During the course of these experiments Hans wore his accustomed
trappings, i. e., a girdle, light headgear and snaffle, and he either
stood alone, untied, or was held loosely by the bridle either by the
questioner or (though only in a few instances) by his attendant. The
questioner always stood to the right of the horse, as Mr. von Osten had
been accustomed to do. As reward for correct responses Hans received
from the questioner[G]--and from him only--a bit of bread or carrot, and
at times also a square of sugar. Never was a whip applied. From time to
time the horse was led about the courtyard or was allowed to run loose
in order to secure the needful respite. Besides myself there was usually
present Prof. Stumpf and Dr. von Hornbostel, who kept the records, and
frequently also Mr. von Osten. Several times I worked alone with the
horse. The results obtained in the horse's stall were in no respect
different from those got in the course of the experiments carried on in
the courtyard. Whenever a doubt arose as to the number of taps made by
the horse (though this did not frequently occur), then the series in
question was immediately repeated.
[Footnote G: The expressions _questioner_ and _experimenter_ are used
interchangeably in this treatise.]
In this report of the results of our experiments, the reader must bear
in mind that it was impossible to adhere to that order and distribution
of tests which we are wont to require in the case of psychophysical
experiments conducted under regular laboratory conditions. All sorts of
difficulties had to be overcome: unfavorable weather, the crowds of
curious ones, certain peculiarities of the horse--such as shying
whenever the wind rippled the canvas of the tent--and last but not
least, the idiosyncrasies of Mr. von Osten who repeatedly attempted to
interrupt the progress of the experiments.
Since it was evident that different kinds of processes were involved in
solving the problems and since the solutions would be indicated by
tapping, or by movements of the head, or by walking over to the object
to be designated, the results of these three sets of experiments have
been grouped under three corresponding heads.
_I. Problems solved by tapping_
The following tests were made in which the method was such that when the
problem was presented to the horse, the correct solution was known to
none of those present, least of all to the questioner. This method we
shall designate in the following report as "procedure without knowledge"
whereas we shall call the method in which the answer was known to the
questioner, "procedure with knowledge".
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