Learning with a Maze...
![Picture](/uploads/1/7/9/4/17945289/7040949.jpg?149)
I met the psychologist, Edward Tolman, at his undergraduate alma mater, MIT. As we walked around the campus I decided to ask him about his career in psychology and how he first got started.
Meghan: Hi Edward, so to start off, when were you born?
Edward: Hi Meghan. I was born April 14th 1886.
Meghan: What attracted you to an education at MIT?
Edward: I had grown up in Newton Massachusetts which is only a short drive away from MIT. Since I was always good at science and math I decided to apply.
Meghan: And what did you study at MIT?
Edward: I got my bachelors degree in electrochemistry.
Meghan: Then how, may I ask, did you get involved with pyschology?
Edward: When I was a senior I had read some things by the psychologist William James. William James really influenced my thinking that I should become a philosopher. So after I finished getting my degree at MIT I went on to attend graduate school at Harvard.
Meghan: Wow!!! Harvard?!!! And you studied philosophy there?
Edward: No, I ended up deciding to get my graduate degree in psychology because I thought philosophy would be too hard and I thought psychology better fit my interests.
Meghan: Did you enjoy the education you received at Harvard?
Edward: During my time at Harvard, I took a variety of interesting courses introducing me to psychology. After my first year I even studied in Germany for a little while and learned about the Gestalt theory.
Meghan: Really? But you are considered a cognitive behaviorist rather than a follower of the Gestalt theory.
Edward: Well I ended up developing an interest in behaviorism. I didn't agree with everything that John Watson's theory of behaviorism declared and so I developed my own system known as Purposive Behavorism.
Meghan: How did your Purposive Behavior differ from Watson's views?
Edward: Watson believed that people just respond to stimuli from the environment. I was more interested in how people act on beliefs and attitudes when reacting to a certain situation. I thought there was more cognition involved in people's responses to situations from their environment.
Meghan: Did your interest in cognition lead to your findings on the "cognitive" map?
Edward: Yes! I used rats in an experiment to test an organism's ability to create a mental representation of their environment. I found that rats weren't just aimlessly maneuvering through a maze to find food, but were able to learn how to navigate the maze and take the quickest routes to get food.
Meghan: Speaking of rats, did you use them in any other experiments?
Edward: I also used rats to prove my theory of Latent Learning. The rats in the experiment proved that learning occurs with or without an award. I proved this by running multiple trials of rats in mazes. One group of rats had to run through the maze everyday for 10 days before receiving food in the maze. The next day, the rats showed that they had learned how to navigate the maze by running through it faster in order to reach the food and thus be reward. I also used rats to prove my theory of intervening variables. My theory of intervening variables claims certain variables like purpose, expectations, and drive can affect behavior.
Meghan: Did other psychologists support your theories?
Edward: Behavorists like John Watson disregarded my findings. But there were experimental psychologists who supported my views. Other critics claimed my terms in my theories weren't well defined but I disagree. I may have differed from certain people's views but I also helped other psychologists to have broader minds and be open to new theories which is how I tried to be in my career.
Meghan: Well I don't think anyone could argue that you are claimed to be a major pioneer for the development of cognitive psychology.
Sources
http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/behaviorism/Tolman.html
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/edwardtolman.html
http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Edward%20Tolman
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/tolman.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045001266.html
http://e-book.lib.sjtu.edu.cn/iupsys/Hist/HBch07.htm
Meghan: Hi Edward, so to start off, when were you born?
Edward: Hi Meghan. I was born April 14th 1886.
Meghan: What attracted you to an education at MIT?
Edward: I had grown up in Newton Massachusetts which is only a short drive away from MIT. Since I was always good at science and math I decided to apply.
Meghan: And what did you study at MIT?
Edward: I got my bachelors degree in electrochemistry.
Meghan: Then how, may I ask, did you get involved with pyschology?
Edward: When I was a senior I had read some things by the psychologist William James. William James really influenced my thinking that I should become a philosopher. So after I finished getting my degree at MIT I went on to attend graduate school at Harvard.
Meghan: Wow!!! Harvard?!!! And you studied philosophy there?
Edward: No, I ended up deciding to get my graduate degree in psychology because I thought philosophy would be too hard and I thought psychology better fit my interests.
Meghan: Did you enjoy the education you received at Harvard?
Edward: During my time at Harvard, I took a variety of interesting courses introducing me to psychology. After my first year I even studied in Germany for a little while and learned about the Gestalt theory.
Meghan: Really? But you are considered a cognitive behaviorist rather than a follower of the Gestalt theory.
Edward: Well I ended up developing an interest in behaviorism. I didn't agree with everything that John Watson's theory of behaviorism declared and so I developed my own system known as Purposive Behavorism.
Meghan: How did your Purposive Behavior differ from Watson's views?
Edward: Watson believed that people just respond to stimuli from the environment. I was more interested in how people act on beliefs and attitudes when reacting to a certain situation. I thought there was more cognition involved in people's responses to situations from their environment.
Meghan: Did your interest in cognition lead to your findings on the "cognitive" map?
Edward: Yes! I used rats in an experiment to test an organism's ability to create a mental representation of their environment. I found that rats weren't just aimlessly maneuvering through a maze to find food, but were able to learn how to navigate the maze and take the quickest routes to get food.
Meghan: Speaking of rats, did you use them in any other experiments?
Edward: I also used rats to prove my theory of Latent Learning. The rats in the experiment proved that learning occurs with or without an award. I proved this by running multiple trials of rats in mazes. One group of rats had to run through the maze everyday for 10 days before receiving food in the maze. The next day, the rats showed that they had learned how to navigate the maze by running through it faster in order to reach the food and thus be reward. I also used rats to prove my theory of intervening variables. My theory of intervening variables claims certain variables like purpose, expectations, and drive can affect behavior.
Meghan: Did other psychologists support your theories?
Edward: Behavorists like John Watson disregarded my findings. But there were experimental psychologists who supported my views. Other critics claimed my terms in my theories weren't well defined but I disagree. I may have differed from certain people's views but I also helped other psychologists to have broader minds and be open to new theories which is how I tried to be in my career.
Meghan: Well I don't think anyone could argue that you are claimed to be a major pioneer for the development of cognitive psychology.
Sources
http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/behaviorism/Tolman.html
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/edwardtolman.html
http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Edward%20Tolman
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/tolman.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045001266.html
http://e-book.lib.sjtu.edu.cn/iupsys/Hist/HBch07.htm