preference towards things? preference on things? preference in things?
The similarity of the two perspectives is that both perspectives emphasize the influence of external factors. The learning perspective forces attention to the environmental influences on behavior. For example, how things are associated influence our preference towards things.

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I had to change the sentence wording to make it work, sorry.
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... how associated things influence our preference towards things. - ok,. but formal sounding
... how associated things influence our preference on things. - much more natural sounding to me
... how associated things influence our preference about things. - ok,. natural sounding
... how associated things influence our preference in these things.- "these thing" works for me with the category included. "in these things" as in "in a grouping"

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The most appropriate would be - preference "towards" things, because we prefer one thing over another, so in this case it can never be "on" or "in"... preference always shows an inclination towards one thing more than the other.