24 'Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 



It frequently happened during these experiments that the imita- 

 tion was not exact. For example, in Experiment 3 M learned 

 to pull the loop from imitating X, yet M always pulled the loop 

 with her claws whereas X generally used her teeth. Thorndike 

 would not call this a case of imitation, for in commenting on the 

 results of his experiments with cats he says: "Good evidence 

 that he did not imitate is the fact that, whereas i (whom he saw) 

 pulled the loop with his teeth, 7 pulled it with his paw. "^ 



To say that this is not a case of imitation is as absurd as to say 

 that the small boy does not imitate his father because his father 

 uses his right hand to drive a nail, whereas he, the small boy, being 

 left-handed, uses his left hand. Just as the stimulus for the small 

 boy was his "father driving a nail," not his "father driving a nail 

 with his right hand," so in this experiment the stimulus for M was 

 "X pulling the loop," not "X pulling the loop with her teeth." 



In Experiment 6, Z and M learned to roll the ball into the hole 

 from watching me do it. From the way they acted I have reason 

 to think the association formed was, ball-rolling-into-hole with 

 getting-of-meat. Here the attention was centered on the most 

 striking element of the complex, the rolling of the ball. Their 

 attention was focused, not so much upon what I was doing as 

 upon what the ball was doing. As soon as the ball began to roll 

 they lost all interest in me and watched it. This was especially 

 noticeable after I had performed the act several times. This 

 simply shows that certain elements of a given complex are likely 

 to be singled out, and these enter into the association to the exclu- 

 sion, in large measure, of other elements. 



I am also led to believe that cats are credited with more instincts 

 than they really possess. It is commonly reported that they have 

 an instinctive liking for mice, and that mice have an instinctive 

 fear of cats. It is supposed that the odor of a mouse will arouse 

 a cat, and that the odor of a cat will frighten a mouse. My experi- 

 ments tend to show that this belief is not in harmony with the 

 facts. When cats over five months old were taken into the room 

 where mice were kept they did not show the least sign of excite- 

 ment. A cat would even allow a mouse to perch upon its back, 

 without attempting to injure it. Nor did the mice show any fear 

 of the cats. I have seen a mouse smell of the nose of a cat with- 

 out showing any sign of fear. 



^ Thorndike. Animal Intelligence. Psychvl. Review, Mvtivgraph Stipp., vol. 2, no. 4, p. 58. 1898. 



