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...

Principle of Equivalence

Principle of Equivalence

According to Albert Einstein (1897-1955), free-falling and feeling weightless are intrinsically linked. If a person were in free-fall under gravity, for example, diving towards the Earth from an airplane, they would feel completely weightless. Similarly, a person descending in a lift may feel partially weightless. Broadly speaking, it is assumed that an object in a uniform gravitational field and an object undergoing constant acceleration in the absence of gravity are under the same...

Concepts and Prototypes

Concepts and Prototypes

The human nervous system handles vast amounts of information by translating sensory stimuli into neural impulses, which the brain processes, creating thoughts expressed through language or stored as memories. The brain also synthesizes information from emotions and memories, which significantly influence thoughts and behaviors. This intricate process creates a comprehensive mental picture.
The brain organizes this information using concepts, which are mental categories grouping linguistic data,...

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...

Schemas

Schemas

A schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

A reporting checklist for large language models in behavioural science.

Nature human behaviour·2026

Same author

Beyond computational equivalence: the behavioral inference principle for machine consciousness.

Neuroscience of consciousness·2026

Same author

Leveling up fun: learning progress, expectations, and success influence enjoyment in video games.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Model-based exploration is measurable across tasks but not linked to personality and psychiatric assessments.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

A foundation model to predict and capture human cognition.

Nature·2025

Same author

Author Correction: Adaptive mechanisms of social and asocial learning in immersive collective foraging.

Nature communications·2025

Same journal

Implicit Bias: Evolution of a Powerful Idea.

Annual review of psychology·2026

Same journal

Introduction.

Annual review of psychology·2026

Same journal

Social Robotics Is Not (Just) About Machines, It Is About People: Psychology's Role in Developing Social Machines.

Annual review of psychology·2025

Same journal

Intensive Longitudinal Methods: Toward a Psychological Science of Daily Life.

Annual review of psychology·2025

Same journal

Human Rationality.

Annual review of psychology·2025

Same journal

Space to Act, Think, and Create.

Annual review of psychology·2025

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Unifying Principles of Generalization: Past, Present, and Future.

Charley M Wu^1,2,3, Björn Meder⁴, Eric Schulz⁵

¹Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.

Annual Review of Psychology

|October 16, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Human intelligence relies on generalization, applying past experiences to new situations. Modern hybrid models integrate rule-based and similarity-based approaches for a comprehensive understanding of this cognitive process.

Keywords:

concept learning function learning generalization reinforcement learning structure induction value approximation

More Related Videos

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning

Background:

Generalization is a fundamental aspect of human intelligence, enabling adaptation to novel situations.
Psychological theories have evolved from concept and function learning to reinforcement and latent structure learning.
Historical debates centered on rule-based versus similarity-based mechanisms for generalization.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the evolution and continuity of psychological theories of generalization.
To explore the historical dichotomy between rule-based and similarity-based approaches.
To highlight the emergence and significance of hybrid Bayesian models.

Main Methods:

Literature review of psychological theories of generalization.
Analysis of historical debates between rule-based and similarity-based mechanisms.
Examination of contemporary hybrid models integrating both approaches.

Main Results:

Rule-based approaches offer rapid knowledge transfer.
Similarity-based approaches provide computational simplicity and flexibility.
Hybrid Bayesian models successfully integrate rules and similarity, bridging past theoretical divides.

Conclusions:

Hybrid models represent a significant advancement in understanding human generalization.
Integrating both rule-based and similarity-based mechanisms is crucial for a complete cognitive model.
Bayesian principles provide a robust framework for unifying diverse generalization strategies.