Learning and Memory

Generally speaking the psychological study of learning and memory phenomena (see A3 and A6) has tended to develop independently of physiological psychology and biological views of human and animal activities. One notable exception to this generalization is the work of Pavlov whose study of conditioned reflexes was always intimately linked with the physiological activity of the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex. However, in traditional American psychology, apart from the classical studies of Lashley mentioned earlier (Ch. 3), theoretical notions of learning have been generated with little reference to physiological mechanisms. Only in recent years has this tendency been overcome.