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

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness01:14

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

2.6K
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
2.6K
Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

1.3K
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...
1.3K
Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

508
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...
508
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

979
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...
979
Learning Disabilities01:25

Learning Disabilities

613
Learning disabilities are cognitive disorders caused by neurological impairments that affect cognitive functions like language and reading, without indicating overall intellectual or developmental challenges. These disabilities differ from global intellectual or developmental disabilities as they are limited to distinct cognitive functions. Common learning disabilities include dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, each of which impacts unique aspects of learning.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a...
613
Introduction to Learning01:18

Introduction to Learning

1.2K
Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice or experience, leading to long-lasting behavioral changes. This acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and requires practice or experience. For instance, mastering a skill such as surfing requires considerable practice and experience, highlighting the essential role of repeated interactions with the environment in learning.
In contrast to learned behaviors, unlearned behaviors such as crying, sexual...
1.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

The partial reinforcement extinction effect: Learning about trial sequences or time to reinforcement.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2026
Same author

Reconceptualized Associative Learning.

Perspectives on behavior science·2025
Same author

Time-scale invariant contingency yields one-shot reinforcement learning despite extremely long delays to reinforcement.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024
Same author

Learning about trial sequences disrupts the partial reinforcement extinction effect in classical conditioning.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2024
Same author

The sequencing of trials during partial reinforcement affects subsequent extinction.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2023
Same author

Honey bees infer source location from the dances of returning foragers.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2023
Same journal

Restraint of melanoma progression by cells in the local skin environment.

eLife·2026
Same journal

Brawn before bite in endemic Asian eutherian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction.

eLife·2026
Same journal

Experimental evolution to thermal stress indicates climate resilience in a cosmopolitan arthropod.

eLife·2026
Same journal

Correlates of protection against African swine fever virus identified by a systems immunology approach.

eLife·2026
Same journal

Retrosplenial cortex enables context-dependent goal-directed sensorimotor transformation.

eLife·2026
Same journal

Direct contact between iPSC-derived macrophages and hepatocytes drives reciprocal acquisition of Kupffer cell identity and hepatocyte maturation.

eLife·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

11.1K

Information, certainty, and learning.

Justin A Harris1, Charles Randy Gallistel2

  • 1The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.

Elife
|February 2, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Rats

Keywords:
Pavlovianappetitiveconditioninginformationlearningneuroscienceratrate

More Related Videos

Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans
07:17

Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: June 23, 2022

3.0K
Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning
09:48

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning

Published on: August 7, 2014

29.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

11.1K
Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans
07:17

Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: June 23, 2022

3.0K
Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning
09:48

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning

Published on: August 7, 2014

29.2K

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral neuroscience
  • Animal learning

Background:

  • Gibbon and Balsam (1981) linked Pavlovian conditioning acquisition to stimulus informativeness (CS-US ratio).
  • Evidence for this relationship in other species remains inconclusive.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between learning and stimulus informativeness in rats.
  • To determine if the CS-US ratio influences conditioning acquisition and response rates.

Main Methods:

  • 14 groups of rats were trained with varying CS-US ratios (C/T).
  • Acquisition of appetitive Pavlovian conditioning was measured.
  • Response rates during conditioning and inter-trial intervals were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • The C/T ratio determined the number of trials for conditioning acquisition.
  • Learning rate showed a scalar relationship with informativeness, similar to pigeons.
  • Response rates were related to reinforcement rates (1/T and 1/C).

Conclusions:

  • Animals encode reinforcement rates, with conditioning dependent on CS informativeness.
  • Findings suggest a universal model of conditioning across species.
  • The study validates the informativeness principle in animal learning.