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Related Concept Videos

Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?
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

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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...
Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning01:15

Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning not only includes the initial pairing of stimuli but also extends to more complex forms, such as higher-order conditioning. Higher-order conditioning involves creating associations beyond the primary conditioned stimulus, resulting in a chain of conditioned responses.
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Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness01:14

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice
09:15

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Published on: February 4, 2015

Overt attention and predictiveness in human contingency learning.

M E Le Pelley1, Tom Beesley, Oren Griffiths

  • 1School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF103AT, United Kingdom. lepelleyme@cardiff.ac.uk

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|February 16, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human attention focuses on predictive cues during associative learning. This attentional bias persists even when outcomes become equal, influencing learning rates and supporting specific learning models.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Associative learning is fundamental to understanding how organisms adapt to their environment.
  • The role of attention in modulating associative learning has been a key debate in cognitive psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between attention and associative learning using eye-tracking.
  • To test predictions derived from different attentional models of associative learning.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments involving human participants were conducted.
  • Eye-tracking procedures were employed to measure overt attention to predictive and nonpredictive cues.
  • Participants underwent multiple phases of associative learning training.

Main Results:

  • Participants showed significantly greater attention to cues previously associated with outcomes.
  • This attentional bias remained even when all cues became equally predictive in a subsequent phase.
  • A concurrent bias in the rate of learning was observed, correlating with attention.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support the attentional model of associative learning proposed by Mackintosh (1975).
  • Results challenge the attentional model proposed by Pearce and Hall (1980).
  • Attention plays a crucial, persistent role in shaping associative learning processes.