he may think them in terms of notes, rests, etc., as he composes.  The poet need not see the scene he is describing; verbal images may bear his meanings.  Of course this does not mean that object images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is not dependent on them.  The aid offered by object images in time of difficulty is still more open to doubt.  As an illustration of what is meant by this:  Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in arithmetic which he finds himself unable to solve.  The claim is made that if he will then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see that the carpet is laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right.  But it has been proved experimentally over and over again that if he doesn’t know that carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from the image, and if he does know it, he doesn’t need an object image.  It seems to be a fact that object images do not function, in the sense that one cannot get a correct answer as to color, or form, or number from them.  One can read off from a concrete image what he knows to be true of it—­or else it is just guessing.  “Knowing” in each case involves observation and judgment, and that means verbal images.  Students whose power of concrete imagery is low do, on the average, in situations where a concrete image would supposedly help, just as well as students whose power in this field is high.  It does seem to be true that object images give a vividness and color to mental life which may result in a keener appreciation of certain types of literature.  This warmth and vividness which object images add to the mental processes of those who have them is a boon.

On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.  Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient.  These two facts, added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and general in application, makes them a necessary part of the mental equipment of an efficient worker, and means that much more attention must be given to the development of productive symbol images.

Two warnings should be borne in mind:  First, although the object images are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given individual, because of his particular habits of thought, they may be necessary accompaniments to his mental processes.  Second, although object images may not help in giving understanding or appreciation under new conditions, still the method of asking students to try to image certain conditions is worth while because it makes them stop and think, which is always a help.  Whether they get object or word images in the process makes no difference.