Animal intelligence: Experimental studiesThorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee)
Science
Animal intelligence: Experimental studies
Thorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee)
Animal intelligence; Psychology, Comparative
4 and 3 had been subjected to the following experiment. I would make a
certain sound and after 10 seconds would go up to the cage and hold the
fish out to them through the netting at the top. They would then, of
course, climb up and eat it. After a while, they began to climb up upon
hearing the signal (4) or before the 10 seconds were up. I then took 12
and 10, who were accustomed to going up when they saw me approach, but
who had no knowledge of the fact that the signal meant anything, and gave
them each a chance to imitate 3. That is, one of them would be left in
the box with 3, the signal would be given, and after from 5 to 10 seconds
3 would climb up. At 10 seconds I would come up with food, and then,
of course, 12 would climb up. This was repeated again and again. The
question was whether imitation would lead them to form the association
more quickly than they would have done alone. It did not. That when at
last they did climb up before 10 seconds was past, that is, before I
approached with food, it was not due to imitation, is shown by the fact
that on about half of such occasions they climbed up _before 3 did_. That
is, they reacted to the _signal_ by _association_, not to his _movements_
by _imitation_.
IMITATION IN DOGS
Here the method was not to see if imitation could arouse more quickly an
act which accident was fairly likely to bring forth sooner or later, but
to see if, where accident failed, imitation would succeed.
3 was found to be unable of himself to escape from box BB1, and was then
given a chance to learn from watching 1. The back of box BB1 was torn
off and wire netting substituted for it. Another box with open front was
placed directly behind and against box BB1. No. 3, who was put in this
second box, could thus see whatever took place in and in front of box BB1
(O at back, high). The record follows:—
TABLE 6 (a)
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