Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026
08:30
Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats
Published on: February 15, 2015
21.7K
Underlying Sources of Response-Response Contingency Learning
Klaus Rothermund1, Anna Martini1, Philipp Sprengholz2
1Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Journal of Cognition
|February 23, 2026
Summary
This study shows that people learn response sequences (response-response contingency learning) in tasks. This learning is partly conscious and partly automatic, even without awareness.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Behavior
Background:
- Contingency learning is crucial for adapting behavior.
- Understanding how response sequences are learned informs cognitive models.
- Previous research focused on simpler associations, leaving sequence learning less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate response-response contingency learning (RR-CL) in a serial reaction time task (SRT).
- To differentiate between episodic retrieval and genuine RR-CL.
- To explore the role of contingency awareness in RR-CL.
Main Methods:
- A pre-registered study with 40 participants using a serial reaction time task.
- Manipulated transition probabilities to create response sequence contingencies.
- Measured response times and contingency awareness.
Main Results:
- Robust RR-CL effects were observed, with faster responses to likely sequences.
- Episodic retrieval partially explained RR-CL, but a genuine effect remained.
- Residual RR-CL was linked to contingency awareness but also occurred without it.
Conclusions:
- Response sequence learning involves both conscious (propositional) and automatic processes.
- Genuine RR-CL can operate outside of conscious awareness.
- Findings contribute to understanding implicit and explicit learning mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning
1.6K
Classical conditioning not only includes the initial pairing of stimuli but also extends to more complex forms, such as higher-order conditioning. Higher-order conditioning involves creating associations beyond the primary conditioned stimulus, resulting in a chain of conditioned responses.
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...
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...
1.6K
01:21Cognitive Learning
1.4K
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...
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...
1.4K
01:27Associative Learning
1.5K
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...
Classical conditioning, also known...
1.5K
01:22Purposive Learning
544
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...
544
01:23Principles of Classical Conditioning
2.5K
Classical conditioning, as described by Ivan Pavlov, is a foundational concept in associative learning, where a neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a conditioned response through association with an unconditioned stimulus. The process of acquisition, where this learning occurs, and the subsequent phenomena of contiguity, contingency, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of classical conditioning.
During the...
During the...
2.5K
01:18Classical Conditioning
2.9K
Associative learning, a core principle in behavioral psychology, involves forming connections between events and facilitating learned responses. This concept is vividly illustrated by classical conditioning, a process extensively studied by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov's pioneering research on dogs' digestive systems led to the discovery that behaviors can be learned through association, laying the groundwork for classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs...
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs...
2.9K