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Measuring Associative Learning in Chemotaxis of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

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Learning: from association to cognition.

David R Shanks¹

¹Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1H 0AP United Kingdom. d.shanks@ucl.ac.uk

Annual Review of Psychology

|July 7, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores the long-standing debate between associationist and cognitive theories of learning. It examines evidence for both, questioning the strict separation of conscious and unconscious learning processes.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Learning Theory

Background:

A historical tension exists between association-based and cognitive theories of learning.
Associationism uses concepts like reinforcement, while cognitive theories emphasize hypothesis testing and reasoning.
Recent research suggests cognitive processes, like inferential reasoning, influence phenomena such as blocking in learning.

Purpose of the Study:

To review key findings in learning research.
To evaluate evidence supporting associative and cognitive explanatory constructs.
To critically examine the dichotomy of conscious (explicit) versus unconscious (implicit) learning.

Main Methods:

Selective review of experimental findings.
Evaluation of evidence for associative and cognitive theories.
Critical analysis of the explicit/implicit learning dichotomy.

Main Results:

Evidence suggests inferential reasoning plays a role in cue selection (blocking).
The strict separation between noncognitive (implicit) and cognitive (explicit) learning is questioned.
The claim that learning can occur unconsciously is critically examined.

Conclusions:

The review challenges a simple dichotomy between associative and cognitive learning.
It questions the extent to which learning is strictly conscious or unconscious.
Further research is needed to fully understand the interplay of different learning mechanisms.