Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education

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=Education and Nervous Energy.=--It is evident from the foregoing, that
the forming of new ideas or of new modes of action tends to use up a
large share of nervous energy. For this reason, the learning of new and
difficult things should not be undertaken when the body is in a tired
or exhausted condition; for the resistance which must be overcome, and
the changes which must take place in the nervous tissue during the
learning process, are not likely to be effectively accomplished under
such conditions. Moreover, the energy thus lost must be restored through
the blood, and therefore demands proper food, rest, and sleep on the
part of the individual. It should be noted further that nervous tissue
is more plastic during the early years of life. This renders it
imperative, therefore, that knowledge and skill should be gained, as far
as possible, during the plastic years. The person who wishes to become a
great violinist must acquire skill to finger and handle the bow early in
life. The person who desires to become a great linguist, if he allows
his early years to pass without acquiring the necessary skill, cannot
expect in middle life to train his vocal organs to articulate a number
of different languages.

=Cortical Habit.=--In the light of what has been seen regarding the
character and function of the nervous system, it will now be possible to
understand more fully two important forms of adjustment already referred
to. When nervous movements are transmitted to the cortex of the brain,
they not only awaken consciousness, or make the individual aware of
something, but the present impression also leaves certain permanent
effects in the nervous tissue of the cortex itself. Since, however,
cortical activity implies consciousness, the retention of such a
tendency within the cortical centres will imply, not an habitual act in
the ordinary sense, but a tendency on the part of a conscious experience
to repeat itself. This at once implies an ability to retain and recall
past experiences, or endows the individual with power of memory.
Cortical habit, therefore, or the establishment of permanent
connections within the cortical centres, with their accompanying dynamic
tendency to repeat themselves, will furnish the physiological conditions
for a revival of former experience in memory, or will enable the
individual to turn the past to the service of the present.

=Physical Habits.=--The basis for the formation of physical habits
appears also in this retentive power of nervous tissue. When the young
boy, for instance, first mounts his new bicycle, he is unable, except
with the most attentive effort and in a most laboured and awkward
manner, either to keep his feet on the pedals, or make the handle-bars
respond to the balancing of the wheel. In a short time, however, all
these movements take place in an effective and graceful manner without
any apparent attention being given to them. This efficiency is
conditioned by the fact that all these movements have become habitual,
or take place largely as reflex acts.

In school also, when the child learns to perform such an act as making
the figure 2, the same changes take place. Here an impression must first
proceed from the given copy to a sensory centre in the cortex. As yet,
however, there is no vital connection established between the sensory
centres and the motor centres which must direct the muscles in making
the movement. As the movement is attempted, however, faint connections
are set up between different centres. With each repetition the
connection is made stronger, and the formation of the figure rendered
less difficult. So long, however, as the connection is established
within the cortex, the movement will not take place except under
conscious direction. Ultimately, however, similar connections between
sensory and motor neurons may be established in lower centres, whereupon
the action will be performed as a reflex act, or without the
intervention of a directing act of consciousness. This evidently takes
place when a student, in working a problem, can form the figures, while
his consciousness is fully occupied with the thought phases of the
problem. Thus the neural condition of physical habit is the
establishment of easy passages between sensory and motor nerves in
centres lower than the cortex.

CHAPTER XXI

INSTINCT

=Definition of Instinct.=--In a foregoing section, it was seen that our
bodily movements divide into different classes according to their
source, or origin. Among them were noted certain inherited spontaneous,
but useful, complex movements which follow, in a more or less uniform
way, definite types of stimuli presented to the organism. Such an
inherited tendency on the part of an organism to react in an effective
manner, but without any definite purpose in view, whenever a particular
stimulus presents itself, is known as instinct, and the resulting action
is described as an instinctive act. As an example of purely instinctive
action may be taken the maternal instinct of insects whose larvae require
live prey when they are born. To provide this the mother administers
sufficient poison to a spider or a caterpillar to stupefy it, and then
bears it to her nest. Placing the victim close to her eggs, she incloses
the two together, thus providing food for her future offspring. This
complex series of acts, so essential to the continuance of the species,
and seemingly so full of purpose, is nevertheless conducted throughout
without reference to past experience, and without any future end in
view. Instinct may, therefore, be defined as the ability of an organism
to react upon a particular situation so as to gain a desirable end, yet
without any purpose in view or any previous training.

=Characteristics of Instinct.=--An instinctive act, it may be noted, is
distinguished by certain well marked characteristics:

1. The action is not brought about by experience or guided by
intelligence, but is a direct reaction on the part of the organism to
definite stimulation.

2. Although not the result of reason, instinctive action is purposeful
to the extent that it shows a predisposition on the part of the organism
to react in an effective manner to a particular situation.

3. An instinctive movement is a response in which the whole organism is
concerned. It is the discomfort of the whole organism, for instance,
that causes the bird to migrate or the child to seek food. In this
respect it differs from a mere reflex action such as the winking of the
eye, breathing, coughing, etc., which involves only some particular part
of the organism.

4. Although not a consciously purposed action, instinct nevertheless
involves consciousness. In sucking, for instance, sensation accompanies
both the discomfort of the organism giving rise to the movements and
also the instinctive act itself. In this respect it differs from such
automatic actions as breathing, the circulation of the blood, and the
beating of the heart.

=Origin of Instinct.=--The various instinctive movements with which an
organism is endowed, not being a result of experience or education, a
question at once arises as to their source, or origin. Instinct has its
origin in the fact that certain movements which have proved beneficial
in the ancestral experience of the race have become established as
permanent modes of reaction, and are transmitted to each succeeding
generation. The explanation of this transmission of tendencies is, that
beneficial movements are retained as permanent modifications of the
nervous system of the animal, and are transmitted to the offspring as a
_reactive tendency_ toward definite stimuli. The partridge family, for
instance, has preserved its offspring from the attacks of foxes, dogs,
and other enemies only by the male taking flight and dragging itself
along the ground, thus attracting the enemy away from the direction of
the nest. The complex movements involved in such an act, becoming
established as permanent motor connections within the system, are
transmitted to the offspring as predispositions. Instinct would thus
seem a physiological habit, or hereditary tendency, within the nervous
system to react in a fixed manner under certain conditions. In many
respects, however, instincts seem to depend more largely upon bodily
development than upon nervous structure. While the babe will at first
instinctively suck; yet as soon as teeth appear, the sucking at once
gives way to the biting instinct. The sucking instinct then disappears
so completely that only a process of education will re-establish it
later. Birds also show no instinctive tendency to fly until their wings
are developed, while the young of even the fiercest animals will flee
from danger, until such time as their bodily organism is properly
developed for attack. From this it would seem that instinctive action
depends even more upon general bodily structure and development than
upon fixed co-ordinations within the nervous system.

HUMAN INSTINCTS

On account of the apparently intelligent character of human actions, it
is often stated that man is a creature largely devoid of instincts. The
fact is, however, that he is endowed with a large number of impulsive or
instinctive tendencies to act in definite ways, when in particular
situations. Man has a tendency, under the proper conditions, to be
fearful, bashful, angry, curious, sympathetic, grasping, etc. It is
only, moreover, because experience finally gives man ideas of these
instinctive movements, that they may in time be controlled by reason,
and developed into orderly habits.

=Classification of Human Instincts.=--Various attempts have been made to
classify human instincts. For educational purposes, perhaps the most
satisfactory method is that which classifies them according to their
relation to the direct welfare of the individual organism. Being
inherited tendencies on the part of the organism to react in definite
ways to definite stimuli, all instinctive acts should naturally tend to
promote the good of the particular individual. Different instincts will
be found to differ, however, in the degree in which they involve the
immediate good of the individual organism. On this basis the various
human instincts may be divided into the following classes:

1. _Individualistic Instincts._--Some instincts gain their significance
because they tend solely to meet the needs of the individual. Examples
of these would be the instincts involved in securing food, as biting,
chewing, carrying objects to the mouth; such instinctive expressions as
crying, smiling, and uttering articulate sounds; rhythmical bodily
movements; bodily expression of fear, etc.

2. _Racial Instincts._--These include such instinctive acts as make for
the preservation of the species, as the sexual and parental instincts,
jealousy, etc. The constructive instinct in man, also, may be considered
parallel to the nesting instinct in birds and animals.

3. _Social Instincts._--Among these are placed such instinctive
tendencies as bashfulness, sympathy, the gregarious instinct, or love of
companionship, anger, self-assertion, combativeness, etc.

4. _Instincts of Adjustment._--Included among man's native tendencies
are a number of complex responses which manifest themselves in his
efforts to adjust himself to his surroundings. These may be called
instinctive so far as concerns their mere impulsive tendency, which is
no doubt inherited. In the operation of these so-called instincts,
however, there is not seen that definite mode of response to a
particular stimulus which is found in a pure instinct. Since, however,
these are important human tendencies, and since they deal specifically
with the child's attitude in adapting himself to his environment, they
rank from an educational standpoint among the most important of human
instincts. These include such tendencies as curiosity, imitation, play,
constructiveness and acquisitiveness.

=Human Instincts Modified by Experience.=--Although instinctive acts are
performed without forethought or conscious purpose, yet in man they may
be modified by experience. This is true to a degree even in the case of
the instincts of the lower animals. Young spiders, for instance,
construct their webs in a manner inferior to that of their elders. In
the case of birds, also, the first nest is usually inferior in structure
to those of later date. In certain cases, indeed, if accounts are to be
accepted, animals are able to vary considerably their instinctive
movements according to the particular conditions. It is reported that a
swallow had selected a place for her nest between two walls, the
surfaces of which were so smooth that she could find no foundation for
her nest. Thereupon she fixed a bit of clay to each wall, laid a piece
of light wood upon the clay supports, and with the stick as a foundation
proceeded to construct her nest. On the whole, however, there seems
little variation in animal instincts. The fish will come a second time
to take food off the hook, the moth will fly again into the flame, and
the spider will again and again build his web over the opening, only to
have it again and again torn away. But whatever may be the amount of
variation within the instincts of the lower animals, in the case of man
instinctive action is so modified by experience that his instincts soon
develop into personal habits. The reason for this is quite evident. As
previously pointed out, an instinctive act, though not originally
purposeful, is in man accompanied with a consciousness of both the
bodily discomfort and the resulting movements. Although, therefore, the
child instinctively sucks, grasps at objects, or is convulsed with fear,
these acts cannot take place without his gradually understanding their
significance as states of experience. In this way he soon learns that
the indiscriminate performance of an instinctive act may give quite
different results, some being much more valuable to the individual than
others. The young child, for instance, may instinctively bite whatever
enters his mouth, but the older child has learned that this is not
always desirable, and therefore exercises a voluntary control over the
movement.

=Instincts Differ in Value.=--The fact that man's instinctive tendencies
thus come within the range of experience, not only renders them amenable
to reason, but also leaves the question of their ultimate outcome
extremely indefinite. For this reason many instincts may appear in man
in forms that seem undesirable. The instinct to seek food is a natural
one, yet will be condemned when it causes the child to take fruit from
the neighbour's garden. In like manner, the instinct to know his
surroundings is natural to man, but will be condemned when it causes him
to place his ear to the keyhole. The tendency to imitate is not in
itself evil, yet the child must learn to weigh the value of what he
imitates. One important reason, therefore, why the teacher should
understand the native tendencies of the child is that he may direct
their development into moral habits and suppress any tendencies which
are socially undesirable.

=Education of Instincts.=--In dealing with the moral aspects of the
child's instinctive tendencies, the educator must bear in mind that one
tendency may come in conflict with another. The individualistic instinct
of feeding or ownership may conflict with the social instinct of
companionship; the instinct of egoism, with that of imitation; and the
instinct of fear, with that of curiosity. To establish satisfactory
moral habits on the basis of instinct, therefore, it is often possible
to proceed by a method of substitution. The child who shows a tendency
to destroy school furniture can best be cured by having constructive
exercises. The boy who shows a natural tendency to destroy animal life
may have the same arrested by being given the care of animals and thus
having his sympathy developed. In other cases, the removal of stimuli,
or conditions, for awaking the instinctive tendency will be found
effective in checking the development of an undesirable instinct into a
habit. The boy who shows a spirit of combativeness may be cured by
having a generous and congenial boy as his chum. The pupil whose social
tendencies are so strong that he cannot refrain from talking may be
cured by isolation.

=Instincts May Disappear.=--In dealing with the instinctive tendencies
of the child, it is important for the educator to remember that many of
these are transitory in character and, if not utilized at the proper
time, will perish for want of exercise. Even in the case of animals,
natural instincts will not develop unless the opportunity for exercise
is provided at the time. Birds shut up in a cage lose the instinct to
fly; while ducks, after being kept a certain time from water, will not
readily acquire the habit of swimming. In the same way, the child who
is not given opportunity to associate with others will likely grow up a
recluse. All work for a few years, and it will be impossible for Jack to
learn later how to play. The girl who during her childhood has no
opportunity to display any pride through neatness in dress will grow up
untidy and careless as to her personal appearance. In like manner, it is
only the child whose constructive tendency is early given an opportunity
to express itself who is likely to develop into an expert workman; while
one who has no opportunity to give expression to his aesthetic instinct
in early life will not later develop into an artist.

CURIOSITY

=Curiosity as Motive.=--An important bearing of instinct upon the work
of education is found in the fact that an instinctive tendency may add
much to the force of the motive, or end, in any educative process. This
is especially true in the case of such adaptive instincts as curiosity,
imitation, and play. Curiosity is the inquisitive attitude, or appetite,
of the mind which causes it to seek out what is strange in its
surroundings and make it an object of attention. As an instinctive
tendency, its significance consists in the fact that it leads the
individual to interpret his surroundings. A creature devoid of
curiosity, therefore, would not discover either the benefits to be
derived from his surroundings or the dangers to be avoided. In addition
to its direct practical value in leading the individual to study his
environment in order to meet actual needs, curiosity often seeks a more
theoretic end, appearing merely as a feeling of wonder or a thirst for
knowledge.

=Use and Abuse of Curiosity.=--While curiosity is needful for the
welfare of the individual, an inordinate development of this instinct is
both intellectually and morally undesirable. Since curiosity directs
attention to the novel in our surroundings, over-curiosity is likely to
keep the mind wandering from one novelty to another, and thus interfere
with the fixing of attention for a sufficient time to give definiteness
to particular impressions. The virtue of curiosity is, therefore, to
direct attention to the novel until it is made familiar. There is a type
of curiosity, however, which craves for mere astonishment and not for
understanding. It is such curiosity that causes children to pry into
other people's belongings, and men into other people's affairs.

=Sensuous and Apperceptive Curiosity.=--Curiosity may be considered of
two kinds also from the standpoint of its origin. In early life,
curiosity must rest largely upon sense perception, being essentially an
appetite of the senses to meet and interpret the objective surroundings.
A bright light, a loud noise, a moving object, at once awakens
curiosity. At this stage, curiosity serves as a counteracting influence
to the instinct of fear, the one leading the child to use his senses
upon his surroundings, and the other causing him to use them in a
careful and judicious manner. As the child grows in experience, however,
his curiosity limits itself more and more in accordance with the law of
apperception. Here the object attracts attention not merely because of
its sensuous properties, but because it suggests novel relations within
the elements of past experience. The young child's curiosity, for
instance, is aroused toward a strange plant simply because of its form
and colour, that of the student of botany, because the plant presents
features that do not relate themselves at once to his botanical
experience. The first curiosity may be called objective, or sensuous,
the second subjective, or apperceptive.

=Relation of Two Types.=--The distinction between sensuous and
apperceptive curiosity is, of course, one of degree rather than one of
kind. A novel object could not be an object of attention unless it bore
some relation to the present mental content. The young child, however,
seeks mainly to give meaning to novel sense impressions, and is not
attracted to the more hidden relations in which objects may stand one to
another. He is attracted, for instance, to the colour, scent, and
general form of the flower, rather than to its structure. On the other
hand, it is found that at a later stage curiosity is usually aroused
toward a novel problem, to the extent to which the problem finds a
setting in previous experience. This is seen in the fact that the young
child takes no interest in having lessons grow out of each other in a
connected manner, but must have his curiosity aroused to the present
situation through its own intrinsic appeal. For this reason, young
children are mainly interested in a lesson which deals with particular
elements in a concrete manner, such as coloured blocks, bright pictures,
and stories of action; while the older pupil seeks out the new problem
because it stands in definite relation to what is already known.

=Importance of Apperceptive Curiosity.=--Since curiosity depends upon
novelty, it is evident that sensuous should ultimately give place to
apperceptive curiosity. Although objects first impress the senses with a
degree of freshness and vigour, this freshness must disappear as the
novelty of the impression wears off. When sensuous curiosity thus
disappears, it is only by seeing in the world of sensuous objects other
relations with their larger meaning, that healthy curiosity is likely
to be maintained. Thus it is that the curiosity of the student is
attracted to the more hidden qualities of objects, to the tracing of
cause and effect, and to the discovery of scientific truth in general.

=Novelty versus Variety.=--While the familiar must lose something of its
freshness through its very familiarity, it is to be noted that to remit
any experience for a time will add something to the freshness of its
revival. Persons and places, for instance, when revisited after a period
of absence, gain something of the charm of novelty. Variety is,
therefore, a means by which the effect of curiosity may be sustained,
even after the original novelty has disappeared. This fact should be
especially remembered in dealing with the studies of young children.
Without being constantly fed upon the novel, the child may yet avoid
monotony by having a measure of variety within a reasonable number of
interests. It is in this way, in fact, that permanent centres of
interest can best be established. To keep a child's attention
continually upon one line of experiences would destroy both curiosity
and interest. To keep him ever attending to the novel would prevent the
building up of any centres of interest. By variety within a reasonable
number of subjects, both depth of interest and reasonable variety in
interests will be obtained. This is, therefore, another reason why the
school curriculum should show a reasonable number of subjects and
reasonable variety in the presentation of these subjects.

IMITATION

=Nature of Imitation.=--In our study of the nervous system, attention
was called to the close connection existing between sensory impulse and
action. It may be noted further that, whenever the young child gains an
idea of an action, he tends at once to express that idea in action. On
account of this immediate connection between thought and expression, due
to an inability to inhibit the motor discharge, a child, as soon as he
is able to form ideas of the acts of others, must necessarily show a
tendency to repeat, or reproduce, such acts. Granting that this
immediate connection between sensory impulse and motor response is an
inherited capacity, the tendency of the young child to imitate the acts
of others may be classified as an instinct.

=Imitation a Complex.=--On closer examination, however, it will be found
that imitation is really a complex of several tendencies. The nervous
organism of the healthy young child is usually supercharged with nervous
energy. This energy, like a swollen stream, seems ever striving to sweep
away any resistance to the motor discharge of sensory impulses, and must
necessarily reinforce the natural tendency to give immediate expression
to ideas of action. Moreover, the social instincts of the child, his
sympathy, etc., give him a special interest in human beings and in their
acts. These tendencies, therefore, focus his attention upon human
action, and cause his ideas of such acts to become more vivid and
interesting. For this reason, observation of human acts is more likely
to lead to motor expression. That the social instincts of the child
reinforce the tendency to imitate is indicated by the fact that his
early imitations are of human acts especially, as yawning, smiling,
crying, etc. The same is further evidenced in that, at a later stage,
when ordinary objects enter into his imitative acts, the imitation is
largely symbolic, and objects are endowed with living attributes. Here
blocks become men; sticks, horses, etc.

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