2l8 'Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 



(2) Approaching satiety usually, but not always, inhibited 

 quick work. The animals seemed to form associations more 

 rapidly when their work was deliberate. 



(3) Distraction of attention inhibited all work. The animals 

 never seemed to work a latch as a purely reflex performance. 

 Consequently, I never could get them to claw where a loop had 

 been or when the door was open, as Thorndike's cats did. The 

 nearest approach to this occurred with Box 3. This box had its 

 fastening at the right of the door (looking outward), while Box i 

 had a button at the left and the loop of Box 2 hung at the left side 

 of the door. The doors of Boxes i and 2 swung to the right, the 

 door of Box 3 swung to the left. No. 4 clawed four times (first, 

 second, third and tenth trials) at the left side of the door (125 

 experiences in preceding two boxes). No. 3 %vent to the left side 

 of the door the first four trials in the morning and the first, second 

 and fourth trials in the afternoon of his first day's experience in 

 this box (200 trials in preceding boxes). A third raccoon. No. 

 2, clawed twice at the left side of the door after 132 experiences 

 in the preceding boxes. Therefore, after six days of work with 

 latches at the left side of the door, seven is the maximum number 

 of times an animal went to that side of the door in thenewbox,and 

 four the maximum number of times an animal clawed at that side. 

 In all future new boxes the animals seemed to pick out the new 

 latch and work directly at that, as if experience led them to attack 

 movable objects within the box, or else objects which gave a click 

 or other sound when operated. Only the buttons were noiseless. 

 These facts, with others to be mentioned, indicate, I think, that 

 the raccoon's learning to operate a latch includes something more 

 than the mere mechanical coupling up of a certain instinctive act 

 with a given situation. 



In each day's or half-day's work, there w^as usually a slow suc- 

 cess due to eagerness, several rapid ones due to hunger without 

 too great eagerness, and finally several reactions, which gradually 

 became slower, in which the stimulus was but little more than a 

 native desire to be occupied. Most of the latter are recorded as 

 "play trials." 



I give in Table I the time in seconds for the first forty trials 

 in each of seven boxes. As these results are typical those with 

 other fastenings are omitted. Where the results obtained with 

 other boxes are mentioned in the text the records are quoted with 



