What you'll learn to do: describe latent learning and observational learning Classical and operant conditioning are responsible
for a good bit of the behaviors we learn and develop, but certainly there are other things we learn simply through observation and thought. Latent learning is a form of learning that occurs without any obvious reinforcement of the behavior or associations that are learned.
According to Albert Bandura, learning can occur by watching others and then modeling what they do or say. This is known as observational learning. There are specific steps in the process of modeling that must be
followed if learning is to be successful. These steps include attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Through modeling, Bandura has shown that children learn many things both good and bad simply by watching their parents, siblings, and others. What have you learned by observation?Learning Objectives- Explain latent learning and cognitive maps
- Describe Edward Tolman’s experiment on latent learning
Although strict behaviorists
such as Skinner and Watson refused to believe that cognition (such as thoughts and expectations) plays a role in learning, another behaviorist, Edward C. Tolman, had a different opinion. Tolman’s experiments with rats demonstrated that organisms can learn even if they do not receive immediate reinforcement (Tolman & Honzik, 1930; Tolman, Ritchie, & Kalish, 1946).
Latent learning is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response. It
occurs without any obvious reinforcement of the behavior or associations that are learned. Latent learning is not readily apparent to the researcher because it is not shown behaviorally until there is sufficient motivation. This type of learning broke the constraints of behaviorism, which stated that processes must be directly observable and that learning was the direct consequence of conditioning to stimuli. In the experiments, Tolman placed hungry rats in a maze with
no reward for finding their way through it. He also studied a comparison group that was rewarded with food at the end of the maze. As the unreinforced rats explored the maze, they developed a cognitive map: a mental picture of the layout of the maze (Figure 1). After 10 sessions in the maze without reinforcement, food was placed in a goal box at the end of the maze. As soon as the rats became aware of the food, they were able to find their way through the maze quickly, just as
quickly as the comparison group, which had been rewarded with food all along. This is known as latent learning: learning that occurs but is not observable in behavior until there is a reason to demonstrate it.
Figure 1. Psychologist Edward Tolman found that rats use cognitive maps to navigate through a maze. Have you ever worked your way through various levels on a video game? You learned when to turn
left or right, move up or down. In that case you were relying on a cognitive map, just like the rats in a maze. (credit: modification of work by "FutUndBeidl"/Flickr) Latent learning also occurs in humans. Children may learn by watching the actions of their parents but only demonstrate it at a later date, when the learned material is needed. For example, suppose that Ravi’s dad drives him to school every day. In this way, Ravi learns the route from his house to his school, but he’s
never driven there himself, so he has not had a chance to demonstrate that he’s learned the way. One morning Ravi’s dad has to leave early for a meeting, so he can’t drive Ravi to school. Instead, Ravi follows the same route on his bike that his dad would have taken in the car. This demonstrates latent learning. Ravi had learned the route to school, but had no need to demonstrate this knowledge earlier.
Everyday Connection: This
Place Is Like a Maze Have you ever gotten lost in a building and couldn’t find your way back out? While that can be frustrating, you’re not alone. At one time or another we’ve all gotten lost in places like a museum, hospital, or university library. Whenever we go someplace new, we build a mental representation—or cognitive map—of the location, as Tolman’s rats built a cognitive map of their maze. However, some buildings are confusing because they include many areas that look alike or
have short lines of sight. Because of this, it’s often difficult to predict what’s around a corner or decide whether to turn left or right to get out of a building. Psychologist Laura Carlson (2010) suggests that what we place in our cognitive map can impact our success in navigating through the environment. She suggests that paying attention to specific features upon entering a building, such as a picture on the wall, a fountain, a statue, or an escalator, adds information to our cognitive map
that can be used later to help find our way out of the building.
Link to Learning Watch this video to learn more about Laura Carlson’s studies on cognitive maps and navigation in buildings.
Tolman's Experiment Edward Tolmanwas studying traditional trial-and-error learning when he realized that some of his research subjects (rats) actually knew more than their
behavior initially indicated. In one of Tolman’s classic experiments, he observed the behavior of three groups of hungry rats that were learning to navigate mazes.
The first group always received a food reward at the end of the maze, so the payoff for learning the maze was real and immediate. The second group never received any food reward, so there was no incentive to learn to navigate the maze effectively. The third group was like the
second group for the first 10 days, but on the 11th day, food was now placed at the end of the maze.
As you might expect when considering the principles of conditioning, the rats in the first group quickly learned to negotiate the maze, while the rats of the second group seemed to wander aimlessly through it. The rats in the third group, however, although they wandered aimlessly for the first 10 days, quickly learned to navigate to the end of the maze as soon as they received food on day
11. By the next day, the rats in the third group had caught up in their learning to the rats that had been rewarded from the beginning. It was clear to Tolman that the rats that had been allowed to experience the maze, even without any reinforcement, had nevertheless learned something, and Tolman called this latent learning. Latent learning is to learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until there is motivation to do so. Tolman argued that the
rats had formed a “cognitive map” of the maze but did not demonstrate this knowledge until they received reinforcement. 
Work It out Your task here is to predict what is going to happen on Trial 12 for the “no food until Trial 11” group.
Option A: Notice that this result is the same as the “no food on any trial” group. So, if you choose option A, you think that they will not act differently now than they
acted on the first 11 trials and they will continue to make a lot of wrong turns.
Option B: This option suggests that they are now motivated to learn the path to the food, but that they will do so in small steps, just as we have seen for all three groups up to this point. Option B says that they are moving in the direction of the “food on every trial” group, but that it will take some extra learning to get there.
Option C: This option says that they already know
the path to the food and, now that they are motivated to get there, they will show that they already know just as much as the “food on every trial” group. Their performance on Trial 12 will be the same as the low-error performance of the “food on every trial” group.
Glossary
cognitive map: mental picture of the layout of the environment latent learning: learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it Licenses and AttributionsCC licensed content, Shared previously- Latent Learning: Learning Before Doing. Provided by: Open Learning Initiative. Located at:
https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/webui/login/required.do?redirect=%2Fjcourse%2Fworkbook%2Factivity%2Fpage%3Fcontext%3Ddf3e71c60a0001dc051db622d622b3f7&. Project: Psychology. License:
CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- Operant Conditioning and Observational Learning. Authored by: OpenStax College. Located at: https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/6-3-operant-conditioning.
License: CC BY: Attribution. License terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]
- Latent Learning. Authored by:
Boundless. Located at: https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-psychology/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Traquair House Maze. Authored by: marsroverdriver. Located at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traquair_House_Maze.jpg. License: CC BY: Attribution
What is learning that certain events occur together called?
Associative learning is learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning.
What is learning that has taken place but is not demonstrated called?
Latent learning is a type of learning which is not apparent in the learner's behavior at the time of learning, but which manifests later when a suitable motivation and circumstances appear. This shows that learning can occur without any reinforcement of a behavior. .
What is latent learning and insight learning?
Insight is the sudden understanding of the components of a problem that makes the solution apparent. Latent learning refers to learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until there is motivation to do so.
Which principle of learning states that an association occurs between a pattern of stimuli and a response when paired?
Classical conditioning refers to learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces a behaviour. After the association is learned, the previously neutral stimulus is sufficient to produce the behaviour.
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