Carr and Watson, Orientation in the JVhite Rat. 29 



properly; but its conduct might be wholly different from an animal 

 which had not previously learned the maze; (4) if the last con- 

 dition obtains, can the rat learn in time to orient itself immediately 

 when put down at random at any one of two, three or four such 

 starting places ? 



On the basis of results obtained from our work during the past 

 summer, which is presented in detail on page ^^, combined with 

 the previous work of Watson^ and of Carr,"* we are ready to give 

 more or less satisfactory data bearing upon the above questions. 

 (l) The situation does not present a problem de novo. (2) Nor 

 does immediate orientation occur. (3) There is a period of ran- 

 dom effort; the rat may wander about, turn around in the alleys 

 several times or run up and dowm the pathway for a variable 

 distance, acting as though lost or in a new situation. In con- 

 scious terms, its behavior suggests uncertainty, perplexity, and 

 lack of confidence. Finally, a change of behavior is observable. 

 The suggestion of perplexity and uncertainty is gone, the rat 

 starts off with a sudden burst of increased speed and every move- 

 ment thereafter is characterized by the precision and regularity 

 which mark the functioning of an automatic habit. The remain- 

 ing part of the maze is run in the normal and habitual manner. 

 This change of conduct has been termed "getting the cue." 

 The "cue" may come suddenly while the animal is running back- 

 ward in the maze with irregular speed; the rat may suddenly stop, 

 turn quickly and start off at full speed toward the food-box. The 

 change often comes gradually, especially when the animal starts 

 off running in the right direction. After the cue has apparently 

 been obtained, it may be lost for a time and again found after a 

 short interval; however the cue once obtained is rarely lost. Fur- 

 thermore, once the animal attains orientation, it traverses the 

 rest of the maze without error. This change from random to 

 controlled activity is striking and characteristic, but extremely 

 difficult of description except in anthropomorphic terms. (4) 

 The rat can learn with a sufficient number of trials to orient itself 

 immediately, starting at random from any one, two, or three 

 definite positions in the maze. The number of trials necessary 

 to accomplish this feat has not been determined accurately. One 

 set of rats learned to start from any one of six cul-de-sacs on the 



^ Ibid., pp. 82 and 83. 

 * Heretofore unpublished. 



