THE  PORTABLE  LABORATORY

67

uncertain  in  their  reactions  than  material  substances;
therefore,  mere  external  uniformity  in  procedure,  or  standnrdization
  of  laboratory  technique  and  conditions,  is  by  no
means  a  guarantee  that  characteristic  or  typical  reactions
Wl h  follow.  For  this  reason  it  may  be  undesirable  to
construct  a  factory  laboratory  which  will  place  the  subject ­
  under  conditions  too  different  from  the  conditions
of  the  place  in  which  he  is  accustomed  to  work  or  undergo
uis  normal  reactions.  No  one  should  understand  the  complexity ­
  of  this  problem  better  than  the  psychologist  him-Se
 lf-  As  a  student  of  sensation  and  habit,  he  can  readily
understand  that  what  he  may  consider  &  nice,  quiet  place
! Tla y  be,  to  the  man  accustomed  to  the  continuous  clankln
 g  and  grinding  of  machines,  a  place  howling  with  strange
an d  fearful  sounds.  There  are  times  when  nothing  makes
So  much  noise  as  silence.
This  question,  together  with  a  great  many  others,  must
e  considered  by  those  conducting  psychological  experiments ­
  under  factory  conditions.  The  portable  laboratory
v mch  has  been  described  is  by  no  means  a  final  or  comprehensive ­
  one.  However,  as  compared  with  a  permanent
^oratory  such  as  is  used  in  universities,  it  is  a  vast  im-P
 lQ Vement.  The  stationary  laboratory,  except  as  a  place
111  which  to  develop  and  store  apparatus,  possesses  and
minifies  all  the  difficulties  mentioned.  To  recapitulate,
^  makes  it  necessary  to  bring  subjects  long  distances
° m  the  shop  in  which  they  are  working,  thus  involving
a  v cry  considerable  loss  of  time.  The  portable  labora-.
 0t 7  °bviates  this  difficulty  by  going  to  the  shop  in  which
proposed  subjects  are  at  work.  Secondly,  the  sta-°Uary
  laboratory  makes  it  difficult  to  secure  the  right
ut) Jects  at  the  right  time.  Psychologists  who  have  tried
universities  to  get  students  to  report  at  the  laboratory  at