Template:Short description Template:About Associationism is the idea that mental processes operate by the association of one mental state with its successor states.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It holds that all mental processes are made up of discrete psychological elements and their combinations, which are believed to be made up of sensations or simple feelings.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> In philosophy, this idea is viewed as the outcome of empiricism and sensationism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The concept encompasses a psychological theory as well as comprehensive philosophical foundation and scientific methodology.<ref name=":0" />
HistoryEdit
Early historyEdit
The idea is first recorded in Plato and Aristotle, especially with regard to the succession of memories. Particularly, the model is traced back to the Aristotelian notion that human memory encompasses all mental phenomena. The model was discussed in detail in the philosopher's work, Memory and Reminiscence.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> This view was then widely embraced until the emergence of British associationism, which began with Thomas Hobbes.<ref name=":2" />
Associationist SchoolEdit
Members of the Associationist School, including John Locke, David Hume, David Hartley, Joseph Priestley, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, and Ivan Pavlov, asserted that the principle applied to all or most mental processes.<ref name="Boring">Boring, E. G. (1950) "A History of Experimental Psychology" New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts</ref>
John LockeEdit
The phrase "association of ideas" was first used by John Locke in 1689. In chapter 33 of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which is entitled “Of the Association of Ideas″, he describes the ways that ideas can be connected to each other.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> He writes,Template:Quote Although he believed that some associations were natural and justified, he believed that others were illogical, causing errors in judgment. He also explains that one can associate some ideas together based on their education and culture, saying, "there is another connection of ideas wholly owing to chance or custom".<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> The term associationism later became more prominent in psychology and the psychologists who subscribed to the idea became known as "the associationists".<ref name=":3" /> Locke's view that the mind and body are two aspects of the same unified phenomenon can be traced back to Aristotle's ideas on the subject.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
David HumeEdit
In his 1740 book Treatise on Human Nature David Hume outlines three principles for ideas to be connected to each other: resemblance, continuity in time or place, and cause or effect.<ref name=":5">Template:Citation</ref> He argues that the mind uses these principles, rather than reason, to traverse from idea to idea.<ref name=":3" /> He writes “When the mind, therefore, passes from the idea or impression of one object to the idea or belief of another, it is not determined by reason, but by certain principles, which associate together the ideas of these objects, and unite them in the imagination.”<ref name=":5" /> These connections are formed in the mind by observation and experience. Hume does not believe that any of these associations are “necessary’ in a sense that ideas or object are truly connected, instead he sees them as mental tools used for creating a useful mental representation of the world.<ref name=":3" />
Later membersEdit
Later members of the school developed very specific principles elaborating how associations worked and even a physiological mechanism bearing no resemblance to modern neurophysiology.<ref name=":6">Pavlov, I.P. (1927, 1960) "Conditioned Reflexes" New York, Oxford (1927) Dover (1960)</ref> For a fuller explanation of the intellectual history of associationism and the "Associationist School", see Association of Ideas.
ApplicationsEdit
Associationism is often concerned with middle-level to higher-level mental processes such as learning.<ref name=":1" /> For instance, the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis are linked in one's mind through repetition so that they become inextricably associated with one another.<ref name=":1" /> Among the earliest experiments that tested the applications of associationism, involve Hermann Ebbinghaus' work. He was considered the first experimenter to apply the associationist principles systematically, and used himself as subject to study and quantify the relationship between rehearsal and recollection of material.<ref name=":1" />
Some of the ideas of the Associationist School also anticipated the principles of conditioning and its use in behavioral psychology.<ref name="Boring" /> Both classical conditioning and operant conditioning use positive and negative associations as means of conditioning.<ref name=":6" />