ue of the command "Give!" since the
child reaches out the object he is holding or is about to take hold of,
in case any one puts out the hand or the lips to him. Some weeks ago
this took place only with the ring and biscuit; now the word "give" has
the same effect with any object capable of being grasped, but it
operates almost like a reflex stimulus, "mechanically," without its
being even once the case that the act of giving is a purely voluntary
act or even occasioned by sympathy.
In these already learned co-ordinated movements made upon hearing the
words "Please, How tall? rogue! no! piano! ring! give!" all of which
are now executed with shorter intervals of deliberation as if by
a well-trained animal, there is in general absolutely no deeper
understanding present than that to this and the other sound-impression
belong this and the other movement. By means of daily repetition of
both, the time required for the production of the movement after the
excitement of the auditory nerve becomes less and less, the doubt as to
which movement follows this or that sound withdrawing more and more. At
last the responsive movements followed without any remarkable strain of
attention. They became habitual.
Now and then, however, the movements are still confounded. Upon "no!
no!" follows the touching of the head; upon "please," the shaking of the
head; upon "rogue," the putting of the hands together, etc. These errors
become frequent when a new impression diverts the attention. They become
more and more rare through repetition of the right movements made for
the child to see and through guiding the limbs of the child. A further
evidence of the increased ability to learn toward the end of the month
is the fact that the hands are raised in the attitude of begging not
only at the command "Please," but also at the question, "How does the
good child behave?" Thus, the experience is beginning to become a
conscious one that, in order to obtain anything, the begging attitude is
useful.
The fifteenth month brought no new definite independent utterances of
sound with the exception of _wa_. Sensations and emotions, however, are
indicated more and more definitely and variously by sounds that are
inarticulate and sometimes unintelligible. Thus, astonishment is
expressed by _h[=a]-[=a] [)e][=a]-[)e]_; joy by vigorous crowing in very
high tones and more prolonged than before; further, very strong desire
by repeated _haeoe_, _hae-[)e]_; pain,
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