l rather as giving the experienced
psychologist hints to be followed up than as furnishing sure proof of
the contents of the subject's mind.

Controlled Association

There is a controlled association test conducted like this one in free
association, except that the subject is required to respond to each
stimulus word by a word standing in a specified relation to it. To one
series of words he must respond by saying their opposites; to another,
by mentioning a part of each object named; to another series,
consisting of names of countries, he must respond by naming as quickly
as possible the capital of each country named; and there are many
tests of this sort, each dealing with some class of relationships
which, being often observed, are easily handled {382} by a person of
normal intelligence. The intelligent subject makes few errors in such
a test, and responds in very quick time. Indeed, the remarkable fact
is that he takes less time to respond in an easy controlled
association test than in the free association test; which shows that
the "control" acts not simply to limit the response, but also to
_facilitate_ it.

The "control" here is often called by the name of "mental set". It is
a good example of a "reaction tendency". On being told you are to give
opposites, you somehow set or adjust your mental machinery for making
this type of response. The mental set thus thrown into action
facilitates responses of the required type, while inhibiting other
responses that would readily occur in the absence of any directive
tendency. If the word "good" came as a stimulus word in a free
association test, it might easily arouse the responses, "good day",
"good night", "good boy", "good better", and many besides, since all
of these combinations have been frequently used in the past; and the
balance of frequency, recency and intensity might favor any one of
these responses. But when the subject is set for opposites, the
balance of these factors has little force as against the mental set.
The mental set for opposites favors the revival of such combinations
as "new--old", "good--bad", and such others of this class as have been
noted and used in the subject's past experience.

Mental set is a selective factor, a factor of advantage. It does not
supersede the previously formed associations, or work independently of
them, but selects from among them the one which fits the present task.
Does it get in its work after recall has done i