What is latent learning?
Latent learning is learning that takes place without reward but remains hidden until a motive, such as a reward, gives a reason to show it in behavior. Psychologists Edward Tolman and Charles Honzik demonstrated it with rats in a 1930 maze experiment.
- Meaning
- Learning without reward that appears once there is a motive
- Researchers
- Tolman & Honzik (1930)
- Key distinction
- Learning (knowing) vs performance (doing)
- Related concept
- Cognitive map
The maze experiment
| Group | Condition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food at the goal every day | Errors declined steadily |
| 2 | Never any food | Errors declined only slightly |
| 3 | No food for the first 10 days, food from day 11 | Errors dropped sharply once food appeared, matching or beating group 1 |
Did the unrewarded rats really learn nothing? Rats in the third group ran the maze well almost as soon as food was introduced. This meant they had already learned the maze layout during the unrewarded days; they simply had no reason to show it. Tolman used this result to argue that learning and performance must be distinguished.
Cognitive maps
In a 1948 paper, Tolman proposed that rats exploring a maze build a cognitive map of the environment: a mental representation of the whole space rather than a chain of reinforced responses.
Challenge to behaviorism
| Aspect | Behaviorism (e.g. Skinner) | Tolman’s view |
|---|---|---|
| Condition for learning | Reinforcement needed | Learning occurs without reinforcement |
| What is learned | Stimulus–response connections | Knowledge of the environment (cognitive map) |
| Role of reinforcement | Creates learning | Motivates performance of what was learned |
Compare operant conditioning, Bandura’s social learning theory and insight learning.
Everyday examples
If you have ridden a bus along a route every day, you may find your way easily when you suddenly have to walk it. Because learning can stay hidden until needed, test results alone may not show everything a student has learned.
Frequently asked questions
- What is latent learning?
- Learning that occurs without reward and stays hidden until a motive brings it out in behavior.
- What did Tolman and Honzik find?
- Rats that received no food for 10 days and then got food sharply reduced their errors right away, showing they had learned the maze without reward.
- What is a cognitive map?
- Tolman’s term for a mental representation of the layout of an environment.
References
- Tolman, E. C., & Honzik, C. H. (1930). Introduction and removal of reward, and maze performance in rats. University of California Publications in Psychology, 4, 257–275.
- Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55(4), 189–208.