Experimental Study of Associative Processes 35 



EXPERIMENTS WITH CATS 



In these various boxes were put cats from among the 

 following. I give approximately their ages while under 

 experiment. 



No. i. 8-10 months. No. 7. 3-5 months. 



No. 2. 5-7 months. No. 8. 6-6% months. 



No. 3. 5-11 months. No. 10. 4-8 months. 



No. 4. 5-8 months. No. n. 7-8 months. 



No. 5. 5-7 months. No. 12. 4-6 months. 



No. 6. 3-5 months. No. 13. 18-19 months. 



The behavior of all but n and 13 was practically the same. 

 When put into the box the cat would show evident signs of 

 discomfort and of an impulse to escape from confinement. 

 It tries to squeeze through any opening ; it claws and bites 

 at the bars or wire ; it thrusts its paws out through any 

 opening and claws at everything it reaches ; it continues its 

 efforts when it strikes anything loose and shaky; it may 

 claw at things within the box. It does not pay very much 

 attention to the food outside, but seems simply to strive 

 instinctively to escape from confinement. The vigor with 

 which it struggles is extraordinary. For eight or ten 

 minutes it will claw and bite and squeeze incessantly. 

 With 13, an old cat, and n, an uncommonly sluggish cat, 

 the behavior was different. They did not struggle vigor- 

 ously or continually. On some occasions they did not even 

 struggle at all. It was therefore necessary to let them out 

 of some box a few times, feeding them each time. After 

 they thus associate climbing out of the box with getting 

 food, they will try to get out whenever put in. They do not, 

 even then, struggle so vigorously or get so excited as the 

 rest. In either case, whether the impulse to struggle be 



