Abstract
What does it mean from a psychological point of view, that one word has, many different meanings? In order to know this function, I made a kind of simple experimental study about the concept-formation. According to A. Willwoll's method, I gave subjects a strange couple of words as stimulus, and made them form a superordinate concept common to these two words. Then I asked the subjects to give reports on their experiences during the process of concept-formation.
As the results of this experiment, I am sure that the process of concept-formation is explained as follows: When a stimulus, which is adequate, is given, a certain thought-situation is formed according to the present total situation. At the same time a “Signalement”, which may be called “Figur” on this basic thought-situation, is composed, and this Signalement has three directions, viz. direction of sketch, of programme, and of intention. On the other hand, thoughtsituation is moveable and it makes its own completion entirely in proportion to Signalement's intention.
In the meantime, reasoning, judgement, and abstraction, which are involved in the process of concept-formation, are performed in mutual dependence. For example, the abstraction does not mean to draw out only the common (a) from P(a, b, c) and Q(a, in, n) and cast away others as unnecessary. When (a) P and (a) Q are taken from original P and Q, immediately a new concept (a) PQ is formed. This process may be contained in “Umstrukturierung” in a broad sense.
Three kinds of images were reported in this experiment, viz, the image of things, symbolical diagramatic images and verbal images. They are not always essential to concept-formation, but as far as they support and realize thought-configuration, they are useful. Emotion and will appear as essential and inevitable factors in the process of concept-formation. Will works as the intention in the process and emotion too, as far as it cooperates with will, does the same. However, more powerful as determining conditions on the concept-formation are subjects' inherent and acquired characters, circumstances, and worldliness of their lives. They operate as a unity and may be called the human context. The concept is generally formed in this way, but not every concept passes through this course. Some of them are formed at the same time when the thoughtsituation is formed.
