(b) brought back to consciousness. Distinguish between (a) philosophy and psychology; (b) sensation and perception; (c) mind and soul"![1]
In physical and personal appearance K was rather prepossessing than otherwise. He carried himself well and had a pleasant smile and expressive eyes. As he also had good clothes, excellent manners and a high-powered automobile, he was promptly initiated into one of the Greek letter fraternities.
For purposes of observation I invited K to my home for dinner. His behavior and manners gave unmistakable evidence of a home environment above the ordinary. However, in spite of a certain superficial polish, a discerning observer would readily note the extreme commonplaceness of his remarks, and occasional almost infantile crudities of language. He talked little, answering often with only a knowing smile or a softly spoken yes or no. There was something in both smile and voice that tended to disarm suspicion and to incline one to give him the benefit of the doubt, if doubt should arise. His attitude toward me was always one of child-like trustfulness. At no time during the tests did he raise any question regarding the propriety of taking so much of my time, as college students almost invariably do under such circumstances, and at no time did he appear self conscious or apologetic be cause of his poor showing.
Investigation disclosed the fact that K belonged to one of the most prominent families in the small city where he lived. His father was a banker, proprietor of the leading general store, and had formerly been a member of the local school board. K's mother is said to be a superior woman. K is an only son. His one sister, several years his senior, is a graduate of the University of California.
When K left the university he came to my office to bid me good bye and told me he was glad it was all over. He said he had not wanted to come to college or even to graduate from high school. He "never could learn books anyway," and now that he had done his best in college and failed he was glad to go back home to work in his father's store.
We will first recount K's test performances in some detail, and later examine them in order to discover, if possible, the psychological nature of their inadequacy.
Stanford-Binet Test
Year VIII, Credit, 12 months.
Although all the tests in this year were passed, K's responses to three of them gave clear evidence of intellectual inferiority. For example, Finding Similarities brought the following responses, each given only after 15 to 30 seconds of thinking:
- ↑ Only one of K's teachers knew anything about the results of the mental tests, or even that such tests had been given.
