ABSTRACT
Alternatives were rapidly proposed by those who viewed the S → R associative process as too primitive, simple, and mechanical to account for problem-solving behavior. One such example is Köhler’s insight learning, discussed in Chapter 8. Another example is provided by the influential view of learning developed by Edward C. Tolman (1886-1959). Out of Tolman’s laboratory came a variety of experiments cleverly designed to expose the cognitive capacities of rats (Rattus norvegicus). Tolman’s (1932) central argument substituted the learning of S → R connections by the acquisition of cognitive expectations that came to be framed in terms of associations between stimuli, or S → S associations. According to this view, the delivery of a reinforcer in a particular situation results in the establishment of an expectation of that reinforcer. Behavior is then guided by acquired expectations.
