Learning from our experiences based on what we have experienced previously is essential for survival. It allows the execution of increasingly adaptive behavior patterns and even predict possible results of our actions: for example, we learn to avoid certain stimuli and actively seek out others because we have previously been able to link them with some type of consequence.
Why we act as we do and how we have learned to do it is something that has intrigued humanity for centuries and that has led to the exploration and investigation of the topic by different disciplines such as psychology, generating different currents and theories. Among these theoretical currents we can find behaviorism, for which the main basis and explanation of behavior is in association capacity and associative learning. It is about this concept that we are going to talk about throughout this article.
Associative learning is understood as the process through which human beings and other living beings establish a link or association between two or more phenomena, in such a way that they learn and react to said relationship. This learning involves a change in the behavior of the subject who acquires it to the point of anticipating that certain stimulations or actions will lead to the arrival of other stimuli or consequences.
For it to occur, it is necessary that there is a certain condensation, habituation or awareness towards the relationship between both elements, something that in turn implies that they are repeatedly presented as concurrent and contingent to a certain extent.
It is a concept especially worked on by behaviorism, a paradigm of psychology that focused on the study of behavior as the only empirical and observable element of the psyche (leaving aside the role of the psychic apparatus itself in it) and that I was looking for provide an objective and scientific explanation of our behavior in fact the capacity for association being one of its main bases.
Originally, behaviorism valued that associative learning depended solely on the properties of the stimuli and how they were presented, with the learner being a totally passive subject who simply grasped the relationship.
However, as the years have passed and new currents such as cognitivist and cognitive-behavioral have developed, the understanding of this phenomenon has increasingly included cognitive variables specific to the subject, becoming a more active element in this type. Learning.
In fact, it is currently considered that associative learning allows us to be able to make predictions and establish new strategies derived from the reception of information allowed by him, establishing causal relationships based on repeated exposure to the stimuli. And we not only associate stimuli, but also ideas, concepts and thoughts in such a way that we can develop new knowledge even without having to undergo real stimulation.
Types of basic associative learning
Below we will see two of the main forms of associative learning, which, although they do not explain all of learning, do serve as some of the bases of associative learning.
1. Classical conditioning
Classical or Pavlovian conditioning is one of the most basic but at the same time most fundamental types of associative learning that have been investigated, its study serving as a basis for delving deeper into the phenomenon of association. In classical conditioning, it is considered that the behavior of human beings and other animals It derives from learning the relationship between various stimuli.
Specifically, it is learned that two stimuli are related due to the perception that both occur contingently and closely in space and time, repeatedly observing that the appearance or disappearance of a stimulus precedes or is related to the appearance or disappearance of another.
In this process, a stimulus capable of generating an unconditioned physiological response or unconditioned stimulus by itself is seen paired or related to a neutral stimulus in such a way that as a joint presentation occurs, it is conditioned in such a way that it ends up generating a response equal to or similar to that generated by the unconditioned stimulus, which would be called a conditioned response.
This type of relationship is learned based on repetition, although depending on the stimulus, its salience and how the relationship is presented, a faster or slower association can be generated. Likewise, the association can occur both at the level of positive stimulation (we learn that things we like are related to neutral things) and aversive stimulation (painful stimuli are associated with neutral stimuli, which end up generating fear in us).
For example, let’s imagine that they bring us our favorite dish: its appearance (unconditioned stimulus) makes us want to eat and we begin to salivate (unconditioned response). Now, if someone habitually rings a bell shortly before the food is brought to us, we will end up associating the idea that the bell is linked to the food, which in the long run will make a stimulus that was initially indifferent to us ( neutral stimulus) begins to have a value similar to that of food (the sound of the bell goes from being neutral to being a conditioned stimulus) and generates a reaction of, in this case, salivation (conditioned response).
2. Operant conditioning
Another of the main types of associative learning is Skinner’s operant conditioning, which goes from associating mere stimuli to considering the existing association. between the emission or non-emission of a behavior and the consequences it has.
In this type of associative learning we find that carrying out a specific behavior or behavior has a series of consequences, which will alter the probability that said behavior will reappear due to the learned association. Thus we can find cases of reinforcement (whether positive or negative) or punishment (whether positive or negative), which respectively imply the increase or decrease of behavior based on the presence of certain consequences.
In positive reinforcement, the behavior results in the appearance of an appetitive stimulus, while in negative reinforcement an aversive stimulus is eliminated or stops appearing: in both cases the behavior is considered positive for the subject, which increases the probability of its appearance.
Regarding punishment: in positive punishment, an aversive consequence or stimulus is applied or administered if the subject carries out the behavior, while in negative punishment, a positive or appetitive stimulus or element is eliminated or extracted for the subject. In both cases the probability of repeating the behavior decreases, given that it has aversive consequences.
In addition, we must also take into account that the consequences may be present immediately or delayed, something that will also alter the probability of the appearance of behaviors and that may be mediated by aspects such as the way in which the behavior and the consequences have been presented or the sequencing of this (for example, if there is a fixed or variable contingency between both, or if the consequences appear every time the behavior is performed or during a specific time interval).
3. Learning by observation
Another type of learning that partially starts from the association is observational learning. In this case, based on the previous conditioning, an association is made between what happens to or done by another person and us, being able to carry out associative learning without having to directly experience the association of stimuli.
Within this we can find, for example, social learning or imitation of models.
