Chapter I: Preface

This book has proceeded haltingly, as must be evident in many places, for it attempts to explore and describe a field that is not well illuminated. The actual examination of those mental functions which are relatively dissociated from general intelligence has not been carried far by experimentalists. However, the problems have been sufficiently formulated, and enough evidence has been secured, to warrant attempts at gleaning implications for education, even now.

Mine is the comparatively humble task of bringing together in an ordered presentation the works of original investigators, in such a way that they will be available for application. The appeal of the data is above all to educators, but also, of course, to those who deal in any office with human beings.

The chief difficulty in organizing the subject has been to delimit it, as regards the psychology of the elementary school subjects on the one hand, and mental measurement on the other. It is not the purpose to cover either of these fields in the present volume. Yet so closely are they related to the study of special aptitudes in school children that it will be scarcely possible to obtain the very clearest view of what is here written without additional knowledge of these matters.

It will be observed, also, that there has been no attempt here to teach introductory psychology. It is assumed that readers of this volume will be acquainted with the vocabulary of elementary psychology. The time has definitely passed when it was either feasible or desirable to present all topics in a single volume. Those who would learn what modern educational psychology has to teach now expect, first of all, to equip themselves by study of a general introductory text.

The lists of references are selected, not complete. To present complete bibliographies of all works bearing immediately or remotely upon every topic treated would cumber the volume inexcusably. References have been selected for these lists because they are historically indispensable, because they contain information of fundamental importance, or because they summarize much previous work. I believe that the selection is such that from the books and articles listed it will be possible for the student who wishes to do so, to construct the complete bibliography and history of each topic, up to the present time.

The hundreds of teachers who have sat in the lecture room of Professor E. L. Thorndike will see how many guiding suggestions for this volume have come from that source. Professor W. A. McCall has given counsel on certain chapters. Many investigators and publishers have extended courtesies, which are acknowledged through the references, and to which attention is here gratefully directed. I am indebted to Dr. John S. Richards, Medical Superintendent of The Children’s Hospital, Randall’s Island, New York, and to Mr. L. L. Kolburne, student at Teachers College, for assistance in securing illustrative material for Chapter VII. Finally, I have enjoyed the advantage of editorial supervision by Professor M. V. O’Shea.

My chief hope for the volume is that it may contribute toward the welfare of school children compelled to attend upon prescribed education, without due regard for their idiosyncrasies of original endowment.

LETA S. HOLLINGWORTH

TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
May, 1923

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
PREFACE vii

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION xvii

CHAPTER
I. PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION 1
Speculation Concerning the Nature of Ability. Results of
Quantitative Investigation.

II. THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CAPACITIES 11
The Coefficient of Correlation. General Intelligence
_vs._ Special Aptitudes. Correlation of Abilities in
Various Groups. Studies of Disorganizing Minds. Is
Intellect Inherited as a Unit? Can an Intellect Be
Trained as a Unit? The Hierarchy of Abilities. Present
Status of the Problem. Measurement of General
Intelligence: The IQ. Measurement of Special Ability. The
Psychographic Picture of Individuality. At What Age Is
Mental Endowment Evident? The Frequency of Marked Special
Talents and Defects. Possible Origin of the Dissociation
of Certain Capacities.

III. CONSIDERATION OF THE NEURAL BASIS 49
The Physiological Mechanism of Mental Life. Attempted
Localization of Mental Functions. Theory of Congenital
Lesion or Atrophy Criticized. Regeneration of Function
without Regeneration of Structure in Injured Brains.
Attempts to Establish a Neural Basis for the “Two Factor
Theory” and the “Two Level Theory.” Present Status of the
Problem.

IV. READING 57
Relation between IQ and Capacity for Reading. The
Mechanics of Reading. Comprehension in Reading. Word
Blindness. Psychological Studies of Special Defect in
Reading. Nervous Instability and Special Defect in
Reading. A Four-Year Study of a Non-Reader. Summary of
Studies of Non-Readers. Cases of Special Ability in
Reading. The Significance of Literacy.

V. SPELLING 98
Coherence among Linguistic Functions. Analysis of
Learning to Spell. Psychological Examination of Poor
Spellers. Can Special Defect in Spelling Be Overcome?
Does Reading Teach Spelling? Illustrative Cases.

VI. ARITHMETIC 114
Relation between IQ and Capacity for Arithmetic.
Distinction between Arithmetic and Mathematics. The
Psychology of Arithmetical Calculation. The Organization
of Arithmetical Abilities. Psychological Studies of
Special Deficiency in Arithmetic. Methods of Detecting
Wrong or Incomplete Habits. Nervous Instability and
Special Deficiency in Arithmetic. Arithmetical Prodigies.
Arithmetical Ability of Two Children of IQ 184 and IQ 187
(Stanford-Binet). The Inheritance of Arithmetical
Abilities. Implications for Education.

VII. DRAWING 141
The Various Kinds of Drawing. Ramifications of Drawing
through the Curriculum. Psychological Analysis of Talent
in Drawing. Relation between Aptitude in Drawing and
General Intelligence. The Color-Blind. Illustrative
Cases. Inheritance of Talent in Drawing. General Summary.

VIII. MUSIC 164
What Is Music? The Various Kinds of Music. The Analysis
of Musical Talent. Relation among Various Elements of
Musical Talent. Relation between Musical Talent and
General Intelligence. Absolute Pitch. Tone Deafness.
Range of Individual Differences. Can Musical Capacity Be
Increased by Education? The Inheritance of Musical
Talent. Psychographic Study of Individuals. Capacity to
Appreciate Music.

IX. MISCELLANEOUS 183
Special Functions Which Have Not Been Long Studied.
Left-Handedness. Mirror Writing. Mechanical Ability.
Ability to Lead and Handle People.

X. INDIVIDUALITY AND EDUCATION 196
The Values of Individuality. Compulsory Education. The
Importance of General Intelligence for School Progress.
Special Abilities and Disabilities as Determinants of
School Progress. Experimental Attempts to Individualize
Education. The Cost of Fostering Individuality. The
Probable Rewards of Individualizing Education.

TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE PAGE
1. Distribution of ability to discriminate among intervals of
time, the subjects being adults. (From Seashore’s _The
Psychology of Musical Talent_. Reproduced by courtesy of
Silver, Burdett and Company, and of the Columbia
Graphophone Company.) 8

2. Flight of birds, illustrating distribution in ability to
fly. (Schematic.) 9

3. The psychograph of a schoolboy, showing his standing in
various mental functions; illustrating use of the
horizontal line to denote typical performance. (From
Hollingworth’s _Judging Human Character_. Reproduced by
courtesy of D. Appleton and Company.) 39

4. The psychographs of three schoolgirls, showing their
standings in various mental functions, measured to
determine mathematical ability; illustrating use of the
vertical line to denote typical performance. (From
_Tests of Mathematical Ability and Their Prognostic
Value_. Reproduced by courtesy of Agnes L. Rogers.) 40

5. The psychograph of a schoolboy, showing his standing in
various mental functions; illustrating use of the circle
as a diagram, the median circumference denoting the
typical performance of his age 41

6. Showing how X improved as measured by Trabue’s “Language
Scale A,” from Feb., 1918, to Dec., 1921 77–81

7. Showing X’s improvement in silent reading, from April 15,
1921, to Dec. 2, 1921, as measured by Thorndike-McCall
“Reading Scale,” Form I 82–83

8. Showing X’s ability to get meaning from printed words, in
May, 1922, as tested by Haggerty’s “Sigma 1,” for grades
1 to 3 84

9. Showing an account written by X of his week’s reading 86

10. Composition written at school by X in December, 1920,
showing deficiencies in spelling 107

11. Letter written by X showing how he could spell by use of
dictionary 108

12. Showing efforts to spell of a 14-year-old schoolboy, of IQ
93, after eight years of school instruction.
Illustrating extreme dissociation of spelling ability
from general intelligence 110

13. Showing spelling of a 12-year-old girl, of IQ 59, after
six years of instruction. Illustrating extreme
dissociation of spelling ability from general
intelligence 111

14. Showing spelling of a child 9 years 10 months old, with IQ
143, after three years of instruction. Illustrating
dissociation of spelling ability from general
intelligence 112

15. Showing D’s calculations on Test 2, Army Alpha, Form 5, at
the age of 10 years 11 months, five minutes being
allowed for the performance 132

16. Showing D’s calculations on Test 6, Army Alpha, Form 5, at
the age of 10 years 11 months, three minutes being
allowed for the performance 133

17. Showing R’s calculations on Test 2, Army Alpha, Form 5, at
the age of 7 years 6 months, five minutes being allowed
for the performance 135

18. Showing R’s calculations on Test 6, Army Alpha, Form 5, at
the age of 7 years 6 months, three minutes being allowed
for the performance 136

19. Showing the psychograph of a stupid child, who has a
special ability in representative drawing. (From
Manuel’s _A Study of Talent in Drawing_. Reproduced by
courtesy of The Public School Publishing Company.) 155

20. Showing special ability in drawing of a 14-year-old boy,
of IQ near 70 156

21. Showing special ability in drawing of a 14-year-old boy,
of IQ near 70 157

22. Showing the special ability to cut silhouettes, of a
feeble-minded man, inmate of an institution for mental
defectives 159

23. Charlie Chaplin pursuing a gentleman, and pursued by a
policeman. Showing the special ability to draw, of a
feeble-minded man, in an institution for mental
defectives 160

24. Showing attempts by two distinguished university
professors to cut silhouettes of an elephant 161

25. Psychograph of G, showing special ability in music and
drawing combined with mediocre intelligence 177

26. Psychograph of M, showing special defect in music combined
with very superior general intelligence 179

27. Showing mirror writing by public school pupils. (From
Beeley’s _An Experimental Study of Left-Handedness_.
Reproduced by courtesy of the University of Chicago
Press.) 189

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

When the writer of this introductory note began teaching, it was popularly believed that a pupil who showed special excellence in intellectual work or in some particular study owed his superiority to a faithful and energetic will which held him to his tasks until he had mastered them thoroughly. It was generally believed, also, that marked deficiency in school work as a whole or in a special subject was due principally to a lethargic or indifferent will which could not resist distractions and temptations to self-indulgence. In those days, pupils were upbraided and even physically chastised if they failed to prepare the lessons which were prescribed for them in any study. The writer has often seen pupils whipped because they failed in their spelling, arithmetic, reading, history, or grammar. When punishment was administered in the school it was frequently repeated in the home, since parents quite generally entertained the view that failure to perform intellectual tasks satisfactorily was due to negligence or laziness, and it was thought that the best way to correct such delinquency was to arouse the will, usually by means of dermal stimulation. In his early experience as a teacher, the writer never heard, either in training classes or in teachers’ institutes, that pupils possessed special talents or defects which were certain to be manifested in their school work because they were established by native endowment which could not be modified to any large extent by rewards or penalties.

But we are gradually abandoning the view that either brightness or dullness in general or in special directions is due primarily to volitional control or the absence of it. During the last few years, experimental studies have impressed the principle that individuals differ in their inheritance of special capacities. Dr. Hollingworth shows in this volume how far we have gone in the detection of special talents and defects, with particular regard to the work of the school. She shows in preliminary discussion what notions people have entertained regarding the nature of ability, and then she discusses methods of measuring ability, alike of a general and of a special sort. She discusses the bases for differences among individuals in ability in respect to various intellectual traits or functions. Then she presents in detail what is known to-day regarding special talents and defects as revealed in the more important subjects taught in the schools.

We believe in these times that the school should to the fullest extent provide opportunities for each pupil to develop his talents as completely and as rapidly as possible. It is still required in most public schools, though, that pupils in any group should be kept quite close together in their educational progress, even when they show marked differences in ability in particular subjects or in the entire work of the school. But the pressure is becoming constantly greater to arrange school programs so that pupils may go forward as rapidly as their abilities, either general or special, will enable them to do, while those who are deficient may receive help according to their needs. There are already a number of experimental schools and school systems in which the principle of individual differences in ability is recognized and applied to a greater or less extent. One may safely predict that we shall find a way in time so that the principle may be recognized and applied in all public schools.

Dr. Hollingworth’s book lays a sound foundation for the differentiation of pupils in a school or classroom according to special abilities or deficiencies. It can be read by teachers who have not had extensive study of educational psychology or statistical methods of investigating such problems as are treated in this volume. The book is written in a graceful style, and technical matters are discussed in an unusually clear, simple, and attractive way. It may be confidently asserted that any teacher who has charge of thirty or forty pupils—or a smaller or larger number—will be helped to understand individual traits of excellence or deficiency if she will read what Dr. Hollingworth has presented in this volume. It may be safely stated, also, that a teacher will be more sympathetic toward pupils who experience difficulty in mastering special subjects of study if she will become familiar with the facts and conclusions which this book contains.

M. V. O’SHEA

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
May, 1923

SPECIAL TALENTS AND DEFECTS