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Related Concept Videos

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...
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...
Introduction to Learning01:18

Introduction to Learning

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice or experience, leading to long-lasting behavioral changes. This acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and requires practice or experience. For instance, mastering a skill such as surfing requires considerable practice and experience, highlighting the essential role of repeated interactions with the environment in learning.
In contrast to learned behaviors, unlearned behaviors such as crying, sexual...
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...
Classical Conditioning01:18

Classical Conditioning

Associative learning, a core principle in behavioral psychology, involves forming connections between events and facilitating learned responses. This concept is vividly illustrated by classical conditioning, a process extensively studied by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov's pioneering research on dogs' digestive systems led to the discovery that behaviors can be learned through association, laying the groundwork for classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs salivated...
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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

Human sequence learning under incidental and intentional conditions.

F W Jones1, I P L McLaren

  • 1Department of Applied Social and Psychological Development, Canterbury Christ Church University, David Salomons Estate, Wells, Kent TN3 0TG, United Kingdom. fergal.jones@canterbury.ac.uk

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|October 21, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human sequence learning involves both associative and hypothesis-testing processes. Associative learning aids incidental sequence learning, while rule-based hypothesis testing benefits intentional learning of specific patterns.

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

Published on: June 30, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Learning

Background:

  • Human sequence learning is crucial for skill acquisition.
  • The interplay between associative learning and hypothesis testing in sequence learning remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distinct roles of associative learning and hypothesis testing in human sequence learning.
  • To differentiate learning mechanisms under incidental versus intentional conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Two 2-choice serial reaction time (SRT) tasks were employed: one incidental and one intentional.
  • Participants learned specific subsequences (XXX, XYY, YYX, YXY) or a pseudorandom sequence.
  • Learning was assessed by comparing performance on learned subsequences versus control sequences.

Main Results:

  • Under incidental conditions, participants learned subsequences ending in alternations but not repetitions.
  • Under intentional conditions, the XXX subsequence showed the most significant learning.
  • A dissociation in learning was observed based on task conditions.

Conclusions:

  • A two-process model explains the observed dissociation.
  • Associative processes (e.g., augmented simple recurrent network) underpin incidental learning.
  • Rule-based hypothesis testing explains enhanced learning of specific patterns (XXX) under intentional conditions.