latent learning
learning that is acquired without conscious effort, awareness, intention, or reinforcement and is not manifested as a change in performance until a specific need for it arises. For example, a student writing an exam may be able to cite a quotation encountered earlier accurately without having made an effort previously to learn it. Among nonhuman animals, a rat allowed to explore a maze without reward will later learn to find the goal more rapidly than a rat without prior exposure to the maze does. See also incidental learning. [first described by Edward C. Tolman]