Latent Learning Study: Which Group Made the Fewest Errors in the Maze?

Which group made the fewest errors in the maze by the end of the study?

Data:

In studies using rats and maze related to latent learning, the group which began receiving rewards midway through the experiment made the fewest errors by the end.

Final Answer:

In studies using rats and maze related to latent learning, the group which began receiving rewards midway through the experiment made the fewest errors by the end. This indicates that they had been learning despite no initial reward, displaying latent learning.

Explanation:

In the context of latent learning, which relates to the psychology field, we can infer that the question is likely referring to the classic latent learning experiments conducted by Edward C. Tolman using rats. In these studies, there were generally three groups of rats used: one group was rewarded each time they reached the end of the maze (rewarded group), the second group was never rewarded (non-rewarded group), and the third group was only rewarded starting at a certain point in the experiment (delayed-reward group).

Initially, the group that was continuously rewarded made the fewest errors. However, once the delayed-reward group began receiving rewards, they swiftly improved their performance. In fact, they made fewer mistakes than the continuously rewarded group, suggesting they had learned without the direct incentive of a reward and then applied this latent learning once a reward was available. Therefore, by the end of the study, the delayed-reward group made the fewest errors in the maze.