Clever Hans (The Horse of Mr. Von Osten) A contribution to experimental animal and human psychology

"Clever Hans (The Horse of Mr. Von Osten)" by Oskar Pfungst is a scientific publication written in the early 20th century. This work explores the famous case of a horse named Hans who allegedly demonstrated remarkable intelligence by solving complex mathematical problems and answering questions by tapping his hoof. Pfungst investigates Hans's abilities, aiming to determine whether these feats indicate a form of animal consciousness or are the result of unintentional cues from his trainers. The opening of the book introduces the background of Clever Hans, a horse claimed to have the ability to solve arithmetic problems, much to the amazement of onlookers and scientific observers. The narrative delves into the initial beliefs surrounding Hans's cognitive abilities, recounting various public exhibitions where he appeared to exhibit extraordinary skills in counting and answering questions. However, the introduction hints at a deeper inquiry into the methods of investigation and the skepticism arising from the extraordinary claims, setting the stage for experimental analysis that questions the nature of Hans's supposed intelligence. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Oskar Pfungst was a German comparative biologist and psychologist. While working as a volunteer assistant in the laboratory of Carl Stumpf in Berlin, Pfungst was asked to investigate the horse known as Clever Hans, who could apparently solve a wide array of arithmetic problems set to it by its owner. After formal investigation in 1907, Pfungst demonstrated that the horse was not actually performing intellectual tasks, but was watching the reaction of his human observers. Pfungst discovered this artifact in the research methodology, wherein the horse was responding directly to involuntary clues in the body language of the human trainer, who had the faculties to solve each problem. The trainer was entirely unaware that he was providing such clues.