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

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...

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...

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...

Purposive Learning

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...

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...

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning is a form of logical thinking that uses related observations to arrive at a general conclusion. It is uncertain and operates in degrees to which the conclusions are credible. As such, inductive arguments can be weak or strong, rather than valid or invalid, and conclusions can be used to formulate testable, falsifiable hypotheses.
Inductive reasoning is common in descriptive science. A life scientist makes observations and records them. This data can be qualitative or...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Error Cancellation During Early Task Performance.

Experimental psychology·2026

Same author

Mental health in challenging situations: how experienced agency affects coping and mental distress.

Frontiers in psychology·2026

Same author

Binding and retrieval of omitted responses in complex response sequences.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Same author

The sound of silence: Binding and retrieval of silence in distractor-response binding.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Same author

Response activation in error processing: Assessing leakage into upcoming action episodes.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026

Same author

Binding continuous response features of extended movements: Integration with discrete response but not stimulus features.

Psychological research·2026

Same journal

Circuit transitions from fear and anxiety to suicidal brain states.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

Same journal

Dissecting first-episode psychosis heterogeneity with clustering analyses: a systematic review.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

Same journal

Irisin and anxiety-like behaviors: Mechanistic integration of peripheral-central crosstalk, neuroinflammation and neural plasticity.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

Same journal

Efficacy of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

Same journal

Rhythms of interaction - the timescales of social coordination and why they matter.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

Same journal

Neural Bases of Memory Development: Insights from Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 3, 2025

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

Ideomotor learning: Time to generalize a longstanding principle.

Birte Moeller¹, Roland Pfister²

¹Trier University, Germany.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

|July 25, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The ideomotor principle explains how anticipating movement consequences drives actions. This study generalizes ideomotor learning to include response-response and stimulus-stimulus associations, unifying action control theories.

Keywords:

Action control Ideomotor learning Response-response association Stimulus-stimulus association

More Related Videos

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

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

Published on: June 30, 2020

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 3, 2025

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

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

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

Published on: June 30, 2020

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Human Action Control

Background:

The ideomotor principle, dating back to the 19th century, posits that anticipating sensory consequences of a movement triggers a motor response.
This principle is fundamental to contemporary human action control theories.
Ideomotor learning traditionally focused on establishing action-effect (response-effect) associations.

Purpose of the Study:

To generalize the ideomotor learning mechanism beyond action-effect associations.
To integrate the concept of common coding for action and perception into ideomotor learning.
To develop a more comprehensive framework for understanding human action control.

Main Methods:

Application of the theoretical concept of common coding for action and perception.
Theoretical extension of traditional ideomotor learning principles.
Analysis of associative learning in action control.

Main Results:

The same learning principle underlying action-effect associations can also generate response-response and stimulus-stimulus associations.
Generalizing ideomotor learning provides a powerful and unified framework for action control.
This generalized framework integrates ideomotor approaches with hierarchical learning theories.

Conclusions:

Ideomotor learning is more versatile than previously assumed, encompassing various associative structures.
A common coding framework offers a unified explanation for different types of associative learning in action control.
This research bridges ideomotor theories and hierarchical learning, advancing the understanding of human action control.