criminal psychology-第65章

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ng　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　are　innumerable　in　which　people　have　lost　their　memory　for　a　short　time；　or　for　ever。　I　have　already　elsewhere　mentioned　an　event　which　happened　to　a　friend　of　mine　who　received　a　sudden　blow　on　the　head　while　in　the　mountains　and　completely　lost　all　memory　of　what　had　occurred　a　few　minutes　before　the　blow。　After　this　citation　I　got　a　number　of　letters　from　my　colleagues　who　had　dealt　with　similar　cases。　I　infer；　therefore；　that　the　instances　in　which　people　lose　their　memory　of　what　has　occurred　before　the　event　by　way　of　a　blow　on　the　head；　are　numerous。＇1＇


＇1＇　Cf。　H。　Gross's　Archiv。　I；　337。


Legally　such　cases　are　important　because　we　would　not　believe　statements　in　that　regard　made　by　accused；　inasmuch　as　there　seems　to　be　no　reason　why　the　events　_*before_　the　wound　should　disappear；　just　as　if　each　impression　needed　a　fixative；　like　a　charcoal　drawing。　But　as　this　phenomenon　is　described　by　the　most　reliable　persons；　who　have　no　axe　to　grind　in　the　matter；　we　must　believe　it；　other　things　being　equal；　even　when　the　defendant　asserts　it。　That　such　cases　are　not　isolated　is　shown　in　the　fact　that　people　who　have　been　stunned　by　lightning　have　later　forgotten　everything　that　occurred　shortly　before　the　flash。　The　case　is　similar　in　poisoning　with　carbonic…acid　gas；　with　mushrooms；　and　in　strangulation。　The　latter　cases　are　especially　important；　inasmuch　as　the　wounded　person；　frequently　the　only　witness；　has　nothing　to　say　about　the　event。

I　cannot　omit　recalling　in　this　place　a　case　I　have　already　mentioned　elsewhere；　that　of　Brunner。　In　1893　in　the　town　of　Dietkirchen；　in　Bavaria；　the　teacher　Brunner's　two　children　were　murdered；　and　his　wife　and　servant　girl　badly　wounded。　After　some　time　the　woman　regained　consciousness；　seemed　to　know　what　she　was　about；　but　could　not　tell　the　investigating　justice　who　had　been　sent　on　to　take　charge　of　the　case；　anything　whatever　concerning　the　event；　the　criminal；　etc。　When　he　had　concluded　his　negative　protocol　she　signed　it；　Martha　Guttenberger；　instead　of　Martha　Brunner。　Fortunately　the　official　noted　this　and　wanted　to　know　what　relation　she　had　to　the　name　Guttenberger。　He　was　told　that　a　former　lover　of　the　servant　girl　an　evil…mouthed　fellow；　was　called　by　that　name。　He　was　traced　to　Munich　and　there　arrested。　He　immediately　confessed　to　the　crime。　And　when　Mrs。　Brunner　　became　quite　well　she　recalled　accurately　that　she　had　definitely　recognized　Guttenberger　as　the　murderer。＇1＇


＇1＇　J。　Hubert：　Das　Verhalten　des　Gedchtnisses　nach　Kopfverletzungen。　Basel；　1901。


The　psychological　process　was　clearly　one　in　which　the　idea；　‘‘Guttenberger　is　the　criminal；''　had　sunk　into　the　secondary　sphere　of　consciousness；　the　subconsciousness；so　that　it　was　only　clear　to　the　real　consciousness　that　the　name　Guttenberger　had　something　to　do　with　the　crime。　The　woman　in　her　weakened　mental　condition　thought　she　had　already　sufficiently　indicated　this　fact；　so　that　she　overlooked　the　name；　and　hence　wrote　it　unconsciously。　Only　when　the　pressure　on　her　brain　was　reduced　did　the　idea　that　Guttenberger　was　the　murderer　pass　from　the　subconscious　to　the　conscious。　Psychiatrists　explain　the　case　as　follows：

The　thing　here　involved　is　retrograde　amnesia。　It　is　nowadays　believed　that　this　phenomenon　in　the　great　majority　of　cases　occurs　according　to　the　rule　which　defines　traumatic　hysteria；　i。　e。；　as　ideogen。　The　ideational　complexes　in　question　are　forced　into　the　subconsciousness；　whence；　on　occasion；　by　aid　of　associative　processes；　hypnotic　concentration；　and　such　other　similar　elements；　they　can　be　raised　into　consciousness。　In　this　case；　the　suppressed　ideational　complex　manifested　itself　in　signing　the　name。

All　legal　medicine　discusses　the　fact　that　wounds　in　the　head　make　people　forget　single　words。　Taine；　Guerin；　Abercrombie；　etc。；　cite　many　examples；　and　Winslow　tells　of　a　woman　who；　after　considerable　bleeding；　forgot　all　her　French。　The　story　is　also　told　that　Henry　Holland　had　so　tired　himself　that　he　forgot　German。　When　he　grew　stronger　and　re