Synopses & Reviews
It is hard to think of any significant aspect of our lives that is not influenced by what we have learned in the past. Of fundamental importance is our ability to learn the ways in which events are related to one another, called associative learning. This book provides a fresh look at associative learning theory and reviews extensively the advances made over the past twenty years. The Psychology of Associative Learning begins by establishing that the human associative learning system is rational in the sense that it accurately represents event relationships. David Shanks goes on to consider the informational basis of learning, in terms of the memorization of instances, and discusses at length the application of connectionist models to human learning. The book concludes with an evaluation of the role of rule induction in associative learning. This will be essential reading for graduate students and researchers in psychology and the behavioral sciences.
Review
"Shanks' survey of recent research in associative learning is coherent, engaging, lucid and provocative...well suited for academic courses, qualifying examinations, individual review, and reference." John K. Kruschke, Journal of Mathematical Psychology
Review
"...coherent, engaging, lucid and provocative....replete with lucid summaries of experiments on human and animal learning....expertly coherent account of human associative learning....Shank's book is a lucid and coherent tour of recent in associative learning." John K. Kruschke, Journal of Mathematical Psychology
Synopsis
After reviewing the advances made over the past twenty years in associative learning, this text considers the informational basis of learning, in terms of the memorization of instances. It discusses at length the application of connectionist models to human learning.
Description
Includes bibliographical references(p. [181]-188) and index.
Table of Contents
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. The rational analysis of learning; 3. Prototype abstraction and instance memorisation; 4. Connectionism and learning; 5. Rule induction; References; Index.