The origins of associationism can be traced to Aristotle, who formulated four laws of association of things or events in recall: law of contiguity (in space or time), law of similarity, law of contrast and law of frequency (often-ness of linking). Associationism in various forms was accepted by some rationalists (eg.

Who is the father of associationism?

Associationist theory, being a continuation of British empiricism, has as its forerunners John locke and David hume. Its founder, however, was David Harley (1705–57), a physician who gave the theory a physiological reference.

Who created the theory of association?

The concept of an “association of ideas” was first used by English philosopher John Locke in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690).