criminal psychology-第79部分

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ing　this。　He　has　also　called　attention　to　the　fact　that　the　semi…idiotic　have　an　astounding　memory　for　certain　things。　This　has　been　confirmed　by　other　students。　One　of　them；　Du　Potet；＇1＇　who　is　perhaps　the　expert　in　the　popular　mind　of　the　Austrian　Alps；　has　made　it　especially　clear。　As　in　all　mountainous　regions　there　are　a　great　number　of　those　unfortunate　idiots　who；　when　fully　developed；　are　called　cretins；　and　in　their　milder　form　are　semi…human；　but　do　not　possess　intelligence　enough　to　earn　their　own　living。　Nevertheless；　many　of　them　possess　astounding　memories　for　certain　things。　One　of　them　is　thoroughly　conversant　with　the　weather　prophecy　in　the　calendar　for　the　past　and　the　present　year；　and　can　cite　it　for　each　day。　Another　knows　the　day　and　the　history　of　every　saint　of　the　Catholic　church。　Another　knows　the　boundaries　of　every　estate；　and　the　name；　etc。；　of　its　owner。　Another　knows　each　particular　animal　in　a　collective　herd　of　cattle；　knows　to　whom　it　belongs；　etc。　Of　course　not　one　of　these　unfortunates　can　read。　Drobisch　mentions　an　idiotic　boy；　not　altogether　able　to　speak；　who；　through　the　untiring　efforts　of　a　lady；　succeeded　finally　in　　learning　to　read。　Then　after　hasty　reading　of　any　piece　of　printed　matter；　he　could　reproduce　what　he　had　read　word　for　word；　even　when　the　book　had　been　one　in　a　foreign　and　unknown　tongue。　Another　author　mentions　a　cretin　who　could　tell　exactly　the　birthdays　and　death…days　of　the　inhabitants　of　his　town　for　a　decade。


＇1＇　Du　Potet：　Journal　du　Magnetisme；　V。　245。


It　is　a　matter　of　experience　that　the　semi…idiotic　have　an　excellent　memory　and　can　accurately　reproduce　events　which　are　really　impressive　or　alarming；　and　which　have　left　effects　upon　them。　Many　a　thing　which　normal　people　have　barely　noticed；　or　which　they　have　set　aside　in　their　memory　and　have　forgotten；　is　remembered　by　the　semi…idiotic　and　reproduced。　On　the　contrary；　the　latter　do　not　remember　things　which　normal　people　do；　and　which　in　the　latter　frequently　have　a　disturbing　influence　on　the　important　point　they　may　be　considering。　Thus　the　semi…idiotic　may　be　able　to　describe　important　things　better　than　normal　people。　As　a　rule；　however；　they　disintegrate　what　is　to　be　remembered　too　much；　and　offer　too　little　to　make　any　effective　interpretation　possible。　If　such　a　person；　e。　g。；　is　witness　of　a　shooting；　he　notices　the　shot　only；　and　gives　very　brief　attention　to　what　precedes；　what　follows；　or　what　is　otherwise　contemporary。　Until　his　examination　he　not　only　knows　nothing　about　it；　but　even　doubts　its　occurrence。　This　is　the　dangerous　element　in　his　testimony。　Generally　it　is　right　to　believe　his　kind　willingly。　‘‘Children　and　fools　tell　the　truth；''　what　they　say　bears　the　test；　and　so　when　they　deny　an　event　there　is　a　tendency　to　overlook　the　fact　that　they　have　forgotten　a　great　deal　and　hence　to　believe　that　the　event　had　really　not　occurred。

Similar　experiences　are　yielded　in　the　case　of　the　memory　of　children。　Children　and　animals　live　only　in　the　present；　because　they　have　no　historically　organic　ideas　in　mind。　They　react　directly　upon　stimuli；　without　any　disturbance　of　their　idea　of　the　past。　This　is　valid；　however；　only　for　very　small　children。　At　a　later　age　children　make　good　witnesses；　and　a　well…brought…up　boy　is　the　best　witness　in　the　world。　We　have　only　to　keep　in　mind　that　later　events　tend　in　the　child's　mind　to　wipe　out　earlier　ones　of　the　same　kind。＇1＇　It　used　to　be　said　that　children　and　nations　think　only　of　the　latest　events。　And　that　is　universally　true。　Just　as　children　abandon　even　their　most　precious　toys　for　the　sake　of　a　new　one；　so　they　tell　only　the　latest　events　in　their　experience。　And　this　is　especially　the　case　when　there　are　a　great　many　facts　　e。　g。；　repeated　mal…treatment　or　thefts；　etc。　Children　will　tell　only　of　the　very　last；　the　earlier　one　may　absolutely　have　disappeared　from　the　memory。


＇1＇　F。　Kemsies　Gedchtnis　Untersuchungen　an　Schtern。　Ztsch。　f。　pdago。　Psych。　III；　171　（1901）。


Bolton；＇1＇　who　has　made　a　systematic　study　of　the　memory　of　children；　comes　to　the　familiar　conclusion　that　the　scope　of　memory　is　measured　by　the　child's　capacity　of　concentrating　its　attention。　Memory　and　acute　intelligence　are　not　always　cognate　（the　latter　proposition；　true　not　for　children　alone；　was　known　to　Aristotle）。　As　a　rule　girls　have　better　memory　than　boys　（it　might　also　be　said　that　their　intelligence　is　generally　greater；　so　long　as　no　continuous　intellectual　work；　and　especially　the　creation　of　one's　own　ideas；　is　required）。　Of　figures　read　only　once；　children　will　retain　a　maximum　of　six。　（Adults；　as　a　rule；　also　retain　no　more。）　The　time　of　forgetting　in　general　has　been　excellently　schematized　by　Ebbinghaus。　He　studied　the　forgetting　of　a　series　of　thirteen　nonsense　syllables；　previously　learned；　in　such　a　way　as　to　be　able　to　measure　the　time　necessary　to　re…learn　what　was　forgotten。　At　the　end　of　an　hour　he　needed　half　the　original　time；　at　the　end　of　eight　hours　two…thirds　of　that　time。　Then　the　process　of　loss　became　slower。　At　the　end　of　twenty…four　hours　he　required　a　third；　at　the　end　of　six　days　a　fourth；　at　the　end　of　a　month　a　clear　fifth；　of　the　time　required　at　first。


＇1＇　T　E。　Bolton：　The　Growth　of　Memory　in　School　Children。　Am。　Jour。　Psych。　IV。


I　have　tested　this　in　a　rough　way　on　various　and　numerous　persons；　and　invariably　found　the　results　to　tally。　Of　course；　the　measure　of　time　alters　with　the　memory　in　question；　but　the　relations　remain　identical；　so　that　one　may　say　approximately　how　much　may　be　known　of　any　subject　at　the　end　of　a　fixed　time；　if　only　one　ratio　is　tested。　To　criminalists　this　investigation　of　Ebbinghaus'　is　especially　recommended。

The　conditions　of　prehensivity　of　particular　instances　are　too　uncertain　and　individual　to　permit　any　general　identifications　or　differentiations。　There　are　certain　approximating　propositions　e。　g。；　that　it　is　easier　to　keep　in　mind　rhymed　verse　than　prose；　and　definite　rows　and　forms　than　block　masses。　But；　on　the　one　hand；　what　is　here　involved　is　only　the　ease　of　memory；　not　the　content　of　memory；　and　on　the　other　hand　there　are　too　many　exceptions　e。　g。；　there　are　many　people　who　retain　prose　better　than　verse。　Hence；　it　is　not　worth　while　to　go　further　in　the　creation　of　such　rules。　Forty　or　fifty　years　ago；　investigations　looking　toward　them　　had　been　pursued　with　pleasure；　and　they　are　recorded　in　the　journals　of　the　time。

That　aged　persons　have；　as　is　well　known；　a　good　memory　for　what　is　long　past；　and　a　poor　one　for　recent　occurrences　is　not　remarkable。　It　is　to　be　explained　by　the　fact　that　age　seems　to　be　accompanied　with　a　decrease　of　energy　in　the　brain；　so　that　it　no　longer　assimilates　influences；　and　the　imagination　becomes　dark　and　the　judgment　of　facts　incorrect。　Hence；　the　mistakes　are　those　of　apperception　of　new　things；what　has　already　been　perceived　is　not　influenced　by　this　loss　of　energy。

Again；　it　should　not　rouse　astonishment　that　so　remarkable　and　delicately　organized　a　function　as　memory　should　be　subject　to　anomalies　and　abnormalities　of　all　kinds。　We　must　take　it　as　a　rule　not　to　assume　the　impossibility　of　the　extraordinary　phenomena　that　appear　and　to　consult　the　expert　about　them。＇1＇　The　physician　will　explain　the　pathological　and　pathoformic；　but　there　is　a　series　of　memory…forms　which　do　not　appear　to　be　diseased；　yet　which　are　significantly　rare　and　hence　appear　improbable。　Such　forms　will　require　the　examination　of　an　experienced　expert　psychologist　who；　even　when　unable　to　explain　the　particular　case；　will　still　be　able　to　throw　some　light　on　it　from　the　literature　of　the　subject。　This　literature　is　rich　in　examples　of　the　same　thing；　they　have　been　eagerly　collected　and　scientifically　studied　in　the　earlier　psychological　investigations。　Modern　psychology；　unfortunately；　does　not　study　these　problems；　and　in　any　event；　its　task　is　so　enormous　that　the　practical　problems　of　memory　in　the　daily　life　must　be　set　aside　for　a　later　time。　We　have　to　cite　only　a　few　cases　handled　in　literature。


＇1＇　L。　Bazerque：　Essai　de　Psychopathologie　sur　l'Amuesie　Hystptique。　Toulouse　1901。


The　best　known　is　the　story　of　an　Irish　servant　girl；　who；　during　fever；　recited　Hebrew　sentences　which　she　had　heard　from　a　preacher　when　a　child。　Another　case　tells　of　a　very　great　fool　who；　during　fever；　repeated　prolonged　conversations　with　his　master；　so　that　the　latter　decided　to　make　him　his　secretary。　But　when　the　servant　got　well　he　became　as　foolish　as　ever。　The　criminalist　who　has　the　opportunity　of　examining　deeply　wounded；　feverish　persons；　makes　similar；　though　not　such　remarkable　observations。　These　people　give　him　the　impression　of　being　quite　intelligent　persons　who　tell　their　stories　accurately　and　correctly。　Later　on；　after　they　are　cured；　one　gets　a　different　opinion　of　their　intelligence。　Still　more　frequently　one　observes　that　these　feverish；　wounded　victims　know　　more；　and　know　more　correctly　about　the　crime　than　they　are　able　to　tell　after　they　have　recovered。　What　they　tell；　moreover；　is　quite　reliable；　provided；　of　course；　they　are　not　delirious　or　crazy。

The　cases　a