Tolman, Edward Chace (1886-1959), was an American psychologist known for his theory of how human beings and other animals learn. Tolman rejected the learning theory of John B. Watson and other behavioral psychologists of the time. These psychologists maintained that learning occurs through a random trial-and-error process. Tolman argued that learning is a systematic process guided by goals and expectations. He believed that learners develop what he called cognitive maps—that is, mental images of the probable paths to their goals. He explained his theory in a book called Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men (1932).
Tolman was born on April 14, 1886, in Newton, Massachusetts. He taught psychology at the University of California at Berkeley from 1918 until his death on Nov. 19, 1959.
