GROUP BEHAVIOR 167 



partment as a lure and four untrained fish were 

 placed in the rear compartment. These fish were 

 trained as usual; the so-called lure-fish was fed after 

 the first of the untrained lot came through the gate- 

 way. In the final set of aquaria a trained fish was in- 

 troduced along with the four untrained fish. When 

 the light was admitted and the gate was raised this 

 trained fish moved forward, came through the gate- 

 way, and was fed immediately. The others followed. 

 As the graphs show, after the first day there was lit- 

 tle difference in the reactions given by the control 

 fish and by those which had a lure-fish in front of 

 the screen. The fish with a trained leader generally 

 gave more rapid reactions than either of the others. 

 There is always a temptation to make comparisons 

 between the learning behavior of these laboratory 

 animals and that of men. Direct comparisons should 

 usually be avoided. However, in human terms, the 

 goldfish reacted more rapidly in the presence of a 

 trained leader which went through the whole be- 

 havior process with them, than they did to the pres- 

 ence of one of their kind as a lure-fish in the forward 

 compartment, a sort of signpost to proper behavior. 

 Evidently leaders working with these goldfish can in- 

 fluence them more than fish which by their posi- 

 tion merely show them where they can come. It 

 seems fair to say that with these fish demonstration 



