An Online Exhibit Presented by the Center for the History of Psychology
The IQ Zoo was an animal training facility and tourist attraction in Hot Springs, Arkansas developed by Keller and Marian Breland in 1955. The Brelands, both graduate students of psychologist B. F. Skinner, used principles of behaviorism to train chickens, rabbits, pigs, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, goats, and many other animals to perform simple acts based on the animals' instinctual behaviors. The acts, which included traveling animal shows, were as diverse as the animals and ranged from "The Kissing Bunny" where a rabbit "kissed" his plastic girlfriend to "Casey at the Bat" where a chicken played a game of baseball on a miniature scale. The acts cost $0.10- $0.25 to view in their mobile units.
Video: Patient like the Chipmunks by Bob and Marian Bailey, 1994. Edited for this exhibit.
Exhibit created by Emily Winters, 2013.
The Animal Behavior Enterprises collection was donated to the Center for the History of Psychology by Robert E. Bailey. The collection is open to researchers. See the finding aid for more information. Please contact the CHP at ahap@uakron.edu.
