The Dancing Mouse

Table 32

Labyrinth-B Experiments with

Electric Shock given as Punishment for Mistakes

No. 7 No. 998
TEST DATE CONDITION ERRORS CONDITION ERRORS

1	June	29	Light	4	Light	9
2		29	Light	1	Light	3
3		29	Light	1	Light	2
4		29	Light	0	Light	0
5		29	Light	0	Light	0
6		29	Light	0	Light	0
7		29	Light	1	Light	0
8		29	Light	0	Light	0
9		29	Light	1	Darkness	0
10		29	Light	1	Light	0
11		29	Light	1	Darkness	0
12		29	Light	0	Light	0
13		29	Light	0	Light	0
14		29	Light	0	Light	0
15		29	Light	0	Light	0
16		29	Light	0	Light	0
17		29	Darkness	2	Darkness	0
18		29	Light	2	Light	0
					with paper
19		29	Light	0	Light	0
20		29	Darkness	0	Light	0
					with paper
21		29	Light	0	Light	0
22		29	Light	0	Darkness	0
23		29	Light	0	Odorless	0
24	June	29	Light	0	Darkness	0
25		29	Light	0
26		29	Darkness	4
27		29	Light with
			paper	1
28		29	Light	0
29		29	Light with
			paper	1
30		29	Darkness	0
31		29	Odorless	2
32		29	Darkness	4

As the results in Table 31 show, the time and number of errors rapidly diminished. Number 7, for example, made no errors in the second test. The chiefly significant fact which appeared in these preliminary experiments, however, was that the mice soon ceased to care whether they got out of the labyrinth or not. After they knew the path perfectly, they would enter the wrong passages repeatedly and wander about indefinitely. It was obvious, therefore, that the labyrinth could not be used to reveal the role of sight unless some sufficiently strong motive for continuous effort to escape from it could be discovered. Naturally I looked to the electric shock for aid.

The labyrinth of Figure 23, which for convenience in distinguishing it from several other forms to be described later I have designated as labyrinth B, was placed upon a board 90 cm. long and 30 cm. wide about which had been wound two pieces of phosphor bronze wire after the manner described on p. 94. At O, Figure 24, there was an opening closed by a swinging door which led into a box 40 by 24 cm. In one corner of this box was a small nest-box. The significance of this rearrangement of the labyrinth is apparent. As in the preliminary tests, the dancer was started at I, but instead of being allowed to wander about without any other result than delay in escape, it was given a shock each time it made an error. The satisfaction of escaping from the narrow bounds of the labyrinth’s passages, which alone was not strong enough to impel a dancer constantly to do its best to escape, was thus supplemented by the powerful and all-controlling tendency to avoid the disagreeable stimulus which resulted from entering certain of the passages. The result of this modification of method is strikingly exhibited by the data of Table 32.

This table was constructed for the purpose of exhibiting the principal features of the results obtained with labyrinth B in certain preliminary experiments in which the conditions were changed in various ways. Chief among the important facts which appear in the illustrative data (for Nos. 7 and 998) which are presented, are the following. The dancers readily learn the path of labyrinth B so that they can follow it quickly and with perfect accuracy. After familiarity with the direct path from entrance to exit has been gained, they become indifferent about escaping and tend to wander aimlessly. The introduction of the electric shock as punishment for the choice of the wrong passage impels them to do their best to avoid errors. The path once learned can be followed in total darkness with few or no errors. Table 32 indicates marked differences in the behavior of No. 7 and No. 998. The latter learned the path readily and was little disturbed by any of the changes in conditions. In total darkness he followed the path rapidly and accurately, as was indicated by the time of the trip and the path that he left on a sheet of smoked paper that had been placed on the floor of the labyrinth as a means of obtaining a record of the errors made. The presence of the smoked paper did not seem to interfere at all with his behavior, nor did the thorough washing of the labyrinth and the resultant removal of its odors. In the case of No. 7 the opposite was true. She did not learn the path readily, was confused by any change in conditions, had great difficulty in finding her way in darkness, made errors when the smoked paper was placed on the floor and after the odors of the labyrinth had been removed by washing. Of the six dancers which were observed in these preliminary tests, No. 7 alone gave convincing evidence of the importance of sight.

I think we may say in the light of the results of the table that such errors as appear in the darkness tests are due rather to the disturbing influence of a change in the conditions of the experiment than to the exclusion of visual data, for as many or more errors were sometimes caused simply by changing the position of the labyrinth, placing smoked paper on the floor, or by introducing a new odor at some point. The exclusion of the possibility of guidance by smell and touch did not seriously interfere with the animal’s ability to follow the path.

The results which have just been considered seemed to be of sufficient interest and importance to justify the further use of the labyrinth method in the investigation of the role of vision. A series of experiments with labyrinth B was therefore planned so that the importance of sight, touch, and smell in connection with this form of habit should be more satisfactorily exhibited. Does the dancer follow the path by sight, touch, smell, by all, or by no one of them?

This series of tests with labyrinth B, whose several purposes may best be explained in connection with the various kinds of tests enumerated below, consisted of:

I. A preliminary test in which the dancer was permitted to wander about in the labyrinth, without being shocked, until it finally escaped to the nest-box by way of the exit. Thus the animal was given an opportunity to discover that escape from the maze was possible.

II. This was immediately followed by a series of tests at the rate of about one per minute, with an electric shock as punishment for every mistake. This was continued without interruption until the path had been followed without error five times in succession.

III. The labyrinth was now moved about 3 cm. to one side so that it covered a new floor area, and a test was given for the purpose of ascertaining whether the mouse had been following a trail on the floor.

IV. Tests with smoked paper on the floor were now alternated with tests in which the floor was plain. The alternation was rendered necessary by the fact that the paper was laid over the electric wires and therefore prevented the punishment of mistakes. The purpose of these tests was to discover whether the smoked paper, which was an essential condition for the next test, was itself a disturbing condition. These tests were continued until the animal had followed the path correctly, despite the smoked paper, twice in succession.

V. The electric lights were now turned out and tests were given in total darkness, with smoked paper on the floor as a means of obtaining a record of the number of errors. These tests were continued until the path had been followed once correctly.

VI. The labyrinth was now thoroughly washed with warm water, to which a little kerosene had been added, and quickly dried over a steam radiator. This usually necessitated a delay of about five minutes. As soon as the labyrinth was dry, tests were given to discover whether the odors of the various passages had been serving as important guiding conditions. These tests were continued until the path had been followed once without error.

VII. A final test in darkness completed the series.

As it was not possible for the observer to watch the animal and thus to count the number of mistakes which it made in total darkness, the simple method of placing a piece of smoked paper on the floor of the labyrinth was used. The mouse left a graphic record of its path on the paper and from this the number of errors could be ascertained. In the tests now to be described the smoked paper was placed upon the electric wires, but later a form of electric labyrinth was devised in which it was underneath and therefore did not interfere with the electric shock.

The above series of tests was given under the same external conditions in a dark-room to six pairs of dancers. In all cases, two individuals, a male and a female, which had been kept in the same cage, were experimented with at the same time, i.e. one was permitted to rest in the nest-box while the other was being put through a test. This was done in order that the comparison of the results for males and females should be perfectly fair.

The detailed results of this long series of tests may be presented for only two individuals, Nos. 210 and 215, Table 33. In this table lines separate the results of the seven different kinds of tests.

Table 33

The Role of Sight, Touch, and Smell in Labyrinth Experiments

No. 210 No. 215

Test Condition Errors Condition Errors

I. 1 No shock 9 I. No shock 2

II.	2	Shock	5	II.	Shock	3
	3	Shock	4		Shock	1
	4	Shock	2		Shock	0
	5	Shock	3		Shock	0
	6	Shock	0		Shock	0
	7	Shock	0		Shock	0
	8	Shock	0		Shock	0

9 Shock 0 III. Labyrinth 0 moved

10 Shock 0 IV. Paper on floor 4

III. 11 Labyrinth 0 No paper (shock) 0
          moved

IV.	12	Paper on	0			0
		floor
	13	No paper	0		No paper	0
		(shock)
	14	Paper	1		Paper	1
	15	No paper	0		No paper	0
	16	Paper	7		Paper	4
	17	No paper	0		No paper	0
	18	Paper	0		Paper	0
	19	No paper	0		No paper	0
	20	Paper	4		Paper	0
	21	No paper	0		No paper	0
	22	Paper	2	V.	Darkness	0
	23	No paper	2	VI.	Labyrinth	2
	24	Paper	1		washed	0
	25	No paper	0	VII.	Darkness	2
	26	Paper	0
	27	No paper	0
	28	Paper	0
	29	No paper	0
V.	30	Darkness	0
VI.	31	Labyrinth	2
		washed
	32		0
VII.	33	Darkness	0

The average results for the twelve individuals (six of each sex) which were subjected to the tests, I have arranged in Table 34. The Roman numerals at the top of the table designate the seven groups of tests, and the figures under each, the numerical results of the tests. I may explain and comment upon the averages of the several columns of this table in turn.

Column I gives the number of errors made in the preliminary test. Curiously enough, the males made many more errors than the females.

For the second group of tests (II) two results have been tabulated: the number of the first correct test, and the total number of tests before the path was followed correctly five times in succession. The first correct trip came usually after not more than five or six tests, but five successive correct trips demanded on the average at least fourteen training tests.

Destruction of the floor path by movement of the labyrinth to one side, without changing its relations to the points of the compass, disturbed the mice very little. Only four of the twelve individuals made any mistakes as a result of the change in the tactual conditions, and the average error as it appears in Column III is only.3.

Table 34

Role of Sight, Touch, and Smell in Labyrinth Experiments

II. IV. Training Tests Smoked I. No of Tests Before III. Paper on Males Preliminary Correct Labyrinth Floor Test. _____________________ Moved. No of Times Errors First Time Five Times Errors Before Cor- Rect Twice

210	9	5	9	0	9
212	2	3	8	1	3
214	6	10	28	0	22
220	25	4	8	0	14
410	11	6	20	0	10
420	14	6	14	1	7

Averages 11.2 5.7 14.5.3 10.8

Females

211	16	6	10	1	5
213	7	5	14	1	21
215	2	3	7	0	6
225	14	6	18	0	14
415	6	6	13	0	3
425	10	7	13	0	8

Averages 9.2 5.5 12.5.3 9.5

V. Darkness VI. Males Labyrinth VII. Errors in No. of Tests Washed. Darkness. First Test Before Cor’ct Errors Errors

210	0	1	2	0
212	2	2	0	0
214	0	1	—	0
220	2	4	2	0
410	1	3	2	1
420	2	4	1	4

Averages 1.2 2.5 1.2 0.8

Females

211	2	2	0	0
213	2	2	—	3
215	0	1	2	2
225	3	2	0	0
415	1	3	2	1
425	1	7	0	0

Averages 1.5 2.8 0.7 1.0

That covering the floor with smoked paper forced the mice to relearn the path, in large measure, is evident from the results of Column IV. An average of ten tests was necessary to enable the mice to follow the path correctly. It is almost certain, however, that the interference with the perfectly formed labyrinth habit which this change in the condition of the floor caused was not due to the removal of important tactual sense data.

As Column V shows, the number of errors in total darkness is very small. Some individuals gave no sign of being disturbed by the absence of visual guidance, others at first seemed confused. I have given in the table the number of errors in the first darkness test and the number of the first test in which no mistakes occurred.

No more disturbance of the dancer’s ability to follow the path which it had learned resulted from washing the labyrinth thoroughly than from darkening the room. Indeed it is clear from Column VI that the path was not followed by the use of smell. However, the test in darkness, after the odor of the box had been removed, proved conclusively that in most cases the mice could follow the path correctly without visual or olfactory guidance.

The behavior of 18 individuals as it was observed in labyrinth B makes perfectly evident three important facts, (1) In following the path which it has learned, the dancer in most instances is not guided to any considerable extent by a trail (odor or touch) which has been formed by its previous journeys over the route; (2) sight is quite unnecessary for the easy and perfect execution of the labyrinth habit, for even those individuals which are at first confused by the darkening of the experiment room are able after a few tests to follow the path correctly; (3) and, finally, smell, which according to current opinion is the chiefly important sense of mice and rats, is not needful for the performance of this habitual act.

At this point we may very fittingly ask, what sense data are necessary for the guidance of the series of acts which constitutes the labyrinth habit? I answer, probably none. A habit once formed, the senses have done their part; henceforth it is a motor process, whose initiation is conditioned by the activity of a receptive organ (at times a sense receptor), but whose form is not necessarily dependent upon immediate impressions from eye, nose, vibrissae, or even from internal receptors. These are statements of my opinion; whether they express the truth, either wholly or in part, only further experimentation can decide.

In considering the results of these labyrinth tests it is important that we distinguish clearly those which have to do with the conditions of habit formation from those which instead have to do with the conditions of habit performance. Sense data which are absolutely necessary for the learning of a labyrinth path may be of little or no importance for the execution of the act of following the path after the learning process has been completed. Thus far in connection with the labyrinth tests we have discussed only the relations of sight, touch, and smell to what I have called habit performance. We may now ask what part these senses play in the formation of a labyrinth habit.

A very definite answer to this question is furnished by observation of the behavior of the dancers in the tests. Most of them continuously made use of their eyes, their noses, and their vibrissae. Some individuals used one form of receptive organ almost exclusively. I frequently noticed that those individuals which touched and smelled of the labyrinth passages most carefully gave least evidence of the use of sight. It is safe to say, then, that under ordinary conditions habit formation in the dancer is conditioned by the use of sight, touch, and smell, but that these senses are of extremely different degrees of importance in different individuals. And further, that, although in the case of some individuals the loss of sight would not noticeably delay habit formation, in the case of others it would seriously interfere with the process. When deprived of one sense, the dancer depends upon its remaining channels of communication with environment. Indeed there are many reasons for inferring that if deprived of sight, touch, and smell it would still be able to learn a labyrinth path; and there are reasonable grounds for the belief that a habit once formed can be executed in the absence of all special sense data. Apparently the various receptive organs of the body furnish the dancer with impressions which serve as guides to action and facilitate habit formation, although they are not necessary for habit performance.

The reader may wonder why I have not carried out systematic experiments to determine accurately and quantitatively the part which each sense plays in the formation of a labyrinth habit instead of basing my inferences upon incidental observation of the behavior of the dancers. The reason is simply this: the number and variety of experiments which were suggested by the several directions in which this investigation developed rendered the performance of all of them impossible. I have chosen to devote my time to other lines of experimentation because a very thorough study of the conditions of habit formation has recently been made by Doctor Watson.1

What is the role of sight in the dancing mouse? How shall we answer the question? The evidence which has been obtained in the course of my study of the animal indicates that brightness vision is fairly acute, that color vision is poor, that although form is not clearly perceived, movement is readily perceived. My observations under natural conditions justify the conclusion that sight is not of very great importance in the daily life of the dancer, and my observations under experimental conditions strongly suggest the further conclusion that movement and changes in brightness are the only visual conditions which to any considerable extent control the activity of the animal.

Notes

1 Watson, J. B., Psychological Review, Monograph Supplement,
Vol. 8, No. 2, 1907.