Animal intelligence: Experimental studiesThorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee)
Science
Animal intelligence: Experimental studies
Thorndike, Edward L. (Edward Lee)
Animal intelligence; Psychology, Comparative
It goes without saying that the possible delicacy of associations is
conditioned by the delicacy of sense-powers. If an animal doesn’t feel
differently at seeing two objects, it cannot associate one with one
reaction, the other with another. An equally obvious factor is attention;
what is not attended to will not be associated. Beyond this there is no
_a priori_ reason why an animal should not react differently to things
varying only by the most delicate difference, and I am inclined to think
an animal could; that any two objects with a difference appreciable
by sensation which are also able to win attention may be reacted to
differently. Experiments to show this are very tedious, and the practical
question is, “What will the animal naturally attend to?” The difficulty,
as all trainers say, is to get the animal’s attention to your signal
somehow. Then he will in time surely react differently, if you give him
the chance, to a figure 7 on the blackboard from the way he does to a
figure 8, to your question, “How many days are there in a week?” and to
your question, “How many legs have you?” The chimpanzee in London that
handed out 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 straws at command was not thereby proved of
remarkable intelligence or of remarkably delicate associative power. Any
reputable animal trainer would be ashamed to exhibit a horse who could
not do as much ‘counting’ as that. The maximum of delicacy in associating
exhibited by any animal, to my knowledge, is displayed in the performance
of the dog ‘Dodgerfield,’ exhibited by a Mr. Davis, who brings from four
cards, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4, whichever one his master shall _think of_.
That is, you write out an arbitrary list, e.g. 4, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1,
4, 2, etc., and hand it to Mr. Davis, who looks at the list, thinks of
the first number, says “Attention! Dodger!” and then, “Bring it.” This
the dog does and so on through the list. Mr. Davis makes no signals which
anyone sitting even right beside or in front of him can detect. Thus the
dog exceeds the human observers in delicacy and associates each with
a separate act four attitudes of his master, which to human observers
seem all alike. Mr. Davis says he thinks the dog is a mind reader. I
think it quite possible that whatever signs the dog goes by are given
unconsciously and consist only of some very delicate general differences
in facial expression or the manner of saying the words, “Bring it,” or
slight sounds made by Mr. Davis in thinking to himself the words one or
two or three or four. Mr. Davis keeps his eyes shut and his hands behind
a newspaper. The dog looks directly at his face.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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