Psychology: The Briefer Course. Ch. 7: Association

The beginning of this chapter (pages 119-124) is packed with good stuff. Some of the highlights:
  1. His discussion of the complementary natures of analysis and synthesis (1st paragraph).
  2. The point that the same mechanism accounts for both the reasonable and the worthless in our thoughts (so much for rationality!).
  3. The focus on (mental) objects as the basic elements in the associative process.
  4. The principle of "association by contiguity" -- and its striking parallel to Hebb's learning rule.

The rest of the chapter deals with how three simple factors (in italics, page 124) lead to various forms of thought (daydreaming and total, partial, and focalized recall). Note the four factors that affect what follows what in partial recall. Another interesting section is that on "volountary trains of thought" starting on page 138. Note the way in which cognitive structure allows for the searching of a missing solution.

Learning Sequences in Associative Structure: A Step Towards Cognitive Structure

Sonntag describes the adaptive advantages that learning sequences can yield and then moves towards integrating sequence learning into the building of a cognitive map. The included quotations provide a nice summary of the main points.