THE INTELLIGENCE OF MAMMALS 241 



is present as an element of the association; he cannot supply 

 it from a general stock. The groundwork of animal asso- 

 ciations is not the association of ideas, but the association 

 of idea or sense-impression with impulse." 



Notwithstanding his general attitude of opposition to the 

 doctrine of association of ideas in animals, Thorndike re- 

 cords a few experiments which led him to the conclusion 

 that in certain cases such associations may occur. In one 

 case a hungry cat was placed in a box and the experimenter 

 sat about eight feet away from it. At intervals of about 

 two minutes he would say, "I must feed those cats." Ten 

 seconds afterward he would take a piece of fish, go to the 

 box and hold it so that the cat was compelled to climb up 

 the front of the box to obtain it. Would the cat after a 

 number of trials come to associate (A) the sound of the 

 words with (B) the sense impression of the experimenter's 

 movements in taking the fish and walking to the box, and 

 climb up (C) before it had experienced the second term (B) 

 of the association? If so Thorndike concludes that the 

 action of the cat " is to be explained by the presence through 

 association, of the idea (B)." The possibility is left open 

 "that (A) was associated directly with the impulse to (C), 

 although that impulse was removed from it by ten seconds 

 of time." But Thorndike thinks this is " highly improbable, 

 unless the neurosis of (A), and with it the psychosis, con- 

 tinues until the impulse to (C) appears. But if it does so 

 continue during the ten seconds, and thus get directly linked 

 to (C), we have exactly a representation, an image, a memory 

 in the mind for eight or ten seconds." Leaving out of ques- 

 tion the existence of an idea of (A), during the interval, 

 why should we say that it is "highly improbable" that 

 (A) should become directly linked with (C)? The implica- 

 tion of the argument is that the time separating the two 



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