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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...
Group Design02:01

Group Design

The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to...
Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

Associative learning is a fundamental concept in behavioral psychology, wherein a connection is established between two stimuli or events, leading to a learned response. This process is critical in understanding how behaviors are acquired and modified. Conditioning, the mechanism through which associations are formed, can be divided into two main types: classical conditioning and operant conditioning, each elucidating different aspects of associative learning.
Classical conditioning, also known...
Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect01:26

Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect

The similarity-dissimilarity effect, a fundamental concept in social psychology, explains how interpersonal similarities and differences influence attraction and social interactions. This effect is supported by three key psychological perspectives: balance theory, social comparison theory, and consensual validation.Balance Theory and Cognitive ConsistencyBalance theory, developed by Fritz Heider, posits that individuals seek cognitive consistency in their relationships. When two people share...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Individual differences: either relational learning or item-specific learning in a same/different task.

L Caitlin Elmore1, Anthony A Wright, Jacquelyne J Rivera

  • 1Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77225, USA. lauren.c.elmore@uth.tmc.edu

Learning & Behavior
|April 22, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Pigeons learned relationships between stimuli in a same/different task, but did not show abstract concept learning. Two pigeons demonstrated relational learning, while one showed item-specific learning.

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RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans
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RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

Published on: July 17, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans
11:09

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

Published on: July 17, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Pigeons were trained on a simultaneous same/different task.
  • Understanding how animals learn relational concepts is crucial in cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether pigeons could learn abstract concepts or just specific stimulus relationships.
  • To explore individual differences in learning strategies within the same task.

Main Methods:

  • Pigeons were trained on a three-item same/different task with a limited set of stimuli.
  • Post-training tests included novel stimuli, untrained stimulus combinations, and stimulus inversions.

Main Results:

  • No evidence of abstract concept learning (novel-stimulus transfer) was found.
  • Two pigeons showed partial transfer to untrained pairs and stimulus inversions, indicating relational learning.
  • One pigeon demonstrated item-specific learning, failing to generalize.

Conclusions:

  • Pigeons can exhibit relational learning, even with limited training data, suggesting restricted-domain learning.
  • Learning strategies can vary between individuals, with some showing relational learning and others item-specific learning.
  • Relational learning is possible without demonstrating abstract concept learning through novel stimulus transfer.