Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsImportanceDiscoveryObservations
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Importance
Discovery
Observations
Close
In psychology, latentlearningrefers to knowledge that only becomes clear when a person has an incentive to display it. For example, a child might learn how to complete a math problem in class, but thislearningis not immediately apparent. Only when the child is offered some form of reinforcement (like a grade) for completing the problem does this learning reveal itself.
Why Latent Learning Matters
Sometimes learning only becomes evident when we need to utilize it. According to psychologists, this “hidden” learning that only manifests itself when something motivates us is known as latent learning.
Discovery of Latent Learning
Edward Tolmanexpanded on Blodgett’s research and explained that the rats were able to draw upon their “cognitive map” of the maze once rewards were introduced.
Acognitive maprefers to a mental representation of an environment. Such maps can be formed through observation as well as through trial and error. These cognitive maps allow people to orient themselves in their environment.
Even more surprising, the group of rats who weren’t given a reward until the 11thday of the experiment, outperformed the group of rats who were given a reward from day one, once the reward was introduced to them. These observations demonstrated that active learning could take place outside of the stimulus-response relationship, even though an organism does not display it right away.
Consider your knowledge of various routes in your hometown. Every day you travel a variety of routes and learn the locations of different businesses in your town. However, this learning is latent because you are not using it most of the time. It is only when you need to find a specific location such as the nearest coffee shop or bus stop that you are required to draw on and demonstrate what you have learned.
Decades later, neuroscientists have been able to explain this cognitive map at the cellular level. Specific neurons in thehippocampusand other brain regions are involved in spatial navigation skills.
What Is a Schema in Psychology?
Latent Learning Observations
In his bookHistory of Psychology, author David Hothersall explained that while there was initially some controversy surrounding the phenomenon, numerous researchers also reported that lab rats did learn in the absence of rewards.
This notion challenged much of what thebehavioristsbelieved, which was that learning could only occur withreinforcement. As a result, some of the more entrenched behaviorists suggested that there must have been some sort of reinforcement present during the non-reward trials, even if that reinforcement wasnot immediately obvious.
Research has demonstrated that the latent learning phenomenon is, as Hothersall explained, “reliable and robust.“
It is well understood that rats placed in a maze will learn the route they need to follow to obtain a food reward, but research has also demonstrated that the rats learned the rest of the maze as well.
The burning questions are: Why do the rats learn the whole maze when it doesn’t seem relevant? And how do investigators demonstrate that this latent learning has taken place?
Simple. When experimenters block the learned route, the rats would then use the next shortest path to get to the food. In order to do this, the rats must have learned the rest of the maze as well (all of the wrong ways and dead ends that didn’t lead to food), even if such learning occurred without reinforcement.
Latent learning and cognitive maps correlate with many higher-level mental abilities, such as problem-solving and planning for the future.
Highly Complex Decision Makers
Are humans simple stimulus-response machines or are they highly complex decision-makers?
Consider the idea of distant future rewards as motivators for learning. If students learn something in the present, according to a traditional behaviorist, they may be rewarded with good grades, a high GPA, and praise from their parents. They should then continue on this path because it is reinforcing.
8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Blodgett HC.The effect of the introduction of reward upon the maze performance of rats.University of California Publications in Psychology.1929;4:113-134.Tolman EC.Cognitive maps in rats and men.Psychological Review. 1948;55(4):189–208. doi:10.1037/h0061626BehrensTEJ, Muller TH, Whittington JCR, et al.What is a cognitive map? Organizing knowledge for flexible behavior.Neuron. 2018;100(2):490-509. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.002Eichenbaum H.The hippocampus as a cognitive map … of social space.Neuron. 2015;87(1):9-11. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.013Hothersall D.History of Psychology. McGraw-Hill Humanities Social; 2004.Iordanova MD, Good MA, Honey RC.Configural learning without reinforcement: Integrated memories for correlates of what, where, and when.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2008;61(12):1785-1792. doi:10.1080/17470210802194324Wang MZ, Hayden BY.Latent learning, cognitive maps, and curiosity.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2021;38:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.003Chen J.Cognitive Mapping for Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: Theory, Research, and Assessment.1st ed. Routledge; 2022. doi:10.4324/9781003305439Additional ReadingCoon D. Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth; 2010.
8 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Blodgett HC.The effect of the introduction of reward upon the maze performance of rats.University of California Publications in Psychology.1929;4:113-134.Tolman EC.Cognitive maps in rats and men.Psychological Review. 1948;55(4):189–208. doi:10.1037/h0061626BehrensTEJ, Muller TH, Whittington JCR, et al.What is a cognitive map? Organizing knowledge for flexible behavior.Neuron. 2018;100(2):490-509. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.002Eichenbaum H.The hippocampus as a cognitive map … of social space.Neuron. 2015;87(1):9-11. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.013Hothersall D.History of Psychology. McGraw-Hill Humanities Social; 2004.Iordanova MD, Good MA, Honey RC.Configural learning without reinforcement: Integrated memories for correlates of what, where, and when.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2008;61(12):1785-1792. doi:10.1080/17470210802194324Wang MZ, Hayden BY.Latent learning, cognitive maps, and curiosity.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2021;38:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.003Chen J.Cognitive Mapping for Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: Theory, Research, and Assessment.1st ed. Routledge; 2022. doi:10.4324/9781003305439Additional ReadingCoon D. Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth; 2010.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Blodgett HC.The effect of the introduction of reward upon the maze performance of rats.University of California Publications in Psychology.1929;4:113-134.Tolman EC.Cognitive maps in rats and men.Psychological Review. 1948;55(4):189–208. doi:10.1037/h0061626BehrensTEJ, Muller TH, Whittington JCR, et al.What is a cognitive map? Organizing knowledge for flexible behavior.Neuron. 2018;100(2):490-509. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.002Eichenbaum H.The hippocampus as a cognitive map … of social space.Neuron. 2015;87(1):9-11. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.013Hothersall D.History of Psychology. McGraw-Hill Humanities Social; 2004.Iordanova MD, Good MA, Honey RC.Configural learning without reinforcement: Integrated memories for correlates of what, where, and when.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2008;61(12):1785-1792. doi:10.1080/17470210802194324Wang MZ, Hayden BY.Latent learning, cognitive maps, and curiosity.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2021;38:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.003Chen J.Cognitive Mapping for Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: Theory, Research, and Assessment.1st ed. Routledge; 2022. doi:10.4324/9781003305439
Blodgett HC.The effect of the introduction of reward upon the maze performance of rats.University of California Publications in Psychology.1929;4:113-134.
Tolman EC.Cognitive maps in rats and men.Psychological Review. 1948;55(4):189–208. doi:10.1037/h0061626
BehrensTEJ, Muller TH, Whittington JCR, et al.What is a cognitive map? Organizing knowledge for flexible behavior.Neuron. 2018;100(2):490-509. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.002
Eichenbaum H.The hippocampus as a cognitive map … of social space.Neuron. 2015;87(1):9-11. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.013
Hothersall D.History of Psychology. McGraw-Hill Humanities Social; 2004.
Iordanova MD, Good MA, Honey RC.Configural learning without reinforcement: Integrated memories for correlates of what, where, and when.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2008;61(12):1785-1792. doi:10.1080/17470210802194324
Wang MZ, Hayden BY.Latent learning, cognitive maps, and curiosity.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2021;38:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.003
Chen J.Cognitive Mapping for Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: Theory, Research, and Assessment.1st ed. Routledge; 2022. doi:10.4324/9781003305439
Coon D. Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth; 2010.
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
What is your feedback?
