“Anticipation As a Factor in Maze Errors”, Sidney Durward Shirley Spragg1933 (maze-running; backlinks)⁠:

Rats were given 100 trials on mazes having either a rllrlrrl or a rrrrrrrl sequence of turns. Both of these mazes were insoluble within the limits of the experiment.

The animals trained on the first sequence made persistent errors at the th3^rd and 7^th turns. Those trained on the second sequence made persistent errors at the 7^th turn.

Anticipation of the turn preceding the food box is regarded as the most probable source of the errors. These “anticipatory” errors were less frequent as the unit was more remote from the food box (in the second sequence), thus suggesting the influence of a goal gradient.

Backlinks: