12 The Animal Mind 



its dangers. These were clearly stated by Wesley Mills 

 in a criticism of Thorndike's "Animal Intelligence" (492). 

 They may be summed up by saying that there is a risk of 

 placing the animal experimented upon under abnormal con- 

 ditions in the attempt to make them definite and control- 

 lable.^ Did not, for example, the extreme hunger to which 

 Thorndike's cats and dogs were reduced, while it simplified 

 the conditions in one sense by making the strength of the 

 motive to escape as nearly as possible equal for aU the 

 animals, complicate matters in another sense by diminish- 

 ing their capacity to learn? Were the animals perhaps 

 frightened and distracted by the unusual character of their 

 surroundings ? Thorndike thinks not (707) ; but whether 

 or no he succeeded in averting these dangers, it is clear 

 that they are real. It is also obvious that they are the 

 more threatening, the higher the animal with which one 

 has to deal. Fright, bewilderment, loneliness, are condi- 

 tions more apt to be met with among the higher verte- 

 brates than lower down in the scale, and the utmost care 

 should be taken to make sure that animals likely to be 

 affected by them are thoroughly trained and at home in 

 their surroundings before the experimenter records results. 



§ 4. Methods of Obtaining Facts: The Ideal Method 



The ideal method for the study of a higher animal 

 involves patient observation upon a specimen known from 

 birth, watched in its ordinary behavior and environment, 

 and occasionally experimented upon with proper control 

 of the conditions and without frightening it or otherwise 

 rendering it abnormal. The observer should acquaint 

 himself -with the individual peculiarities of each animal 



'Cf. also Kline (402), and Vaschide and Rousseau (739). 



