Experimental Study of Associative Processes 135 
you could get a very vigorous cat to learn the elements in 
order and form the association, perfectly. The case is 
comparable to that of delicacy. | The cat does not tend to 
know what he is doing or to depart from the hit-or-miss 
method of learning, but by associating the other combina- 
tions of elements with failure to get pleasure, as in delicacy 
experiments we associated the reactions to all but the one 
signal, you could probably stamp out all but the 1, 2, 3 
order. 
The fact that you have to thus maneuver to get the 
animals to have the three impulses in a regular order shows 
that even when they are so, there is no idea of the three as 
in an order, no thinking about them. Representations do 
not get beyond their first intention. They are-not carried 
up into a free life which works them over anew,’ A complex 
act does not imply a complex thought, or, more exactly, a 
performance of a series does not imply the thought of a 
series. Consequently, since the complexity of the act: 
depends on the power which failure has to stamp out all | 
other combinations, it is far more limited than in man.) 
NuMBER oF ASSOCIATIONS 
The patent and important fact is that there are so few in 
animals compared to the human stock. Even after taking. 
into account the various acts associated with various 
smells, and exaggerating the possibility of getting an equip- 
ment of associations in this field which man lacks,.one must 
recognize how far below man any animal is in respect to 
mere quantity of associations. | The associations with words 
alone of an average American child of ten years far out- 
number those of any dog. A good billiard player probably 
has more associations in connection with this single pas- 
