Have you ever wondered what the first psychologists faced during their careers? All your ideas and interests would seem pretty unusual. There was a time before psychologists used animals in research. Scholars were unsure if animal studies could tell us anything about human behavior. So how did animal research get started?
- Who was Edward Thorndike?
- What are some facts about Edward Thorndike?
- What theory did Edward Thorndike develop?
- What is Edward Thorndike’s Law of Effect?
- What did Edward Thorndike contribute to psychology?
Edward Thorndike: Biography
Edward Thorndike was born in Massachusetts in 1874, and his father was a Methodist minister. Edward received a good education and eventually attended Harvard. He worked with another famous early psychologist there: William James. In his doctoral program at Columbia University, Edward worked under yet another renowned psychologist, James Cattell, who was the first American psychology professor!
Edward got married in 1900 to Elizabeth, and they had 4 kids. Early in his college years, Edward was interested in figuring out how animals learn new things. Later, though, he wanted to study how humans learn. This field is called educational psychology. It includes things like how we learn, the philosophy of education, and how to develop and administer standardized tests.
Edward eventually became a psychology professor. During World War I (1914-1918), he helped develop the first career aptitude test, called the Army Beta test. The military stopped using it after WWI, but the test led to the development of more career and intelligence tests. It was a huge deal!
Thorndike, Wikimedia Commons
Edward Thorndike: Facts
One fascinating fact about Edward Thorndike is that he was the first to use animals in psychology research. He did his doctoral research on how animals learn by creating a puzzle box and having animals (primarily cats) interact with it. It may not seem like much, but Edward was the first person ever to think of doing research like this!
Here are some other interesting facts about Edward Thorndike:
- He is called the founder of modern educational psychology.
- He got to be president of the American Psychological Association (1912).
- He was a pioneer in the fields of behaviorism, animal research, and learning.
- He was the first person to introduce the idea of reinforcement in psychology.
- He developed the Law of Effect theory that is still taught in psychology classes today.
Unfortunately, despite his many achievements, not everything in Edward’s life was commendable. He lived during a time of widespread racism and sexism. Edward’s writings contain racist, sexist, antisemitic, and eugenic ideas. Due to these ideas, in 2020, the university where Edward taught most of his life decided to remove his name from a prominent campus building. Teachers College at Columbia University said, “[A]s a community of scholars and learners, we will continue to assess [Thorndike’s] work in its entirety and his life in all of its complexity.”1
Edward Thorndike's Theory
Edward Thorndike’s experiments with animals in his puzzle box led him to develop a theory of learning called connectionism. Edward found that the animals in his studies learned how to use the puzzle box through trial-and-error, and he believed the learning process changed the connections between neurons in the animals’ brains. Only certain brain connections changed, though: the ones that led the animal to solve the puzzle box and get a reward! (He usually rewarded the cats with a fish.)
Have you noticed how similar Edward’s experiments were to B. F. Skinner’s puzzle box experiments? Edward influenced Skinner to develop his experiments!
Edward switched to studying human learning and developed a whole theory of human intelligence and education. He identified 3 different kinds of human intelligence: abstract, mechanical, and social.
Abstract intelligence is the ability to understand concepts and ideas.
Mechanical intelligence is about understanding and using material objects or shapes. Social intelligence is the ability to understand social information and use social skills.
Mechanical intelligence is similar to Gardner’s spatial intelligence, and social intelligence is similar to emotional intelligence.
Edward Thorndike: Law of Effect
Do you remember learning about the Law of Effect?
Thorndike’s Law of Effect states that behavior followed by a pleasant consequence is more likely to be repeated than a behavior followed by a negative consequence.
If you take a test and get a good grade, you will likely use the same study skills again for a different test later on. If you get an awful grade on a test, you are more likely to change your study skills and try new things when you study for a different test later on.
In that example, the pleasant consequence of a good grade influences you to continue using the same study skills. They worked well, so why not keep using them? The negative consequence of a bad test grade might influence you to change your study skills and try new ones to get a better grade next time. Thorndike figured out that negative consequences (punishment) are not as effective at influencing behavior as positive consequences (reinforcement).
Law of Effect, Vaia Original
Did you know that the Law of Effect is only one of the laws Edward came up with in his work? The other one is called the Law of Exercise. It says that the more you practice something, the better you become. Edward kept studying these laws, and he found that the Law of Exercise only works for some behaviors.
Thorndike Theory: Summary
The Thorndike learning theory of the S-R (stimulus-response) framework in behavioral psychology suggests that learning occurs due to forming associations between stimuli and responses. And these associations are strengthened or weakened based on the S-R pairings' nature and frequency.
Edward Thorndike: Contribution to Psychology
Edward Thorndike is remembered best for his Law of Effect theory, but he contributed many other things to psychology. Edward’s ideas about reinforcement greatly influenced the field of behaviorism. Psychologists like B. F. Skinner built on Edward’s theories and did more animal and human learning experiments. Eventually, this led to the development of Applied Behavior Analysis and other behavioral approaches.
Edward also had a significant impact on education and teaching. Therapists use behavioral learning principles, but so do teachers in their classrooms. Teachers also use tests and other kinds of learning assessments. Edward was one of the first to study testing from a psychological perspective.
Other than behaviorism and education, Edward also helped psychology become a legitimate scientific field. Most people during Edward’s time thought psychology was bogus or philosophy instead of science. Edward helped show the world and his students that we can study psychology using scientific methods and principles. Science can improve the ways we use or approach education and human behavior.
“Psychology is the science of the intellects, characters and behavior of animals including man.”
- Edward Thorndike2
Edward Thorndike - Key Takeaways
- Edward studied how animals learn, how humans learn, and standardized tests.
- During World War I (1914-1918), Edward helped develop the first career aptitude test, called the Army Beta test.
- Edward was the first to use animals in psychology research.
- Thorndike’s Law of Effect states that behavior followed by a pleasant consequence is more likely to be repeated than a behavior followed by a negative consequence.
- Unfortunately, Edward’s writings contain racist, sexist, antisemitic, and eugenic ideas.
References
- Thomas Bailey and William D. Rueckert. (Jul 15, 2020). Important Announcement from the President & Chair of the Board of Trustees. Teachers College, Columbia University.
- Edward L. Thorndike (1910). The contribution of psychology to education. Teachers College, Columbia University. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 1, 5-12.
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