42 WALTER S. HUNTER 



release box, she would turn clear around and then, before the 

 final breakdown came, would lay down facing the light. Occa- 

 sionally she would be distracted by some accidental noise inside 

 or outside the laboratory. In the great majority of these cases, 

 she only turned her head. A few times she got up and turned 

 clear around. But in any event, if she did not recover the 

 proper orientation, the reaction failed. If she could have lost 

 the orientation either completely, or almost so, and then have 

 returned to it and have reacted correctly, the fact would have 

 been strong evidence for believing that the dog recognized the 

 proper orientation when it was reinstated. But taking the last 

 125 trials as typical, and classifying the instances where orien- 

 tation was lost, recovered and a correct reaction made, it is 

 found that t,^ times the orientation was changed but slightly 

 and three times completely changed. — By a slight change is 

 meant that the dog turned her head and not her body. By a 

 complete change is meant that the animal turned completely 

 around. — Of the three cases of this latter behavior, one was 

 very probably due to chance. The other two occurred on the 

 second day of the 5 min. delays when the final breakdown 

 was beginning. Moreo\'er, the orientation that was lost and 

 recovered, — in one cas^ at the end of 36 sees.; in the other at 

 the end of 4^ mins., — was the orientation toward the box at 

 the right. The reaction is thus not significant of some higher 

 process, for on the following day the box at the right was the 

 only one to which the animal responded. The reco\'ered orien- 

 tation, therefore, most probably indicates solely the growth of 

 the habit that, on the following day, resulted in the complete 

 disintegration of the reaction. 



It is interesting in this connection to trace the change that 

 occurred in Blackie's behavior from the beginning to the end 

 of the experiments. It has already been noted how "helpless" 

 and inactive both dogs were when the tests were started. After 

 the work had progressed for several weeks and Blackie had 

 become quiet and attentive, she would stand in the release 

 box on all four feet and occasionally paw the wire in the direc- 

 tion of the light. A little later, she sat on her haunches during 

 the retention in the release, but still clawed at the wire in a very 

 calm manner. Toward the last of the tests described above, 

 when the delays were growing rapidly longer, she lay flat down 



