Punishment weakens a behavior by removing something unpleasant following a response. Today may psychologist argue that what an organism learns is information conveyed by one stimulus about the other. Cognitive Map . A mental representation of the layout of one's environment. Latent Learning Learning may occur in the absence of direct reinforcement and may not be expressed as behavior until a later time.
Latent learning suggests the presence of mental variables in learning, such as cognitive maps.
Attitudes and behaviors can be learned through observation. Behaviorist believe observational learning can be explained in stimulus-response terms, while social learning theorists and other psychologist believe the thought processes of the learner are important. Learning may result from suddenly understanding a problem that is being solved. Strict behaviorists would argue that complex cognition is not necessary. Overjustification effect .