DIVISION X AN ILLUSTRATIVE CONTRAST BETWEEN FAILURE AND SUCCESS 859 DIVISION V Adaptation may serve either of two ends. It may fix the child in a life of indifference, of inefficiency, of crime, or it may fit him into a world of noble acts and lofty endeavor. CASES ARISING OUT OF THE ADAPTIVE INSTINCTS _What are the adaptive instincts?_ By the adaptive instincts is meant the power that an individual possesses of fitting himself, more or less easily, into the situation in which he finds himself. Such power of adaptability is of the greatest possible value to the human infant, coming as he does into an extremely complex environment, physical and social, and with the further certainty before him of extremely complex activities in adult life. Fortunately the long period of plastic infancy offers constant opportunity for readjusting one’s habits, tastes, accomplishments, etc. Three chief means for making such readjustments are found in the child’s tendencies, (1) to imitate, (2) to play, (3) to satisfy his curiosity. “Example is usually far better than rule and imitation more effective than explanation....” —_Thorndike._ 1. Imitation—of Acts; of Habits; of Social Ideals Betts[1] defines imitation as “the instinct to respond to a suggestion from another by repeating his act.” This is simple and entirely covers the ground. He goes on to say that the instinct is one of the earliest to appear, being very plainly discernible before the normal child has reached the age of one year. It often reaches its height by the time the baby is two or three years old, but is never lost and sometimes persists strongly into old age. When a child imitates the same thing several times his imitation becomes a habit, and so two powerful factors unite to form a customary type of behavior. Footnote 1: The Mind and Its Education, 170. [Sidenote: Appealing to the Imitative Instinct] One might think that imitation, being strongest in young children, would appear almost exclusively in the lower grades of school; but in fact it plays an important part all the way through the high school. The things imitated change, but the instinct remains. In treating cases which are caused or influenced by this powerful instinct, which the great French sociologist Tarde considers the greatest factor in human conduct, there are four methods which can be used: 1. The expression of strong disapproval of the acts and their results. 2. Forceful repression—punishment. 3. Changing the nature of the example imitated. 4. The substitution of another and better example for the one imitated.