The experiment as a whole, as conducted, had four phases which, except
for one particular, were exactly alike. The subject's attention was
directed toward a certain aspect of the field by (1) asking him before
each exposure (or less often if that appeared unnecessary) to attend
to that aspect, as, for instance, to the colors present, and (2)
taking care that any questions asked should tend to strengthen rather
than counteract the effect of that voluntary attention. At a given
signal the subject pressed the bulb which opened the shutter. On the
closing of the shutter he reported what he had seen. This report the
experimenter recorded almost in the subject's own words, and later
tabulated in the manner described presently. So far as giving the
objects present was concerned, the report was given almost invariably
without any suggestion by the experimenter as to the possibilities of
the field. To help the subject distinguish the amount of confidence
which he had in the judgments that such or such objects were present,
however, the experimenter frequently asked such questions as, "Would
you risk more on the fact that there was a square in the field than
on the fact there was something blue there?" In giving his report the
subject pointed to the sample cards or spoke, as he might wish. He was
also allowed to be as leisurely or as rapid in giving it as he chose.
A half-minute interval elapsed between the end of each report and
the signal that the shutter be opened again. No persistent effort to
distract the subject's attention was made then, though conversation on
other topics was frequently carried on. The point in which the phases
of the experiment differed was in the aspect of the field to which
attention was called. In the first, this was the shapes, in the second,
the colors, in the third, the letters and numerals, and in the fourth,
the number of objects in the field. Fixing the attention upon the
number of objects in the field served to distribute it equally over all
the groups represented there. The general method of calling attention
to the different aspects and of learning the effect of such attention
was, as has just been said, the same for all phases.
As a preliminary to making up the tables here given, from which we are
to answer our problems, the experimenter first tabulated the reports
of the subjects in such a way as to show how many judgments (correct
and incorrect) of each of the four grades of certainty adopted for
this division of the experiment were made by each subject on each card
for each group on the card (shape, color, or letter or numeral). From
these tabulations the tables that follow were in turn compiled.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account