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Related Concept Videos

Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

1.9K
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...
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Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

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Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
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Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning01:15

Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning

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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.
Higher-order, or second-order, conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an already established conditioned stimulus through repeated pairings. For instance, if a dog has been...
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Principles of Classical Conditioning01:23

Principles of Classical Conditioning

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Classical conditioning, as described by Ivan Pavlov, is a foundational concept in associative learning, where a neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a conditioned response through association with an unconditioned stimulus. The process of acquisition, where this learning occurs, and the subsequent phenomena of contiguity, contingency, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of classical conditioning.
During the...
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Behavior Modification01:21

Behavior Modification

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Behavioral approaches have often been criticized for ignoring mental processes and focusing solely on observable behavior. However, these approaches provide an optimistic perspective for individuals seeking to change their behaviors. Rather than concentrating on intrinsic personality traits, behavioral approaches suggest that even longstanding habits can be modified by changing the reward contingencies that maintain them.
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...
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Classical Conditioning01:18

Classical Conditioning

14.2K
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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 7, 2026

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
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Reversal Without Remapping: What We Can (and Cannot) Conclude About Learned Associations From Training-Induced

Marc N Coutanche1, Sharon L Thompson-Schill2

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia coumarc@psych.upenn.edu.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science
|July 14, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Animal learning principles are crucial for understanding cognitive and social psychology. Response-reversal training shows behavior can change without altering prior associations, challenging common intuitions.

Keywords:
behavioralcognitionlearning (associative)methodology

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Animal Learning

Background:

  • The cognitive revolution in psychology is often seen as separate from animal learning research.
  • However, associationist principles from animal learning remain highly relevant to modern cognitive and social psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the relevance of animal learning principles to contemporary psychology.
  • To challenge intuitions about learning procedures by examining response-reversal training.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewed studies using response-reversal training on psychological problems.
  • Altered contingencies in laboratory settings to reverse learned responses.
  • Analyzed behavioral changes and underlying associative shifts.

Main Results:

  • Behavioral changes can occur without reversing prior associations.
  • Multiple types of associative changes can lead to response reversals.
  • Response-reversal training can yield counterintuitive outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Animal learning principles offer valuable insights into cognitive and social psychology.
  • Careful application of learning paradigms is necessary to avoid misleading conclusions.
  • Connecting animal learning literature strengthens inferences about learned associations in humans.