Final answer:
Associative learning occurs when an animal makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together, such as in classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning to react to a new stimulus based on its association with another stimulus that triggers a natural reflex. Operant conditioning is learning the connection between a behavior and its consequences.
Step-by-step explanation:
Associative learning occurs whenever an animal learns that two things are connected. This form of learning can occur in several different contexts, such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Both these types of conditioning involve the organism learning to connect certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment.
In classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning, a natural reflex is triggered by an environmental stimulus, and through repeated association, an organism learns to react similarly to a different stimulus. For instance, a dog might start to salivate not only when he sees food but also when he hears the sound that signals mealtime, if those two stimuli have been consistently presented together.
Operant conditioning is another form of associative learning where an organism learns to associate a behavior with its consequences, like a reward or punishment. If the consequences are pleasant (reinforcement), the behavior is more likely to be repeated. For example, a dolphin might learn to do flips after hearing a whistle if it knows it will receive a fish as a consequence.