178 Information Storage and Neural Control 



receiving bits of information, and these bits are already falling 

 into place as yes or no answers to questions of which the person 

 already has understanding. But the second order learning must 

 also be occurring, i.e., he must be changing his identification and 

 understanding of the questions to which the bits are answers; and 

 third order learning must also be going on, namely, he must be 

 learning the characteristic patterns of contingency in this re- 

 lationship. 



The reality of these three levels of learning, especially the 

 reality of the third level and perhaps of higher levels, can only 

 be demonstrated convincingly from phenomena of pathology. 

 Wlien all is going smoothly, it is not possible to get a clear picture 

 of what orders of learning are operating. It is when certain orders 

 of learning are disturbed that it becomes possible to analyze and 

 recognize these orders. 



For a long time psychologists have been performing various 

 experiments which amply demonstrate what I am trying to say. 

 Unfortunately, the conventional phrasings used in the psycho- 

 logical laboratories are not along the lines I am advocating here. 

 The experiments to which I refer are those called experiments in 

 "experimental neurosis." Traditionally, these are described with- 

 out invoking any theory of levels of learning. For example, we are 

 told that the dog starts to exhibit psychotic or other sympto- 

 matology when his "discrimination breaks down." Let me dissect 

 a typical experiment for you so that you may see that what happens 

 is not necessarily a matter of breakdown of discrimination but 

 can be seen as a matter of disruption of the learning process at 

 what I am calling the third level. 



Classically, the animal is presented with an ellipse, which 

 means x, and with a circle, which means y. If the dog performs 

 X in response to the ellipse and y in response to the circle, it either 

 gets its reward or avoids its punishment. But, if the dog fails to 

 "discriminate" between these stimulus objects, it receives punish- 

 ment or fails to get a reward. Having taught the dog this dis- 

 crimination, the experimenter begins to fatten the ellipse and to 

 flatten the circle. The dog responds by exerting greater effort to 

 tell the difference between the symbols, and at first these eff"orts 

 will be successful. As a further stage is reached and the discrimina- 



