Some weeks later, I tried to discover how Julius would obtain the much
desired banana when the boxes were absent. I placed in the large cage a
stick about six feet long and an old broom. When admitted, he looked
about for the boxes, but not seeing them, picked up the broom and
placing it with the splints down, beneath the banana, he tried to climb
it, but as it fell over with him, he abandoned this after a few trials,
went to his cage, and picking up some old bags which he used at night as
covers, he dragged them out and placed them on the floor beneath the
banana. He next put the broom upon them and tried to climb up. This
general type of behavior persisted for several minutes, everything
within reach being used as were the bags, as a means of raising him in
the desired direction. Finally, he placed his feet on the broom where
the handle joins the splints, seized the handle near the top with his
hands, drew himself up as far as possible, and then launched himself in
the air and tried to seize the banana. On the third attempt he
succeeded.
Later, he was given a plain stick about five feet long. Figure 32 of
plate VI shows him using this to obtain the banana in the manner
described above. He would grasp it with one or both feet, usually one,
ten to fifteen inches from the floor of the cage, meanwhile holding with
his hands near the top of the stick. He would then, with all his
strength, draw himself up suddenly and jump toward the banana. Often he
came down rather hard on the cement floor, much to his disgust.
Yet another method of obtaining the reward developed a day or two later.
A light red-wood stick about five feet long and an inch in its other
dimensions was the only object in the cage which could possibly be of
use in obtaining the banana. The aim of the experimenter was to discover
whether Julius would use this as a club.
Previously, in connection with the use of the boxes, he had taken up the
same stick two or three times and reached for the banana with it, but in
no case had he struck at it or clearly tried to knock it from the
string, as did the child most readily and naturally. When provided with
this same stick, and it alone, as a means of obtaining the food, he hit
upon the following interesting method. Placing one end of the stick
between a wooden brace and the wire side of the cage, he climbed up to a
level with the banana as is shown in figure 33 of plate VI. Then holding
with one hand and one foot to a timber of the cage and to the stick with
his other foot, he swung outward as far as possible and reached the
banana with his free hand. Having once succeeded by the method, he used
it whenever given an opportunity. It was impossible for him to make the
reach without the use of the small stick, while with it he succeeded
fairly easily and regularly.
_Box and Pole Experiment_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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