BEHAVIOR OF RACCOONS 



247 



and then turns to look for the third stimulus. (3), During the 

 fourth stage, the animals acquired their fixed modes of behavior. 

 Jack always stood at a position of 6-10 inches from the nearest 

 lever. This position during the presentation of the levers is 

 illustrated in figure 4. Jill, however, soon acquired the habit 

 of standing close to the levers and touching her nose to them 

 as they appeared. (4), When the final stage of discrimination 

 was introduced, Jack's behavior did not change. Very seldom 

 did he inhibit a response. He either reacted prematurely or 

 else reacted at the end of every series whether positive or nega- 

 tive. (5), Very significant changes occurred in Jill's behavior. 



Figure 4. Jack in the stimulus position 



She soon learned to react immediately after the first presenta- 

 tion of the negative series. Very rarely did she wait for the second 

 card but turned and walked unconcernedly about the table as 

 soon as the first card was presented. Since no food was given 

 in the negative series, the conditions of the experiment offered 

 no means of punishing this prematureness of response. With 

 the positive series, Jill became highly impatient to react imme- 

 diately after the appearance of the first card, and in fact many 

 premature responses did occur. In this series, however, every 

 premature response w T as punished by the withholding of food. 

 In all probability immediate reaction to the first card would 

 also have developed in this series if punishment had not pre- 

 vented. This behavior indicates that the discrimination was 



