What is the Meaning of Latent Learning?

Groups of rats were given a labyrinth to navigate in an experiment, and even the rats that got no rewards at the beginning nevertheless learned the maze alone. Rats used their "mental image" of the course after incentives were added. These findings showed that learning might occur even if an organism does not immediately show it. Think about all the streets and alleys one recognizes within one s town. One gets to know the ins and outs of the town and its many estabpshments as one takes various routes to work every day. This knowledge, however, remains dormant as one seldom draws upon it in practice. Only when one needs to employ one s knowledge to locate something particular, pke a coffee shop or bus stop, will one be forced to put it to use.

Cognitive Latent Learning

Animals learning behavior in a labyrinth, as described by Tolman s notion of "cognitive maps," involves the development of a schema of spatial connections, a mental picture associated with the positions of items, as opposed to a simple sequence of sensory input. Exploration behavior in a test set and other comparable experimental results provide evidence for this type of mental model since they allow a monkey who is not hungry to locate food when it becomes hungry quickly. An internal representation of an organism s surroundings. Such maps may be used to learn good data, including where to go and how to arrive. We form these mental representations, called cognitive maps, mostly unconsciously.

Experiment by Tolman

One of Gestalt psychologist Edward Tolman s most well-known learning studies included teaching three groups of rats, one at a time, the identical maze (Tolman & Honzik, 1930). In the first batch, each rat was placed in the maze and reinforced with food to help it find its way out. The rat was then placed back in the maze, reinforced after completing the maze again, and so on, until the rat could complete the maze without making any mistakes. The second set of rats was treated the same way as the first, except they got no reinforcement when they exited the maze. They were inserted again and again until the experiment s tenth day. On that day, the rats in the second group started receiving a reward for completing the maze.

The third group of rats, who served as a control group, was pkewise not rewarded and was not reinforced during the trial. A rigorous Skinnerian behaviorist would expect only the first batch of rats to successfully learn the maze since learning is based on reinforcing consequences. This appeared to be the case at first. After several attempts, the first group of rats solved the labyrinth, but the second and third groups wandered about the maze until they accidentally found their way out. However, on the tenth day, something occurred that would be impossible to explain using merely Skinner s basic concepts.

After getting the reinforcement for the first time, the second set of rats should have taken as long as the first group to solve the labyrinth. Instead, they started figuring out the maze almost quickly. Tolman concluded that the rats in the second group had learned where all the bpnd alleys, incorrect turns, and proper passages were over the first nine days of the experiment and had stored this knowledge as a type of "mental map," or cognitive map of the physical layout of the labyrinth. The rats in the second group had learned and mentally stored that knowledge, but they had not displayed it since there was no need to do so. The cognitive map had remained concealed or latent until the rats had an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding by reaching the food. Tolman referred to this as latent learning. Standard operant conditioning did not explain the concept that learning may occur without reinforcement and then alter behavior.

Purposive Behaviorism

About his kind of behaviorism, Tolman coined the term "purposive behaviorism." Tolman argues that the goal-directed nature of animal behavior is one of its defining characteristics. In his work, Purposive Behaviour in Wildpfe as well as Men, Tolman defined "purposive" and "molar" behavior. He said research must concentrate on molar behaviors rather than the smaller pieces of particular behavior advocated by behaviorists. Tolman argues that behavior has a function and can be shaped and transformed to suit the demands of a given setting. Purposeful actions may be motivated by a desire to avoid negative consequences or pursue desirable outcomes.

Similarly to how a bird in a cage would want to get out of the cage, a business owner will try to make as much money as possible from selpng their products. Since Tolman based his concept on the organization of behavior with a goal, he named it purposive behaviorism. Tolman s learning concept brings together behavioral psychology and Bauhaus ideas. Tolman tried to clarify the connections between an organism s behavior and its goals, information, thoughts, plans, and comprehension.