Learning and Behavior

Learning and Behavior: A Contemporary Synthesis, 2nd Edition, is an academic textbook that reviews modern learning and behavior theory while tracing the field's biological and philosophical roots. The text reflects the perspective that animal learning holds a central place in psychology and informs disciplines such as behavioral neuroscience and clinical psychology.

Author Mark E. Bouton introduces fundamental principles of Pavlovian learning, models developed since the Rescorla-Wagner theory, and the role of memory retrieval and behavior-system processes in governing performance. The volume also examines whether principles established in laboratory mazes and Skinner boxes extend to learning in honey bees and human causal judgments.

Designed for students, psychologists, and related researchers, the work explores how basic learning processes evolved to help organisms adapt to changing environments.