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Associative Learning

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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.
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Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...

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Cognitive Learning

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: February 18, 2013

Symbolic versus associative learning.

John E Hummel¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Cognitive Science

|May 14, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The feature-label-order (FLO) effect impacts nonsymbolic association learning, not symbolic category learning. This challenges the view of FLO as a constraint on learning symbol systems or grounding symbols.

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Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

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Published on: February 18, 2013

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Published on: June 23, 2022

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Learning Sciences

Background:

The feature-label-order (FLO) effect describes how the sequence of features and labels influences category learning.
Ramscar et al. (2010) proposed FLO as a constraint on symbolic learning.

Discussion:

This analysis argues that the FLO effect primarily influences nonsymbolic, association-based learning.
It contends that FLO is not a fundamental constraint on symbolic learning processes.

Key Insights:

FLO is an effect on associative learning, not symbolic rule acquisition.
The study reframes the FLO effect's role in cognitive processes.

Outlook:

Further research should explore the distinction between symbolic and nonsymbolic learning mechanisms.
Investigating other category learning constraints may clarify their impact on different learning systems.