Cognitive Maps in Rats and Men

Tolman's 1948 argument, from latent-learning mazes, that rats learn spatial layouts, not just stimulus-response chains.

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Rats that explored a maze without reward later ran it nearly as well as always-rewarded animals: latent learning.
Detour and shortcut findings showed flexible route use inconsistent with pure response chaining.
Tolman's 1948 paper is a founding document of cognitive approaches to learning and spatial cognition.