Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Associative Learning

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...

Hindsight Biases

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?

Cognitive Learning

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...

Observational Learning

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...

Accuracy and Errors in Hypothesis Testing

Accuracy and Errors in Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing is a fundamental statistical tool that begins with the assumption that the null hypothesis H0 is true. During this process, two types of errors can occur: Type I and Type II. A Type I error refers to the incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis, while a Type II error involves the failure to reject a false null hypothesis.
In hypothesis testing, the probability of making a Type I error, denoted as α, is commonly set at 0.05. This significance level indicates a 5%...

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Mast cell deficiency improves cognition and enhances disease-associated microglia in 5XFAD mice.

Cell reports·2023

Same author

Basal forebrain parvalbumin neurons modulate vigilant attention and rescue deficits produced by sleep deprivation.

Journal of sleep research·2023

Same author

Role of the locus coeruleus and basal forebrain in arousal and attention.

Brain research bulletin·2022

Same author

Altered neural oscillations and behavior in a genetic mouse model of NMDA receptor hypofunction.

Scientific reports·2021

Same author

Optogenetic manipulation of an ascending arousal system tunes cortical broadband gamma power and reveals functional deficits relevant to schizophrenia.

Molecular psychiatry·2020

Same author

Author Correction: Dissociating task acquisition from expression during learning reveals latent knowledge.

Nature communications·2020

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Author Spotlight: Addressing Technical and Subjective Challenges in Measuring Classroom Attention

Author Spotlight: Addressing Technical and Subjective Challenges in Measuring Classroom Attention

Published on: December 15, 2023

Mini-review: Prediction errors, attention and associative learning.

Peter C Holland¹, Felipe L Schiffino¹

¹Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

|March 8, 2016

Summary

Prediction error (PE) influences associative learning by altering how surprising events affect conditioned stimuli (CSs) and unconditioned stimuli (USs). This research explores PE

Keywords:

Associability Associative learning Attention Pearce–Hall model Prediction error

More Related Videos

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Author Spotlight: Addressing Technical and Subjective Challenges in Measuring Classroom Attention

Author Spotlight: Addressing Technical and Subjective Challenges in Measuring Classroom Attention

Published on: December 15, 2023

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Behavioral Psychology
Learning Theory

Background:

Associative learning theories highlight prediction error (PE) – the discrepancy between expected and received events.
Two main models exist: Rescorla-Wagner (PE affects unconditioned stimulus effectiveness) and Pearce-Hall (PE affects conditioned stimulus associability).

Purpose of the Study:

To review evidence for PE-induced changes in associability of both conditioned stimuli (CSs) and unconditioned stimuli (USs).
To identify brain systems involved in processing PE-related changes in associability.
To propose modifications to existing behavioral models of associative learning.

Main Methods:

Review of experimental evidence, primarily from the authors' laboratory.
Analysis of behavioral and neural data related to associative learning and prediction error.
Examination of brain systems implicated in coding, storage, and retrieval of altered associability.

Main Results:

Evidence supports PE-induced changes in the associability of both CSs and USs.
Specific brain systems are involved in the processing and storage of these PE-related changes.
Findings suggest a more complex role for PE than proposed by some traditional models.

Conclusions:

Prediction error modifies the associability of both conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.
Widespread brain systems are engaged in processing prediction error signals.
Behavioral models of associative learning require updates to incorporate these findings.