ioo Animal Intelligence 



phenomena is attributed to the ' association by contiguity ' 

 of human psychology. 



From these quotations it seems fairly sure that if we 

 should ask Mr. Morgan, who is our best comparative psy- 

 chologist, what took place in the mind of one of these cats 

 of our experiments during the performance of one of the 

 ' tricks ' he would reply : "The cat performs the act because 

 of the association of ideas. He is reminded by the sight of 

 the box and loop of his experience of pulling that loop and of 

 eating fish outside. So he goes and pulls it again." This 

 view has stood unchallenged, but its implication is false. It 

 implies that an animal, whenever it thinks of an act, can 

 supply an impulse to do the act. It takes for granted 

 that the performance of a cat who gets out of a box is men- 

 tally like that of a man who thinks of going down street 

 or of writing a letter and then does it. The mental process 

 is not alike in the two cases, for animals can not provide the 

 impulse to do whatever act they think of. No cat can form 

 an association leading to an act unless there is included in the 

 association an impulse of its own which leads to the act. There 

 is no general storehouse from which the impulse may be sup- 

 plied after the association is formed. 



Before describing the experiments which justify these 

 statements, it will be worth while to recall the somewhat ob- 

 vious facts about the composition of one of these associa- 

 tions. There might be in an association, such as is formed 

 after experience with one of our boxes, the following ele- 

 ments : 



1 . Sense-impression of the interior of the box, etc. 



2. (a) Discomfort and (b) desire to get out. 



3. Representation of oneself pulling the loop. 



4. Fiat comparable to the human "I'll do it." 



5. The impulse which actually does it. 



