Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

503
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...
503
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

929
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...
929
Storage01:23

Storage

123
A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze...
123
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

474
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...
474
Mnemonic Devices01:23

Mnemonic Devices

145
Mnemonic devices are cognitive tools that facilitate memory retention by linking new information to familiar patterns or organizational strategies. These techniques are beneficial for remembering complex or lengthy sets of information by simplifying and structuring them in easily retrievable ways.
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...
145
Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

181
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...
181

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Non-specific increase in alpha power during a neurofeedback session targeting its downregulation.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2026
Same author

Spontaneous Modulation of Alpha Power During a Neurofeedback Session Without Instructions.

Psychophysiology·2026
Same author

Comparing Geometric Shape Representations in Humans and Baboons: A Language of Thought Perspective.

Topics in cognitive science·2026
Same author

No Evidence for Agent-Patient Role Attribution in Human Infants, Human Adults, and Guinea Baboons (Papio papio).

Cognitive science·2026
Same author

The Lifetime of Sequential Memory Traces in the Absence of Language.

Cognitive science·2025
Same author

Agent Preference in Chasing Interactions in Guinea Baboons (<i>Papio papio</i>): Uncovering the Roots of Subject-Object Order in Language.

Psychological science·2025
Same journal

Correction: Quantifying nonmnemonic strategies in two-alternative forced-choice delayed matching and nonmatching-to-position tasks in mice (Mus musculus) using automated video tracking technologies.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Unconditional stimulus deflation is stimulus specific.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

What is possible and what is worth: Higher levers afford more work and enhance the value of leisure.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Behavioral impact of adolescent social isolation stress: A multidimensional assessment in male NMRI mice.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Behavioral characteristics of rapid visual categorization learning in domestic chicks.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Operant conditioning through positive reinforcement in the ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata).

Learning & behavior·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
09:22

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: February 18, 2013

19.1K

Associative learning accounts for recursive-structure generation in crows.

Arnaud Rey1, Joël Fagot2

  • 1Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive & Institute of Language Communication and the Brain, CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université, UMR 7290, Bâtiment 9 Case D, 3, place Victor Hugo, 13331, Marseille Cedex 3, France. arnaud.rey@cnrs.fr.

Learning & Behavior
|January 3, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Crow cognitive abilities, specifically recursive sequence generation, may be explained by simpler associative learning, not complex recursion. Further research is needed to differentiate these explanations in animal cognition.

Keywords:
Associative learningCenter-embeddingsCrowsPrimatesRecursive structures

More Related Videos

A Flexible Platform for Monitoring Cerebellum-Dependent Sensory Associative Learning
11:32

A Flexible Platform for Monitoring Cerebellum-Dependent Sensory Associative Learning

Published on: January 19, 2022

3.5K
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
06:35

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

Published on: April 28, 2016

34.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
09:22

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: February 18, 2013

19.1K
A Flexible Platform for Monitoring Cerebellum-Dependent Sensory Associative Learning
11:32

A Flexible Platform for Monitoring Cerebellum-Dependent Sensory Associative Learning

Published on: January 19, 2022

3.5K
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
06:35

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

Published on: April 28, 2016

34.1K

Area of Science:

  • Comparative cognition
  • Animal behavior
  • Avian intelligence

Background:

  • Recent studies suggested crows exhibit recursive sequence generation, a complex cognitive ability.
  • This ability implies transferring learned patterns to new contexts or items.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the hypothesis that crows can perform recursive sequence generation.
  • To propose alternative, simpler explanations for the observed data in crows.

Main Methods:

  • Re-analysis of existing data on crow sequence generation.
  • Comparison of the recursion hypothesis with simpler associative learning models.

Main Results:

  • The data are consistent with the possibility of recursive sequence generation in crows.
  • However, the observed patterns are also fully explainable by basic associative learning mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • The findings challenge the strong interpretation of recursion in crows.
  • Simpler associative learning processes provide a parsimonious explanation for the data.
  • Further experimental designs are necessary to definitively distinguish between recursion and associative learning in avian cognition.