inhibiting the impulses of the moment; he can give himself up to the indulgence of his emotions and he will not suffer heavy penalties on this account.

There is a counteracting tendency which sometimes leads races that have to struggle hard against nature to abandon themselves at times to their emotions. Peoples who live in northern latitudes have occasions when they "eat, drink and are merry" in defiance of the dangers which threaten them, and in celebration of their conquest of harsh forces. They acquire fortitude by assuming to be indifferent to the problems of existence which they are required to solve. And also when they succeed in surmounting the obstacles in their path they abandon themselves to rejoicing more than if they did not have obstacles to overcome. To illustrate, when a nation has been engaged in a deadly conflict with another nation and conquers it, the joy of the conqueror is unbounded, far greater than if it had not lived through a period of extreme storm and stress.

of thought

Thus far mention has been made only of expressional activities concerned with emotion; a word should now be said regarding the expression of thought. Most per- The sons apparently believe that thought is revealed expression in characteristic featural activities and attitudes. We frequently hear one person say of another that he has a "thoughtful,' "reflective" countenance. However, one rarely hears it said of a very young child that he has a thoughtful expression. As a matter of fact, during the first few years one does not see any expression which could be regarded as the accompaniment of reflection in the sense in which this term should be understood. Always the expression of the young child's features indicates feeling; reflective processes do not occur independent of dominating emotional accompaniment. It is quite impossible to indicate the precise time when

reflection becomes so important that the individual may be occupied for a period in thought unaccompanied by feeling;

FIG. II.

- Studies in the expression of the eyes. (See exercise 18, page 324.)

but it is probable that this does not occur until the approach of the preadolescent age. Before this period a child may be observed critically examining the objects about him, and while the

examination is being made his body will be coördinated upon them; the brow will be knit; there will probably be tension of the eyes; the head will be inclined forward; in brief, all the expressions will be such as are required in order to bring the eyes and hands and, if necessary, the ears and the organs of taste and smell into connection with the object being examined. It would not be quite accurate, though, to speak of these activities and attitudes as the expression of thought, for the reason that we must regard thought as concerned with the organization and interpretation of the data of experience. We cannot use the term "thinking" for the process of gaining sensory impressions, but only for the organization and interpretation of these impressions once they are gained.

Taking reflection in this sense, then, we may ask, — Is thought at any time during childhood and youth accompanied by characteristic expression? There are two types of expression which accompany reflection. In the one case there is absence of activity in the features, especially in respect to the region about the eyes. The impression one gains in observing such a countenance is that while the eye may be open the vision is actually turned inward. The individual does not take notice of what is striking on his retina; he is actually seeing words or images which are internally aroused. When the individual is engaged in gaining impressions he seeks to bring the required senses into contact with the thing concerning which he wishes to gain information; but in reflection he aims to neutralize the senses, so to speak, in order that they may not report data which will interfere with the internal processes which are taking place.

There is another type of expression which often accompanies reflection and which becomes increasingly prominent as the individual develops. One often sees an eighteen- or nineteenyear-old person trying to solve a geometrical or grammatical

or some other kind of problem, and the impression made upon the observer is that he is endeavoring to overcome obstacles. There may be furrows in the brow; the eyes may be converged as though concentrated upon a near-by external object, and sometimes they may be closed as though to shut out disturbing impressions; the hands may be clenched and the lips compressed. The expressions suggest that the individual is engaged in a struggle. What is he striving to accomplish? The

Reflection involves strain and

effort

purpose of all reflection is to bring an ill-understood or unknown datum of experience into accord with what is already understood. In geometry a new problem must be harmonized with problems already assimilated, and the same principle holds for all problems whatsoever. When the individual is reflecting he is endeavoring to organize what he knows and mobilize it so as to bring it to bear upon the problem he is considering. If there is no objective problem to be solved then his reflection will be concerned with establishing congruity and harmony among his experiences. Incongruity is always a source of distress to an individual and so he will keep turning incongruous experiences around in order to look at them from various angles. He tries to break up complex experiences to see how they are constituted in the hope that he may discover some characteristics about them that will bring them into accord with his assimilated experiences.

To illustrate, let us say that an individual, as a result of his observation, his reading and the instruction he has received has established the conviction that the Creator founded the Christian religion and that Christianity affords the only safe guide to life. But now some Christian nations engage in war and practice cruelties upon one another. This fact will not assimilate with the individual's established convictions regarding the Christian religion. It is a disturbing element in his life, and he will probably be engaged continually in the effort

to bring this new experience into harmony with his established beliefs. He will examine every aspect of the new phenomenon. He will scrutinize the cruel and barbaric actions of the belligerents in the effort to see if he can find a motive for them which will be in accord with Christian teaching. For months he may be engaged in this process, and while he is engaged in it his features and bodily attitudes will reveal the struggle he is passing through. While he is reflecting he may lean forward and support his head with his hands as though his task were too great for him. He may rub his scalp with his hand as though he were removing an irritation; and continuously the brow may be knit as though he were constraining himself to put forth all his effort. Occasionally he may lift his shoulders and take a deep breath as though he had been holding his breath in order that he might concentrate all his energy upon the task in which he has been engaged.

It has already been intimated that these expressions of reflection are never seen in the features of very young children. They will appear only when the individual begins to organize and harmonize his experiences, which is not much if any before the pre-adolescent period. During the earliest years the intellectual processes are concerned principally with the acquisition of comparatively simple data which do not have complex characteristics and so which do not require much scrutiny or interpretation. In his school work the young child is engaged principally in acquiring concrete data and only very slightly in elaborating and organizing what he gains. His spelling, reading, number, geography, language, even his history and literature do not require organization of experience except in a 'low degreee. The relations between the data which he acquires are quickly discovered; he does not have to trace subtle and recondite relations. But as he goes through the high school and the college his knowledge becomes ever more complicated