The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-09
EXPERIMENTS IN REASONING
Interesting Experiments Carried On by Mr.
the University Psychological Laboratory-The Re-
suits Attained.
suits Attained

Reasoning, the highest mental function
of man, has lately been made a subject of
experimental study in connection with
Harlow Gales psychological laboratory
at our university. One simple way of be-
ginning TO unravel reasoning complica-
tions is by studying animals. D. w. Blan-
dele, a graduate student in the psyche
logical labora tory, has lately been observ-s
ing how fire engine horses learn to re-
spond to the alarm. A new horse sees
and hears the door of his stall fly open
as the signal for running out to his place
under his harness and the horse is then
led out to his place. After from four to
twelve repetitions of this the number de-
pending on the individual differences in
horse ability, the association has become
fixed enough so that the perception of the
opening door is enough to start the horse
of his own accord to his proper place.
Thus this acquired associa ton b[Eomes
enough of a habit so that. on seeing the
door fly open, the horse remembers and
expects to run out. Similarly each horse
learns to come back to it's stall on hear
ing a certain kind or number of whistles.
These habits of response become so
prompt that many interesting cases are
related where horses leave their oats
at the fire signal or get up from resting
after repeated and. firing runs, or prick up
their ears and even start a the sound of
the firebell after they have become super
animated and turned over for old-age
service on sprinkling carts. Also they
learn to distinguish the electric clicks
of the regular hour signals from similar
clicks that come from some fire alarm
box, which latter signal makes them rest
less in their expectation of a run. On the
other hand. if they are called out several
times in succession just for practice they
learn that this is not serious and they
become slow and careless.
h9 70 do at
Columbia and Clark universities, where a
turtle or rat has been put into a labyrinth
of passages to find his way to his nest at
the end of the box. or a dog or cat 1oun-
ders about in a box until it chances tc
| step on trap or press a lever or pull a
ring which liberates it to it's food outside
the box. Each time the animal is put
back at the beginning of the labyrinth OF
into the box it attains its associated END
more quickly, until, after a score or two
of repetitions, it learns to expect inmedi-
/ ately it's nest or food on being, put in the
associated position and also to make di
/ rectly the movements necessary to affair
Its expected end.
Similar acquired expectations were OBJ
served by Mr.. and Mrs. Gale as the
i earliest intellectual life in their children
! Thus on the seventeenth day of theil
/ first child when a napkin was tucked
under it's chin preparatory to giving it &
bottle of milk. the child made all the
4 head movements of expecting its food
AS bottle feeding had been introduced or
! the fourteenth day to alternate with nurs
i ing, the child had thus experienced abou
1 ten associations of this napkin touch un.
i der the chin with the taste and smell
i of the milk or the satisfaction Of hunger
i OF course. the amount of consciousness.
involved in this association process ane
memory expectation we have to conceiv,
of as the smallest and dimmest sort, Xix.
our mature transitions into sleep, ane
much more primitive probably than in tn,
4 animals noted.