As long as we're talking parables, here's one I use in biopsychology & animal behavior to illustrate the pitfalls in deducing changes in hypothetical constructs (e.g., hunger or any other motivational state).
An eminent scientist is interested in studying the jumping behavior of frogs. He sets a frog on the floor, sneaks up behind it and yells, "JUMP!" He then takes out his measuring tape, measures the distance of the jump and writes on his clip board, "Frog jumps 6'." The scientist then amputates the frog's left rear leg. Repeating the original procedure, he sneaks up behind the frog & again yells, "JUMP!" Upon measuring the leap, the scientist writes on his clip board, "amputate the left rear leg and the frogs jumps 3'." The scientist then amputates the right rear leg of this same subject. Again he sneaks up behind the frog and yells, "JUMP!" This time the frog barely twitches. The scientist picks up his clip board and writes, "Amputate both rear legs and frog goes deaf." . Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://home.comcast.net/~epollak <http://home.comcast.net/~epollak> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and herpetoculturist...... in approximate order of importance. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
