Edward Chace Tolman (1898–1956) Although he looks rather solemn in this photo, Tolman was known for his openness to new ideas, energetic teaching style, and playful sense of humor. During an important speech, he showed a film of a rat in a maze with a short clip from a Mickey Mouse cartoon spliced in at the end (Gleitman, 1991). Tolman’s research demonstrated that cognitive processes are an important part of learning, even in the rat.

Archives of the History of American Psychology, The University of Akron