Pathology of Lying [80]
and her mother stopped the companionship. This other girl has a sister in the Industrial School. Emma's mother does not know of any definite harm done by the companionship.
During the pregnancy with Emma the mother had a rather hard time for a while on account of the severe illness of another child. The pregnancy began when the mother was still nursing a baby. However, when Emma was born she proved to be a healthy and normal child. Birth was normal. No convulsions. First walked and talked at the usual age. She was a fat child until 8 years, and then, after an attack of pneumonia, she began to ail somewhat. At 10 years tonsils and adenoids were removed. The mother had no knowledge of Emma's defective vision. Emma started to school at 7 years, but at 13 had reached only the 5th grade.
There are 8 living children in the family; one died in infancy. There has never been much illness among them. Most of them did well in school. The family physician says the boys show a ``queer streak,'' but nothing, evidently, at all well defined as compared with the career of Emma, whom he characterizes as a ``moral pervert.'' The mother is a well-meaning, hard-working, moderately intelligent woman of about 45. She is said to be somewhat slack in her household, but perfectly honest. The father is desperately alcoholic and peculiar at times. It is not known that his aberrations are ever shown apart from his drinking. Years ago he was in a hospital for the insane for several months as an alcoholic patient. The trouble with this girl is said to have led him to drink again. Both parents were from immigrant families. It is positively denied that there are any cases of insanity, feeblemindedness, or epilepsy on either side. Some other members of the family are known to have better homes.
On the physical side we found a small child for her age; weight 81 lbs., height 4 ft. 9 in. Nutrition and color fairly good. Vision about 20/80 R. and 20/60 L.; never had glasses. Crowded teeth. High Gothic palate. Regular features. Expression peculiarly stiff with eyes wide open. Flushes readily. With encouragement smiles occasionally. Other examination negative. Tonsils, and probably adenoids, removed three years previously; formerly had trouble with breathing through the nose. Complains much of frequent frontal headaches. Says she gets dizzy often in the schoolroom.
Our ``psychological impressions,'' dictated by Dr. Bronner, state that at first we found Emma very quiet and diffident, possibly somewhat shy and timid. At best she did not talk freely, only in monosyllables as a rule. She appears rather nervous. She says she thinks of lots of things she does not speak of. Emma smiles in friendly enough fashion, and later became more at ease, and more talkative. She was rather deliberate in work with tests. With concrete material she did better than with tasks more purely mental. She succeeds eventually with nearly everything, but is slow. She seems anxious to do well, but acts as if unable to rouse herself to any great effort. She is quite inaccurate in arithmetic, and only fair in other school studies. Emotions normal. In many ways appears normally childish. Her interest in fairy tales and in the type of make-believe plays in which she engages with her younger sisters seems mixed with her wonderment in regard to sex life. There is a distinct tendency to day-dreaming.
In reviewing the results of tests the only peculiarities to be noted are a definite weakness displayed in the powers of mental representation and analysis (she failed on Test X, usually readily done at 12 years), and a rather undue amount of suggestibility and inaccuracy in response to the ``Aussage'' test (Test VI). The latter, naturally-to-be-supposed important test in a case where lying was a characteristic, showed a result that belonged to the imaginative, inaccurate, and partially suggestible type. Many details of the picture were recalled correctly, but a few were manufactured to order, and 4 out of 7 suggestions were accepted.
During the pregnancy with Emma the mother had a rather hard time for a while on account of the severe illness of another child. The pregnancy began when the mother was still nursing a baby. However, when Emma was born she proved to be a healthy and normal child. Birth was normal. No convulsions. First walked and talked at the usual age. She was a fat child until 8 years, and then, after an attack of pneumonia, she began to ail somewhat. At 10 years tonsils and adenoids were removed. The mother had no knowledge of Emma's defective vision. Emma started to school at 7 years, but at 13 had reached only the 5th grade.
There are 8 living children in the family; one died in infancy. There has never been much illness among them. Most of them did well in school. The family physician says the boys show a ``queer streak,'' but nothing, evidently, at all well defined as compared with the career of Emma, whom he characterizes as a ``moral pervert.'' The mother is a well-meaning, hard-working, moderately intelligent woman of about 45. She is said to be somewhat slack in her household, but perfectly honest. The father is desperately alcoholic and peculiar at times. It is not known that his aberrations are ever shown apart from his drinking. Years ago he was in a hospital for the insane for several months as an alcoholic patient. The trouble with this girl is said to have led him to drink again. Both parents were from immigrant families. It is positively denied that there are any cases of insanity, feeblemindedness, or epilepsy on either side. Some other members of the family are known to have better homes.
On the physical side we found a small child for her age; weight 81 lbs., height 4 ft. 9 in. Nutrition and color fairly good. Vision about 20/80 R. and 20/60 L.; never had glasses. Crowded teeth. High Gothic palate. Regular features. Expression peculiarly stiff with eyes wide open. Flushes readily. With encouragement smiles occasionally. Other examination negative. Tonsils, and probably adenoids, removed three years previously; formerly had trouble with breathing through the nose. Complains much of frequent frontal headaches. Says she gets dizzy often in the schoolroom.
Our ``psychological impressions,'' dictated by Dr. Bronner, state that at first we found Emma very quiet and diffident, possibly somewhat shy and timid. At best she did not talk freely, only in monosyllables as a rule. She appears rather nervous. She says she thinks of lots of things she does not speak of. Emma smiles in friendly enough fashion, and later became more at ease, and more talkative. She was rather deliberate in work with tests. With concrete material she did better than with tasks more purely mental. She succeeds eventually with nearly everything, but is slow. She seems anxious to do well, but acts as if unable to rouse herself to any great effort. She is quite inaccurate in arithmetic, and only fair in other school studies. Emotions normal. In many ways appears normally childish. Her interest in fairy tales and in the type of make-believe plays in which she engages with her younger sisters seems mixed with her wonderment in regard to sex life. There is a distinct tendency to day-dreaming.
In reviewing the results of tests the only peculiarities to be noted are a definite weakness displayed in the powers of mental representation and analysis (she failed on Test X, usually readily done at 12 years), and a rather undue amount of suggestibility and inaccuracy in response to the ``Aussage'' test (Test VI). The latter, naturally-to-be-supposed important test in a case where lying was a characteristic, showed a result that belonged to the imaginative, inaccurate, and partially suggestible type. Many details of the picture were recalled correctly, but a few were manufactured to order, and 4 out of 7 suggestions were accepted.