ABSTRACT
Individual differences in endowment, and sphere of interest are as significant in the case of the Negro as in that of the European. We need accurate observations on the development of the characters of individuals, under the influence of the Family, of village life, of playfellows, of initiation and other groups, among which the individual passes his life. It is evident that there are differences between the mental activity of the Negro and that of the European. A significant difference is that the Negro is more dominated by unconscious or half-conscious impulses than we are; for him emotional thinking outweighs logical reasoning, and when emotion is the guide, ideas and actions may result which are not in conformity with logic. The considerable progress which the Negroes have made recently is no doubt due to their contact with Europeans. The American Negroes have for generations had the advantage of living continuously in close contact with the permanent stimulus of European civilization.
