A STUDY OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PIG 207 



For this problem as for problem 2, the expectation prior to 

 experience is one correct first choice to four incorrect first choices. 

 The male in his first series exhibited exactly this ratio, whereas 

 the female gave a ratio of 1 to 1. Her success, however, was 

 undoubtedly due to following, for in immediately subsequent 

 trials when following was rendered impossible by the giving of 

 the trials by pairs, she did very poorly. The daily ratios for each 

 individual, as presented in table 8, are of interest, but they are by 

 no means as important as are the detailed data of tables 6 and 7. 



As might have been expected, after the previously acquired 

 tendency to select the first mechanism at the left had been 

 overcome, the pigs shortly exhibited the tendency to select the 

 end boxes, and they then had to overcome the difficulty of 

 selecting the right end. It is quite possible that this task was 

 rendered easier by the rhythm which resulted from the giving 

 of trials by pairs, but it was perfectly evident from control 

 experiments that the animals could choose correctly even if 

 given their trials in rapid succession, without the irregularity 

 due to alternate experimenting with the two individuals. 



Since it seemed possible that the animals might have learned 

 the proper settings and be responding to definite situations 

 rather than to the relation of the right box to the other members 

 of the group, a control experiment was made by the presentation 

 of a new series of settings. At the bottoms of tables 6 and 7 

 appear the results of these control observations. 



The female had solved problem 3 on the completion of trial 

 420 (see tables 6 and 8), and the male on the completion of 

 trial 470 (see tables 7 and 8). The next series of ten trials for 

 each was preliminary to the control experiments and served 

 also as a demonstration series to certain other observers. Fol- 

 lowing this demonstration in which both pigs reacted fairly 

 well, the series of settings indicated in tables 6 and 7 was pre- 

 sented. Both individuals were somewhat disturbed by the 

 change, her record being seven correct choices out of ten, and 

 his nine out of ten. Later in the day another series of ten trials, 

 according to the original settings, was given with the result 

 that the female made three incorrect first choices in ten and 

 the male two. Still later, the control settings were again pre- 

 sented. This time she chose correctly eight times in ten and he 

 only five times. 



