THE LEARNING OF A MAZE BY GOLDFISH* 



E. P. CHURCHILL, JR. 



The study of the behavior of fish when confronted by a prob- 

 lem such as a maze is rendered of considerable importance by 

 the fact that in these animals the pallium of the brain is unde- 

 veloped. Various investigators, while working on the problem 

 of color discrimination in fish, have incidentally shown that 

 these animals possess associative memory and can form simple 

 habits. Mention will, however, be made here only of litera- 

 ture that deals more strictly with the problem of habit formation. 



Triplett 2 found that perch, after several trials, cease to try 

 to reach minnows on the opposite side of a glass partition. 

 After the removal of the partition the perch made no attempt 

 to pass the point where the partition had formerly been placed. 



Thorndike 3 described in a general way the learning of a maze 

 by Fundulus. He found that this fish sought the shaded part 

 of the tank. To gain this he caused them to swim through 

 openings in partitions placed across the tank. He found that 

 the time required for the trials lessened from day to day. 



Goldsmith, 4 working chiefly with Gobius and Gasterosteus, 

 showed that these fish have a well marked and enduring topo- 

 graphical memory. If fed at a certain point in the tank they 

 soon learned to come there and this habit persisted after 18 

 days lapse of practice. She also found that they had a memory 

 of direction. A simple maze was constructed by placing across 

 the aquarium a glass partition pierced by an opening. The 

 stimulus used was the nest, to which the fish endeavored to 

 return. On the first day the fish learned in 3.5 hours to go 

 directly through the opening to the nest. The number of trials 

 is not recorded. The next day the fish relearned the maze in 



1 From the Laboratory of Animal Behavior, Johns Hopkins University. 



2 Triplett, N. Educability of the perch. Amer. Jour. Psych., 1901, 12, 354 

 et seq. 



3 Thorndike, E. L. Animal intelligence. New York, 1911, Chap. IV, pp. 169- 

 171. 



1 Goldsmith, M. Les Reactions physiologiques et psychiques des Poissons. 

 Bull, de Vlnstitut general psycholo^ique, Paris, 1914. 14, 97-228. 



247 



