Question

Helen always drives down Sheridan Avenue to go to the college campus. One morning Helen discovers that Sheridan Avenue is closed at 23rd Street because of flooding. Helen immediately takes a different route to the campus. How would psychologist Edward Tolman explain Helen's behavior?

a. she has formed a cognitive map of the area
b. the standing water was a reliable predictor of danger
c. Helen was observing the actions of others in the situation
d. she is classically conditioned to fear water

Answer 1

Helen's ability to find an alternative route because of the closure of her usual path to college can be explained by the cognitive map theory proposed by psychologist Edward Tolman, suggesting she had a mental representation of the area.

Step-by-step explanation:

Psychologist Edward Tolman would explain Helen's behavior of taking a different route to the campus when encountering a closure on Sheridan Avenue as her having formed a cognitive map of the area. This concept, developed by Tolman through experiments with rats in mazes, illustrates that learning can take place without reinforcement and that a mental representation of one's environment is created. Such a map enables individuals to navigate and find alternative routes when faced with obstacles, as Helen did when Sheridan Avenue was flooded and closed at 23rd Street.