TIME VERSUS DISTANCE IN LEARNING 1 



HELEN B. HUBBERT 



The present investigation is concerned with the factors of the 

 total time consumed and the total distance run in the learning 

 of the maze by rats. The maze used in obtaining the records 

 presented below was designed by Professor Watson. He des- 

 cribes the maze elsewhere in this issue of the Journal (p. 56). 



The records were taken in terms of the time consumed in 

 running from the point of entrance to the food box, and of the 

 total distance traversed during this time. Timing was done by 

 means of a continuous stop-watch registering one-fifth seconds. 

 The watch was started the moment the animal left the starting 

 box (S. B., Fig. 1, p. 57) and was stopped at the moment of 

 entrance into the food box in the central compartment of the 

 maze. The distance record was obtained by tracing the move- 

 ments of the rat upon soft white paper with a very soft pencil. 

 The tracing so obtained was then measured by means of a chart- 

 ometer which had been calibrated. Calibration showed that the 

 instrument had an error of about one per cent. As has been 

 stated by Professor Watson, the ratio of the size of the image 

 to that of the maze is as 1 to 6.4. Consequently, the distance 

 in cm. obtained with the chartometer must be multiplied by 

 6.4 in order to obtain the actual distance run by the animal. 

 The values given in the table represent the actual distance 

 covered by the rats. For example, in trial 31 (p. 163), the dis- 

 tance accumulated by the chartometer was 92.69 cm. Con- 

 verting this we have 92.69 cm. x 6.4=593.2 cm., as the actual 

 distance run. Figure 2 shows the actual tracing, figures 1 and 

 3 the diagrammatic representation, of the paths traversed by 

 two rats in the trials indicated. 



The records of the total time consumed (T.) and of the total 

 distance (D.) run were taken on 27 rats, 14 males and 13 females. 

 The animals began the problem when 35 days old. They were 

 born and reared in the laboratory, consequently all were tame 

 and accustomed to handling. The rats had been fed in the maze 



1 From the Psychological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. 



PO 



