The psychology of the criminal / by M. Hamblin Smith.

  • Smith, M. Hamblin (Maurice Hamblin), 1870-1936.
Date:
[1922]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The psychology of the criminal / by M. Hamblin Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    however, there does not seem to be any very marked difference between the defectives and others as concerns this test. It is not uncommon to find a defective whose powers of apperception, tested in this way, are quite good. There is sometimes a trace of suggestibility to be observed in using this test. Two of the objects are a pen and a pencil. The subject having named the pen correctly, sometimes calls the pencil a pen also. 15. Healy's Pictorial Completion Test.1 This is rather difficult to describe. It consists of a brightly coloured picture, mounted on wood, and in which ten 1-inch squares have been cut out. The subject is given the picture and 45 blocks, each i-inch square, of which 40 bear a representation of some object, while the other 5 are blanks. He is required to fill in the picture with the blocks which, in his opinion, make the best sense. Care is taken to see that he thoroughly understands what he has to do by means of the demon¬ stration of the correct filling of one space by the examiner. The subject is then left to complete the picture by himself A note is made of final errors, “ logical ” and “ illogical ”, the latter being errors for which the subject can give no reasonable explanation. No words are adequate to express the value of this test. It is as nearly perfect a test for mental defect as we have. A complete success in doing this test is almost definite disproof of mental defect. The author has, however, had one case of undoubted mental defect which did attain complete success at this test. The way in which the subject approaches the problem is most interesting to watch. Mental control and association processes are well brought out, the latter by questioning the subject on his final errors. The advantage of learning all we can on these points, when dealing with delinquents, is obvious. The author began to use this test with much hesitation, as he feared that his subjects might regard it 1 The Psychological Review ”, May, 1914.