24th October 2023

Cognitive Learning Theory

Cognitive learning theory rose to prominence in the 1950s. In contrast to behaviourism, cognitive psychology takes into consideration the internal processes that contribute to learning, rejecting the idea that all behaviour can be explained simply as the result of stimulus-response mechanisms.

Cognitive psychologists believe that the mind acts like a computer in processing information; external inputs are taken in as information and undergo mediational processing, resulting in an output.

Cognitive psychologists believe that the study of these mediational processes (such as memory, judgement, problem solving and other mental processes) is essential to understanding behaviour.

Latent learning

Latent learning refers to information learned without reinforcement but not demonstrated until there is motivation to recall it.

Tolman investigated latent learning by observing rats placed in a maze. He used three groups of rats: the first group were rewarded each time for reaching the end of the maze; the second group received no reward for reaching the end; and the third group were rewarded, but only after an initial 10 days, during which they would not receive a reward for completing the maze.

Tolman found that the first group of rats quickly learned the maze route, whereas the second group took longer to reach the end since they had no motivation to do so. The third group at first learned slowly like the second group; however, as soon as they were rewarded on day 11, they quickly caught up with the first group in terms of their ability to recall the maze route.

Tolman used the term ‘cognitive map’ to describe an internal representation of the environment, which is used to reach a particular goal. He concluded that the rats in his experiment created cognitive maps of the maze, which they could then recall when motivated to do so by the introduction of a reward – as demonstrated by the second group of rats. This is the process of latent learning, whereby information is stored and recalled at a later time when there is motivation to do so.

Insight learning

Insight learning refers to the experience of a sudden realisation of the solution to a particular problem rather than any solution obtained through trial and error. This may be colloquially referred to as a ‘lightbulb moment’.

Köhler demonstrated insight learning through his work with chimpanzees. He presented the animals with complex problems, such as placing food in an out of reach area, and then observed how they went about solving the problem.

The chimps initially worked by trial and error. However, when this failed, they were observed to stop and contemplate. Köhler noted that after a while, the chimps seemed to have a ‘lightbulb moment’ in which they suddenly realised how to solve the problem – they might use a stick to knock the food down or stand on a piece of furniture in order to reach it. This sudden realisation is what Köhler referred to as insight learning.

References

• Kohler, W. (1925) The Mentality of Apes. Harcourt Brace and World.
• Mcleod, S. Latent Learning in Psychology and how it Works. Simply Psychology. Available online at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/tolman.html [Accessed March 2023]
• Mcleod, S. (2023). Cognitive Approach in Psychology. Simply Psychology. [Website: https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html]
• Stangor, C., Walinga, J. (2014). Learning by Insight and Observation. Introduction to Psychology – 1st Canadian Edition. 339-342.
• Tolman, E.C. (1948). Cognitive Maps in Rats and Men. Psychological Review, 55(4): 189–208.