3. Attraction toward more distant goals occurs, 
even though no trails directly connect the place 
where the rat is and the goal at which it will 
eventually arrive. This applies even though there 
may be an insurmountable barrier along the line 
of the shortest distance between the rat and the 
goal. 
4. When a rat is simultaneously attracted by 
two goals the degree of attraction toward each 
of them depends upon the distance of the goal 
and the value of the goal in satisfying some drive. 
5. The reaction to two or more distant goals 
which can not be directly perceived requires that 
the rat possess the ability to conceptualize space- 
time relationships. 
6. The direction of movement from one goal to 
another is primarily based upon the kinesthetic 
perception of an appropriate system of propriocep- 
tive stimuli. Where two systems are in conflict the 
orientation of the animal will be to direct its 
movements in a direction between the routes in- 
dicated by the systems in conflict. 
d. Presumed order of dominance of the sense modalities 
of rats in determining spatial orientation. 
1. Tactile 
(a) To sides of tunnel. 
(b) To sides of trail through vegetation. 
(c) To a single wall. 
2. Visual. 
(a) To the beaten trail itself. 
(b) To vertical objects (so long as they are 
spaced far enough apart that neighboring 
ones will not be confused with each other) . 
3. Kinesthetics. Goal directed (i.e., “cognitive- 
map” orientation). 
4. Olfactory. 
Certainly tactile and visual perceptions are of a 
higher magnitude of importance than are kines- 
thetic and olfactory perceptions. Although all 
four of these means of perception leading to 
spatial orientation may be operating, it is evident 
that the conditions existing when an animal finds 
itself at a particular position in space and time 
determines the extent to which each of these sense 
modalities are important. When a trap or other 
objects is placed near a trail, the shifting of the 
trail toward, and then along the object shows that 
visual perception must initially direct the rats 
toward the object although tactile perception 
may keep the rats against the object. When 
vision is impeded, as in rats just coming out of 
anesthesia, locomotion is completely random 
until a trail through vegetation is encountered, 
whereupon locomotion becomes stereotyped by 
tactile perception in conformity with the trail 
itself, irrespective of where the trail may be leading. 
The following of subnivian trails just developed by 
other rats is a similar case. An instance of the 
dominance of kinesthetic “cognitive-map” (12) 
type of orientation in conjunction with visual 
orientation as having dominance over olfactory 
perception in orientation is exemplified in the 
experiment on the location of garbage (p. 82). 
e. Observed orientations of individual rats. Upon 
release following trapping rats frequently took a 
circuitous route back to their location for harboring. 
This circuitous route usually took the rat through 
the Food Pen or around the Food Pen on the oppo- 
site side from its place of harborage. 
Example No. 1 (fig. 72B): Female 43 was caught 
and released near Box 19 in Area III where she 
had a 16-day-old litter. Here as is usual the initial 
direction of travel was away from the observer. 
She was not anesthetized prior to release. Upon 
release she ran through the East Alley, crossed the 
Food Pen, and then went up Path 4 and over into 
the nearest harborage box, Box 23 in her home area. 
By taking this route of travel she was able to move 
away from the observer, avoid the more dominant 
female No. 42 which harbored in the North Alley 
Burrow, and reach a temporary harborage from 
which she could later in the day return to her 
young. 
Example No. 2 (fig. 72A): Adolescent male No. 
69 was trapped in the Food Pen. However, it 
was released in the East Alley opposite Box 11 
while still exhibiting poor motor coordination 
following anesthesia. It followed a trail to the 
Food Pen, crossed it, and headed along a trail 
toward the North Alley Burrow. Along the way 
it ran into a box trap set facing down the trail and 
was caught. On release again it ran into the North 
Alley Burrow. This indicates that visual per- 
ception was poorly operating. It is assumed that 
tactile perception of the trail was the main means 
of orientation. Perhaps kinesthetic perception 
was also involved in the selection of the trail at 
points of juncture, and in guiding the rat across 
the bare Food Pen. At this period in the life of 
this rat, it harbored occasionally in the North 
Alley Burrow as well as at its place of birth in the 
South Alley Burrow. 
Example No. 3 (fig. 72A): Male No. 87, who 
was born at the South Alley Burrow, was trapped 
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