Latent learning is a type of learning that does not appear in the learner's behavior at the time of learning, but later manifests when appropriate motivation and conditions appear, and this indicates that learning can occur without any reinforcement of the behavior,Latent learning, according to Tolman's theory, consists of unconsciously acquiring knowledge in other words, that the subject, despite having no intention of acquiring knowledge, will acquire it through repeated exposure to the steps to be followed.

In latent learning, the information they have processed does not become apparent until it is used, or until there is sufficient motivation, latent learning suggests that people go through multiple steps to acquire, store, and interpret data without conditioning,Not all learning is immediately apparent, sometimes learning only becomes apparent when we need to use it. According to psychologists, this "hidden" learning that only appears when reinforcement is provided is known as latent learning.

Latent learning does not have immediate benefits, but it remains in the mind of the subject until it needs to be proven. Latent learning in psychology refers to knowledge that can only become clear if there is an incentive to present it to the person,A classic case of observational learning may be when a child notices his parents yelling at his brother to stop doing something, and he obeys. Then the knowledge that yelling is effective in solving a problem is internalized, on the other hand, when it comes to latent learning, the knowledge comes from other channels; Such as the constant repetition of or exposure to an activity.

Edward Tolman (1948) challenged assumptions, by suggesting that people and animals are active information processes rather than passive learners As suggested by behaviorism, Tolman developed an epistemological view of learning that has become popular in modern psychology. Some of Tolman's early research were early developments of what is now called Behavioral genetics. Tolman selectively bred mice for the ability to learn the mazes he constructed.

Famous for his theory of human and animal learning, Tolman rejected John Watson's theory of learning and contemporary behavioral psychologists, these psychologists asserted that learning occurs through a process of trial and error, yet Tolman proved that learning is a systematic process guided by goals and hopes.

Tolman's rat experiments are the most famous example of latent learning in animals. However, you will likely see animals display their latent learning every day. It's different from training an animal and then waiting for its behavior to change. The learning itself is not reinforced, Where Tolman did his classic theory on mice.

Tolman developed the concept of latent learning after observing the behavior of three groups of mice placed in a maze with food at the end,
Relying on the automatism (stimulus) induced by environmental stimuli, rats were placed in a T-shaped maze in which one arm of the maze was white and the other black. One group of mice had 30 minutes to familiarize themselves with the maze without being offered food, and the mice were not moved once they reached the end of the arm.

The rats were required to escape from a water maze where they were saturated with food, and the food was placed on one of the escape pads, and upon returning to the maze while holding the food out, the rats recognized where the food had been placed at a rate that increased as the rats were exposed to the pre-position in the training phase, the performance of the rats For the concept of latent learning due to the knowledge they gained using without reinforcement to later complete a task quickly when a reward was shared.

Tolman discovered that a third group of mice that initially did not receive the food reward and did the maze slowly eventually completed the maze faster than the first group when given a food reward later in the experiment,An example of latent learning in humans is a child who watches others play soccer on the field, and when asked to join in, they can play well.

An example of latent learning in animals is that a dog in a new home takes time to explore each room and can later easily find the water dish in the kitchen.
A parrot quietly listens to its owner talking for weeks before showing perfect imitation of its voice for a treat.