260 Studies in dnimal Behavior 



pie things, she apparently learned by the primitive 

 method of the gradual elimination of useless move- 

 ments after attaining a chance success. This type 

 of learning is the one mainly followed by the less- 

 developed mammals, but in the apes the curve of 

 learning simple things usually shows a sudden de- 

 scent from the start. One reason for her compara- 

 tively slow progress in the experiments with the 

 boxes and the bottles is, I suspect, that in her eager- 

 ness to attain the desired end her attention was 

 never strongly directed to the means employed. 

 When we attempt to solve a puzzle we direct our 

 attention to the means we employ and pass judg- 

 ments upon them, but Lizzie never discovered the 

 value of paying attention to method. Her impul- 

 siveness and activity stood in the way of her at- 

 taining any results that required a small amount of 

 deliberation. 



The perception of very simple relations usually 

 escaped her. She never clearly perceived that a 

 hook could be unfastened by simply pulling it to 

 one side, that a button would not hold a door closed 

 when turned in a certain position; she probably 

 never became clearly aware that when a bottle was 

 turned upside down its contents would fall out. As 

 we know these things, they involve a certain pre- 

 vision, or representation to ourselves of how cer- 

 tain things might happen if certain conditions were 

 fulfilled. But this power was but slightly developed 

 in Lizzie's mind. There are more indications of it 



