e explanation and give sample rhymes for _day_; otherwise we
proceed without further explanation to _mill_ and _spring_, saying,
"_Now, you have another minute to name all the words you can think of
that rhyme with 'mill,'_" etc. Apart from the mention of "one minute"
say nothing to suggest hurrying, as this tends to throw some children
into mental confusion.

SCORING. Passed if in _two out of the three_ parts of the experiment the
child finds _three words_ which rhyme with the word given, the time
limit for each series being _one minute_. Note that in each case there
must be three words in addition to the word given. These must be real
words, not meaningless syllables or made-up words. However, we should be
liberal enough to accept such words as _ding_ (from "ding-dong ") for
_spring_, _Jill_ (see "Jack and Jill") for _mill_, _Fay_ (girl's name)
for _day_, etc.

REMARKS. At first thought it would seem that the demands made by this
test upon intelligence could not be very great. Sound associations
between words may be contrasted unfavorably with associations like those
of cause and effect, part to whole, whole to part, opposites, etc. But
when we pass from _a-priori_ considerations to an examination of the
actual data, we find that the giving of rhymes is closely correlated
with general intelligence.

The 9-year-olds who test at or above 10 years nearly always do well in
finding rhymes, while 9-year-olds who test as low as 8 years seldom
pass. When a test thus shows high correlation with the scale as a whole,
we must either accept the test as valid or reject the scale altogether.
While the feeble-minded do not do as well in this test as normal
children of corresponding mental age, the percentage successes for them
rises rapidly between mental age 8 and mental age 10 or 11.

Closer psychological analysis of the processes involved will show why
this is true. To find rhymes for a given word means that one must hunt
out verbal associations under the direction of a guiding idea. Every
word has innumerable associations and many of these tend, in greater or
less degree, to be aroused when the stimulus word is given. In order to
succeed with the test, however, it is necessary to inhibit all
associations which are not relevant to the desired end. The directing
idea must be held so firmly in mind that it will really direct the
thought associations. Besides acting to inhibit the irrelevant, it must
create a sort of magnetic st