88 HAROLD C. BINGHAM 



and outside corners are close rivals for the majority of trials. 

 Ignoring certain fluctuations, there is a tendency for the outside 

 corners to gain the supremacy after the first series. At no 

 time are the first choices of inside corners at all prominent. 

 Some of the fluctuations which are noticeable in the table will 

 be discussed in connection with the effects of punishment 

 upon the learning process. 



4. Relatio7i of punishment to learning 



Reflections by certain observers upon the method of punish- 

 ment led me casually to note its significance in the learning 

 process. In general, my judgment concerning the method is 

 that it may be made most pernicious in animal training. On 

 the other hand, it is also a valuable supplement. Whether 

 pernicious or meritorious depends upon the intelligence with 

 which it is applied. If the experimenter is careless in its appli- 

 cation the results of previous training, may be swept away in a 

 flash. If he shows wisdom in its application he can certainly 

 increase the efficiency of his technique. 



My lesson on the pernicious possibilities of punishment 

 came early with the first group of chicks. In my eagerness for 

 results I endeavored to hurry the discrimination habit by 

 severe^ and repeated shocking for wrong choices. The discrim- 

 ination was easy, as subsequent results proved, but the number 

 and severity of shocks were excessive. The result was inevi- 

 table. The most sensitive chicks became so fearful of the 

 electric compartments that they only cowered and chirred in 

 the rear of the discrimination chamber. Thus the subjects 

 which continued to work were only the less sensitive animals. 

 It was not a question of the difificultness of the discrimination 

 problem, therefore, but a lack of intelligence in the application 

 of the electric shock that brought disastrous results. 



Subsequent observations have encouraged the belief that 

 the value of the shock cannot be determined in terms of ease 



^ The term "severe" should not be interpreted as "painful." The severest shock 

 that could be administered is little more for the human hand than a tickle. The 

 outstanding feature of the shock as a means of punishment is probably its sudden- 

 ness and unexpectedness. It is very probable that a chick which chirrs, flees from 

 the shock, and cowers in a far corner is comparable to a chick which behaves 

 similarly when a flying hawk suddenly appears. It is not always pain, no doubt, 

 that calls forth escape behavior. 



