Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: June 23, 2022
Reconceptualized Associative Learning
1Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020 USA.
Abstract:
Research on the role of time in associative learning has changed our understanding of what an association is. It is a measurable fact about the distribution of events in time, not an altered activation-conducting connection in a mind, brain or net. Associative learning is the process of perceiving temporal associations and deciding to act on them. Informativeness- the ratio of a conditional rate to an unconditional rate-is the essential empirical variable, not the probability of reinforcement. The communicated information between temporally associated behavioral and reinforcing events is the log of informativeness. Because the time units in the rate estimates cancel, associative-learning is time-scale invariant: Perceivably associated events may be arbitrarily widely separated. There are no windows of associability nor decaying eligibility traces. The learning rate-operationally defined as the reciprocal of reinforcements prior to the appearance of a conditioned response-is an almost scalar function of relative temporal separation, as measured by informativeness. The central role of informativeness unites our understanding of Pavlovian and operant/instrumental phenomena, revealing unexpected quantitative and conceptual communalities.
Related Concept Videos
Associative Learning
Classical conditioning, also known...
Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning
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...
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Cognitive 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...
Principles of Classical Conditioning
During the...

