JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ambivalent Tolman: indirect influence on enactivism of Tolman's sign-Gestaltism through Merleau-Ponty.

  • Published In: Psychology & Psychiatry Journal, 2026. P. 58 1 of 2

  • Database: Psychology Source 2 of 2

Abstract

This article focuses on the legacy of Edward Tolman, an experimental psychologist known for his work on the "cognitive map" and "latent learning" in rats, highlighting his position as a precursor to both cognitivism and enactivism in psychological sciences. It discusses how Tolman’s concept of intervening variables was later interpreted representationally within cognitivism, while Maurice Merleau-Ponty adapted Tolman’s theory of sign-Gestalt into a non-representational, embodied framework influential to enactivism. The paper reexamines Tolman’s ambiguous theoretical stance and traces how his ideas indirectly contributed to enactivist cognitive science, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between organism and environment. This preprint has not undergone peer review. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. 2026/03, p58
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:1944-2718
  • Accession Number:192110953
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Psychology & Psychiatry Journal is the property of NewsRx and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.