Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of EducationOntario. Department of Education
Science
Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education
Ontario. Department of Education
Education; Educational psychology
=Examples of Expression.=--Man's expressive acts are found, however, to
differ greatly in their form. When one is hurt, he distorts his face
and cries aloud; when he hears a good speech he claps his hands and
shouts approval; when he reads an amusing story he laughs; when he
learns of the death of a friend he sheds tears; when he is affronted his
face grows red, his muscles tense, and he strikes a blow or breaks into
a torrent of words; when he has seen a striking incident he tells some
one about it or writes an account to a distant friend. When his feelings
are stirred by a patriotic address, he springs to his feet and sings,
"God Save the King." The desire that his team should carry the foot-ball
to the southern goal causes the spectator to lean and push in that
direction. When he conceives how he may launch a successful venture, the
business man at once proceeds to carry it into effect. These are all
examples of _expression_. Every impression, idea, or thought, tends
sooner or later to work itself out in some form of motor expression.
TYPES OF ACTION
=A. Uncontrolled Actions.=--Passing to an examination of such physical,
or motor, activities, we find that man's expressive acts fall into three
somewhat distinct classes. A young child is found to engage in many
movements which seem destitute of any conscious direction. Some of these
movements, such as breathing, sneezing, winking, etc., are found to be
useful to the child, and imply what might be termed inherited control of
conduct, though they do not give expression to any consciously organized
knowledge, or experience. At other times, his bodily movements seem to
be mere random, or impulsive, actions. These latter actions at times
arise in a spontaneous way as a result of native bodily vigour, as, for
instance, stretching, kicking, etc., as seen in a baby. At other times
these uncontrolled acts have their origin in the various impressions
which the child is receiving from his surroundings, or environment, as
when the babe impulsively grasps the object coming in contact with his
hand. Although, moreover, these instinctive movements may come in time
under conscious control, such actions do not in themselves imply
conscious control or give expression to organized knowledge.
=B. Actions Subject to Intelligent Control.=--To a second class of
actions belong the orderly movements which are both produced and
directed by consciousness. When, in distinction to the movements
referred to above, a child pries open the lid to see what is in the box,
or waves his hand to gain the attention of a companion, a conscious aim,
or intention, produces the act, and conscious effort sustains it until
the aim is reached. The distinction between mere impulsive and
instinctive actions on the one hand, and guided effort on the other,
will be considered more fully in Chapter XXX.
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