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Chapter 7 — Statistical Concepts: Creating New Scores to Interpret Test Data
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Norm Referencing Versus Criterion Referencing
2. If you have the raw scores of two individuals on a norm-referenced test, which of the following is important in terms
of making meaning of those scores?
a. Measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode)
b. The relative positions of the scores to the rest of the group
c. Whether higher scores are better than lower scores
d. How an individual feels about his or her score
e. All of these are important.
ANSWER: e
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Norm Referencing Versus Criterion Referencing
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: e
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
6. Jill Jacobs receives a grade equivalent score of 10.6 on a national reading test. She is in the ninth grade. Which
statement is most true about Jill?
a. Her reading ability is equal to students at the 10th grade level.
b. Based on this score, no conclusions can be drawn.
c. Jill is doing better than the average student in her grade level.
d. Jill is doing worse than the average student in her grade level.
e. None of these are true.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
8. Which statement is usually NOT true about all norm-referenced standardized achievement tests?
a. About 50 percent of all those who take the test will be below the median.
b. The higher the standard error of measurement, the lower the reliability.
c. The standard deviations are always the same, regardless of test publishing company.
d. All of these are true.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
9. Given N = 600, M = 40, SD = 10 (Normal Distribution), approximately how many individuals would you expect to
score between 20 and 30?
a. 12
b. 204
c. 300
d. 84
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: e
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
13. A test to measure psychotic tendencies was given to a group of 1,000 potential air force cadets who wished to work
in nuclear silos. Any cadet who scored at or over 64 would be eliminated. The mean of the test was 52 and the
standard deviation was 12. Out of the 1,000 cadets how many were accepted?
a. 160
b. 340
c. 560
d. 840
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
14. A test to measure psychotic tendencies was given to a group of 1,000 potential air force cadets who wished to work
in nuclear silos. Any cadet who scored at or over 64 would be eliminated. The mean of the test was 52 and the
standard deviation was 12. Of the following scores, which is the highest z-score someone could receive and still be
accepted to work in the silos?
a. 0
b. 1.5
c. 2
d. 2.5
e. 3
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
15. A personality test that measures self-actualizing values uses T-scores. On the "self-awareness" scale, Bethany
receives a score of 70 while Edwina obtains a score of 40. At approximately which percentiles do these scores fall?
a. Bethany: 98; Edwina: 34
b. Bethany: 95; Edwina: 16
c. Bethany: 95; Edwina: 34
d. Bethany: 98; Edwina: 16
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
16. Joshua obtained a score of 550 on the SATs (M=500, SD=100) and a score of 95 on the WAIS-III (M=100,
SD=15). On which test did he do better?
a. WAIS-III
b. SATs
c. He performed equally well on both tests.
d. This cannot be determined.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
17. An individual receives a DIQ score of 73. Taking into account standard error of measurement (SEM), what is his
"true score" 68 percent of the time if test-retest reliability is .96?
a. 61 - 85
b. 67 - 79
c. 70 - 76
d. 71.5 - 74.5
e. None of these
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
18. An individual receives a DIQ score of 73. Taking into account standard error of measurement (SEM), what is his
"true score" 95 percent of the time if test-retest reliability is .96?
a. 12 points
b. 6 points
c. 3 points
d. 1.5 points
e. None of these
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
19. An individual receives a T score of 73 on a test that measures empathic ability. Taking into account standard error of
measurement (SEM), what is his "true score" 68 percent of the time if test-retest reliability is .75?
a. 25 points
b. 10 points
c. 5 points
d. 2.5 points
e. None of these
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
20. An individual receives a T score of 73 on a test that measures empathic ability. Taking into account standard error of
measurement (SEM), what is his "true score" 95 percent of the time if test-retest reliability is .75?
a. 25 points
b. 10 points
c. 5 points
d. 2.5 points
e. None of these
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
21. An individual being tested for a gifted program scores a 132 on the Cognitive Ability Test (CogAT), which has a
mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. There is a .40 correlation between the CogAT score and success as
measured by GPA in the gifted program, which has a weighted mean of 4.3 with a SD of .2. Use the Standard Error
of the Estimate (SEest) to predict where this students GPA will fall 68 percent of the time.
a. 4.7 ± .18
b. 4.3 ± .2
c. 4.5 ± .4
d. 4.7 ± .15
e. None of these
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Estimate
22. An individual being tested for a gifted program scores a 132 on the Cognitive Ability Test (CogAT), which has a
mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. There is a .40 correlation between the CogAT score and success as
measured by GPA in the gifted program, which has a weighted mean of 4.3 with a SD of .2. Use the Standard Error
of the Estimate (SEest) to predict where this students GPA will fall 95 percent of the time.
a. 4.7 ± .36
b. 4.3 ± .4
c. 4.5 ± .8
d. 4.7 ± .28
e. None of these
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Estimate
23. Which scale of measurement is being used when comparing achievement test scores of different school systems?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Scales of Measurement
24. Which scale of measurement is being used if assigning numbers based on different professional affiliation (e.g.,
counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists)?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Scales of Measurement
25. Which scale of measurement would you use if measuring height and weight differences among ethnic groups?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Scales of Measurement
26. In norm referencing, test scores are compared to a group of individuals called the norm group or peer group.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Norm Referencing Versus Criterion Referencing
27. If an individual's percentile rank is 84, he or she got 84 percent of the items correct.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
30. NCEs range from 1 to 99 along the bell-shaped curve, but as opposed to percentiles, they are in equal units along
curve.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
31. If a child is in grade 4.3 and receives a grade equivalent of 7.2 on an achievement test, he or she is achieving at the
7.2 grade level.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
33. The area between +1 and −1 standard deviations on a normal curve would include approximately 84 percent of the
population.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
34. Using z-scores gives an individual the potential of comparing test scores on different types of tests.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
35. A student received a score on a norm-referenced standardized test that was −2 z-scores below the mean. This
person scored better than approximately 16 percent of his or her norm group.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
36. Though the common usages of DIQs, percentiles, stanines, T-scores, and Grade Equivalents may imply a different
type of test, they all measure the relative position of an individual as compared to the norm group.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
37. On a normally distributed curve, raw scores may become meaningful if you know the standard deviation and mean
of the group.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
38. If your score on a test is 85 and the mean is 50, you have to have scored above the 84th percentile.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
39. Age comparisons allow a person to compare his or her score at a specific age to the mean and standard deviation of
individuals in his or her age peer group.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
40. No Child Left Behind shows how norm-referenced testing can be used to increase student scores and shows the
government's financial commitment to assuring that all children can achieve.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Norm Referencing Versus Criterion Referencing
Exhibit 7-1
Assume a normal curve and that the mean of the raw scores is 8, the standard deviation is 2.65, and the test-retest
reliability is .84. If an individual who is in grade 5.6 received a score of 10, answer the following questions:
4 7 8 8
14 12 10 9
8 8 7 4
9 10 12 14
41. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. What is the z score?
ANSWER: .75
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
49. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. What is the National Curve Equivalent (NCE)?
ANSWER: 65.8
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
50. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. What is the Publisher Type Score (given that the M = 80 and SD = 20)?
ANSWER: 95
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
51. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. Make a statement about the individual's Grade Equivalent.
ANSWER: Since the individual scored higher than the mean, his or her grade equivalent is higher than 5.6.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
52. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. Based on a person's Publisher Type Score (where the M = 80 and SD = 20), what range will
this person's score likely fall within 68 percent of the time?
ANSWER: 87 through 103
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
53. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. Based on a person's Publisher Type Score (where the M = 80 and SD = 20), what range will
this person's score likely fall 96 percent of the time?
ANSWER: 79 through 111
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Measurement
54. Refer to Exhibit 7-1. Scores with this instrument correlate .50 with 6th grade GPA. If the 6th grade GPA has a mean
of 3.0 and a SD of .3, predict the GPA range this students grades will fall 68 percent of the time.
ANSWER: SEest = = .26. Conversion = .75(.3) + 3.0 = 3.23, hence, 3.32 ± .26 or 2.97 to 3.49.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Estimate
Exhibit 7-2
In order to evaluate a graduate program in psychology, a decision is made to compare the scores of the recent
graduates on the national licensure exam to scores nationally. The internal consistency reliability of the test = .84.
The program therefore follows up with their students and finds 24 students who have taken the exam in its most
recent form. The scores of the students in the program are as follows:
Given information:
Mean = 144; Median = 142; Mode = 142; Range = 50
55. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Find the interquartile range.
ANSWER: (154 − 137)/2 = 17/2 = 8.5
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Measures of Variability
56. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Find the standard deviation of the students in the graduate program.
ANSWER: 11.72
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Measures of Variability
57. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Knowing that the national mean is 134 with a SD of 19.0, write a statement as to how this
school's students have done as compared to the national group.
ANSWER: Although the national groups mean is lower, its variability (standard deviation) is considerably
higher. Thus, there is quite a lot of overlap between the two groups. It would be difficult to say
which group did "better" as the national group had a larger percentage of individuals scoring higher
(and lower), while the graduate program had a larger number of students score in the mid range
and somewhat higher than mid range.
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Norm Referencing Versus Criterion Referencing
58. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Use the national mean of 134 and national standard deviation of 19.0. If an individual received a
raw score of 142, what is his or her standard score (publisher score) on the national test if the mean and standard
deviation of the publisher score was 150 and 20 respectively?
ANSWER: (142 − 134)/19 = .42
z(20) + 150 = 158.4
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
59. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. If a decision was made to use NCE type scores, what score would the individual who obtained
a raw score of 142 receive?
ANSWER: .42(21.06) + 50 = 58.85
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
60. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Approximately what percentage of the group scored higher than this individual?
61. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Considering the fact that all tests have error, what is this individual's standard score (publisher
score; M= 150, SD = 20) 68 percent of the time?
62. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. Considering the fact that all tests have error, what is this individual's standard score (publisher
score; M = 150, SD = 20) 95 percent of the time?
63. Refer to Exhibit 7-2. A graduate psychology student has a 3.65 GPA, where the psychology program's mean is 3.6
and SD is .1. Faculty have found a .60 correlation between students' GPA and their national licensure exam
publisher score (M = 150, SD = 20). Knowing our students GPA, we could predict her score to fall in what range on
the national licensure exam 68 percent of the time?
ANSWER: SEest = = 16; z score = = .5; convert = .5(20) + 150 = 160; so 160 ±
16 or 144 to 176 (68% of the time)
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: Standard Error of Estimate
64. Fill in the blanks for the information listed below. Please note that the publisher uses the same mean and standard
deviation for the three types of tests. For grade equivalent, simply state if Charlie Brown scored at his grade
equivalent, or higher or lower than his grade equivalent. (Given: publisher mean = 120).
TRUST Test
(Test of Relationship Understanding Under Stress)
* Sten scores are generally rounded off, however, in this case, use the non-rounded number given.
* Accept a score of 3 or 4 as it is very close to the line which separates the two scores.
POINTS: 12
REFERENCES: Normative Comparisons and Derived Scores
Match the standard score with its mean and standard deviation.
a. Mean = 21, SD = 5
b. Mean = 50, SD = 10
c. Mean = 50, SD = 21.06
d. Mean = 5, SD = 2
e. Mean = 5.5, SD = 2
f. Mean = 100, SD = 15
g. Mean = 500, SD = 100
h. Mean = ?, SD = ?
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
72. NCE
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
73. Publisher Type Score
ANSWER: h
POINTS: 1
REFERENCES: p. 146
74. Nominal scale
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
75. Ordinal scale
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
76. Interval scale
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
77. Ratio scale
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
Engraved by J. Posselwhite.
DOLLOND.
London, Published by
Charles Knight, Ludgate
Street, & Pall Mall East.
The first improvement made by the elder Dollond in the telescope,
was the addition of another glass to the eye-piece, making the
whole number of glasses in the instrument (the object-glass
included) six instead of five. This he communicated to the Royal
Society in 1753, through his friend James Short, well known as an
optician and astronomer, who also communicated all his succeeding
papers. By his new construction, an increase in the field of view was
procured, without any corresponding augmentation of the
unavoidable defects of the instrument. In May, 1753, Dollond
communicated to the Royal Society his improvement of the
micrometer. In 1747 Bouguer proposed to measure the distance of
two very near objects (the opposite edges of a planet, for example)
by viewing them through a conical telescope, the larger end of which
had two object-glasses placed side by side, the eye-glass being
common to both. The distance of the objects was determined by
observing how far it was necessary to separate the centres of the
object-glasses, in order that the centre of each might show an image
of one of the objects. Mr. Dollond’s improvement consisted in making
use of the same object-glass, divided into two semicircular halves
sliding on one another, as represented in the diagrams in page 18;
the first of which is an oblique perspective view of the divided glass,
and the second a side view of the same, in such a position, that the
images of the stars A and B coincide at C.
If the whole of an object-glass were darkened, except one small
portion, that portion would form images similarly situated to those
formed by the whole glass, but less illuminated. Each half of the
object-glass, when separated from the other, forms an image of
every object in the field; and the two images of the same object
coincide in one of double brightness, when the halves are brought
together so as to restore the original form. By placing the divided
diameter in the line of two near objects, A and B, whose distance is
to be measured, and sliding the glasses until the image of one
formed by one half comes exactly into contact with the image of the
other formed by the other half, the angular distance of the two
objects may be calculated, from observation of the distance between
the centres of the two halves. This last distance is measured on a
scale attached to the instrument; and when found, is the base of the
triangle, the vertex of which is at C, and the equal sides of which are
the focal lengths of the glasses. This micrometer Dollond preferred
to apply to the reflecting telescope; his son afterwards adapted it to
the refracting telescope; and it is now, under the name of the
divided object-glass micrometer, one of the most useful instruments
for measuring small angles.
But the fame of Dollond principally rests upon his invention of
achromatic, or colourless telescopes, in which the surrounding fringe
of colours was destroyed, which had rendered indistinct the images
formed in all refracting telescopes previously constructed. He was
led to this practical result by the discovery of a principle in optics,
that the dispersion of light in passing through a refracting medium,
that is, the greater or less length through which the coloured
spectrum is scattered, is not in proportion to the refraction, or angle
through which the rays are bent out of their course. Newton
asserted that he had found by experiments, made with water and
glass, that if a ray of light be subjected to several refractions, some
of which correct the rest, so that it emerges parallel to its first
direction, the dispersion into colours will also be corrected, so that
the light will be restored to whiteness. This is not generally true: it is
true if one substance only be employed, or several which have the
same, or nearly the same, dispersive power[2]. Mr. Peter Dollond
afterwards satisfactorily explained the reason of Newton’s mistake,
by performing the same experiment with Venetian glass, which, in
the time of the latter, was commonly used in England; from which he
found that the fact stated by Newton was true, as far as regarded
that sort of glass. Had Newton used flint glass, he would have
discovered that dispersion and refraction are not necessarily
corrected together: he would then have been led to the difference
between refractive and dispersive power, and would have concluded
from his first experiment that Venetian glass and water have their
dispersive powers very nearly equal. As it was, he inferred that the
refracting telescope could never be entirely divested of colour,
without entirely destroying the refraction, that is, rendering the
instrument no telescope at all; and, the experiment being granted,
the conclusion was inevitable. It is well known that he accordingly
turned his attention entirely to the reflecting telescope.
Engraved by W. Holl.
JOHN HUNTER..
London, Published by
Charles Knight, Pall Mall
East.
JOHN HUNTER.
A life and character like that of John Hunter has many claims upon
the honourable remembrance of society; the more, because, for
meritorious members of his profession, there is no other public
reward than the general approbation of good men. We look upon
him with that interest which genius successfully directed to good
ends invariably excites; as one whose active labours in the service of
mankind have been attended with useful consequences of great
extent; and whose character it is important to describe correctly, as
a valuable example to his profession.
John Hunter was the son of a small proprietor in the parish of
Kilbride in Lanarkshire, and was born February 13, 1728. His father
died while he was a child; his brothers were absent from home; and,
being left to the care of his mother and aunt, he was spoiled by
indulgence, and remained uneducated, until his natural good sense
urged him to redeem himself in some degree from this reproach.
When a boy he continued to cry like a child for whatever he wanted.
There is a letter extant from an old friend of the family, which has
this curious postscript, “Is Johnny aye greeting yet?” presenting an
unexpected picture to those who are familiar only with the manly
sense, and somewhat caustic manners, of the great physiological
and surgical authority. But the influence of feelings and opinions,
proceeding from respected persons, and accompanied by offices of
affection, is powerful upon the young mind; and the circumstances
of Mr. Hunter’s family were calculated to give such feelings their full
power over such a character as his. They lived retired, in that state
of independence which a small landed property confers on the elder
members, while the young men are compelled to seek their fortunes
at a distance from home. John Hunter neglected books, but he was
not insensible to the pride and gratification expressed by every
member of the family on hearing of his elder brother William’s
success, and the pleasure which that brother’s letters gave to all
around him. These feelings made him ashamed of his idleness, and
inclined him to go to London, and become an assistant to Dr. William
Hunter in his anatomical inquiries. William consented to this
arrangement; and the subject of our memoir quitted his paternal
home in 1748; certainly without that preparation of mind which
should lead us to expect a very quick proficiency in medical pursuits.
At an earlier age he had displayed a turn for mechanics, and a
manual dexterity, which led to his being placed with a cabinet-maker
in Glasgow to learn the profession: but the failure of his master had
obliged him to return home.
Dr. William Hunter had at this time obtained celebrity as a teacher of
anatomy. He won his way by very intelligible modes. His upright
conduct and high mental cultivation gained him friends; and his
professional merits were established by his lectures, which in extent
and depth, as well as eloquence, surpassed any that had yet been
delivered. There was a peculiar ingenuity in his demonstrations, and
he had a happy manner exactly suited to his subject. The vulgar
portion of the public saw no marks of genius in the successful
exertions of Dr. Hunter; his eminence was easily accounted for, and
excited no wonder. They saw John Hunter’s success, without fully
comprehending the cause; and it fell in with their notions of great
genius that he was somewhat abrupt and uncourtly.
Dr. Hunter immediately set his brother to work upon the dissection
of the arm. The young man succeeded in producing an admirable
preparation, in which the mechanism of the limb was finely
displayed. This at once showed his capacity, and settled the relation
between the two brothers. John Hunter became the best practical
anatomist of the age, and proved of the greatest use in forming Dr.
Hunter’s splendid museum, bequeathed by the owner to the
University of Glasgow. He continued to attend his brother’s lectures;
was a pupil both at St. Bartholomew’s, and St. George’s Hospitals;
and had the farther advantage of attending the celebrated
Cheselden, then retired to Chelsea Hospital. And here we must point
out the advantage which John Hunter possessed in the situation and
character of his elder brother, lest his success should encourage a
laxity in the studies of those who think they are following his
footsteps. It would indeed have been surprising that his efforts for
the advancement of physiology commenced at the precise point
where Haller’s stopped, if he had really been ignorant of the state of
science at home and abroad. But he could not have been so, unless
he had shut his eyes and stopped his ears. In addition to his
anatomical collection Dr. Hunter had formed an extensive library, and
possessed the finest cabinet of coins in Europe. Students crowded
around him from all countries, and every one distinguished in
science desired his acquaintance. John Hunter lived in this society,
and at the same time had the advantage of being familiar with the
complete and systematic course of lectures delivered by his brother.
He was thus furnished with full information as to the actual state of
physiology and pathology, and knew in what directions to push
inquiry, whilst the natural capacity of his fine mind was
untrammelled.
In 1755 John Hunter assisted his brother in delivering a course of
lectures; but through life the task of public instruction was a painful
one to him, and he never attained to fluency and clearness of
expression. In 1760 his health seems to have been impaired by his
exertions: and in the recollection that one brother had already died
under similar circumstances, his friends procured him a situation in
the army, as being less intensely laborious than his mode of life. He
served as a staff surgeon in Portugal and at the siege of Bellisle. On
returning to London he recommenced the teaching of practical
anatomy.
In 1767 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, having already
gained the good opinion of its members by several papers on most
interesting subjects. There is this great advantage in the pursuit of
science in London, that a man remarkable for success in any branch
can usually select associates the best able to assist him by their
experience and advice. It was through John Hunter’s influence that a
select club was formed out of the fellows of the Royal Society. They
met in retirement and read and criticised each others papers before
submitting them to the general body. This club originally consisted of
Mr. Hunter, Dr. Fordyce, Sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Solander, Dr.
Maskelyne, Sir George Shuckburgh, Sir Henry Englefield, Sir Charles
Blagden, Mr. Ramsden, and Mr. Watt. To be the associate of such
men could not but have a good effect on a mind like Hunter’s, active
and vigorous, but deficient in general acquirement, and concentrated
upon one pursuit.
At this time, and for many years afterwards, he was employed in the
most curious physiological inquiries; and at the same time forming
that museum, which remains the most surprising proof both of his
genius and perseverance. It is strange that Sir Everard Home should
have considered this collection as a proof of the patronage Hunter
received. He had many admirers, and many persons were grateful
for his professional assistance; but he had no patrons. The extent of
his museum is to be attributed solely to his perseverance; a quality
which is generally the companion of genius, and which he displayed
in every condition of life. Whether under the tuition of his brother, or
struggling for independence by privately teaching anatomy, or
amidst the enticements to idleness in a mess-room, or as an army
surgeon in active service, he never seems to have forgotten that
science which was the chief end of his life. Hence the amazing
collection which he formed of anatomical preparations; hence too
the no less extraordinary accumulation of important pathological
facts, on which his principles were raised.
It was only towards the close of life that Hunter’s character was duly
appreciated. His professional emoluments were small, until a very
few years before his death, when they amounted to £6000 a year.
When this neglect is the portion of a man of distinguished merit, it
has sometimes an unhappy influence on his profession. Men look for
prosperity and splendour as the accompaniments of such merit; and
missing it, they turn aside from the worthiest models, to follow those
who are gaining riches in the common routine of practice. Dr. Darwin
said, that he rejoiced in Hunter’s late success as the concluding act
of a life well spent: as poetical justice. But throughout life he spent
all his gains in the pursuit of science, and died poor.
His museum was purchased by government for £15,000. It was
offered to the keeping of the College of Physicians, which declined
the trust. It is now, committed to the College of Surgeons, in
Lincoln’s Inn Fields; where it is open to the inspection of the public
during the afternoons of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The
corporation has enlarged the museum, instituted professorships for
the illustration of it, and is now forming a library. The most valuable
part of the collection is that in the area of the great room, consisting
of upwards of 2000 preparations, which were the results of Mr.
Hunter’s experiments on the inferior animals, and of his researches
in morbid human anatomy. All these were originally arranged as
illustrative of his lectures. The first division alone, in support of his
theory of inflammation, contains 602 preparations. Those illustrative
of specific diseases amount to 1084. There are besides 652 dried
specimens, consisting of diseased bones, joints, and arteries. On the
floor there is a very fine collection of the skeletons of man and other
animals; and if the Council of the College continue to augment this
collection with the same liberal spirit which they have hitherto
shown, it will be creditable to the nation. The osteological specimens
amount to 1936. But the most interesting portion, we might say one
of the most interesting exhibitions in Europe to a philosophical and
inquiring mind, is that which extends along the whole gallery. Mr.
Hunter found it impossible to explain the functions of life by the
investigation of human anatomy, unaided by comparison with the
simpler organization of brutes; and therefore he undertook the
amazing labour of examining and preparing the simplest animals,
gradually advancing from the lower to the higher, until, by this
process of synthesis, the structure of the human body was
demonstrated and explained. Let us take one small compartment in
order to understand the effect of this method. Suppose it is wished
to learn the importance of the stomach in the animal economy. The
first object presented to us is a hydatid, an animal, as it were, all
stomach; being a simple sac with an exterior absorbing surface.
Then we have the polypus, with a stomach opening by one orifice,
and with no superadded organ. Next in order is the leech, in which
we see the beginning of a complexity of structure. It possesses the
power of locomotion, and has brain, and nerves, and muscles, but as
yet the stomach is simple. Then we advance to creatures in which
the stomach is complex: we find the simple membraneous digesting
stomach; then the stomach with a crop attached to macerate and
prepare the food for digestion; then a ruminating stomach with a
succession of cavities, and with the gizzard in some animals for
grinding the food, and performing the office of teeth; and finally, all
the appended organs necessary in the various classes of animals;
until we find that all the chylopoietic viscera group round this, as
performing the primary and essential office of assimilating new
matter to the animal body.
Mr. Hunter’s papers and greater works exhibit an extraordinary mind:
he startles the reader by conclusions, the process by which they
were reached being scarcely discernible. We attribute this in part to
that defective education, which made him fail in explaining his own
thoughts, and the course of reasoning by which he had arrived at his
conclusions. The depth of his reflective powers may be estimated by
the perusal of his papers on the apparently drowned, and on the
stomach digested after death by its own fluids. The importance of
discovering the possibility of such an occurrence as the last is
manifest, when we consider its connexion with medical
jurisprudence, and the probability of its giving rise to unfounded
suspicions of poisoning. His most important papers were those on
the muscularity of arteries; a fine piece of experimental reasoning,
the neglect of which by our continental neighbours threw them back
an age in the treatment of wounded arteries and aneurisms. But the
grand discovery of Mr. Hunter was that of the life of the blood. If this
idea surprise our readers, it did no less surprise the whole of the
medical profession when it was first promulgated. Yet there is no
doubt of the fact. It was demonstrated by the closest inspection of
natural phenomena, and a happy suite of experiments, that the
coagulation of the blood is an act of life. From this one fact, the
pathologist was enabled to comprehend a great variety of
phenomena, which, without it, must ever have remained obscure.
Mr. Hunter died of that alarming disease, angina pectoris: alarming,
because it comes in paroxysms, accompanied with all the feelings of
approaching death. These sensations are brought on by exertion or
excitement. In St. George’s Hospital, the conduct of his colleagues
had provoked him; he made no observations, but retiring into
another room, suddenly expired, October 16, 1793.
After these details no man will deny that John Hunter possessed
high genius, and that he employed his talents nobly. He was indeed
of a family of genius: his younger brother was cut off early, but not
until he had given promise of eminence. Dr. Hunter was, in our
opinion, equal in talents to John, the subject of this memoir, though
his mind received early a different bias. And in the next generation
the celebrated Dr. Baillie, nephew to these brothers, contributed
largely to the improvement of pathology, and afforded an instance of
the most active benevolence joined to a plainness of manner most
becoming in a physician. Joanna Baillie, his sister, still lives,
honoured and esteemed, and will survive in her works as one of our
most remarkable female writers.
The portrait from which the annexed engraving is made was painted
at the suggestion of the celebrated engraver Sharpe, by Sir Joshua
Reynolds, and was among his last works. There could not indeed be
a more picturesque head, nor one better suited to the burin. The
original picture is in the College of Surgeons. It exhibits more
mildness than we see in the engraving of Sharpe.
Surgeons’ Hall in Lincoln’s
Inn Fields.
PETRARCH.
London, Published by
Charles Knight, Ludgate
Street, & Pall Mall East.
PETRARCH.