Introduction

In a natural environment, preparedness occurs as a result of previous experiences and exposure to certain situations.  Prior to the experiment the mice are unprepared, but as “training” continues throughout trials, their level of preparedness increases.  When animals are contraprepared to a situation, they are unable to be trained to perform the appropriate behaviors for that specific situation.  This is due to an instinctual behavior that may limit responses to the situation.  In this experiment, preparedness will be exemplified by four mice individually placed in a maze and timed from start to finish.  Each successive trial will demonstrate some level of preparedness by decreasing in time of completion by each mouse.