The cat in Thorndike's puzzle box learns to connect a response with a stimulus, which is subsequently rewarded. The learning by trial-and-error is a matter of S-R connection. Kohler's chimpanzee learns to perceive the relationships between various aspects of the stimulus situation.
Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1968), a German psychologist, arrived at Tenerife, a small island off the West Coast of Africa to take charge of an institute for the study of the anthropoid apes. When the World War I broke out, Kohler was forced to stay in the island.
The common features of the experiments on insightful learning are as follows: The nature of the experimental situation is very important for insightful learning. The organism must be able to perceive the relationships among all relevant parts of the problem before insight can occur.