CONCLUSION 



If we would make a brief summary of the status of Mr. 

 von Osten's horse in the light of these investigations and 

 try to understand what is the beating upon the question 

 of animal psychology in general, we may make the follow- 

 ing statements. 



Hans's accomplishments are founded first upon a one- 

 sided development of the power of perceiving the slight- 

 est movements of the questioner, secondly upon the in- 

 tense and continued, but equally one-sided, power of at- 

 tention, and lastly upon a rather limited memory, by 

 means of which the animal is able to associate perceptions 

 of movement with a small number of movements of its 

 own which have become thoroughly habitual. 



The horse's ability to perceive movements greatly ex- 

 ceeds that of the average man. This superiority is prob- 

 ably due to a different constitution of the retina, and per- 

 haps also of the brain. 



Only a diminshingly small number of auditory stimuli 

 are involved. 



All conclusions with regard to the presence of emo- 

 tional reactions, such as stubbornness, etc., have been 

 shown to be without warrant. With regard to the emo- 

 tional life we are justified in concluding from the be- 

 havior of the horse, that the desire for food is the only 

 effective spring to action. 



The gradual formation of the associations mentioned 

 above, between the perception of movement and the 

 movements of the horse himself, is in all probability not 



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