It is our common experience that when our will power is concentrated in shooting or a similar action we quite commonly breath in, hold it or stop it entirely. The phases or ways of breathing in such cases seem to have some important relation to mental action. This is the problem of my present research.
My study, though far from being able to reach this goal, has just made a step off the starting point toward it, and besides other results it furnishes a proof for Gaskill's study on the same topic. (Harold v. Gaskill: The Relation of Reaction Time to Phase of Breathing. J. of Expel. Psychol. Vol.XI. No.5, 1928.)
I The Object, Method and Apparatus of the Experiment. The principal object of this experiment is to ascertain, by dividing the process of breathing into four stages, namely, 1) end of expiration, 2) during expiration, 3) end of inspiration and 4) during inspiration, and giving proper stimulus in cach of these four phases, whether or not there exist any difference in reaction time.
Kymographic records of breathing curves are taken to ascertain the phase of breath at stimulation.
The experimenter, watching carefully breathing curve on the kymograph, gives a sound stimulus at any phase of breath he pleases about two seconds after a signal “ready!”. The subject is required to respond by releasing the electric key at the stimulus, which he holds. The reactions are so-called “natural reaction”.
This experiment is repeated more than forty times with one subject so as to obtain ten reaction times of each phase. The reaction times are measured by Hipp's chronoscope. The apparatus is shown in Fig.I.
I. Hipp's Glironoscope. II. Kymograph. III. Tambour . IV. Single Marker. V. Jaquet's Chronometer. VI. Sound Hammer.
VII. Two Electric Keys. VIII . Kommutator. IX. Two Batteries. X. Pneumograph.
(In order to regulate chronoscope Wundt's control hammer and a tuning fork of 500 v. d. were used.)
Remarks: 1) Though our method and apparatus differ much from those of Gaskill's, the difference does not seem to affect the results
2) The subjects were 2 students and 3 graduate students of psychology. They have had much experience in psychological experiments.
II. Results.
(a) Reaction Time.
The absolute reaction time shows a considerable individual difference, and there is a fairly large deviation among reaction times of the same phase of breathing of the same person . But we can find a general tendency common to all our subjects.
Table 1 shows the average and M. V. of ten reaction times obtained in each breathing phase of 5 subjects.
Table 1.
E End of expiration.
e...During expiration.
I End of inspiration.
i...During inspiration.
As our principal aim is to discover general relative tendencies and concerns no more absolute time values than relative values, we represent the relation of length of time as in Table 2.
Table 2.
The most general fact shown in Table 2 is that E and I are larger than e and i invariably for all the subjects. This is the most significant tendency that has been discovered through the present experiment.
Next if we compare E and I we find again that I is larger than E for all the subjects except Y. Whether this is a general phenomenon or not is to be studied yet.
Lastly the relation between e and i varies with the individuals.

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