Complex-Phenomena and their Constellations.
By complex we mean the sum total of presentations connected with an emotionally accentuated event.
On examining the following associations, taken from an intelligent man of thirty-two, we note a number of peculiarities.
| Stimulus. | Reaction. | Time. | Reproduction. | |
| 1. | head | hair | 1.6″ | + |
| 2. | smooth | not | 4.2″ | love |
| 3. | to name | James | 3.4″ | no reaction |
| 4. | seeing | recently | 3.2″ | + |
| 5. | friendly | very | 2.6″ | + |
| 6. | wedding | never | 4.0″ | bells |
| 7. | to work | hard | 2.8″ | + |
| 8. | song | love | 4.0″ | + |
| 9. | green | hope | 4.4″ | grass |
| 10. | definite | certain | 2.6″ | + |
The average reaction time in a person of his type is 2.4″; here we find quite a number above the average. We also note that some reactions are falsely reproduced, and in association 3 a failure of reproduction. Whenever such phenomena occur they are taken as complex-indicators. The stimulus word has either consciously or unconsciously touched a complex with strong affects. Here the reason for all this emotivity is readily explained by the fact that the test person was involved in an unfortunate love affair, and although the associations were taken years later the stimuli readily awakened the dormant complex. The associations were analyzed as follows: Association 2, smooth—not—love. Association 3, to name—James, means Jane, the name of his former fiancée. The test person was totally unconscious of this during the experiment, but on freely associating with the word James we got Jame—Jane. The subsequent associations were perseverations of the same complex. Association 4, seeing—recently, recalls the fact that the test person has recently seen his former fiancée. Association 5, friendly—very, is a description of their present mutual feelings. Association 6, wedding—never—bells, shows his definite decision. Associations 8 and 9, song—love and green—hope, belong to this same episode and are quite obvious without any further analysis.
We have here associations which are determined by definite constellations, inasmuch as they refer to an emotionally accen-
