A group of rats was run through a maze for 12 days. On days 1 through 10, there was no food reward at the end of the maze, and the rats made many errors as they slowly moved through the maze. On day 11, a food reward was placed at the end of the maze. After the food reward was introduced, the rats ran the maze very quickly and with few errors. According to psychologist _____, this experiment demonstrated a phenomenon called _____.
A)B. F. Skinner; stimulus discrimination
B)Edward L. Thorndike; the law of effect
C)Albert Bandura; observational learning
D)Edward C. Tolman; latent learning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experiment described in the scenario is known as the Tolman's Maze Experiment, and it demonstrated the phenomenon of latent learning. Edward C. Tolman proposed the idea that organisms could learn and form cognitive maps of their environment, even without reinforcement or punishment. The rats in the experiment initially made many errors because they had not yet formed a cognitive map of the maze. Once a food reward was introduced, their cognitive mapping abilities allowed them to quickly navigate the maze with few errors, demonstrating this form of learning. Therefore, the best choice is D, Edward C. Tolman; latent learning. The other options (A) B. F. Skinner; stimulus discrimination, (B) Edward L. Thorndike; the law of effect, and (C) Albert Bandura; observational learning, do not accurately describe the scenario or experiment.

A Group of Rats Was Run Through a Maze for 12