ts part, or before?
Does it wait till recall has brought up a number of responses, and
then pick out the one that fills the bill? No, it often works much too
quickly for that, giving the right response instantly; and
introspection is often perfectly clear that none but the right {383}
response is recalled at all. The selective influence of the mental set
is exerted _before recall_; it facilitates the right recall and
inhibits recall of any but the right response.

In controlled association, as in free association, only one of the
facts previously linked with the stimulus is recalled at a time; but
while in free association the factors of frequency, recency and
intensity of past linkage determine which of the many possible facts
shall be recalled, in controlled association the additional factor of
mental set is present and has a controlling influence in determining
which fact shall be recalled. Thus, in an opposites test, the stimulus
word "good" promptly calls up the pair "good--bad", because the mental
set for opposites gives this response a great advantage over "good
night" and other responses which may have a very strong linkage with
the stimulus word.

The mental set is itself a response to a stimulus. It is an inner
response thrown into activity by some stimulus, such as the stimulus
of being asked to give the opposites of a series of words that are
presently to be shown or spoken. This inner response of getting ready
for the task can be introspectively observed by a person who is new to
this type of test. It may take the form of mentally running over
examples of opposites--or whatever kind of responses are to be called
for--or it may take the form of calling up some image or diagram or
gesture that symbolizes the task. A visual image of the nose on the
face may serve as a symbol of the part-whole relationship, a small
circle inside a larger one may symbolize the relation of an object to
a class of objects, and gesturing first to the right and then to the
left may symbolize the relationship of opposites. But as the subject
grows accustomed to a given task, these conscious symbols fade away,
and nothing remains except a general "feeling of readiness" or of
"knowing what you are {384} about". The mental set remains in force,
however, and is no less efficient for becoming almost unconscious.

Examples of Controlled Association

Dwelling so long on the test for controlled association may have
created the impress