Concept Association Examples

Some of the simplest cases are the ones where one concept triggers another automatically or nearly so without being contingent on anything. When you're driving and see somebody run out into the street, you probably try to stop the car. If you're smart, you probably respond to gunshots by getting down or behind cover without standing around thinking about it too much. In these cases, one concept links to another strongly and automatically, and you're probably happy it works that way.

Next consider a case where more concepts than one might like are required to access something. Perhaps you have had the experience of not quite being able to remember someone's name. However, you thought about additional things which were peripherally related to the person (places you were together, other friends in common, etc.) and eventually one of these, in addition to the images of the person, allowed you to remember the name.

Next let's consider a common case in which one's action is dependent on two things. Suppose you're walking (or driving) down the street. Your decisions about which way to turn will be dependent on both your concept of your current location and some mental state about your destination - and you couldn't very well do without either of these.

Finally, consider a case where the linkage from some concepts is greater than it should be. Have you ever called somebody by the wrong name, or come close but caught yourself in time? Perhaps the new person had recently replaced the old person in some role; perhaps you saw them in a context where you usually expect other people (such as in bed). In this case, you probably would have liked the connections to be weaker, such that they were dependent on additional data like the person's appearance, but they weren't.

You should take a few minutes to find your own examples from your own memory, perhaps one for each of the cases described above.