practice8-q4

Associative Learning

Scientists broadly define learning as the gradual change in a living organism that results from an experience or a group of experiences. This gradual change can be seen in altered behaviors, feelings, or thoughts. Experimental psychologists have devoted much of their time to research and understand the fundamental ways in which humans learn because we possess such an incredible capacity to do so in response to our environments. The most significant kind of human learning is associative learning. Through associative learning, we form connections or links between events and change our behavior as a result of these connections.

Question

Explain associative learning by using the example presented by the professor.

Transcript

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A little story about one of my friends Shelly might make this easier to understand. For most of her life, Shelly loved seafood. I know this because for many years during our friendship she would always talk to me about new seafood restaurants that opened up nearby our hometown; and, since we lived near the beach, this happened a lot. She loved anything that had shrimp in it too. One day, when she went out with her coworkers after a particularly hard day at work, she and her friends decided to eat at a very well known seafood establishment close to her office. Of course, this was at Shelly’s urging. She, as always, ordered a shrimp dish. Unfortunately, shortly after the dinner she began to feel pain in her stomach. The pain became so extreme that she called me soon after to ask me to take her to the hospital. I picked her up at once. The doctor found that she had developed a severe case of food poisoning. Don’t worry; she’s all right, but that happened about a year and a half ago and you know what? She hasn’t tasted anything with shrimp since. Why? Her body made a quick and clear connection between shrimp and violent pain. Those two experiences became so connected in her mind that now, she can’t taste, smell, or even see shrimp without having a strong reaction. Her body learned through association that shrimp was a bad idea.