criminal psychology-第111章

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an　immigrant　Italian　called　Comadina；　and　I　know　two　old　men；　brothers；　who　lived　in　different　parts　of　the　　country；　one　of　whom　was　called　Joseph　Waldhauser；　the　other　Leopold　Balthasar。　In　the　course　of　the　generation　the　name　had　so　completely　changed　that　it　is　impossible　to　say　which　is　correct。　Again；　a　family　bearing　the　name　Theobald　is　of　French　origin　and　used　really　to　be　called　Du　Val。　In　Steiermark；　which　had　been　over…run　with　Turks　two　hundred　years　ago；　there　are　many　family　names　of　Turkish　origin。　Thus　Hasenhrl　may　come　from　Hassan　ri；　Salata　from　Saladin；　Mullenbock；　from　Mullei　Beg；　Sullman　from　Soliman。


Section　107。　（2）　_Other　Misunderstandings_。

The　quantitative　method　of　modern　psychophysics　may　lead　to　an　exact　experimental　determination　of　such　false　conceptions　and　misunderstandings　as　those　indicated　above；　but　it　is　still　too　young　to　have　any　practical　value。　It　is　vitiated　by　the　fact　that　it　requires　artificial　conditions　and　that　the　results　have　reference　to　artificial　conditions。　Wundt　has　tried　to　simplify　apparatus；　and　to　bring　experiment　into　connection　with　real　life。　But　there　is　still　a　far　cry　from　the　psychological　laboratory　to　the　business　of　life。　With　regard　to　misunderstandings　the　case　is　certainly　so。　Most　occur　when　we　do　not　hear　distinctly　what　another　person　is　saying　and　supplement　it　with　our　own　notions。　Here　the　misunderstanding　is　in　no　sense　linguistic；　for　words　do　not　receive　a　false　meaning。　The　misunderstanding　lies　in　the　failure　to　comprehend　the　sense　of　what　we　have　heard；　and　the　substitution　of　incorrect　interpretations。　Sometimes　we　may　quite　understand　an　orator　without　having　heard　every　word　by　simply　adding　these　interpretations；　but　the　correctness　of　the　additions　is　always　questionable；　and　not　only　nature　and　training；　but　momentary　conditions　and　personal　attitude；　make　a　considerable　difference。　The　worst　thing　about　the　matter　is　the　fact　that　nobody　is　likely　to　be　aware　that　he　has　made　any　interpretations。　Yet　we　do　so　not　only　in　listening；　but　in　looking。　I　see　on　a　roof　in　the　distance　four　white　balls　about　the　nature　of　which　I　am　uncertain。　While　looking；　I　observe　that　one　of　the　balls　stretches　out　head　and　tail；　flaps　its　wings；　etc。；　and　I　immediately　think；　‘‘Oh；　those　are　four　pigeons。''　Now　it　may　be　true　that　they　are　four　pigeons；　but　what　justification　had　I　for　such　an　interpretation　and　generalization　from　the　action　of　one　pigeon？　In　this　instance；　no　doubt；　it　would　have　been　difficult　for　me　to　make　a　mistake；　but　there　are　many　cases　which　are　not　so　obvious　and　where　the　interpretation　is　nevertheless　made；　and　then　the　misunderstanding　　is　ready　to　hand。　Once　my　wife　and　I　saw　from　our　seats　in　the　car　a　chimney…sweep　who　stood　in　a　railroad　station。　As　he　bent　over；　looking　for　a　lost　coin；　my　very　myopic　wife　cried　out；　‘‘Look　at　the　beautiful　Newfoundland　dog。''　Now　this　is　a　conceivable　illusion　for　a　short…sighted　individual；　but　on　what　basis　could　my　good　lady　interpret　what　she　saw　into　the　judgment　that　it　was　a　Newfoundland　dog；　and　a　beautiful　one　at　that？　Taine　illustrates　a　similar　process　with　the　story　of　a　child　who　asked　why　his　mother　had　put　on　a　white　dress。　He　was　told　that　his　mother　was　going　to　a　party　and　had　to　put　on　her　holiday　clothes　for　that　purpose。　After　that；　whenever　the　child　saw　anybody　in　holiday　attire；　green　or　red　or　any　other　color；　it　cried　out；‘‘Oh；　you　have　a　white　dress　on！''　We　adults　do　exactly　the　same　thing。　As　Meinong　says　so　well；　we　confuse　identity　with　agreement。　This　proposition　would　save　us　from　a　great　many　mistakes　and　misunderstandings　if　kept　in　mind。

How　frequently　and　hastily　we　build　things　out　is　shown　by　a　simple　but　psychologically　important　game。　Ask　anybody　at　hand　how　the　four　and　the　six　look　on　his　watch；　and　let　him　draw　it。　Everybody　calmly　draws；　IV　and　VI；　but　if　you　look　at　your　watch　you　will　find　that　the　four　looks　so；　IIII；　and　that　there　is　no　six。　This　raises　the　involuntary　question；　‘‘Now　what　do　we　see　when　we　look　at　the　watch　if　we　do　not　see　the　figures？''　and　the　further　question；　‘‘Do　we　make　such　beautiful　mistakes　with　all　things？''

I　assert　that　only　that　has　been　reliably　seen　which　has　been　drawn。　My　father　asked　my　drawing　teacher　to　teach　me　not　to　draw　but　to　observe。　And　my　teacher；　instead　of　giving　me　copies；　followed　the　instruction　by　giving　me　first　one　domino；　then　two；　then　three；　one　upon　the　other；　then　a　match　box；　a　book；　a　candlestick；　etc。　And　even　today；　I　know　accurately　only　those　objects　in　the　household　which　I　had　drawn。　Yet　frequently　we　demand　of　our　witnesses　minutely　accurate　descriptions　of　things　they　had　seen　only　once；　and　hastily　at　that。

And　even　if　the　thing　has　been　seen　frequently；　local　and　temporal　problems　may　make　great　difficulties。　With　regard　to　the　first　class　of　problems；　Exner＇1＇　cites　the　example　of　his　journey　from　Gmunden　to　Vienna　in　which；　because　of　a　sharp　curve　in　the　road；　he　saw　everything　at　Lambach　reversed；　although　the　whole　stretch　of　road　was　familiar　to　him。　The　railroad　trains；　the　public　buildings；　the　rivers；　all　the　notable　places　seemed　to　lie　on　the　wrong　side。　This


＇1＇　S。　Exner：　Entwurf；　etc。

　is　particularly　characteristic　if　a　city　is　entered；　especially　at　night；　through　a　railroad　terminal；　and　the　locomotive　is　attached　to　the　rear　of　the　train。　In　the　daily　life　the　alteration　of　objects　by　locations　is　familiar。　How　different　a　landscape　seems　at　night　or　in　winter；　although　it　has　been　observed　hundreds　of　times　during　the　day　or　in　summer。　It　is　good　to　look　around　frequently　on　the　road；　particularly　at　cross…roads；　if　the　way　back　is　to　be　kept　in　mind。　Even　the　starting　point　may　have　a　disturbing　effect　on　the　sense　of　place。　For　example；　if　you　have　traveled　numerous　times　on　the　train　from　A　to　B；　and　for　once　you　start　your　journey　from　C；　which　is　beyond　A；　the　familiar　stretch　from　A　to　B　looks　quite　different　and　may　even　become　unrecognizable。　The　estimation　of　time　may　exercise　considerable　influence　on　such　and　similar　local　effects。　Under　most　circumstances　we　tend；　as　is　known；　to　reduce　subjectively　great　time…spans；　and　hence；　when　more　time　than　customary　is　required　by　an　event；　this　becomes　subjectively　smaller；　not　only　for　the　whole　event　but　also　for　each　of　its　parts。　In　this　way　what　formerly　seemed　to　extend　through　an　apparently　long　period　seems　now　to　be　compressed　into　a　shorter　one。　Then　everything　appears　too　soon　and　adds　to　the　foreign　aspect　of　the　matter。

The　case　is　similar　for　time…differences。　Uphues＇1＇　cites　an　example：　‘‘If　a　person　has　not　heard　a　bell　or　anything　else　for　some　time　and　then　hears　it　again；　the　question　whether　the　object　existed　in　the　interval　does　not　arise。　It　is　recognized　again　and　that　is　enough。''　Certainly　it　is　enough　for　us；　but　whether　the　thing　is　true；　whether　really　the　same　phenomena　or　only　similar　ones　have　been　noted；　is　another　question　rarely　asked。　If　the　man　or　the　bell　is　the　same　that　we　now　perceive　anew；　the　inference　is　involuntarily　drawn　that　they　must　have　persisted；　but　we　eliminate　altogether　the　lapse　of　time　and　suppose　unconsciously　that　the　entity　in　question　must　have　been　on　the　spot　through　the　whole　period。　One　needs　only　to　observe　how　quickly　witnesses　tend　to　identify　objects　presented　for　identification：　e。　g。　knives；　letters；　purses；　etc。　To　receive　for　identification　and　to　say　yes；　is　often　the　work　of　an　instant。　The　witness　argues；　quite　unconsciously；　in　this　fashion：　‘‘I　have　given　the　judge　only　one　clew　（perhaps　different　from　the　one　in　question）；　now　here　again　is　a　clew；　hence；　it　must　be　the　one　I　gave　him。''　That　the　matter　may　have　changed；　that　there　has　been　some　confusion；　that　perhaps


＇1＇　Die　Wahrnehmung　und　Empfinding。　Leipzig　1888。

　other　witnesses　have　given　similar　things；　is　not　at　all　considered。　Here　again　we　have　to　beware　of　confusing　of　identities　with　agreements。

Finally；　we　must　consider　fatigue　and　other　conditions　of　excitation。　Everybody　knows　how　things　read　late　at　night　seem　absolute　nonsense；　and　become　simple　and　obvious　the　next　morning。　In　the　same　way；　we　may　take　a　thing　to　be　thus　and　so　while　tired　in　the　evening；　and　in　the　morning　see　our　notion　to　be　a　coarse　misunderstanding。　Hoppe　tells　of　a　hospital　interne　who　became　so　excited　and　tired　through　frequent　calls　that　he　heard　the　tick…　tack　of　his　watch　as　‘‘Oh…doc…tor。''　A　witness　who　has　been　subjected　to　a　prolonged　and　fatiguing　examination　falls　into　a　similar　condition　and　knows　at　the　end　much　less　than　at　the　beginning。　Finally；　he　altogether　misunderstands　the　questions　put　to　him。　The　situation　becomes　still　worse　when　the　defendant　has　been　so　subjected　to　examination；　and　becomes　involved；　because　of　fatigue；　etc。；　in　the　famous　‘‘contradictions。''　If　‘‘convincing　contradictions''　occur　at　the　end　of　a　long　examination　of　a　witness　or　a　defendant；　it　is　well　to　find　out　how　long　the　examination　took。　If　it　took　much　time　the　contradictions　mean　little。

The　same　phenomena　of　fatigue　may　even　lead　to　suspicion　of　negligence。　Doctors；　trained　nurses；　nursery　maids；　young　mothers；　etc。；　who　became　guilty　of　‘‘negligence''　of　invalids　and　children　have；　in　many　instances；　merely　‘‘misunderstood''　because　of　great　fatigue。　It　is　for　this　reason　that　the　numerous　sad　cases　occur　in　which　machine…tenders；　switch…tenders；　etc。；　are　punished　for　negligence。　If　a　man　of　this　class；　year　after　year；　serves　twenty…three　hours；　then　rests　seven　hours；　then　serves　twenty…three　hours　again；　etc。；　he　is　inevitably　overtaken　by　fatigue　and　nervous　relaxation　in　which　signals；　warnings；　calls；　etc。；　are　simply　misunderstood。　Statistics　tend　to　show　that　the　largest　number　of　accidents　occur　at　the　end　of　a　period　of　service；　i。　e。；　at　the　time　of　greatest　fatigue。　But　even　if　this　were　not　the　case　some　reference　must　be　made　to　chronic　fatigue。　If　a　man　gets　only　seven　hours'　rest　after　intense　labor；　part　of　the　fatigue…elements　must　have　remained。　They　accumulate　in　time；　finally　they　summate；　and　exercise　their　influence　even　at　the　beginning　of　the　service。　Socialists　complain　justly　about　this　matter。　The　most　responsible　positions　are　occupied　by　chronically　fatigued　individuals；　and　when　nature　extorts　her　rights　we　punish　the　helpless　men。

The　case　is　the　same　with　people　who　have　much　to　do　with　　moneytax；　post；　bank；　and　treasury　officials；　who　are　obliged　to　attend　rigorously　to　monotonous　workthe　reception　and　distribution　of　money；　easily　grow　tired。　Men　of　experience　in　this　profession　have　assured　me　that　they　often；　when　fatigued；　take　money；　count　it；　sign　a　receipt　and　thenreturn　the　money　to　the　person　who　brought　it。　Fortunately　they　recognize　their　mistake　in　the　astonishment　of　the　receiver。　If；　however；　they　do　not　recognize　it；　or　the　receiver　is　sly　enough　calmly　to　walk　off　with　the　money；　if　the　sum　is　great　and　restitution　not　easily　possible；　and　if；　moreover；　the　official　happens　to　be　in　the　bad　graces　of　his　superiors；　he　does　not　have　much　chance　in　the　prosecution　for　embezzlement；　which　is　more　likely　than　not　to　be　begun　against　him。＇1＇　Any　affectio