Psychology textbooks frequently present Wolfgang Köhler's two-stick experiment with chimpanzees as having demonstrated insight in learning. Studies that replicated Köhler's work support his findings but not his interpretation in terms of insightful solution. The uncritical inclusion of Köhler's insight interpretation in psychology texts is not warranted in view of alternate interpretations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BirchH. G. (1945). The relation of previous experience to insightful problem-solving. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 38, 367–383.
2.
EpsteinR. (1981). On pigeons and people: A preliminary look at the Columban Simulation Project. The Behavior Analyst, 4, 43–55.
3.
EpsteinR.KirshnitC. E.LanzaR. P.RubinL. C. (1984). “Insight” in the pigeon: Antecedents and determinants of an intelligent performance. Nature, 308, 61–62.
4.
HarlowH. F. (1951). Primate learning. In StoneC. P. (Ed.), Comparative psychology (3rd ed., pp. 183–238). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
5.
KöhlerW. (1925). The mentality of apes (2nd rev. ed.) (WinterE., Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1917).
6.
KvasovD. G.Fedorova-GrotA. K. (1967). Fiziologicheskaia shkola 1. P. Pavlova [The physiological school of I. P. Pavlov]. Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo Nauka.
7.
Ladygina-KotsN. N. (1959). Konstruktivnaia i orudiînaia deiatelnost' vysshikh obezian (shimpanze) [The constructive and tool-making activities of higher primates (chimpanzees)]. Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR.
8.
PechsteinL. A.BrownF. D. (1939). An experimental analysis of the alleged criteria of insight learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 30, 38–52.
9.
SchillerP. H. (1952). Innate constituents of complex responses in primates. Psychological Review, 59, 177–191.
10.
WazuroE. G. (1962). Die Lehre Pawlows von der Höheren Nerventätigkeit [Pavlov's teachings on the higher nervous activity]. Berlin: Volk und Wissen Volkseigener Verlag.
11.
WindholzG. (1984). Pavlov versus Köhler: Pavlov's little-known primate research. Pavlovian Journal of Biological Science, 19, 23–31.
