n the case. The explanation here essayed, however, should prevent that.
To be sure, we, must then reckon with curious inner contradictions in
Mr. von Osten's character. But such contradictions are to be found, upon
earnest analysis, in nearly every human character. And Mr. von Osten may
say with the poet: "Ich bin kein ausgekluegelt Buch. Ich bin ein Mensch
mit seinem Widerspruch."

CONCLUSION

If we would make a brief summary of the status of Mr. von Osten's horse
in the light of these investigations and try to understand what is the
bearing upon the question of animal psychology in general, we may make
the following statements.

Hans's accomplishments are founded first upon a one-sided development of
the power of perceiving the slightest movements of the questioner,
secondly upon the intense and continued, but equally one-sided, power of
attention, and lastly upon a rather limited memory, by means of which
the animal is able to associate perceptions of movement with a small
number of movements of its own which have become thoroughly habitual.

The horse's ability to perceive movements greatly exceeds that of the
average man. This superiority is probably due to a different
constitution of the retina, and perhaps also of the brain.

Only a diminishingly small number of auditory stimuli are involved.

All conclusions with regard to the presence of emotional reactions, such
as stubbornness, etc., have been shown to be without warrant. With
regard to the emotional life we are justified in concluding from the
behavior of the horse, that the desire for food is the only effective
spring to action.

The gradual formation of the associations mentioned above, between the
perception of movement and the movements of the horse himself, is in all
probability not to be regarded as the result of a training-process, but
as an unintentional by-product of an unsuccessful attempt at real
education, which, though in no sense a training-process, still produced
results equivalent to those of such a process.

All higher psychic processes which find expression in the horse's
behavior, are those of the questioner. His relationship to the horse is
brought about almost wholly by involuntary movements of the most minute
kind. The interrelation existing between ideas having a high degree of
affective coloring and the musculature of the body, (which is brought to
light in this process), is by no means a novel fact for us.
Neverthele