抄録
Classical psychology used to set up a sharp bifurcation among different sensory experiences. In the light of more newly discoveries, however, the distinction is conceived as doubtful.Hornbostel, for instance, assumed “die Einheit der Sinne.” In our ordinary experience we speak of smoothness or roughness of tactual, as well as visual and audible objects.
The present experiments tried to test the assumption, in the experimental process of name-giving, that there might exist certain referred intermodal characteristics among hearing, seeing, touching and perceiving of vibration. Subjects used were normal, inborn deaf and blind children. With necessary modifications,D. Usnadze's technique (Psychol. Forsch. 5, p. 24-43) were used.
In the first part of the present experiments six different meaningful and nameless figures were at first shown to the normal children, and then twenty five meaningless “voice-complexes” were read one after another to the same subjects. The subjects were required to pick out one out of twenty five voice-complexes which they conceived as most suitable name of the each figure.
About three types were found in connection with the manner of their name-giving:
(a) In the first type the subject associated a voice-complex with a name which occured to his mind in course of the recollection of his past experience in presence of a given figure,
(b) the second type in which the subjects seemed to base the namegivings to the
gestalt resemblances between the figures and voice complexes,
(c) the third type in which certain vague impression, such as “sharpness,”“softness” and “pureness,” of common sensory factors between figures and voice-complexes, was chosen as the base of the name-giving. The namegiving here was carried out on the base of commonness of the corresponding characteristics of senses. It was a so noted that more or less strongly marked emotional conditions were concerned here. The essential part of these experiences might neary be expressed in terms of “Bewegtheit”(E. M. x. Hornbostel).
The second part of the present experiments was carried out in the same manner as above mentioned, with the exception that deaf-and-dumb, instead of normal, children were used as subjects. They had been trained in the oral system of speech. Instructions were given to the subjects through their deaf-and-dumb teacher. The subjects were shown twenty five cards on each of which were written Kana (Japanese alphabets). The Kana corresponded to the voice-complexes given to the normal subjects in the previous experiments, and were read by the subjects in their own oral way of speech. The experimenter was not able to be sure that the instructions were given correctly. Certain quantitative agreement, however, was secured among the deaf-and-dumb children (30 %), and also between the normal and deaf-and-dumb subjects.
In the same experiment another group of deaf-and-dumb children were used, who had been trained only in manual system of speech. No such definite quantitative agreement as mentioned above was found. It may be noted here that in this case there was no perception of vibration, which seemed to be very important in oral speech.
The third part of the present experiment used inborn blind children as subjects. High relief figures in plaster, instead of drawn figures, were to be touched by them. The result was quite similar to those secured in the preceding experiments
