Connectionism asserts that mental phenomena can be modeled and explained using artificial neural networks that are interconnected in ways that mimic the brain’s nested and distributed structure. The theory builds on the realization that cognition is not a global process that emerges in the collective activity of neurons, but a process that is embodied at each level of the brain’s nested structure.
Learn More...Correspondence Discourses are perspectives on learning that assume a radical separation of mental (or internal, or brain-based) and physical (or external, or body-based). That separation sets up the need for a correspondence between what’s happening in the real, objective world and what’s happening in one’s inner, subjective world. Most assume object-based metaphors, linear/direct imagery, and Newtonian mechanics, thus framing learning in terms of acquiring, attaining, inputting, and/or linking.
Learn More...Psychoanalytic Theories comprise several schools of thought that are concerned with the study of the actions and beliefs that are not mediated (and often not moderated) by the conscious mind. Psychoanalytic Theories are most often focused on mental-health disorders. Many of these theories’ core constructs have come to be embedded in Western culture, and some are commonly assumed in prominent educational discourses.
Learn More...Radical Constructivism focuses on personal knowing – that is, the ongoing, iterative dynamic by which individuals construe coherent sense from their personal perceptions and experiences. Concisely, learning is understood as a continuous process of revising concepts to maintain personal coherence in the face of new experiences/demands.
Learn More...Coherence Discourses regard distinctions and descriptions as useful devices to make sense of the complex dynamics of learning, but they caution that such devices are mere heuristic conveniences. Coherence Discourses suggest that truths do not exist independently or outside of a system – which is a commentary on humans’ understanding of reality, not a commentary on reality. Most Coherence Discourses employ biological and ecological metaphors, with dynamics framed in evolutionary terms.
Learn More...Representationalism is the belief that the world one perceives in one’s mind is not reality, but an internal copy/replica/representation of reality. That means there can be no first-hand knowledge of the world; every observation and every concept is an internal re-creation (of reality or truth) that is based on incomplete raw data provided by the senses.
Learn More...Behaviorisms reject the notion that knowledge is some sort of external, stable, and context-free form. Rejecting attempts to explain learning in terms of unobservable mental processes, Behaviorisms focus instead on observable and measurable phenomena – thus operationally defining learning in terms of changes in behavior that are attributable to environmental factors.
Learn More...Empiricism is more commonly understood as a theory of knowledge than a theory of learning, but the line is often blurred in discussions of education. Empiricism states that knowledge comes from sensory experience, and thus emphasizes the role of experience and evidence. The “hard” version of Empiricism is associated with rigorous scientific research, and the “softer” versions emphasize inquiry, exploration, sense-making, and argumentation.
Learn More...Focus
Applying/invoking notions of associations and association-making in discussions of learning
Principal Metaphors
- Knowledge is … structure arising from associations
- Knowing is … activating associational web
- Learner is … association maker (individual)
- Learning is … making associations
- Teaching is … signaller/triggerer/maker/deliverer of associations
Originated
Ancient
Synopsis
Associationism is more a principle than a theory or a discourse. It is articulated in many different ways, but common threads include (1) an assumption that experience is the principal shaper of one’s knowing, (2) an assertion that human learning is mainly about making associations among experiences, (3) a supposition that activating a thought will likely activate associated thoughts, and (4) an acceptance human cognition is largely non-logical. Some of the core principles of Associationism were articulated long ago:
- Laws of Association (Aristotle, 300s BCE) – Experiencing one object/event will trigger recollections of similar objects/events, contrasting objects/events, and/or contiguous objects/events (i.e., ones that were experienced at the same time)
- Law of Frequency (Aristotle, 300s BCE) – The more frequently events happen together, the stronger the connection between them.
Common constructs that are used to name aspects of associations, but that do not tell us much about learning include:
- Object Learning – establishing an association between two aspects of the same object
- Relational Learning – identifying experiences or objects based on their relationships to one another, rather than according to their individual properties
Commentary
Associationism is evident across a great many discourses, as disparate as Empiricism, Representationalism, Behaviorisms, Radical Constructivism, Connectionism (of Cognitive Science), and Psychoanalytic Theories – to mention just a few. This popularity of application is perhaps better interpreted as a broad recognition of the importance of experience in learning, rather than an indication of profound insight.
Authors and/or Prominent Influences
Diffuse
Status as a Theory of Learning/Teaching
As indicated above, Associationism is invoked within both Correspondence Discourses and Coherence Discourses – that is, it appears along the entirety of our map’s horizontal axis. It is also as prominent among discourses on influencing learning (i.e., teaching) as it is among discourses on interpreting learning – meaning that it spans our vertical axis as well. Concisely, while Associationism is most often articulated as a principle of learning, can be construed to be as much about teaching as it about learning.
Status as a Scientific Theory
As it is more a principle than a theory or discourse, efforts to assess the scientific status of Associationism only make sense within the discourses in which it is invoked – that is, and with some irony, in terms of the ways it is used in association with other principles.
Subdiscourses:
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Law of Frequency
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Laws of Association
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Object Learning
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Relational Learning
Map Location
Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2021). “Associationism” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.
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