Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1898 — Scientific Sport with Kittens. [ARTICLE]

Scientific Sport with Kittens.

At a recent meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences, Mr. Thorndike, of Columbia University, described his experiments on comparative psychology, In which kittens, dogs, chickens and monkeys played a part. One object was to ascertain in what manner and how rapidly animals learned tricks. A box was provided with a door that could be opened from the Inside by means of a latch, or by pulliug a cord, or turning a button. Kittens were placed inside the box, and a toothsome fish outside. The time taken to get out became gradually shorter, but Mr. Thorndike said the trick was always learned by accident. One lucky hit would prepare the way for another. He could see no trace of rational inference on the animal's part. It was not possible to teach the trick by taking the kitten's paw and pushing the latcli, and seeing another animal do the trick a hundred times was no help to the one that had not already learned it.