association of ideas
the process by which simple perceptions and ideas are combined into totalities of varying degrees of complexity and abstractness, as, for example, connecting the relatively simple ideas of four legs, furry coat, a certain shape and size, and so on, into the compound concept cat. The same process is held to explain one’s understanding of entirely abstract ideas, such as power or liberalism. The association of ideas was a key concept for the British empiricist school of philosophers (see empiricism) and remains fundamental in learning theory and behaviorism. See also mental chemistry; mental mechanics.