The Analysis of Mind

IN 1904 Prof. C. Spearman began that long series of papers, culminating in 1927 in his book “The Abilities of Man”, which gave to psychology a new method of attack upon the problem of mental constitution. This method combined two techniques which were then coming into use in psychology, those of correlation and of mental testing. It made possible the analysis of a concrete function such as addition. It was possible to determine not only how many factors were involved but also which of them were general, that is, common to all abilities, which were group factors, that is, common to some but not all abilities, and which specific to the ability in question. It was even possible to estimate the relative importance in that ability of the various factors.Manual Skill: its Organization and Development.By Dr. J. W. Cox. (Cambridge Psychological Library.) Pp. xx + 247 + 1 plate. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1934.) 16s. net.