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EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IN EDUCATION. 
CHILD STUDY AS A BASIS FOR PSYCHOLOGY AND 
PSYCHOLOGICAL TEACHING. 
ABSTRACT OF OPENING ADDRESS BY G. STANLEY HALL, PRESIDENT OF 
CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER. MASS. 
THE history of the scientific study of children began in this country in 
1879, when four kindergartners in Boston, acting under Mrs. Quincy 
Shaw’s lead, took three or four children at a time aside and endeavored to 
find the contents of their minds. The results of this work were published 
in the Princeton Review in 1880. The work showed great gaps, so great 
that it was dubbed “a study of ignorance of children.” It came out that 
‘he primers were made for country children, while the great bulk of chil- 
dren are city born. This line of work has since been carried on into the 
college ranks. As the study has already thrown light on common-school 
problems, so, it is hoped, like aid will come to college problems. 
Another line of study is the measurement of children. More children 
have been measured in the United States than elsewhere, but the results 
nave not been worked over so well here as in Europe. It has been found 
shat children grow tall in spring, and stocky in fall ; further, that differ- 
eut parts of the body have different periods of best growth. Times of 
physical growth are also times of mental growth in acquisition, though 
children then are not able to systematize well. Hence, in time of great 
acquisition ease up the constraint of methods ; take the child to the World’s 
Fair, but don’t ask him to explain it all. 
A third line of study is of exceptional and defective children. ¢¢ Study 
the child ” is becoming ¢“ Study #4is child.” The method-enthusiast 
prides himself on results gained from stupid children ; but we must let 
the bright children set the pace. I would rather have a teacher who knew 
nothing of methods for defective children, if he but knew the childhood 
of distinguished men, to put in the model school that I should like to see 
established. An experiment was made a few years ago in Paris which 
showed that methods adapted for bright children enabled a class of average 
00ys to complete the six years’ course of the Lycée in a little over two and 
one-half years, although no extra time was given. By such means I am 
confident we can work twice as fast with the brighter half of our classes. 
This is not theory ; I have tried it. 
A fourth line of child study relates to health. The modern school is a