responded with probable
explanations which were always wide of the mark, and those to whom I
disclosed the cue--(after the experiments were completed), were
thoroughly astonished.

In the tests just described we had to do only with such ideas or
concepts as normally were associated with some stereotyped form of
expressive movement (see page 106). I now chose a group of ideas which
are not normally associated with a particular form of motor expression
peculiarly characteristic of them, and sought to establish artificially
such a connection with some arbitrary movement, without consciousness of
the process on the part of the subject. Thus I asked one subject (Miss
St.), who had no intimation of the aim of the tests, to think of the
following words in any order she might choose: "Ibis" (ibis), "Irbis"
(panther), "Kiebitz" (plover) and "Kuerbis" (pumpkin). I said that I
would react to her thoughts by means of arm movements forward and
backward to the right and to the left, respectively. 15 out of 20 tests
were successful, without the slightest suspicion on the part of the
subject (whose whole attention was concentrated on the word-content),
that she was giving me the necessary directives in the form of very
minute movements of the head and eyes to the right and left, etc. She
was greatly astonished that I should be able to guess words so much
alike,--(she did not know that the element of likeness was productive of
no difficulty). When, during one of the tests, the subject happened to
think spontaneously of the movement she was expecting me to make, she
became confused, and as a result the number of my sucessful reactions
suddenly fell. I never would have discovered the cause, had not the
subject enlightened me without my asking.

I repeated this series with three other persons, who had had some
psychological training. I did not use the same movement for each word in
all three cases, but indicated the word "Kiebitz", for instance, by
means of an upward movement in one case, by turning the head to the
right in another, etc. In one of the three cases the tests were almost
wholly unsuccessful. The cause for this came to light later, but it
would involve too much exposition to discuss it at this point. In the
case of the other two persons, the tests were successful beyond
expectation. I had made my various arm movements only a few times when
they presently began to raise their heads slightly when thinking of
"Irbis", and to mo