1929.
Care e exPeriment consisted of a study of the Was i* ^’^00 children, whose intelligence ranp-S !^^tly below average, and whose homes erat ] ^r?m ” moderately good ” to ” mod- as th ^,P?or-” Half of these children, known ?ffered . c?ntrol group,” took the first job that enCe? rtself (usually at school leaving confer- half ?r a family friend), while the other ere advised by vocational psychologists as to the type of work in which success seemed most certain.
The method of advising this latter half may appear at first-sight, unnecessarily elaborate. It involves a lengthy study, and the drafting of a “case-history” for each child. But attempts to give vocational guidance on a briefer study of an individual’s make-up have proved un- reliable. Each pupil’s abilities?general, mechanical, manual, etc.?are primarily as- sessed, by specially devised and standardized tests. Physical and environmental conditions, teachers’ reports, and temperamental charac- teristics are likewise considered. Thus, child- ren can be classified broadly into three main types?” those suited to work with books, with people or with things.”
The psychologist must have a knowledge of the various local industries, and of the qual- ities essential for success in each of these. This has led to the scientific analysis of most industries, and the broad classification of posts into the following types?mental, social and manual work. This last type is sub-divided into skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour. The latter half of the book deals with the Institute’s ” follow-up ” of each child’s career, and with a comparison of the success of the advised and of the ” control ” groups. The details here are rather tedious. Only the statistician will be interested in the actual tabulation of results, but the average reader will follow the summing-up sufficiently with- out over-burdening his mind with a study of the figures.
” Methods of Choosing a Career ” should appeal to the educationist, the employer, and the parent. The author has carefully avoided the use of technical language, and the reader will be impressed by his unprejudiced attitude of mind. There is no attempt to over-estimate the value of vocational guidance, or to under- estimate the advice of the teacher and the employment-officer. The limitations of the in- vestigators’ methods, and the difficulties of the experiment are not minimized in the least, and the Institute’s disappointment that so few of the children followed its advice is frankly admitted.
Whilst establishing its advantages, the author would not delude himself or others that vocational guidance will eliminate the problem of ” the square peg in the round hole.” But he claims that its more frequent 94 MENTAL WELFARE use would place in the hands of the adoles- cent ” a chart by which to steer his ship on the sea of life.”
A.D.P. Brain, Mind, and the External Signs of Intelligence. By Bernard Hollander, M.D. George Allen and Unwin. London. 1931. Pp. 288. 12s. 6d.
The aim of this book is to present a critical survey of the views of many authorities, to shew that whereas other branches of medical science have made great advances during the past hundred years the physiology of the brain presents such difficulties that our knowledge of mental functions is still obscure.
We are informed that it was by the obser- vation of living heads that the author dis- covered thirty years ago that a large number of feeble-minded children, though of normal parentage, were mentally deficient in conse- quence of injuries to their brain at birth as a result of difficult labour, having malformed heads, or bearing the marks of badly applied forceps. We are also told that if we never look at the outline of a living head an import- ant aid to diagnosis in mental deficiency is lost to us apart from other practical uses, and that while mental tests practised so extensively in our elementary schools are undoubtedly ex- cellent they would gain still more in value if in addition any exceptional shape of the head were taken notice of.
The difficulties of many certifying medical officers and medical witnesses in the criminal courts would be relieved if the diagnosis of feeble-mindedness as defined by statute could receive reliable assistance from such observa- tions. Many of us are acquainted with men the outlines of whose malformed heads are ob- vious by reason of baldness, but who are capable and intelligent citizens and shew no evidence of mental defect.
The author emphasizes the fact that he bases the deductions in his book on clinical evidence. He alleges that too much has been made of the experimental and histological investigations into the functions of the brain, and protests against what he declares is the exaggerated estimation of laboratory work to which all those who are engaged in it are hailed as scien- tists, and none others, are considered to deserve the name or merit serious attention. The reviewer suggests that in fact just tribute is paid to the scientific clinician no less than to the unbiassed laboratory worker, and that in regard to the subject with which this Jour- nal is concerned, the clinician occupies the foremost place at the present time.
Dr Hollander states that there is no dis- tinctively criminal type of head. One wonders why Dr Goring’s elaborate and well-known study ” The English Convict ” receives no mention in this connection, having regard to the extensive and numerous quotations from very many writers which appear throughout the book.
The author concludes that the external man- ifestations of conduct are dependent upon local development of the cerebral cortex and that this influences the shape of the head : that the frontal lobes are destined for intellectual pr?’ cesses, the occipital lobes for love; the parietal for fear; and the temporal lobes for anger: that lesions of the frontal lobes give rise to a a feeling of joy and self-satisfaction, incessant enterprise and a rapid flow of thought: that lesions of the parieto-occipital area, generally’ give rise to low spirits, apprehensiveness, sell’ depreciation, depression, lack of initiative* slowness of ideas, and often a tendency t? suicide; and lesions of the lower temporal area to irritation, resentment, anger, agressiveness> violence, and language in accordance with ana restricted to these feelings, and often, also, t? a tendency to epilepsy and homicide.
Many of the author’s assertions are provoca’ tive, presumably with set purpose, for we a*”e told that it is not the author’s wish that any thing contained in the book should be takeIJ for granted, and that it was written solely *?j the purpose of giving an impetus to a genef^ inquiry into the whole problem of brain func tions on new lines.
The book is well printed and well illustrate with a copious bibliography. jT W->T>
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