E.L. Thorndike
Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949)
A student of William James at Harvard University, Thorndike pioneered the use of animals in clinical research experiments and developed a robust theory of learning based on his scientific research. His early research investigated if animals could learn through imitation or observation.
A number of Thorndike’s pivotal experiments involved designing experiments where animals were placed in problem situations involving a desired goal to be attained by “solving the problem” (e.g., obtain food, reach a destination, etc.). In a typical experimental situation, a cat was placed in a cage (a “puzzle box”) with a means of escape possible through a hatch that could be opened by pushing a stick or pulling a chain. Thorndike consistently observed that, after a series of random responses, the cat eventually escaped by making a response that opened the hatch. The cat was then put back into the puzzle box. Over trials, the cat reached the goal (it escaped) quicker and makes fewer errors prior to responding correctly.
A student of William James at Harvard University, Thorndike pioneered the use of animals in clinical research experiments and developed a robust theory of learning based on his scientific research. His early research investigated if animals could learn through imitation or observation.
A number of Thorndike’s pivotal experiments involved designing experiments where animals were placed in problem situations involving a desired goal to be attained by “solving the problem” (e.g., obtain food, reach a destination, etc.). In a typical experimental situation, a cat was placed in a cage (a “puzzle box”) with a means of escape possible through a hatch that could be opened by pushing a stick or pulling a chain. Thorndike consistently observed that, after a series of random responses, the cat eventually escaped by making a response that opened the hatch. The cat was then put back into the puzzle box. Over trials, the cat reached the goal (it escaped) quicker and makes fewer errors prior to responding correctly.
Thorndike used the results of hundreds of experimental trials to formulate a model of learning called Connectionism.
Connectionism
Connectionism
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Connectionism is a theory of learning postulating that the most fundamental type of learning involves the forming of associations (connections) between sensory experiences (perceptions of stimuli or events) and neural impulses (responses) that manifest themselves behaviorally.
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Connectionism represents the original stimulus-response (S-R) framework of behavioral psychology. The following video is a recreation of some experiments Thorndike conducted that led to his conclusions about learning:
Thorndike’s connectionism theory of learning includes three foundational laws:
Law of Effect
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Responses to a situation that are followed by a rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened and become habitual responses to that situation; conversely, responses to a situation that are followed by an annoying state of affairs will be diminished.
The Law of Effect emphasizes the consequences of behavior: Responses resulting in satisfying (rewarding) consequences are learned; responses producing annoying (punishing) consequences are not learned |
Law of Exercise
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Connections become strengthened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued.
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Law of Readiness
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When one is prepared (ready) to act, to do so is rewarding and not to do so is punishing.
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Connectionism suggests that transfer of learning depends upon the presence of identical elements in the original and new learning situations; i.e., transfer is always specific, never general. Thorndike applied this hypothesis in studies designed to measure transfer in academic settings. From the beginning of public education in the United States, a belief in mental discipline was used to help inform the curriculum. Mental discipline is the view that learning certain subjects (studying classic literature, mathematics, etc.) enhances general mental functioning better than learning other subjects. In 1924, Thorndike published a study reporting the results of a scientific study he conducted that scientifically tested this idea on 8,500 students in grades 9 to 11. Students were administered an intelligence tests a year apart (the first version of the Stanford-Binet IQ test had been published in 1916), and their programs of study that year were compared to determine whether certain courses were associated with greater intellectual gains. The results provided no support for mental discipline, thus supporting his belief that transfer in learning is domain specific.
Thorndike published the important text Educational Psychology in 1903. His work helped those educational psychologists who cam after hime build on his ideas, challenge his assumptions, and advance the scientific study of learning in many important ways.
Thorndike's work complemented the work of the world's most famous accidental educational psychologist...Ivan Pavlov.