Edward C. Tolman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Chace Tolman
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| Born | April 14, 1886 |
| Died | November 19, 1959 (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard University |
| Known for | Behavioral psychology, cognitive map, latent learning, purposive behaviorism |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley Northwestern University |
| Thesis | Studies in Memory (1915) |
| Doctoral advisor | Edwin Bissell Holt |
| Doctoral students | Murray Jarvik |
| Influences | Kurt Lewin, Kurt Koffka |
Edward Chace Tolman (born April 14, 1886 – died November 19, 1959) was an American psychologist. He was a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Tolman created a special area of psychology called purposive behaviorism. This idea suggests that our actions have a purpose or goal.
He also helped make the idea of latent learning popular. This is when you learn something without even realizing it, and you only show what you've learned later. In 2002, a survey ranked Tolman as the 45th most important psychologist of the 20th century.
Tolman was also a brave leader who protected academic freedom during a tough time in the early 1950s. This meant protecting the right of teachers and students to think and speak freely. Because of his important work, a building at the Berkeley campus, "Tolman Hall," was named after him.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Edward C. Tolman was born in West Newton, Massachusetts. His brother, Richard Chace Tolman, became a famous physicist. Edward first studied electrochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his degree in 1911.
His family wanted him to take over their manufacturing company. But after reading a book by William James called Principles of Psychology, Tolman changed his mind. He decided to study philosophy and psychology instead. James's ideas encouraged Tolman to be brave and explore new, sometimes controversial, ideas. Tolman also said he was greatly influenced by Gestalt psychologists like Kurt Lewin and Kurt Koffka.
In 1912, Tolman went to Germany to study. There, he learned about Gestalt psychology, which looks at how we see things as whole patterns, not just separate parts. Later, he went to Harvard University for his graduate studies. He earned his PhD from Harvard in 1915.
Key Ideas and Research
Tolman is famous for his studies on how rats learn in mazes. He published many important papers about his experiments. His main ideas were explained in his 1932 book, Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men. He also wrote influential papers like "Cognitive maps in rats and men" (1948).
Purposive Behaviorism Explained
Tolman's early research looked at how genes might affect learning. He would breed rats to see if they were better at learning mazes. This was one of the first studies to look at the genetic side of maze learning.
Tolman's theory explained behavior using three types of variables:
- Independent variables: These are things an experimenter can change, like the type of maze or the rewards given.
- Intervening variables: These are things inside the subject that we can't see directly, like their motivation or understanding.
- Dependent variables: These are what the experimenter measures, like how fast the rats run or how many mistakes they make. These measurements help us understand the intervening variables.
Tolman was a behaviorist, meaning he studied observable actions. But he wasn't as strict as some others, like B. F. Skinner. Tolman believed animals could learn more than just simple reactions. He thought they could learn facts about the world and use that knowledge flexibly.
He argued that animals could learn connections between different things (stimuli) without needing a direct reward. This is called latent learning. For example, rats might explore a maze without food, learning its layout. Later, when food is introduced, they quickly find it because they already knew the way. This was different from other theories that said learning only happened with rewards.
Cognitive Maps
In his 1948 paper, "Cognitive Maps in Rats and Men", Tolman introduced the idea of a cognitive map. This is like a mental picture or understanding of an environment. For example, when you walk around your school, you build a cognitive map of where everything is. You don't just learn a series of turns; you learn the layout.
Tolman showed that rats in mazes created these mental maps. They didn't just learn to turn left or right at certain points (response learning). They learned the overall layout of the maze (place learning). His experiments showed that rats using place learning learned much faster than those relying only on response learning.
Tolman's ideas about cognitive maps were very important. They helped lead to the field of cognitive psychology, which studies how we think, remember, and solve problems. Even today, scientists in many fields use the idea of cognitive maps.
Other Psychological Work
Tolman was also interested in how psychology could help solve human problems. He wrote a book called Drives Toward War, exploring the psychological reasons behind conflict.
He also wrote about how different subjects, like psychology, sociology, and physiology, are connected. He believed you needed to look at them together to understand human behavior fully.
Tolman also developed a theory about instinct. He said instincts have two parts:
- Determining adjustments: These are the main motivations or purposes behind our actions.
- Subordinate acts: These are the smaller, individual actions we take to achieve that purpose.
He explained that humans can "think-of-acts" before doing them. This means we can plan our actions in our minds. For example, if you're in a burning building, you could run around randomly. Or, you could stop, think, and remember the layout of the building to find the safest exit. This planning helps us act more effectively.
Academic Career and Academic Freedom
Edward Tolman began his teaching career at Northwestern University from 1915 to 1918. However, most of his career was spent at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a psychology professor from 1918 to 1954.
In the early 1950s, during a time known as the McCarthy era, there was a lot of fear about communism. The University of California asked its professors to sign a "loyalty oath." Tolman refused to sign it. He wasn't disloyal to the United States, but he believed the oath went against academic freedom. This is the idea that professors should be free to teach and research without political interference.
Tolman became a leader in fighting against the oath. When the university tried to fire him, he sued them. In 1954, he gave a speech at McGill University, arguing strongly for academic freedom. In 1955, the California Supreme Court agreed with Tolman. They overturned the oath and forced the university to rehire all professors who had refused to sign it.
In 1963, a new building at the Berkeley campus was named "Tolman Hall" in his honor. This was a tribute to his important work in psychology and his fight for academic freedom. Tolman Hall was later taken down in 2019 because it was not safe during earthquakes.
Awards and Honors
Tolman received many awards and honors for his contributions to psychology:
- He was president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1937.
- He was a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences.
- He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1949.
- The APA gave him an award in 1957 for his outstanding work.
Personal Life
Edward Tolman was married to Kathleen Drew Tolman. They had three children: Deborah, Mary, and Edward James. The well-known singer-songwriter and music producer, Russ Tolman, is Edward Tolman's grandson.
Even though his father wanted him to take over the family business, Tolman's family supported his decision to study psychology.
See also
- The Logic of Modern Physics
