Association refers to the setting up and linking of thought connections and ideas as part of human perception. The German term goes back to the French word “associer” and the Late Latin “associare”. Both words translate to the German verb “to connect”.
What is association?
With association as part of perception, humans take in information and interpret it accordingly. With association as part of perception, man takes in information and interprets it accordingly. He associates the acquired information with each other through his sensory abilities (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling) and associates them with ideas, thoughts and images. In this way, he is able to communicate and interact with his fellow human beings. Only sensibility is not bound to any sense organ (eyes, nose, ears, sense of taste), but arises on the basis of a network of different receptors and free nerve conditions, which are distributed everywhere in the body. Associations are subjective, with few exceptions, because everyone feels, processes and associates sensory impressions differently. When we see a rose, we think of a pleasant scent, while when we smell a lemon, we think not only of a lemon, but perhaps also of the dishwashing liquid in the kitchen. However, associations can arise not only from a learning process, but also from everyday life situations. Each stage of life is associated with different associations such as joy, love, sorrow, fun, work, success, failure, sadness, illness or old age.
Function and task
Associations accompany our everyday life. With the word “beach” people associate sun, warmth and relaxation, they remember their last vacation. The taste of certain foods, for example rice pudding with cherries and cinnamon, evoke memories of childhood. Certain music is associated with memories of a special period of life, for example, the first party, the first kiss or the first boyfriend. Associations can also be determined by culture, religion and different zones of the earth. The scent of a certain perfume reminds us of a special person, fragrant herb meadows are associated by some with health and well-being. Associations can also have negative connotations. Failures at school can trigger negative thought associations. A person who did not enjoy learning in school due to poor grades and failures will often retain this aversion as an adult, as learning continues to be associated with negative experiences for them. People traumatized by war experiences are frightened by unexpected loud noises and associate them with the crisis situations they experienced. Even single words or phrases can trigger mental associations. The historical phrase “Ich bin ein Berliner” makes many people think of the American President John F. Kennedy, during his state visit to Berlin in 1961. In turn, the so-called rutabaga winters in wartime caused a lifelong pathological aversion to rutabaga stew in many people. They associated rutabagas with hunger, cold, loneliness, and poverty. Association can also provide the approach to problem solving. Psychologists often use the method of free association in their therapy sessions. It is considered an important tool for exploring the human mind and is the mainstay of psychoanalysis, along with the analysis of malfunctions and dream interpretation. The patient is asked to name a word from the area of the problem that is bothering him. If the patient suffers from excessive stress, the psychologist asks him to name words that come to mind for the word “stress”. The patient then writes them down, for example. Each word brings a new association. Stress can be associated with lack of rest, compensation, too much work, overtime, marital problems, vacation, rest and recreation. The patient thus becomes aware that he needs, for example, more rest and balance in order to continue to perform at work. He resolves to be consistent with his breaks, to implement improved time management to work less overtime. This approach ultimately enables him to spend more free time with his family, for example.The analyst also makes use of association, as he relates the patient’s ideas, thoughts, and feelings and interprets them in such a way that they yield a meaningful explanatory context.
Diseases and complaints
If the perceptual capacity of association is impaired or no longer functions, physicians and psychologists speak of an association disorder. The affected patients show a disturbed composition in the contents of their thinking. Psychology and psychiatry are familiar with individual psychopathological phenomena and mental disorders in which the composition of the contents of consciousness is impaired to a greater or lesser extent. Many patients suffer from mild association disorders, which normal mental life can bring in the form of alienation. Impaired association is present in cases of overtiredness, stress and exhaustion. These phenomena of normal soul life then pass over into pathological and mental disorders, for example, when the patient suffers from neuroses, psychoses, paranoia and schizophrenia. These clinical pictures can no longer be treated by the general practitioner, but pass into the field of psychiatry and psychology. If the patient suffers from severe association disorders, he is no longer able to correct his view by the real situation. Patients also exhibit association disorders in the case of diseases that fall within the scope of memory disorders, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, vascular dementia, and memory disorders. These are cognitive disorders, some of which are accompanied by affective disorders (impairment of emotions). The most common disorder here is depression.
