Pathology of Lying [62]
almost nil. Inquiry about mental peculiarities in the family brought negative answers. These parents had had nine children, seven of whom had died in early infancy. Robert was the older of the two living. We did not learn that the other child displayed any abnormalities. The mother helped towards the support of the family by doing coarse sewing.
About the developmental history we had the assurance that it was entirely negative as regards serious diseases. Pregnancy and birth were said to have been normal. For long, Robert had been very nervous and frequently slept an unusually small number of hours. Sometimes he would go to bed very late and get up early. Although he was a very small boy he was accustomed to drinking six or seven cups of coffee a day. No suspicion from any source of other bad habits or of improper sex experiences. The boy's home was clean and decent. The father was accustomed to celebrate once a month or so by getting intoxicated, but otherwise was a well behaved man.
On physical examination we found the boy in fair general condition, although very small for his age. Weight 80 lbs.; height 4 ft. 7 in. Well shaped, normally sized head. No prematurity or other physical abnormality. Somewhat defective vision. No complaint of headaches. All other examination negative. Regular sharp features. Much vivacity of expression. A nervous, alert, responsive, apparently frank and humorous type. Speech notably rapid.
Our acquaintance with this boy on the intellectual side proved to be a great treat. He was only in the 4th grade. His retardation was the result of having been changed back and forth from foreign-speaking to English schools and having been sent away to an institution for truancy. In spite of his backwardness Robert had a fund of remarkably accurate scientific and other information which a mature person might envy. We found our regular series of tests were all done unusually well, except those which called for foresight and planfulness. It was interesting to note that when a problem in concrete material was given that required continuous thoughtful effort he proceeded by a rapid trial and error method and without the application of the foresight that many a slower individual would show. He consequently did not always make a good record.
It seems an important fact that on the ``Aussage'' Test this exceedingly bright lad gave a fairly good detailed narrative account of the picture and proved himself not in the least suggestible, but he added a number of items which were not seen.
It was in the field of general information, obtained from a really wide range of reading, that this young boy shone. We found that he remembered an unusual amount of history he had read, that he had a lot of knowledge picked up from the newspapers, and that he had digested considerable portions of scientific works. He described correctly the main principles involved in the use of telescopic and other lenses, he knew well the first principles of electricity, and he could draw correctly diagrams of dynamos, locomotives, switchboards, etc. We noted he had read books on physiology, astronomy, physics, mechanics, etc.
It seems that neither his school nor his home offering him much intellectual satisfaction, he had frequented the public library, sometimes being there when he was truant from school, and staying there in the evening when his mother supposed he was out in a street gang. In regard to his selection of reading: he had perused novels and books on adventure, but ``I wanted to read something that tells something so that when I got through I would know something.'' He copied plans and directions, and with a hatchet, hammer and saw attempted at home to make little things, some of which were said to have been broken up by the parents. The boy had much in mind the career of great men who had succeeded from small beginnings, and he spoke often of Benjamin Franklin, Morse, and Bell, all of whom had started in the small way he had read of in their biographies. Robert had not been content
About the developmental history we had the assurance that it was entirely negative as regards serious diseases. Pregnancy and birth were said to have been normal. For long, Robert had been very nervous and frequently slept an unusually small number of hours. Sometimes he would go to bed very late and get up early. Although he was a very small boy he was accustomed to drinking six or seven cups of coffee a day. No suspicion from any source of other bad habits or of improper sex experiences. The boy's home was clean and decent. The father was accustomed to celebrate once a month or so by getting intoxicated, but otherwise was a well behaved man.
On physical examination we found the boy in fair general condition, although very small for his age. Weight 80 lbs.; height 4 ft. 7 in. Well shaped, normally sized head. No prematurity or other physical abnormality. Somewhat defective vision. No complaint of headaches. All other examination negative. Regular sharp features. Much vivacity of expression. A nervous, alert, responsive, apparently frank and humorous type. Speech notably rapid.
Our acquaintance with this boy on the intellectual side proved to be a great treat. He was only in the 4th grade. His retardation was the result of having been changed back and forth from foreign-speaking to English schools and having been sent away to an institution for truancy. In spite of his backwardness Robert had a fund of remarkably accurate scientific and other information which a mature person might envy. We found our regular series of tests were all done unusually well, except those which called for foresight and planfulness. It was interesting to note that when a problem in concrete material was given that required continuous thoughtful effort he proceeded by a rapid trial and error method and without the application of the foresight that many a slower individual would show. He consequently did not always make a good record.
It seems an important fact that on the ``Aussage'' Test this exceedingly bright lad gave a fairly good detailed narrative account of the picture and proved himself not in the least suggestible, but he added a number of items which were not seen.
It was in the field of general information, obtained from a really wide range of reading, that this young boy shone. We found that he remembered an unusual amount of history he had read, that he had a lot of knowledge picked up from the newspapers, and that he had digested considerable portions of scientific works. He described correctly the main principles involved in the use of telescopic and other lenses, he knew well the first principles of electricity, and he could draw correctly diagrams of dynamos, locomotives, switchboards, etc. We noted he had read books on physiology, astronomy, physics, mechanics, etc.
It seems that neither his school nor his home offering him much intellectual satisfaction, he had frequented the public library, sometimes being there when he was truant from school, and staying there in the evening when his mother supposed he was out in a street gang. In regard to his selection of reading: he had perused novels and books on adventure, but ``I wanted to read something that tells something so that when I got through I would know something.'' He copied plans and directions, and with a hatchet, hammer and saw attempted at home to make little things, some of which were said to have been broken up by the parents. The boy had much in mind the career of great men who had succeeded from small beginnings, and he spoke often of Benjamin Franklin, Morse, and Bell, all of whom had started in the small way he had read of in their biographies. Robert had not been content