Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 " hector arroyo " wrote: > No Shit? Or you just pulling my leg? LOL - This is funnier than you think, because when I wrote those words, I was overcome with a tremendous need to " drop my bombload " that had me rushing from the internet shop to my old college at 4 a.m knocking on the door begging to be allowed to use the john. (This is true, too). In the US they would have shot me through the door no doubt.... oops, I was showing my prejudices again.... Anyway, my account is perfectly true. IIRC, it was in " Introduction to Psychology " 9th ed., by Atkinson, Atkinson, and Bem. I may have the ed. number wrong, and they bring a new one out every year and this was the late 70s, so the story has probably been dropped, but I definitely saw it in there. The authors noted how it showed how orthodox Psychology can become - unwittingly, the supervisor was only interested in animals like rats that could be relied on to behave in the way that the psychologists expected. Assuming her view of cats was true, it would suggest it was worth studying why cats were so contrary. There was one psychologist who studied cats extensively - Thorndyke. He put them in boxes with ever more complex release mechanisms to see whether they could work out how to get out. Thorndyke is to cats as Pavlov is to dogs. P. > > Re: -the AA way > > This is a true story: > > Once a postgraduate student wanted to study training in cats. Her > supervisor advised her not to use cats, since she said, when the cat > worked out what it is you wanted it to do it would refuse to do it! > This was reported in " Introduction to Psychology " a textbook oftend > used as the bvasic course material for degree is Psychology. > > P. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2000 Report Share Posted March 13, 2000 I lived for a time with some cats that were completely disobedient (they outnumbered humans in the household), but they were successfully trained to use the toilet instead of a catbox. Believe me, it was hilarious to walk in the bathroom to see the outraged face of a large cat with all four feet perched on the edge of the toilet. We would actually say " Excuse me! " > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2000 Report Share Posted March 13, 2000 Pete, considering you took offense at my little essay on ant abuse, it seems rather hypocritical that you are now urging members of this list to hector cats! Not only that, but I can attest from personal experience that it does absolutely no good to hector cats, because they are utterly indifferent to ridcule or disapproval. Everytime my cat Herky does something annoying, I hurl all sorts of invective at her, including " Shit-for-brains! " , " You little bitch! " , " Nice job, Brainiac! " , " Bunghole! " , " Stinky butt! " , " Doofus! " or " Turdball! " Many's the time I've cast vicious aspersions on her intelligence, breeding and mental health, to no avail. I even improvise insulting librettos about her, such as: " Her-er-ky Hankins deserves a terrible spankin' O she is so bad... Her rottenness would make her mother sad... " (Sung to the tune of the famous aria from " I Pagliacci " ) At best, she'll just give me a look of annoyed superiority before heading off in search of more mischief. In conclusion, if you hector cats, you merely convince them that YOU are an idiot or lunatic, and most cats need no encouragement to reach that conclusion about their human cohabitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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