Descent behavior of rats and chicks in a cliff and non-cliff situation.

A visual cliff was constructed so that patterns could appear below the centerboard as "shallow" and "deep" or vertical to the centerboard as "near" and "far". Preference for the shallow side was significant only for chicks. Preference for the vertical pattern was significant for both chicks and rats. These findings indicate that both rats and chicks will descend to the nearer of two patterns in a non-cliff situation.