The Origin and Purposes of Blinking

THIS enquiry was begun some years ago in order to find out to what extent the rate of blinking is reduced in the chronic encephalitic. As there were no normal standards taken under such special conditions as the encephalitics were, alone, capable of carrying out, it was necessary in the first place, to obtain such in a corresponding number of normals. It was in the course of these preliminary tests on normals that certain unexpected points were noted in the records. As they promised to throw-some light on the purposes of blinking in general, further varieties of tests on normals were carried out. It is with these, and their results, that this paper is chiefly concerned. In all the tests three important principles were complied with: (i) All the persons tested were unaware that their blinking was being watched. This was secured by various mild deceptions.