PUNCHED CARD PROGRAMMING AND RECORDING TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED IN THE AUTOMATION OF THE WATA.

POLIDORNEVIN et al. (1963) built a machine that reads punched cards to run primate trials. The cards set the trial type and logged each response straight into the mainframe.

No more hand-written notes. The rig fed data to the computer for instant analysis.

The paper only shows blueprints. No monkeys, no data. It is a how-to guide, not an experiment.

Machado et al. (2021) and Lionello-DeNolf et al. (2025) now do the same job with software. Their computer lessons train observers to near-perfect fidelity and cut scoring time by two-thirds. The 1963 punch-card box is cool, but it is superseded.

Phillips (1968) took the opposite path. He offered a cheap five-button hand counter for ten dollars. No cards, no computer. Both tools aim for clean data; one goes high-tech, the other stays simple.

HIVELY (1964) built a similar 1960s gadget for kids. His box auto-shapes visual-discrimination trials the same way the punched cards do for monkeys. Same decade, same spirit, different species.

Today you can pick your tool. Train staff with Machado’s or Lionello-DeNolf’s computer modules for speed and accuracy. Or grab a $10 Lafayette counter when the power dies. The 1963 paper reminds us that good data start with a solid recording chain, whatever the century.