THE object of this paper is to carry the analysis of
stutter phenomena deeper than before. In my last
year's paper I showed that chronologically the
diagnosis of dyslalia mounted step by step from a
material external affair, up through the nerves until we
came to the basal ganglia. I showed conclusively that it
was an involvement that did not exist in any of these places.
I further took steps to demonstrate and present evidence
that indicated that dyslalia was in its essence some trouble
with the personality. I mean by this: that the trouble was
located in the nervous system beyond the lower sensory areas
of the sensorium; and also above the lower motor areas on
the motor side. By the broad term "personality" I mean
the total of the activities and interrelations of mental
activities that occur above our lower sensory and motor
areas. The paper of last year clearly located the trouble
vaguely in this region of the personality.
Since that time I have been interested to ascertain
just what the nature of this changed personality is. In
order to do so, I have carried on an investigation that has
reached interesting conclusions. To me it is new truth.
It may not be all the truth, but as far as it goes, and as for
what it is, it surely is truth and a new finding! This research
is an effort to show not only where it is but what it is.
The method was as follows: For the purpose of finding
out some of the activities going on in the area of collaboration
during speech, I asked my stuttering patients two simple
questions. I thus found that their methods of collaboration
complied to a certain mental type.
Then I carried this same method into the study of
normal individuals in the collaboration of their ideas, just
before and during speech in order to establish a norm; and to
see whether or not it differed from my preliminary test of
stuttering cases just mentioned. It did, and therefore I
formulated a series of questions in order to pin the type of
collaboration down to certain fields of mental action. To
make this clear, let me present an outline of these different
steps in tabular form.
- 1. Orientation tests on stutterers.
- 2. Orientation tests on normal individuals.
- 3. The research, its objects and methods.
- 4. Final detailed results.
Let us now pass to a minuter description of each of
these procedures and a tabulation of the data that resulted.
