Give an example of Köhler’s research on insight on the island of Tenerife.
Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967) carried out his studies on apes on the island of Tenerife. For his study, Köhler designed different problems for apes, all of which involved accessing the otherwise inaccessible food. He aimed at observing the animal’s problem solving skills. These studies were carried out to provide evidence for insight. Insight is the spontaneous understanding of conditions and finding a correct solution.
The experiments conducted by Köhler were an example of Gestalt learning. The problem solving abilities of apes, helped in investigating their intelligence levels. The experimental conditions were designed in, and around the animal’s cage. The animals were given simple props, such as sticks to draw banana into the cage, boxes to climb upon and reach the fruit suspended from the ceiling, and the bars of the cage as a barrier.
One of the test subjects, named Sultan finally succeeded in achieving insight. The animal managed to perceive the relationship between the bananas suspended from the ceiling, and boxes. He stacked the boxes on top of another, and reached the food.
In another experiment condition, the ape managed to access the fruit, which was kept at a distance from the cage. The animal was provided with a stick. After initial reluctance, the animal finally analyzed the conditions, and found a solution. She used the stick to drag the fruit towards her.
Köhler believed this to be a case of Gestalt learning. The animals did not learn by trial and error. They had access to all the parts of the problem. The perception of the condition as a whole helped them achieve insight. Once they achieved the goal through random movements, they learned and repeated the behavior, for solving the problem again.