ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING: what it is, types, characteristics and examples

  • Jul 26, 2021
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Associative learning: what it is, types, characteristics and examples

Our mind works as a huge memory in which most of the knowledge is reached more by analogical-associative inferences than by linear procedures of the logical-syllogist. Precisely, through these modalities, a large part of the mind's elaboration mechanisms escapes us and a large part of the collected material remains below the threshold of consciousness.

Studying associations means, therefore, immersing oneself in this world, entering the field of uncertainty and assuming the risk of unverifiable connections. In this Psychology-Online article, we will see what what is associative learning, its characteristics and some examples.

You may also like: Situated learning: what is it, phases, characteristics, authors and examples

Index

  1. What is associative learning
  2. Types of associative learning
  3. Characteristics of associative learning

What is associative learning.

Associative learning is relevant for the brain representation of experiences and for the acquisition of their meaning. It is a form of learning from experience

in which several mental elements are combined to produce an idea, a memory or an action. The representation of these sets is deposited in the brain neural network. In this article, you will find information about How does the nervous system work.

To fully understand what associative learning is, it is important to differentiate it from the others, specifically, from repetition learning. Let's see how each of them works at the neural level:

  • Learning by repetition: in mechanical repetition, among all the possible neural connections, those in which they occur most frequently, but with many possibilities of error, are gradually consolidated.
  • Associative learning: it is established, specific neural connections are established, and, at the mental level, resorting to associative techniques requires at first a greater dose of energy, but avoids risks. In the long term, it saves time and fatigue.

Types of associative learning.

Associative learning, simple or mechanical, is based on the stimulus-response relationship that gives rise to habits. It should be noted that the types of learning by association are the classical conditioning, the operant conditioning and the learning of combined responses. Let's see what they consist of and examples of them.

  • Classical conditioning: one of the theories of associative learning. It is based on the experimental paradigms of I. P. Pavlov that he exposed the dogs to some stimuli during food intake and noted that, by repeating the same stimuli, dogs produced salivary secretion in the absence of food, after a series of tests. Thus it was determined the classical conditioning process.
  • Operant conditioning: reinforcement, extinction, generalization and discrimination. The theory was introduced after the experiments of E. L. Thorndike who studied instrumental conditioning, also called trial and error learning. This conditioning is based on the law of the effect of the reaction, since the responses, if they are reinforced by something that the animal needs, are more likely to occur.
  • Learning Combined Responses: It no longer refers to a single response, as in classical and operant conditioning, but to a set of acts and / or behaviors coordinated with each other to obtain a specific response. The learning of the combined responses is assessed from the learning curve, which records a person's performance levels.

Characteristics of associative learning.

To understand it better, let's look at one of the examples of associative learning: to acquire the meaning of the word "fish" it is necessary to combine stimuli with different sensory modes related to this object, as well as stimuli related to the environmental conditions in which it is finds. Indeed, you can see, smell, taste or touch a fish while hearing the word itself.

These multimodal perceptions and actions are related to neuronal activity in different cortical areas, Thus, neurons they are activated in different sensory and motor areas at the same time as those located in the brain areas that contain the representations of words.

According to the American psychologist Donald O. Hebb, the theoretical maximum of this type of learning, the characteristics of the associative learning process are:

  1. Neurons that are connected to each other and are often activated simultaneously, reinforce their connections and are structured in a set of a higher order that represents a concept in its motor, perceptual, mnestic, linguistic and semantic aspects.
  2. After the formation of the ensemble, a signal from a single perceptual channel is sufficient to activate the whole integer, including semantic representation and vice versa. The set can only be activated by semantic input.
  3. Thus, the frequent contemporary activation and correlation of speech and stimuli related to meaning, they are needed only in the acquisition process phase.
  4. Next, strong higher-order connections within the ensemble ensure its full activation when only one part is activated. Therefore, they guarantee a high degree of correlation between the activities of all parts of the assembly and its stability.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Associative learning: what it is, types, characteristics and examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.

Bibliography

  • Bortolato, C. (1999). Imparare le tabelline. Strategie di memory visiva e apprendimento associativo. Trento: Erickson.
  • Encyclopedia della Scienza e della Tecnica (2009). Associative Apprendimento. Recovered from: https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/apprendimento-associativo_%28Enciclopedia-della-Scienza-e-della-Tecnica%29/
  • Gatti, F., Gatti, C., Gatti, L. G. (2007). Cognitivism, problem solving and problematiche degli operatori. Rome: Edizioni Universitarie Romane.

Associative learning: what it is, types, characteristics and examples

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