The Journal of 



Comparative Neurology and Psychology 



Volume XVII MAY, 1907 Number 3 



CONCERNING THE INTELLIGENCE OF RACCOONS.. 



BY 



L. W. COLE. 



{Professor of Psychology, University of Oklahoma.) 

 With Two Figures. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 21 1 



Learning to Release Fastenings 212 



Memory for Fastenings 225 



Discrimination 226 



Imitation .' 232 



Learning from Being Put Through an Act 235 



On the Presence of Mental Images 249 



Summary 248,261 



INTRODUCTION. 



This paper is a report of experiments which were made with the 

 raccoon, Procyon lotor, to determine what type of associations it 

 is able to form, the complexity and permanency of its associations, 

 and to ascertain whether mental images and a tendency to imitate 

 are present in this animal. The paper as originally planned con- 

 tained also observations on the senses, instincts and habits of 

 raccoons, together with comparisons of their behavior with that of 

 other mammals under similar experimental conditions. These 

 observations, as well as most of the tables on "Learning to release 

 fastenings," have necessarily been omitted from this article. I am 

 greatly indebted to Dr. R. M. Yerkes for valuable criticisms of 

 the experimental results and for many suggestions for the prepara- 

 tion of this paper. 



In all I have had six young raccoons under observation, four 

 males and two females. The descriptions refer in the main to 

 the four individuals which were received July 3, 1905. With 

 these individuals experiments were made twice each day during 



