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, researchers placed a food reward at the end of the maze. With the food reward in place, 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

This experiment aligns with the theory of latent learning proposed by Edward C. Tolman, which suggests that learning can occur without an immediate reward or reinforcement. The rats in this experiment appeared to have learned the maze without any food rewards during the first 10 days, and their behavior changed significantly once a reward was introduced on the 11th day. This suggests that learning had been taking place all along, but it was only demonstrated once a reward was available. The other theories and concepts listed do not adequately explain the observations in this experiment.

A Group of Rats Was Run Through a Maze for 12