"After water deprivation rats hoard water pellets just as, after food deprivation, they hoard food pellets. Water pellets are rolls of cotton soaked in water. Two experiments were designed to reveal the characteristics of water hoarding. The first experiment led to these conclusions: (1) the curve of onset of water hoarding is similar to that of food hoarding. It rises sharply at first and then declines. (2) The extinction of water hoarding, brought about by cessation of water deprivation is, like food hoarding, a slow process. (3) Good water hoarders are also good food hoarders. The rank order coefficient of correlation is .72. The second experiment showed that rats hoard food when they have been deprived of food and hoard water when they have been deprived of water, in a situation where they have their choice of food and water." The writer discusses the hypothesis that hoarding is instinctive and decides that the evidence does not substantiate that possibility. The question remains: "How does such a wide range of physiological and environmental conditions lead to the same pattern of behavior?" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)