Tolman’s Purposive

Behaviorism
Edward C. Tolman is best-known for
cognitive behaviorism, his research
on cognitive maps, the theory of
latent learning and the concept of
an intervening
variable. Tolman was born on April
14, 1886, and died on November 19,
1959.
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Be familiar with Tolman’s purposive
behaviorism.
• Learn the description, concepts, and
impact of Tolman’s purposive
behaviorism.
• Understand the different concepts.
Tolman’s Purposive Behaviorism Purposive
behaviorism has also been reffered to as Sign
Learning Theory and is often seen as the link
between behaviorism and cognitive theory.
Tolman’s theory was founded on two psychological
views: those of the Gestalt psychologists and those
of John Watson, the behaviorist. Tolman believed
that learning is a cognitive process. Learning
involves forming beliefs and obtaining knowledge
about the environment and then revealing that
knowledge through purposeful and goal-directed
behavior.
Tolman stated in his sign theory that an
organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal,
Ex. Learning is acquired through meaningful
behavior. He stressed the organized aspect
of learning: “The stimuli which are allowed
in are not connected by just simple one-to-
one switches to the outgoing responses.
Rather the incoming impulses are usually
worked over and elaborated in the central
control room into a tentative cognitive-like
map of the environment.
And it is this tentative map, indicating routes and
paths and environmental relationships, which
finally determines what responses, if any, the
animal will finally make.”

A rat in a maze will explore

the maze to find the shortest
route to food. If the shortest
route is blocked, the rat will
switch to the next shortest
route. He doesn’t need to
explore the maze again
because he has a mental
picture of it.
Tolman’s Key Conept Learning is always purposive and
goal-directed. Tolman asserted the learning is always
purposive and goal-directed. He believed individuals do
more than merely respond to stimuli; they act on
beliefs, attitudes, changing conditions, and they strive
toward goals. Tolman saw behavior as holistic,
purposive and cognitive. Cognitive maps (in rats) This is
tendency to “learn location” signified that rats
somehow formed cognitive maps that help them
perform well on the maze. They learned the location
rather than a specific sequence of turns. He also found
out that organisms will select the shortest or easiest
path to achieve a goal.
Latent Learning.
Latent learning is a kind of learning that remains or
stays with the individual until needed. It is learning
that is not outwardly manifested at once. According
to Tolman it can exist even if without
reinforcement.
The concept of intervening variable.
Intervening variables that are not readily
seen but serve as determinants of behavior.
Tolman believe that learning is mediated or
is influence by expectations, perceptions,
presentations, needs and other internal or
environmental variables. Example, in his
experiments with rats he found out that
hunger was intervening variables.
Reinforcement not essential for learning.
Tolman concluded that reinforcement is
not essential for learning, although it
provides an incentive for performance. In
his studies, he observed that a rat was
able to acquire knowledge of the way
through a maze, i.e, to develop a
cognitive map, even the absence of the
reinforcement.