Mental HygieneModern Clinical Psychiatry. by Arthur P. Noyes; Handedness: Right and Left. by Ira S. Wile;Mind, Self and Society. by George H. Mead; The Problem of Mental Disorder. by MadisonBentley; Mental Health: Its Principles and Practice. by Frank E. Howard; Frederick L. Patry;Making Our Minds Behave. by William S. Walsh; Building Personality. by A. Gordon; HumanPersonality and the Environment. by Charles Macfie CampbellReview by: Ernest R. GrovesSocial Forces, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Oct., 1935), pp. 147-149Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2569995 .

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LIBRARY AND WORKSHOP

This book is a veritablc manual of state- craft, in terms of an America capable of balancing production to domestic con- sumption. In such an equation, foreign trade plays an important but not a decisive part; Dr. Beard would be willing to abandon the search for markets if a domestic equilibrium could be struck. No other volume so competently and so persuasively presents the logic of a self- contained-but a more intelligently planned-America. For it, Dr. Beard's contention, well buttressed by the facts he presents, that an economy planned to provide a decent standard of living for

all-through the utilization of domestic natural resources and technological effi- ciency on a schedule of production for ascertained needs rather than for hoped- for but uncontrolled profits-is possible "at home." A search for markets too easily may become a will o' the wisp to lure us from the articulation of a program for "the general welfare" to one which in part benefits only the few. No one who pretends to an opinion about "the shape of things to come" can neglect the author's incisive analysis of the elements of the problems which confront us at home as well as abroad.

MENTAL HYGIENE

ERNEST R. GROVES

University of North Carolina

MODERN CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY. By Arthur P. Noyes. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, I934.

485 pp. HANDEDNESS: RIGHT AND LEFT. By Ira S. Wile.

Boston: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company,

I934- 439 PP- $2-.75. MIND, SELF AND SOCIETY. By George H. Mead.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1934. 40I PP. $5.00.

THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL DISORDER. Madison Bentley, Editor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., I934. 388 pp.

MENTAL HEALTH: ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. By Frank E. Howard and Frederick L. Patry. New York: Harper and Brothers, I935. 55I PP. $2.75.

MAKING OUR MINDS BEHAVE. By William S. Walsh. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., I935. 2-77 PP.

BUILDING PERSONALITY. By A. Gordon. New York: The John Day Company, I934. 303 PP.

HUMAN PERSONALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. By Charles Macfie Campbell. New York: The Mac- millan Company, I934. 252 PP. $3.00.

Every sociologist, whatever his specialty, needs at times a systematic presentation of the present teaching of psychiatric science. Modern Clinical Psychiatry by Noyes meets this need splendidly. The

book aims "to present and apply some of the more generally accepted theories of psychopathology that exist in making behavior psychologically understandable" (p. iL), and it succeeds. The book is clear, authoritative, balanced, and delight- fully readable. In a field of science where the task of the interpreter is extraordi- narily difficult, the author has carried out his task skillfully and convincingly. The sociologist will be especially at- tracted to Chapter II, "Psychic Energy and the Dynamics of Behavior." The author defines psychic energy "'as the sum of the vital energy that motivates the life adjustments of the individual" (p. z8). This energy is derived from instincts or is directed by them, and it is the function of consciousness to select and inhibit and only to a small degree to create (p. z9). The emotion is regarded as a feeling-tone that stimulates or facilitates some instinc- tive tendency, or as the subjective aspect of instinct experience when instinctive behavior is obstructed (p. 31).

Handedness: Right and Left is an unusual

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148 SOCIAL FORCES

book. The title gives no suggestion of its thoroughness, latitude, or its appeal to the student of social science. It is an exhaustive treatment of the problem of right- and left-hand preference; it gathers cream from an enormous literature. The sociologist will be especially attracted by the following chapters: II, "The Hand Preferences of Primitive Man"; III, "Phil- ology and Hands"; IX, "Religion and Hand Symbolism." The discussion ends with a petition written by Benjamin Franklin, signed "The Left Hand," to. those who have the superintendency of education-a bit of good sense, which, unfortunately, still needs to be pondered by some educators and parents.

Students of George H. Mead, whether they have known him in the class work or from his writing, will welcome Mind, Self and Society. This book presents Dr. Mead's system of social psychology built on behaviorism. Since Dr. Mead never brought together in one treatment his social analyses, this book is the most complete of his contributions. It has been largely made from stenographic records taken down verbatim in various courses and rather full notes made at a later time by a discerning student. The material is classified under four headings: The Point of View of Social Behaviorism, Mind, The Self, and Society. The follow- ing provides a glimpse into his system: "The self thus arises in the development of the behavior of the social form that is capable of taking the attitude of others involved in the same codperative activity. The pre-condition of such behavior is the development of the nervous system which enables the individual to take the attitude of the others. He could not, of course, take the indefinite number of attitudes of others, even if all the nerve paths were present, if there were not an organized social activity going on such that the

action of one nmay reproduce the action of an ildefinite number of others doing the same thing. Given, however, such an organized activity, one can take the attitude of anyone in the group" (p. 335).

The Problem of Mental Disorder is the result of a study undertaken by the Com- mittee on Psychiatric Investigation of the National Research Council. It is a book of wide range with each specialized topic written by an acknowledged expert. It will provide a fund of information for the sociologist.

Mental Health presents the principles and practices of mental hygiene with emphasis on the treatment of mental deviations and is greatly influenced by the work of Adolph Meyer to whom the book is dedicated. Interesting and practical, it is strengthened by considerable illustra- tive case material and an unusually full glossary of technical terms.

Making Our Minds Behave is a briefer, more popular discussion of common prob- lems of human experience in which the author weaves together common sense and mental hygiene principles.. The book is both helpful and interesting.

Building Personality is a more pretentious attempt to define and explain the per- sonality. The author offers to guide the reader through the confusion of conflict- ing schools of psychology and bring him to the right path of self understanding. Dr. Melvin is optimistic in his confidence that psychology can become the means of good adjustment to life. "The day must come when the maturing individual may look ahead five years into his own psycho- logical development and prepare for the advancing symptoms of maturity. He must look into his own and into other lives and prophesy personality. Psycho- logical maladjustment must be forecast and avoided'" (p. z9z).

Human Personality -and the Environment

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LIBRARY AND WORKSHOP

is a product of lectures delivered at the Lowell Institute at Boston. The author emphasizes the meaning, the content, the expression and the motives of personality. The psychiatric approach dominates. The

book is adapted to the needs of the lay reader. It suggests the years of experience and human sympathy which make Dr. Campbell especially fitted to explore the psychiatric aspects of human nature.

LIGHT FROM THE NEAR EAST

GEORGE A. LUNDBERG

Columbia University

A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT ON RURAL HYGIENE IN

SYRIA. By Stuart C. Dodd. Beirut, Lebanon Republic: American University of Beirut Press, I934. 336 pp. (Also available from Near East College Association, so West 5oth St., New York CitY). $3.00.

I regard this work as one of the finest sociological monographs which has ap- peared up to the present time. In its own particular field, namely, the technique of measuring social change, it is beyond question superior to anything heretofore published. To one who has had occasion redently to declare that the entire litera- ture of social surveys, including his own contributions to that subject, is of very minor scientific significance, it is a great pleasure to come upon, in this unpreten- tious volume, a model of what a scientific piece of work in this field should be. The full merits of the book can be realized only through careful study of it. But I shall call attention to the two main grounds upon which I accord it the above high estimate, namely, (i) the rigor of its scientific procedure and results and (z) its contribution to a phase of fundamental sociological theory.

The problem which Professor Dodd undertook was to measure the hygienic status of the population of certain Syrian villages and the change in that status over a period of years. That purpose is stated in the first paragraph. The author then proceeds to define precisely all the

units and terms to be employed in the achievement of his purpose. He next addresses himself to the problem of constructing a scale with which to meas- ure hygienic status. The theoretical spec- ifications of such a scale with respect to validity, reliability, and practical ad- ministration are first discussed with a detail and a lucidity and yet with a brevity that it would be impossible to improve upon. A trial schedule is then prepared and rigidly tested on all the points stated in the theoretical specifica- tions. In addition to the usual test of sampling error, the schedule is tested for seasonal error, for reliability of the informant, reliability of the interviewer, error in scoring, ambiguity of the schedule itself, objectivity and quantitativeness of the questions, and the ease and simplicity of the administration of the schedule.

It is impossible to give an adequate account of the ingenuity, perseverance, and meticulous care with which the schedules and scales were constructed and revised to conform to the requirements of a scientific instrument. Anyone in- terested in techniques and methods of soci- ological study will find here a fascinating story of weeks spent in villages of Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Persia to gain first hand cultural background; the painstaking formulation of lists of items, patterns, practice, or environment probably related to health; the preparation of a trial list

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