Judge, 1926-10-02 · page 30 of 36
Judge — October 2, 1926 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page satirizes **Behaviorism**, the early 20th-century psychological theory that human and animal behavior results entirely from conditioned responses to stimuli, not inherent thinking. The main article humorously argues that cows can only think in words they've been "conditioned" to understand—like a boy yelling "So, bossy!" repeatedly. The satire's point: if behaviorism is true, we could theoretically condition a cow into a dramatic critic by taking it to theaters. The cartoon illustrates the absurdity: a boxing trainer tells his second he needs a newspaper that predicts *his fighter will lose*—implying he can then condition the fighter's mindset through this negative reinforcement. The bottom cartoons are unrelated humor: a boxer's crude dialect, and an Irish emigration joke playing on the name "George" (likely a contemporary reference unclear today). The satire mocks behaviorism's mechanistic view of consciousness by applying it ridiculously to farm animals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WRITE AND WRONG Pugilist (to second) it wiv the one that ses I'm goin’ ter lose! Behaviorism Made Plain (Continued from page 6) writing “Please send me one (1) cow,” and enclosing a money-order. Be sure and write your name and address plainly. How does the cow form its thought habits? Let us suppose it is a red cow with burrs in its tail. The cow is thinking about the drama. What does the cow think about the drama, and how does it think? Ah, you little rascal! You think [ can’t answer that one! The cow can only think in words. I can only think in'words. You can only think in words. Unless we have words we cannot think. Putting a word into a cow so it can use it is called “conditioning” the cow. A horse is conditioned in a different way, with condition powders. ‘This If you must fan me wiv a noospaper don't do Bystander is because the horse has shoes and the cow has not. An automobile also has shoes and so has Lloyd George and all God's chilluns. We will not return to the cow. barefoot cow is sitting down waiting for us. It is still thinking about the The poor drama. Now, since we have learned about Behaviorism, you and I can tell what the cow is thinking about the drama We know it can only think in words, and we know it can only think in the words that have been “Conditioned” into the cow. We know that the only words that have been condi- tioned into this cow were conditioned into it by one tow-headed boy with a sore toe when he yelled at the cow. So, bossy! So, bossy-hossy-bossy!" Thus we know that wis thinking about the drama is, So. bossy!" This is not much to think about the drama, if you ask me, but there you are! The question is, What sl do about it? at close of what the « How shall we condi tion the cow to make a dramatic critic of it? Shall we put it on a white china plate and hide it in the pantry? Or shall we, while it is still a young cow and nestling to its mother’s breast, take it to the theater? This was done to a young cow once and when she grew up sl with a “W: pany. Ina few months that cow her stage name was Te yy Down East” road com- ydon was conditioned so that she could think about the drama for hours at a time. She went out to Hollywood sie G and eloped with one of the gentlemen cows in “Blood and Sand,” and they are now running a dairy in Ulster Emigration Official (to fair enquirer)—Is it “Sydney” you want to go to? Fair Damsel- No, sir, it’s George! Passing Show Count comes dairy Ball t once seasol colum Ulster shows th to eli and nests and | So us tl cows knov it is a 60 anin } 0) inh can ing typ four sho wis cist full comicbooks.com