worthy so far as it goes. Previous experimental work has been in the form of detached experiments on some single sense or intellectual process. Usually the experiments have not been made for the purpose of a comparison of the sexes, but have been performed with some other interest in view, and have been incidentally formulated with reference to sex. Much of the material is the experimental work on school children done under the influence of the child-study movement. The only previous attempt to sum up the experimental evidence on this subject is that by Havelock Ellis (23),[1] in his book Man and Woman, published in 1894. The work contains no original investigation.
In making a series of tests for comparative purposes, the first prerequisite is to obtain material that is really comparable. It has been shown that the simple sensory processes vary with age and with social condition (11, 20, 51, 54, 63, 64, 65, 67). No one would question that this statement is true for the intellectual processes also. In order to make a trustworthy investigation of the variations due to sex alone, therefore, it is essential to secure as material for experimentation, individuals of both sexes who are near the same age, who have the same social status, and who have been subjected to like training and social surroundings. The complete fulfilment of these conditions, even in the most democratic community, is impossible. The social atmosphere of the sexes is different from the earliest childhood to maturity. Probably the nearest approach among adults to the ideal requirement by the undergraduate stu-
- ↑ The numbers which appear in parentheses throughout this text refer to the bibliography at the end of the volume
