RECENT LITERATURE

NOTES AND ABSTRACTS

The abstracts and the bibliography in this issue were prepared under the general direction of D. E. Proctor, by Mrs. E. R. Rich, P. T. Diefenderfer, P. E. Martin, and P. P. Boyer, of the Department of Sociology of the University of Chicago.

Each abstract is numbered at the end according to the classification printed in the January number of this Journal.

I. PERSONALITY: THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE PERSON

Civilization and the Savage Myth.-The ancient notion that civilization tends to subjugate the animal side of our nature may be partly true, but it is also true that, so far from sublimating our primitive passions, civilized modes of life tend to intensify those instincts which they are supposed to repress. The belief that in backward societies the sexual instinct is abnormally developed has no foundation whatsoever. During the world-war the ferocious and bloodthirsty instincts which the white man is so ready to attribute to the savage were far outdone by the white man's impulses, even to such an extent as to cause the savage himself to revolt.-Andrade and La Touche, Sociological Review, XVII (October, 1925), 301-6. (I, 2.) P.T.D.

Further Studies in the Psycho-Sexuality of College Graduate Men.-A group of college graduates answered a questionnaire regarding each individual's early life and training, his personal characteristics as estimated by himself, his feeling on sexual matters, and his sex experiences. The replies are given statistically and are in some cases analyzed, but no general conclusions are drawn.-M. W. Peck and F. L. Wells, Mental Hygiene, IX (July, 1925), 502–20. (I, 2; IX, 3.) E. R. R.

Quelques Explications d'Enfants Relatives a l'Origin des Astres (Some Explanations of the Child's Conceptions of the Origin of the Sun).-In the beginning the child attributes the origin of the sun to human works, in the second state the sun has its origin in a semi-natural, semi-artificial manner, and in the final stage the child arrives at the idea that the origin has nothing to do with human industry. Here the child invents a natural origin or refuses the question of origin which makes it very difficult for him.-Jean Piaget, Journal de Psychologie, XXII (October, 1925), 677-702. (I, 3, 4.) P.T.D.

Influence of Suggestion on Imagery in a Group Situation.-A class experiment was carried on with verbal (orally given) stimuli to determine the effect of suggestion by personal influence on the vividness of voluntarily aroused images. The experiment shows that although the normal judgment of the vividness of certain types of imagery can be definitely influenced by suggestion, this influence is for the most part small.-Hulsey Cason, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, XX (October, 1925), 294–99. (I, 4.)

Problems of Student Adjustment in the University. In the survey of educational results and aims the universities have had their share of criticism, mostly just. One of the charges is that the university has failed to fit the individual to life, that it has molded rather than developed the student. Other factors must be taken into account than the intellectual capabilities and attainments of the students and the courses of study. Emotional tendencies and reactions, preferences and dislikes, religious beliefs, social gaucheries or inclinations, volitional tendencies, vocational aspirations, and home environment are important in student adjustment and development. Shepherd Ivory Franz, Journal of Delinquency, IX (July, 1925), 131-37. (I, 4; VIII, 4.)

E. R. R.

Personality Types.-Numerous more or less confusing and overlapping classifications of personality types exist and may be criticized along two lines; either they are individualistic or they are pathological. A sociological classification is needed which involves all and is conceived as the product of interaction. Personality types can be classified as the unadjustable, unadjusted, adjusted, and maladjusted. This classification is not merely and superficially descriptive but is based on etiological factors.-E. B. Harper, Social Science, I (November, 1925), 26–29. (I, 4.)

P. T.D.

II. THE FAMILY

L'Aide à la Famille et la Natalité (Family Aid and the Birth-rate).—In the districts of France where mutual aid has been given to the family, a decided increase has been noticed in the birth-rate. In these districts there are less unions without children and more unions with two, three, four, or more children. It is also worth noticing that where proper aid and attention is given the death-rate has shown a remarkable decrease.-Georges Risler, Le Musée Social, XXXII (October, 1925), 28588. (II, 3; VIII, 2.) P. T.D.

Une Initiative d'Association de Familles Nombreuses (The Beginning of an Association for Large Families).—In the aid of the individual a definite course is gone through which consists of cycles. The first is that which deals with the school and the cultural development, secondly, the period of apprenticeship when he can command a small salary and, thirdly, the accomplished worker. With local and special as well as national assistance, great things may be accomplished towards national unity and solidarity.-Gaston Valran, Le Musée Social, XXXII (October, 1925), 290-95. (II, 3.) P.T.D.

III. PEOPLES AND CULTURAL GROUPS

Devil Dances amid the Eternal Snows.-Dances are held by the peoples of Northern India or Tibet who wear cumbersome garments and enormous masks symbolically representing animals and earth demons. The dances consist of a whirling, leaping, and yelling to the noise of trumpets, cymbals, and drums until they finally fall exhausted.-L. S. Anderson, Asia, XXV (December, 1925), 1039-43. (III, 1.) P.T.D.

New Light on Evolving Man.-Man's evolution has been traced by his actual fossil remains to about the beginning of the glacial period, half a million years ago. In America no previous book has received so much popular attention as that accorded to Professor Fairfield Osborn's Men of the Old Stone Age. Some of the most valuable of the new books are: Fossil Men, Human Origins, Man's Life on Earth, The Antiquity of Man, Fossil Man in Spain, Ancient Hunters, and Prehistory.-Albert G. Ingalls, Scientific American (September, 1925), 86–87. (III, 1.)

P.T.D.

The Island of Bolsö.-Bolsö is a small island of Norway located in the midst of the Romsdal, Lang, and Fane fjords. The island is well forested and there are approximately fifteen holdings on it, the larger of which are not over three or four acres. Cottage industries have declined due to the closeness of civilization and instead of being a center as it was and as most islands were before the development of civilization due to water communication, it is now an appendage to the mainland due to a system of communication by roads.-B. F. Herbert, Sociological Review, XVII (October, 1925), 307-13. (III, 3.) P. T.D.

A Romantic in Bengal and in New York.-A study of Bengal kinship terms and social organization reveals much of biographical as well as of cultural significance.-Elsie C. Parsons, Scientific Monthly, XXI (December, 1925), 600-12. (III, 3.) P. T. D.

The Immigrant as a Factor in Social Work.-The average number of immigrant families in case work is about 60 per cent. Yet the ignorance of many case workers of the social background of the immigrant and of his early experiences in

the new world are responsible for much bad advice and for suffering on the part of his family.-Ida L. Hull, The Family, VI (October, 1925), 171–73. (III, 4; VI, 6.) E. R. R.

A Polish Background.-After persuading a Polish husband to return to his wife and children a study was made of the early training and background of both husband and wife in order to understand the problems of other immigrants.-Elsa Hirsch, The Family, VI (October, 1925), 181-84. (III, 4; IX, 5.) E. R. R.

The Limit of American Population.-A fixed limit for population growth appears to be arbitrary. Temporary local limits of population may be transcended by various factors and shifted by pressure of population. The limit of an area may be gauged by wealth and income, and economic opportunity by proportionate numbers in different occupations, capital invested, and flow of goods. Rate of increase depends upon composition and character as well as absolute numbers.-Howard B. Woolston, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 5–16. (III, 4; VIII, 2.) P. E. M.

Japan Views the Pacific: Conversations on Vital International Issues with Viscount Kato and Baron Shidehara.-The opinions of these Japanese officials on peace, the press, population pressure, racial intermarriage, Russian Sovietism, republican government in Germany, international labor unrest, Asiatic alliance, the function of Japanese culture in the world, and commercial relations with the United States are all interesting, but more particularly their attitude towards exclusion, denial of naturalization, and the California land laws. Japan changed her nationality and land laws at the instigation of American diplomats. We call the Japanese unassimilable but deny them naturalization. A sentimental rather than a practical injury, a mistake that America will eventually correct, are their characterizations of the existing discriminations.-Edward Price Bell, Chicago Daily News Reprints, XXII (1925), 1-18. (III, 4; IV, 2.) P. B. B.

The Limits of Australian Immigration.-The capacity of Australia to absorb immigration seems to be 51⁄2 immigrants per 1,000 population with an average capital import of £300 per immigrant. Climatic and other conditions of unoccupied areas, cost of development, and reactions on the standard of living seem to indicate increased immigration as undesirable.-J. B. Brigden, Economic Record, I (November, 1925), 145-48. (III, 4, 5.) P. B. B.

Group Settlement of Migrants in Western Australia.—Individual settlement in Southwestern Australia, except in the limestone belt and certain detached areas, is slow because of rapid regrowth of timber in sections and sandy character of the soil in others. Supporting individual settlers by loans from the Agricultural Bank had been successful in developing the wheat lands. Settlement in groups of twenty with daily sustenance allowance while clearing the land was tried to promote dairying and has shown to date the following weaknesses: many settlers lacked agricultural experience; the cost has been greater than expected; the daily sustenance allowance came to be regarded frequently as day wages; areas unsuitable for settlement have been assigned occasionally to groups; a higher percentage of recent immigrants remain with their group than of the older immigrants or native born.-E. Shann, Economic Record, I (November, 1925), 73–93. (III, 4, 5; V, 1, 3.) P. B. B.

Civilization and Its Effects on Indian Character.-There is no evidence to support the broad generalization that contact with European civilization has changed a noble race of hospitable, truthful, and honest men into lying, deceptive thieves and rogues. The prosperity code of his own group defines the relation of the native to other members of the group but expediency alone determines the treatment of outsiders.-E. E. Muntz, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 131–36. (III, 6.)

P. E. M.

The Obsidian Religion of Mexico.-The religion of Mexico today is the outcome of the mingling of different cultures. Although the cults of the several deities still retain some measure of distinctness, all have become amalgamated in what is today the Obsidian religion. The three original basic cults were the Quetzalcoatl of the

Maya, the Tlaloc of the Valley of Mexico and the Obsidian religion of the Nahua peoples. It is this last that became the dominant religion, and not only was it amalgamated with the other faiths cherished by the peoples of Mexico, but no department of Mexican life at a later stage was uninfluenced by ideas which accompanied its ritual acts.-Lewis Spence, Open Court, XXXIX (August, 1925), 449–63._(III, 6.) P. T.D.

IV. CONFLICT AND ACCOMMODATION GROUPS

The Mind of the Anthracite Miners.-The bitterness which the anthracite miners formerly felt toward the operators has passed away since the settlement of 1920 satisfied their two vital demands of a living wage and recognition of the union. The mind of the anthracite miners today is in all essential respects the typically American business mind. Their psychology is not that of proletarians but that of business men like the operators themselves.-Robert W. Bruère, Survey LV (October 1, 1925), 16–19. (IV, 1; VIII, 1.) E. R. R.

Why Do Men Join the I.W.W.?-A careful analysis of hundreds of cases and I.W.W. propaganda literature discloses six main types of men within this organization. One group comes in because it gives them the only opportunity they find to hold their heads up like other men, another because it is the most available weapon against their employers, a third because it explains their failures in terms of social injustice rather than personal deficiencies, a fourth group identifies themselves with the organization because they resent the way that society has treated the I.W.W., a fifth group believes that it offers the best solution of present social evils, a sixth group joins because of the opportunity it offers them to prey upon society or other members of the organization.-Cloice Howd, Social Science, I (November, 1925), 4-12. (IV, 1, 3.) P. T.D.

V. COMMUNITIES AND TERRITORIAL GROUPS

Gangland. A very important element in the crime situation of Chicago is the great number of gangs that infest certain cultural and geographical areas of the city's life. The gang is the most to be feared of all the crowds that imperil democracy for it can be conventional as well as impulsive. The trouble with the gang is that it is not assimilated to the ethical standards of the large cultural whole.-Frederic M. Thrasher, Social Science, I (November, 1925), 1-3. (V, 2.) P. T.D.

Zoning and Democracy.-Zoning requires constant daily work and is in no sense an automatic and unchanging affair. Zoning tends to arouse democratic spirit for it will not function without the attention of the people and a machine-like product in zoning is not in accord with democratic principles. Favoritism, influence, bribery, corruption, and purchased immunity must be guarded against.-E. T. Hartman, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 162–65. (V, 2.) P. E. M.

Social Workers Broaden Their Conception of Community.-Social workers are questioning the doctrinaire assertions of protagonists of pure democratic neighborhood organization and are becoming critically skeptical about social service as such, seeking to find a balance between specialized service to communities and stimulation of organization for self-help in communities.-LeRoy E. Bowman, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 103–4. (V, 3; VI, 6.) P.E. M.

Self Determinism in Neighborhood Clubs.-The many neighborhood clubs that grow up and exist independent of social service institutions indicate the presence of leadership and initiative which should be fostered by those who attempt to form and lead clubs. The job of the club leader is that of helping to accomplish the task the club has set for itself rather than accomplish that task for it. It is better that a neighborhood club should reach the right goal by a process of trial and error on the part of its own members than that it should start right only because the leader dictates what should be done.-LeRoy E. Bowman, Reprint from Standard (October, 1925). (V, 3; VI, 7.) E. R. R.

Communism among Insects.-The social insects include the bees, wasps, ants, and termites which live in colonies, have a well-defined caste system and closely adhere to division of labor. Perhaps the most serious losses in the United States are to the woodwork of buildings and material stored therein caused by termites. Man's civilization is higher than that of insect communities and man's intelligence will eventually win the battle against insect vandals.-T. E. Snyder, Scientific Monthly, XXI (November, 1925), 466–77. (V, 3.) P. T.D.

Community Relationships.-Co-operation is greater where the population is homogeneous or where large groups have a common background, and where aggressive group leadership takes the place of individual leadership. A happy social and recreational life and freedom from religious, family or political strife are important elements in community co-operation.-J. B. Gwin, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 104-8. (V, 3.) P. E. M.

VI. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Organizing the Community for Immigrant Education.—Americanization, or as it is now called, immigrant education, involves the entire life of the community and all of its institutions, contacts, and functions. We must proceed from the concrete to the general. We must find where the old-world customs are breaking down fastest and organize around these points to aid in the readjustment of the immigrant in his adopted country.-Bradley Buell, Family, VI (October, 1925), 175-81. (VI, 3; III, 4.) E. R. R.

Play in Rural Life.-Play is one of the most important socializing factors in rural life. It safeguards and develops country people physically, mentally, morally, and socially. It teaches them adaptability and co-operation, aids them to be good citizens and develops community spirit.-W. A. Anderson, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 113-15. (VI, 4; V, 1.)

P.E. M.

Trends in Public Recreation. The present tendency is toward year-round recreation of both physical and cultural types for persons of all ages and of every social and economic group. The municipalization of recreation is being extended, trained leaders are being substituted for untrained, equipment is being improved, and greater opportunities for abundant life and for virile training in citizenship are being provided. Weaver Pangburn, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 109–12. (VI, 4.) P. E. M.

Expert Testimony.-Expert testimony is a synthetic composed of “jack-ass” law and lame-duck medicine. It was at first a beautiful vision which seemed an ideal way to solve a great social and legal problem that had become acute. What has grown out of the travail of the human mind does not resemble the ideal that was hoped for. Medical men should be used by the courts as medical consultants and not as partisan participants. The hypothetical question should be eliminated or remodeled. The experts should have free access to all pertinent data in the case, including a satisfactory examination of the individuals involved under conditions that are normal. Thomas J. Orbison, Journal of Delinquency, IX (July, 1925), 138-42. (VI, 5). E. R. R.

A New Field for Social Work in the South.-City social workers generally fail to visualize rural life in the far South and experience difficulty in securing from communities information concerning their clients who have moved from rural neighborhoods to the cities. Intelligent colored people in these communities, if given the requisite training in social work, would help to solve the problem.-Helen B. Pendleton, Social Forces, IV (September, 1925), 142-45. (VI, 6; IV, 2.) P. E. M.

The Use of Case Stories in Newspaper Publicity.-Newspapers want the names, addresses, and all of the facts in a news story, while social agencies must keep the identity of their clients confidential. For this reason it is difficult to ask for public aid through the news columns. The feature story can be used better than the news story for this purpose.—Mary Swain Routzahn, Family, VI (October, 1925), 168–70. (VI, 6.) E. R. R.