Pavlovian Mere Association

Category
Human Nature
Description

Ivan Pavlov very effectively demonstrated that animals can respond not just to direct incentives but also to associated objects; remember the famous dogs salivating at the ring of a bell. Human beings are much the same and can feel positive and negative emotion towards intangible objects, with the emotion coming from past associations rather than direct effects.

Person
Resource Datasbase
Source

Shane Parrish's Farnam Street Mental Model Guide