Which psychologist is associated with the concept of the cognitive map?

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Jean Piaget
• C. Edward Tolman
• D. B.F. Skinner

Answer: (C)

Understanding this concept means recognizing how an internal mental representation of space guides navigation. Edward Tolman showed that rats could learn the layout of a maze even without rewards, and once a reward was introduced, they found efficient routes as if they were using a mental map of the environment. This idea—that learning involves forming a cognitive map and can be latent or non-obvious until motivation or a goal prompts it—was a shift away from purely stimulus-response thinking.

Tolman argued that behavior is goal-directed and guided by expectancies about the world, not just automatic habits. The cognitive map idea captures that internal knowledge of spatial relationships helps animals and people navigate flexibly in new situations.

In contrast, Freud is linked with psychoanalysis and unconscious drives; Piaget with stages of cognitive development and schema formation in children; Skinner with operant conditioning and behaviorism. Their work centers on different processes, not the formation of spatial mental maps Tolman described.