Cognitive Map Results 

Last week, Estelle's maze was made! It was constructed out of old cardboard boxes supported by cinderblocks. Here are some pictures! 







When Estelle enters the maze, her view of where she receives her food will be blocked by the boxes. She must find her way around them to reach her goal. 

Results: Within two and a half minutes, Estelle and her kid found their way through the maze! 
Both seemed a bit confused at first and stood behind the first obstacle for about 30 seconds. Once Estelle's kid began exploring the path, Estelle followed and finished the reminder of the maze quickly. Great Job Estelle! 

Here is a video of Estelle and her kid finding their way through the maze. 

(Youtube Video) 

https://youtu.be/OmhNnQwnr4Y



Here, Estelle and her kid show the use of their cognitive maps (Once again, a cognitive map is a mental representation of the layout of one's environment). By getting through the maze, Estelle and her kid have shown that with the understanding of their usual area, they were able to use that information to adapt to the changes in their environment. This is also an example of Latent Learning. This is a type of learning that occurs, but is not apparent until there is a reason to demonstrate it. Estelle and her kid developed a cognitive map of their environment, but their skill was not demonstrated until they had to use it in the experiment.