BIO SCI 38 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Edward C. Tolman, Richard Semon, James Mcgaugh
11 Jan 2020
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Document Summary
Rats learned to navigate this complex maze over days for food reward (or no reward) and the experimenter monitored errors the rats made on each trial. Inferences about memory are complicated by other factors. The behavior of the nr-r group suggests that despite no behavioral evidence in their performance up to day 11, they were learning as much about the maze solution as the rewarded rats. Learning and memory did not require reward, but reward enforced behavior to show that learning was in fact occurring. Cognitive maps and the learning vs performance distinction. Tolman stressed that behavioral performance does not necessarily equate with learning. Intervening variables, such as hunger, influence behavior (the learning versus performance distinction). Tolman proposed that animals were capable of forming cognitive maps that were formed incidentally and without effort and could be used flexibly and adaptively to guide behavior.
