Conditioning and Associative Learning

Associative learning is the process whereby humans and other animals learn the predictive relationship between cues in their environment. This process underlies simple forms of learning from rewards, such as classical and operant conditioning. This chapter introduces the basics of associative learning and discusses the role that memory processes play in the establishment and maintenance of this learning. It then discusses the role that associative learning plays in human memory, including through paired associate learning, the enhancement of memory by reward, and the formation of episodic memories. Next, the chapter illustrates how the memory process influences choice in decision-making, where associative learning allows people to learn the values of different options. The chapter concludes with some suggestions about how models of associative learning, memory, and choice can be integrated into a single theoretical framework.