Abstract
American laboratory biologists showed considerable interest in the study of invertebrate behavior in the period 1890–1910. The most important controversy was that between Jacques Loeb and H. S. Jennings regarding the nature of animal tropisms. Loeb advocated a dynamic approach that would lead to control of behavior, while Jennings argued for structural-mechanical explanations designed to account for evolutionary adaptation. Jennings's criticism of Loeb's tropism theory was a Pyrrhic victory in that it led American biologists to lose interest in invertebrate behavior. The paper concludes by considering the relative impact of Leob's and Jennings's research programs on the work of John B. Watson.
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