A COMPARISON OF LEARNING IN RATS AND MICE IN A HEBB-WILLIAMS PROBLEM BOX

A learning experiment was performed with rats and mice in a Hebb-Williams problem box, using Problem No. 12. A measure of the habit strength ( _n ) was calculated, using the same criterion for both groups. In addition, the habit strength was calculated for another criterion for the rats. With the common criterion the function of learning was _n = 2.49 (1–0.88 ⁿ ) and _n = 1.71 (1–0.94 ⁿ ) for rats and mice respectively. According to the other criterion for the rat experiments, the function of learning was _n = 2.35 (1–0.84 ⁿ ). The measure and learning function is chosen and discussed with reference to Björkman's model for the measurement of associative strength and theory of verbal rote learning.