Weygandt's Method

WEYGANDT'S METHOD (Weygandt) refers to testing methods for investigating the mental development of urban imbecile children or young children. A normal 7-year-old child should be well-oriented in all tasks; he is examined by means of a whole series of toys that fully correspond to his interests, and is thus placed in the conditions of a natural experiment. First, a whole series of tasks is given, investigating perception and comprehension in a gradual sequence from simpler to more complex. For this purpose, the child is asked to name a whole series of objects from everyday life, for example, a cup, a spoon, a knife. Then, objects are given that are similar to real ones both in color and in size (an apple, a pear, a bird, etc.). Next come objects in reduced form, but similar to real ones (a horse, a rooster, a hen, a sheep, a boat, etc.). Finally, objects in reduced form that are not colored (a horse, a sheep, a piglet); in conclusion—objects in flat form (a horse, a cat). Then, more complex processes are tested, such as: practical ingenuity—the ability to handle moving toys; combinatorial ability—assembling pictures from cubes, mosaics, building a house from bricks; motor processes—the ability to button, lace, spin a top, play bilboquet, ball, etc. The emotional-volitional sphere—reactions to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli, auditory perceptions, and representational abilities—are subjected to investigation. Most tasks are offered in the form of questions "what is this?" or "do such-and-such." The verbatim answer is recorded, and evaluation is performed by means of a plus or minus. This method is interesting in that during the examination of the child, there is a full opportunity to make a whole series of very valuable observations that reveal both the emotional-volitional sphere and his interests and inclinations. Likewise, it is easy to catch a whole series of disorders in the motor sphere: the ability to perform certain movements, the dexterity of movements, and, most importantly, motor disorders related to speech (specifically, incorrectness in the pronunciation of sounds, syllables, words), all types of aphasias, and underdevelopment of speech in the form of a peculiar lexicon and infantile speech and vocabulary. This method often helps to cope with children who have deep disorders of the emotional-volitional sphere, such as: withdrawn children, negativists, those with obsessive states, since even such a child finds it difficult to resist at the sight of a large number of toys. In general, examination by this method provides a general picture of the child's development, and although the examination program is very far from complete and integral, it appears to be an interesting supplement to the examination of young or deeply retarded children using other experimental-psychological methods. Lit.: Weygandt W., Über Hirnrindenveränderung bei Mongolismus, Kretinismus u. Myxödem, Zeitschrift für Erforschung u. Behandlung des jugendlichen Schwachsinns, 1912, № 5.