The corresponding facts may be expressed in psychological terms as
follows: (1) Facts accustomed to being associated together in the mind
have a tendency to reappear together. (2) The more frequently these
facts appear together the stronger the tendency for the presence of one
to insure the presence of the other. (3) The greater the tension,
excitement or concentration when these facts appear in conjunction with
each other, the more certain the presence of one is to cause the
presence of the other.
Several different types of association have been differentiated by
psychologists from Aristotle down. It is to be kept in mind, however,
that all association types _go back to the elementary law of
habit-connections among the neurones_ for their explanation.
ASSOCIATION BY CONTIGUITY.--The recurrence in our minds of many of the
elements from our past experience is due to the fact that at some time,
possibly at many times, the recurring facts were contiguous in
consciousness with some other element or fact which happens now to be
again present. All have had the experience of meeting some person whom
we had not seen for several months or years, and having a whole series
of supposedly forgotten incidents or events connected with our former
associations flood into the mind. Things we did, topics we discussed,
trips we took, games we played, now recur at the renewal of our
acquaintance. For these are the things that were contiguous in our
consciousness with our sense of the personality and appearance of our
friend. And who has not in similar fashion had a whiff of perfume or the
strains of a song recall to him his childhood days! Contiguity is again
the explanation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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