The Law Of Effect: Edward Thorndike's Impact On Education & Psychology
During his career, Edward Thorndike was a psychological researcher who produced a large body of work on many topics, although his role and contributions are sometimes overlooked. Specifically, he was a pioneer in modern educational psychology, laying the foundation for a field that would attract well-known behaviorists like B.F. Skinner.
Thorndike’s personal life and early education
Edward Lee Thorndike was born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, on August 31, 1874. His father was initially a lawyer and then served as a Methodist minister.
Thorndike's entire family took an interest in academic pursuits. His two brothers, Ashley and Lynn, also became great scholars in their fields. Ashley Thorndike studied English, becoming an authority on Shakespeare. Lynn Thorndike studied Medieval times, focusing on the history of magic and science.
Thorndike attended The Roxbury Latin School for his early education, graduating in 1891. He continued his education at Wesleyan University, earning his Bachelor of Science in 1895.
Harvard University and early career
Thorndike attended Harvard University for his Master of Arts. While there, he studied with William James, an early American psychology educator, and became interested in investigating how animals learn. Over time, his interest extended to how people learn. His master's thesis laid the foundation for modern comparative psychology. This field studies mental processes and behavior in animals, aiming to make comparisons across different species, including between animals and humans.
Columbia University and later career at Teachers College
For his doctorate, Thorndike attended Teachers College, Columbia University. While there, he was able to return to his first interest in educational psychology. He studied with James McKeen Cattell, who was known for his work on psychometrics. Thorndike's doctoral dissertation was titled "Animal Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals."
After Thorndike graduated with his doctorate in 1898, he accepted a position at the College for Women of Case Western Reserve. He only stayed for one year, leaving to become a psychology professor at Teachers College, where he remained for the rest of his career. While there, he studied education, learning, and mental testing. In 1900, Thorndike married Elizabeth Moulton, with whom he had four children.
Thorndike’s accomplishments and recognition
Thorndike was elected president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1912 and as a fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1917. That same year, he was one of the first psychologists admitted to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1934, Thorndike was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1937, he became the second president of the Psychometric Society. The society had only been established the previous year.
Educational psychology research: Law of Effect
One of Thorndike's greatest legacies was his work on behaviorism and learning. He pioneered using animals in clinical experiments to study theories of learning.
Studying animal behavior as part of educational psychology research
When he conducted his dissertation research, his was the first study to use animals for research on the learning process. For that study, he was interested in whether animals could learn how to complete tasks through observation or imitation.
To conduct his dissertation research, Thorndike created puzzle boxes. These puzzle boxes had a door that could be pulled open by weight on a string connected to a button or lever. The boxes were large enough to place an animal inside, and the system caused the door to open when they pushed the lever or button. Often, the animals had to perform a specific response to get out, and Thorndike measured how long it took for the animal to solve the puzzle.
Thorndike often used cats in his animal experiments. He placed them in the box, and usually, they just moved around aimlessly. Sometimes, Thorndike had the cats observe other animals who knew how to escape. He discovered that observation was not particularly helpful and didn’t help the cats figure out how to get out themselves.
Instead of learning from others or by demonstration, the cats often discovered the mechanism for escape by accident, and then they learned to replicate that behavior. The same happened with other animals. Thorndike concluded that the animals seemed to learn through trial and error. The cats could use trial and error to learn faster each time they were put in the box.
A theory of learning and the Law of Effect
When he plotted the escape times on a graph, it represented a learning curve showing how quickly they could learn. Usually, the times eventually leveled off. All this research led Thorndike to create a theory of learning. According to Thorndike’s theory, animals learn things gradually rather than through a sudden burst of insight, which is what researchers previously thought. Thorndike also defined the Law of Effect, which states that behaviors followed by positive consequences (rewards) are likely to be repeated.
Research on human learning
Thorndike extended his findings to human behavior. He also developed expertise in testing people's learning abilities and their ability to perform various activities. The psychological principles gleaned from the Thorndike theory of adult learning were put to use during World War I by the United States Army. Thorndike created the Alpha version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. This is a multiple-choice test used to determine whether people are suitable to enter the military and in what roles they should serve. After using the test for some time, Thorndike realized some soldiers could not read well. He designed a second test, the Beta, which used diagrams and pictures to assess people.
Developing the field of educational psychology
His work helped to develop the field of psychology, especially the niche called educational psychology. Thorndike believed education should be used to help people pursue specific and worthwhile goals.
Thorndike's model for intellectual development
Further, Thorndike identified three key areas in his model for intellectual development. The first area was abstract intelligence, a person's ability to understand various concepts. The second area was mechanical intelligence, which describes a person's ability to handle physical objects. The third was social intelligence, which represents a person's ability to have good social interactions.
Edward Thorndike: Contribution to education and psychology
Thorndike's contributions significantly influenced the field of education. He was one of the first psychologists to apply psychological principles—such as learning theory, psychometrics, and other applied research findings—to plan for educational methods. He believed that motivation was an important factor influencing learning and that people learn by associating certain stimuli with certain responses. Thorndike also started a trend toward using mass-marketed textbooks and tests.
The impact of Edward Thorndike’s contribution to education and psychology
Thorndike's research—focused on animal learning, behavior, and people's abilities—also laid the foundation for future learning theories. Edward Thorndike’s contributions influenced countless psychologists, including the behaviorists John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner. Watson was working at the same time as Thorndike and also studied how people can learn behavior through their experiences to create automatic responses, a process known as instrumental learning. Skinner's research followed Thorndike's Law of Effect and informed the field more about the effects of rewards and punishments.
Building on Thorndike’s famous box puzzle experiments, Skinner used similar mechanisms to study how rats responded to stimuli in his "Skinner boxes." Skinner’s work would be integral to the development of a type of therapy known as applied behavioral analysis.
Outdated and unaccepted Edward Lee Thorndike theories
Thorndike also held some controversial views that are not acceptable today, including a belief in eugenics. Essentially, he believed that selective breeding could improve people's ability to learn and improve their overall nature. Thorndike also generally believed that women were inherently different from men. He believed women had an instinct to submit to men.
Lessons to be learned from Edward Lee Thorndike
Although some of Thorndike's views are outdated today, his research contributed much to the field of behavioral psychology. Some of his findings may be particularly applicable to everyday life.
Thorndike's research showed that people learn gradually over time through trial and error. Indeed, people often take time to learn new information, making mistakes along the way. This principle can be applied to educational settings and life in general.
Applying educational psychology from historical teachers to everyday life
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Takeaway
What is Edward Thorndike best known for?
Edward Thorndike is best known for his work in educational psychology and his "law of effect," which explains how behaviors followed by positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated.
As an American psychologist, he demonstrated how feedback shapes learning and influences modern psychology teaching methods. His ideas guided teachers in developing clear, consequence-based methods and advancing the development of instructional programs for students. Thorndike's work was summarized in his influential book as a foundation for later educational models.
What is Edward Lee Thorndike's theory?
Thorndike’s theory focuses on how learning happens through trial and error. He believed that rewarding behaviors strengthen connections in the brain, making learning more effective.
Thorndike's theory suggests that when someone tries different actions, the ones they continue to do—because they are effective—are the correct responses that build strong mental connections. As a graduate student, Thorndike ran simple experiments with animals in puzzle boxes to watch how they learned. This process led to fresh insights into habit formation and encouraged other researchers to delve deeper into the mechanisms of learning. His findings remain important in psychology as they provide a foundation for concepts about behavior changes through experience.
What is the law of effect?
The law of effect states that actions followed by positive results are more likely to happen again, while those with negative outcomes are less likely to be repeated.
The law of effect is a cornerstone of behavioral psychology, stating that actions followed by satisfying outcomes will likely recur. Thorndike observed multiple responses in his puzzle box trials to identify which actions were reinforced by positive feedback. This key theory helped set the stage for modern reinforcement and behavior change research.
What are Thorndike's three laws of learning?
Thorndike's three laws are:
The law of effect: Behaviors with good results are repeated.
The law of readiness: Learning happens when a person is ready for it.
The law of exercise: Repeating something strengthens learning.
Thorndike's three laws of learning are fundamental to educational psychology, describing how readiness, practice, and consequences shape behavior in learners. His framework guides teachers in structuring lessons around these principles. He used social measurements to assess how quickly students grasped tasks in different exercise states during studies. This method provided practical insights into teaching and curriculum development, influencing educational practices.
What are Edward Thorndike's principles of learning?
Thorndike's principles focus on practice, readiness, and consequences, drawing on his early life studies before World War I. He believed learning improves with repetition, motivation, and positive reinforcement. Thorndike noticed that when we enjoy what we do, we tend to do it again, and that’s the heart of his theory. He understood that our human nature drives us toward satisfying actions, shedding new light on everyday behavior in psychology.
As a graduate student, Thorndike paid close attention to how learners reacted in different situations, and his careful observations deepened our understanding of what makes teaching truly effective. This approach highlighted how human nature and motivation interact to support real-world learning gains.
What is the difference between B.F. Skinner's and Edward Lee Thorndike's theory?
Thorndike emphasized trial-and-error learning, while Skinner expanded on it with operant conditioning, using rewards and punishments to shape behavior more deliberately. Skinner built on Thorndike’s trial-and-error insights with detailed reinforcement schedules, whereas Thorndike began by observing basic responses in puzzle boxes.
This simpler approach to learning laid the groundwork for behaviorist psychology and inspired many theories in the field. Skinner’s work often focused on controlled settings, while Thorndike addressed practical insights for adult learning and classroom teachers. Thorndike’s influence lives on in psychology courses worldwide.
What is Thorndike's puzzle box, and how does it relate to the law of effect in learning?
Thorndike’s puzzle box was a device he used to study how animals learn. He placed cats inside the box and observed how they figured out how to escape. Over time, the cats learned that pressing a lever led to freedom, reinforcing the law of effect—actions with good results are repeated.
Thorndike’s puzzle box experiments demonstrated how cats learn through trial and error, providing clear evidence for the law of effect in psychology. As an American psychologist, he tracked how varying exercise states in his apparatus affected escape times. Thorndike began measuring success rates and used social measurements to record which actions led to freedom most reliably. These results still inform psychology educators today.
What is Thorndike's theory of intelligence?
In his doctoral dissertation, Edward Lee Thorndike used puzzle box experiments to study animal intelligence. He showed how trial and error help creatures modify behavior, leading to his formulation of the Law of Effect rather than a multifactor theory.
Thorndike described three types of intelligence—abstract, mechanical, and social—and four attributes (level, range, area, and speed). After Thorndike graduated, he applied mental and social measurements to investigate individual differences, and this process led to foundational advances in modern psychology.
What is negative punishment in psychology?
Negative punishment is a method in behavior analysis within psychology that involves removing something pleasant to reduce the likelihood of unwanted actions. When a rewarding element is removed, learning occurs as people notice the consequence and are less inclined to repeat that behavior. This method employs a scientific approach, demonstrating clear connections between action and outcome. Educators and therapists often use it to improve problem-solving by guiding individuals toward more constructive choices.
What are the types of personality according to Thorndike?
Edward Lee Thorndike, an American psychologist, did not categorize personality types. In his dissertation on animal intelligence, he instead outlined three distinct forms of intelligence: abstract, mechanical, and social. He later applied mental and social measurements to study individual differences among students, which helped shape the field of modern psychology. This scientific approach influenced how educators think about teaching and the development of abilities.
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