criminal psychology-第121部分

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ws　it　as　such　in　the　beginning　but　forgets　it　at　the　end。　Such　false　memories　are　numerous　among　barbarous　peoples　and　among　raw；　untrained；　and　childish　minds。　They　see　a　simple　fact；　the　more　they　think　of　it　the　more　they　see　in　it；　they　magnify　and　decorate　it　with　environing　circumstances；　and　finally；　unite　all　the　details　into　a　whole　in　memory。　Then　they　are　unable　to　distinguish　what　is　true　from　what　is　not。　Most　legends　develop　in　this　way。　A　peasant　assured　Taine　that　he　saw　his　sister's　soul　on　the　day　she　died；though　it　was　really　the　light　of　a　brandy　bottle　in　the　sunset。

In　conclusion；　I　want　to　cite　a　case　I　have　already　mentioned；　which　seems　to　me　significant。　As　student　I　visited　during　vacation　a　village；　one　of　whose　young　peasant　inhabitants　had　gone　to　town　for　the　first　time　in　his　life。　He　was　my　vacation　play…mate　from　earliest　childhood；　and　known　to　me　as　absolutely　devoted　to　the　truth。　When　he　returned　from　his　visit；　he　told　me　of　the　wonders　of　the　city；　the　climax　of　which　was　the　menagerie　he　had　visited。　He　described　what　he　saw　very　well；　but　also　said　that　he　had　seen　a　battle　between　an　anaconda　and　a　lion。　The　serpent　swallowed　the　lion　and　then　many　Moors　came　and　killed　the　serpent。　As　was　immediately　to　be　inferred　and　as　I　verified　on　my　return；　this　battle　was　to　be　seen　only　on　the　advertising　posters　which　are　hung　in　front　of　every　menagerie。　The　lad's　imagination　had　been　so　excited　by　what　he　had　seen　that　day　that　the　real　and　the　imagined　were　thoroughly　interfused。　How　often　may　this　happen　to　our　witnesses！

If　the　notion　of　imagination　is　to　be　limited　to　the　activity　of　representation；　we　must　class　under　it　the　premonitions　and　forewarnings　which　are　of　influence　not　only　among　the　uneducated。　Inasmuch　as　reliable　observations；　not　put　together　a　posteriori；　are　lacking；　nothing　exact　can　be　said　about　them。　That　innumerable　assertions　and　a　semi…scientific　literature　about　the　matter　exists；　is　generally　familiar。　And　it　is　undeniable　that　predictions；　premonitions；　etc。；　may　be　very　vivid；　and　have　considerable　somatic　influence。　Thus；　prophecy　of　approaching　death；　certain　threats　or　knowledge　of　the　fact　that　an　individual's　death　is　being　prayed　for；　etc。；　may　have　deadly　effect　on　excited　people。　The　latter　superstition　especially；　has　considerable　influence。　Praying　for　death；　etc。；　is　aboriginal。　It　has　been　traced　historically　into　the　twelfth　century　and　is　made　use　of　today。　Twelve　years　ago　I　was　told　of　a　case　in　which　an　old　lady　was　killed　because　an　enemy　of　hers　had　the　　death…mass　read　for　her。　The　old　lady　simply　died　of　fright。　In　some　degree　we　must　pay　attention　to　even　such　apparently　remote　questions。


（d）　_Misunderstandings_。

Section　106。　（I）　Verbal　Misunderstandings。＇1＇

Here　too　it　is　not　possible　to　draw　an　absolutely　definite　boundary　between　acoustic　illusions　and　misunderstandings。　Verbally　we　may　say　that　the　former　occur　when　the　mistake；　at　least　in　its　main　characteristic；　is　due　to　the　aural　mechanism。　The　latter　is　intended　when　there　is　a　mistake　in　the　comprehension　of　a　word　or　of　a　sentence。　In　this　case　the　ear　has　acted　efficiently；　but　the　mind　did　not　know　how　to　handle　what　had　been　heard　and　so　supplements　it　by　something　else　in　connection　with　matter　more　or　less　senseless。　Hence；　misunderstandings　are　so　frequent　with　foreign　words。　Compare　the　singing　of　immigrant　school　children；　‘‘My　can't　three　teas　of　tea''　for　‘‘My　country　'tis　of　thee；''　or　‘‘Pas　de　lieu　Rhone　que　nous''　with　‘‘Paddle　your　own　canoe。''＇2＇

The　question　of　misunderstandings；　their　development　and　solution；　is　of　great　importance　legally；　since　not　only　witnesses　but　clerks　and　secretaries　are　subject　to　them。　If　they　are　undiscovered　they　lead　to　dangerous　mistakes；　and　their　discovery　causes　great　trouble　in　getting　at　the　correct　solution。＇3＇　The　determination　of　texts　requires　not　only　effort　but　also　psychological　knowledge　and　the　capacity　of　putting　one's　self　in　the　place　of　him　who　has　committed　the　error。　To　question　him　may　often　be　impossible　because　of　the　distance；　and　may　be　useless　because　he　no　longer　knows　what　he　said　or　wanted　to　say。　When　we　consider　what　a　tremendous　amount　of　work　classical　philologists；　etc。；　have　to　put　into　the　determination　of　the　proper　form　of　some　misspelled　word；　we　can　guess　how　needful　it　is　to　have　the　textual　form　of　a　protocol　absolutely　correct。　The　innocence　or　guilt　of　a　human　being　may　depend　upon　a　misspelled　syllable。　Now；　to　determine　the　proper　and　correct　character　of　the　text　is　as　a　rule　difficult；　and　in　most　cases　impossible。　Whether　a　witness　or　the　secretary　has　misunderstood；　makes　no　difference　in　the　nature　of　the　work。　Its　importance　remains　unaffected；　but　in　the　latter　case　the　examining　justice；　in　so　far　as　he　correctly


＇1＇　Many　omissions　have　been　necessitated　by　the　feet　that　no　English　equivalents　for　the　German　examples　could　be　found。　＇Translator。＇

＇2＇　Cf。　S。　Freud：　Psychopathologie　des　Alltagsleben

＇3＇　Cited　by　James；　Psychology；　Buefer　Course。

　remembers　what　he　has　heard；　may　avoid　error。　The　mistakes　of　the　secretaries　may　in　any　event　be　reduced　to　a　minimum　if　all　protocols　are　read　immediately；　and　not　by　the　secretary　but　by　the　examining　judge　himself。　If　the　writer　reads　them　he　makes　the　same　mistakes；　and　only　a　very　intelligent　witness　will　perceive　them　and　call　attention　to　them。　Unless　it　so　happens　the　mistake　remains。

I　cite　a　few　of　the　errors　that　I　have　observed。　From　a　protocol　with　the　suspect：　‘‘On　the　twelfth　of　the　month　I　left　Marie　Tomizil''　（instead　of；　‘‘my　domicile''）。　Instead　of　‘‘irrelevant；''‘‘her　elephant。''　Very　often　words　are　written　in；　which　the　dictator　only　says　by　the　way；　e。　g。；　‘‘come　in；''　‘‘go　on；''　‘‘hurry　up；''　‘‘look　out；''　etc。　If　such　words　get　into　the　text　at　all　it　is　difficult　to　puzzle　out　how　they　got　in。　How　easily　and　frequently　people　misunderstand　is　shown　by　the　oath　they　take。　Hardly　a　day　passes　on　which　at　least　one　witness　does　not　say　some　absolute　nonsense　while　repeating　it。

The　discovery　of　such　errors　and　the　substitution　of　what　is　correct　brings　us　back　to　the　old　rule　that　the　mere　study　of　our　own　cases　can　not　teach　us　anything；　since　the　field　of　view　is　too　narrow；　the　material　too　uniform；　and　the　stimulation　too　light。　Other　disciplines　must　be　studied　and　examples　from　the　daily　life　must　be　sought。　Goethe；　in　particular；　can　teach　us　here。　In　his　little　monograph；　‘‘Hr…；　Schreib…　and　Druckfehler；''　he　first　tells　that　he　had　discovered　the　most　curious　mistakes　in　hearing　when　he　reread　dictated　letters；　mistakes　which　would　have　caused　great　difficulty　if　not　immediately　looked　after。　The　only　means　for　the　solution　of　these　errors　is；　he　says；　‘‘to　read　the　matter　aloud；　get　thoroughly　into　its　meaning　and　repeat　the　unintelligible　word　so　long　that　the　right　one　occurs　in　the　flow　of　speech。　Nobody　hears　all　that　he　knows；　nobody　is　conscious　of　all　that　he　senses；　is　able　to　imagine；　or　to　think。　Persons　who　have　never　been　to　school　tend　to　turn　into　German　all　Latin　and　Greek　expressions。　The　same　thing　happens　just　as　much　with　words　from　foreign　languages　whose　pronunciation　is　unknown　to　the　writer　。　。　。　and　in　dictation　it　occurs　that　a　hearer　sets　his　inner　inclination；　passion；　and　need　in　the　place　of　the　word　he　has　heard；　and　substitutes　for　it　the　name　of　some　loved　person；　or　some　much　desired　good　morsel。''　A　better　device　for　the　detection　of　errors　than　that　suggested　by　Goethe　cannot　be　found；　but　the　protocol　or　whatever　else　it　may　be　must　be　_*read_；　otherwise　nothing　helps。　Many　mistakes　are　due；　as　　Mnsterberg　points　out；　to　the　fact　that　the　word　is　seen　for　just　an　instant；　and　it　is　easy　to　misread　a　word　so　seen　if　some　similar　word　had　been　heard　or　seen　just　before。　The　most　senseless　corruptions　of　text　occur　often；　and　it　seems　extraordinary　how　they　may　be　overlooked。　Andresen　points　out　that　the　reason　for　all　popular　explanations　is　the　consciousness　of　language　which　struggles　against　allowing　any　name　to　be　an　empty　sound；　and　still　more；　strives　to　give　each　term　a　separate　meaning　and　an　indubitable　intelligibility。　The　human　mind　acts　here　instinctively　and　navely　without　any　reflection；　and　is　determined　by　feeling　or　accident。　Then　it　makes　all　kinds　of　transformations　of　foreign　words。

This　fits　with　the　analogous　observation　that　a　group　of　Catholic　patron　saints　depend　for　their　character　on　their　names。　Santa　Clara　makes　clear　vision；　St。　Lucy　sounds　like　lucida；　and　is　the　saint　of　the　blind；　St。　Mamertus　is　analogous　to　mamma；　the　feminine　breast；　and　is　the　patron　saint　of　nurses　and　nursing　women。　Instructive　substitutions　are　Jack　Spear；　for　Shakespeare；　Apolda　for　Apollo；　Great　victory　at　le　Mans；　for　Great　victory　at　Lehmanns；　‘‘plaster　depot；''　for　‘‘place　de　Repos。''

Andresen　warns　us　against　going　too　far　in　analysis。　Exaggerations　are　easy；　particularly　when　we　want　to　get　at　the　source　of　a　misunderstanding　because　of　the　illegibility　of　the　style。　Our　task　consists；　first　of　all；　in　getting　at　the　correctness　of　what　has　been　said　or　written；　otherwise　we　have　nothing　whatever　to　go　by。　Only　when　that　is　quite　impossible　may　we　assume　misunderstandings　and　seek　them　out。　The　procedure　then　must　be　necessarily　linguistic　and　psychological　and　requires　the　consultation　of　experts　in　both　fields。　Certain　instructive　misunderstandings　of　the　most　obvious　sort　occur　when　the　half…educated　drop　their　dialect；　or　thoroughly　educated　people　alter　the　dialectical　expressions　and　try　to　translate　them　into　high　German。

It　is　frequently　important　to　understand　the　curious　transposition　in　meaning　which　foreign　words　get；　e。　g。；　commode；　fidel；　and　famos。　A　commode　gentleman　means　in　German；　a　pliable　person；　and　a　fidel　lad　is　not　a　loyal　soul；　but　a　merry；　pleasure…　seeking　one；　famosoriginally　‘‘famous；''means　expensive　or　pleasant。

It　may　be　not　unimportant　to　understand　how　names　are　altered。　Thus；　I　know　a　man　who　curiously　enough　was　called　Kammerdiener；　whose　father　was　an　immigrant　Italian　called　Comadina；　and　I　know　two　old　men；　brothers；　who　lived　in　different　parts