Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

1. Law of Effect: if behaviour is followed by satisfying consequences then that behaviour is stamped-in and more likely to be repeated in the future but if followed by unsatisfying consequences it is less likely to be repeated (1911)

   • This is his theory of learning

2. Classical conditioning is limited

   • Not all behaviour has a clear stimulus and response, so classical cannot explain everything
     • Therefore learning can take place through trial and error rather than conditioning

3. Hungry cat in box (hunger = incentive)

   • Could only escape by operating latch
     • Cat took less time to escape on each occasion as it learnt through trial and error

4. Worked on giving punishments for wrong reactions

   • Increased speed of learning
     • Identified 4 consequences of learning
       • Positive reinforcement
         • Rewards for desired responses
       • Negative reinforcement
         • Removal of unpleasant stimulus following desired response
       • Positive punishment
         • Applying punishment for behaviour
       • Negative punishment
         • Removing a reward due to behaviour