Psychology links associationism to the association of ideas.
Associationism is a school of thought that originated in Great Britain and which aims to explain psychological issues based on the principles that govern the association of ideas . This theory, in short, reflects on how thoughts establish different kinds of combinations in the mind.
John Locke (1632–1704), de acuerdo a los postulados de Aristotle (384 BC–322 BC), aseguraba que los seres humanos nacen en blanco, sin ningún clase de habilidad innata o de aptitud natural. Sólo las experiencias que las personas viven con el paso del tiempo les permiten desarrollar ciertas representaciones, lo que quiere decir que las ideas no surgen a través del raciocinio.
Associationism according to psychology
According to experimental psychology , on the other hand, we speak of passive associationism to indicate how the mind acts as a reflection of the natural representations that give meaning to existence.
In this sense, it should be noted that within this field of psychology there are many schools that have addressed and supported, in one way or another, what is known as associationism. Thus, for example, we could highlight mentalist psychology of an empiricist nature, behaviorism based on the stimulus-response link, connectionism that revolves around behavior and mental processes, or psychoanalysis that focuses on the free association of ideas as a therapeutic method.
David Hartley (1705–1757) y James Mill (1773–1836) también postularon que la conciencia es la consecuencia de la law of association, que supone una vinculación de los elementos que se captan mediante los sentidos.
Associationism refers to how thoughts are combined in the mind.
A social movement
Associationalism is, in another sense, a social movement that proposes the creation of political, civic and other types of associations to deal with issues of community interest.
At this time, in terms of associations, it is worth highlighting the boom experienced by youth associations. Thus, the different public organisations and administrations, both at local, provincial and national level, encourage the union of young people to start up these associations.
Thanks to these working groups, their members have the opportunity to actively participate in the society in which they live, making proposals, proposing projects that interest them or developing all kinds of actions that improve both their own well-being and that of other citizens.
A phrase that could serve as an example of what we have stated last is the following: “The Madrid City Council encouraged associations among youth and managed to get them to start the Youth Cultural Association, which carries out reading workshops, theatrical performances and concerts.”
Finally, it should be noted that within the framework of social education , associationism is a postulate that maintains that the participation of citizens in public debate is the best way to modify reality and improve collective living conditions, since it allows the pursuit of the common good.