1. WHO IS EDWARD L. THORNDIKE?
Figure I. Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949)

2. EDWARD L.
THORNDIKE’s
CONNECTIONISM
THEORY
1874-1949

3. Edward Lee Thorndike, is an American pioneer in
comparative psychology, was born in Lowell,
Massachusetts in 1874 to the family of a Methodist
minister.
He became interested in the field of psychology after
reading William James' "Principles of Psychology"
and after graduating from Wesleyan University, he
enrolled at Harvard in order to study under
James (1895–1897).
BIOGRAPHY

4.  Born August 31,
1874 in
Williamsburg,
Massachusetts.
 Died on August
9, 1949.

5. He completed his Ph.D In 1898 in Columbia University, he
was awarded the doctorate for his thesis, "Animal Intelligence:
An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in
Animals", in which he concluded that an experimental
approach is the only way to understand learning and
established his famous "Law of Effect”.
Thorndike spent one year at the College for Women of Case
Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. Then he became an
instructor in psychology at Teachers College at Columbia
University, studying human learning, education, and mental
testing. He remained at Columbia the rest of his career.

6. Edward L. Thorndike's pioneer investigations in the
fields of human and animal learning are among the
most influential in the history of Psychology. In 1912,
he was recognized for his accomplishments and
elected president of the American Psychological
Association. In 1934, the American Association for
the Advancement of Science elected Thorndike as
the only social scientist to head this professional
organization. Thorndike retired in 1939, but worked
actively until his death in 1949. His work was a major
influence on B.F.Skinner.
(Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike).

7. The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-
R framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the
result of associations forming between stimuli and
responses. Such associations or "habits" become
strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of
the S-R pairings. The paradigm for S-R theory was trial and
error learning in which certain responses come to dominate
others due to rewards. The hallmark of connectionism (like
all behavioral theory) was that learning could be adequately
explained without referring to any unobservable internal
states.
THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM
THEORY

8. LAW OF READINESS
LAW OF EXERCISE
LAW OF EFFECT
THREE LAWS OF
LEARNING:

9. First primary law of learning, according to him, is the ‘Law
of Readiness’ or the ‘Law of Action Tendency’, which
means that learning takes place when an action tendency is
aroused through preparatory adjustment, set or attitude.
Readiness means a preparation of action. If one is not
prepared to learn, learning cannot be automatically instilled
in him, for example, unless the typist, in order to learn
typing prepares himself to start, he would not make much
progress in a lethargic & unprepared manner.
LAW OF READINESS

10. The law of exercise had two parts: (a) the
law of use and (b) the law of disuse. This
law stated that connections grow stronger
when used—where strength is defined as
“vigor and duration as well as the
frequency of its making”—and grow
weaker when not used.
LAW OF EXERCISE

11. Many examples of this case are found
in case of human learning. Learning to
drive a motor-car, typewriting, singing
or memorizing a poem or a
mathematical table, and music etc.
need exercise and repetition of various
movements and actions many times.

12. which states that responses which occur just prior to
a satisfying state of affairs are more likely to be
repeated, and responses just prior to an annoying
state of affairs are more likely NOT to be repeated.
The second contribution was his rejection of the
notion that man is simply another animal that can
reason. He believed intelligence should be defined
solely in terms of greater or lesser ability to form
connections.
LAW OF EFFECT

13. Figure IV. Simplified graph of the result of
the puzzle box experiment.
Figure III. Trials

14. Figure V. Video of a cat trying to scape from the box.

15. Thorndike’s Puzzle-Box. The graph demonstrates the general
decreasing trend of the cat’s response times with each
successive trial
Thorndike emphasized the importance of the situation in
eliciting a response; the cat would not go about making the
lever-pressing movement if it was not in the puzzle box but
was merely in a place where the response had never been
reinforced. The situation involves not just the cat’s location
but also the stimuli it is exposed to, for example, the hunger
and the desire for freedom. The cat recognizes the inside of
the box, the bars, and the lever and remembers what it needs
to do to produce the correct response.

16. 1. Multiple response or varied reaction – When faced
with a problem an animal will try one response
after another until it finds success.(Trial and Error)
-- If the individual wants to solve a puzzle, he is to
try in different ways rather than mechanically
persisting in the same way. Thorndike’s cat in the
puzzle box moved about and tried many ways to come
out till finally it hit the latch with her paw which
opened the door and it jumped out.
ADDITIONAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES OF
THORNDIKE'S LEARNING THEORY

17. 2. Set or attitude –Learning is guided by a total set or
attitude of the organism, which determines not only
what the person will do but what will satisfy or
annoy him. For instance, unless the cricketer sets
himself to make a century, he will not be able to
score more runs. A student, similarly, unless he sets
to get first position and has the attitude of being at
the top, would while away the time and would not
learn much. Hence, learning is affected more in the
individual if he is set to learn more or to excel..

18. 3. Partial activity or prepotency of elements –
According to this law, the learner reacts selectively to
the important or essential in the situation and
neglects the other features or elements which may be
irrelevant or non- essential. The ability to deal with
the essential or the relevant part of the situation,
makes analytical and insightful learning possible. In
this law of pre-potency of elements, Thorndike is
really anticipating insight in learning which was more
emphasized by the Gestaltions.

19. 4. Law of Response by Analogy-
According to this law, the individual makes use of old
experiences or acquisitions while learning a new
situation. There is a tendency to utilize common
elements in the new situation as existed in a similar
past situation. The learning of driving a car, for
instance, is facilitated by the earlier acquired skill of
driving a motor cycle or even riding a bicycle because
the perspective or maintaining a balance and
controlling the handle helps in stearing the car
.

20. 5.The Law of Associative Shifting-
According to this law we may get a response, of which a
learner is capable, associated with any other situation to
which he is sensitive. Thorndike illustrated this by the act of
teaching a cat to stand up at a command. A fish was dangled
before the cat while he said ‘ stand up’. After a number trails
by presenting the fish after uttering the command ‘stand up’,
he later ousted the fish and the over all command of ‘stand
up’ was found sufficient to evoke the response in the cat by
standing up or her hind legs.

21. 1) According to this theory the task can be started from the
easier aspect towards its difficult side. This approach will
benefit the weaker and backward children.
2) A small child learns some skills through trial and error
method only such as sitting, standing, walking, running etc. In
teaching also the child rectifies the writing after committing
mistakes.
3) In this theory more emphasis has been laid on
motivation. Thus, before starting teaching in the classroom the
students should be properly motivated.
IMPLICATIONS

22. 4) Practice leads a man towards maturity. Practice is the
main feature of trial and error method. Practice helps in
reducing the errors committed by the child in learning any
concept.
5) Habits are formed as a result of repeitition. With the
help of this theory the wrong habits of the children can be
modified and the good habits strengthened.
6) The effects of rewards and punishment also affect the
learning of the child. Thus, the theory lays emphasis on the
use of reward and punishment in the class by the teacher.

23. 7) The theory may be found quite helpful in changing the
behaviour of the deliquent children. The teacher should cure such
children making use of this theory.
8) With the help of this theory the teacher can control the negative
emotions of the children such as anger, jealousy etc.
9) The teacher can improve his teaching methods making use of
this theory. He must observe the effects of his teaching methods on
the students and should not hesitate to make necessary changes in
them, if required.
10) The theory pays more emphasis on oral drill work. Thus, a
teacher should conduct oral drill of the taught contents. This help in
strengthening the learning more.

24.  Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner. (2011). "Psychology Second Edition" New York: Worth
Publishers.
 "Law of Effect". eNotes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
 Nevin, John (1999). "Analyzing Thorndike's Law of Effect: The Question of Stimulus -
Response Bonds". Journal of the Experiment Analysis of Behaviour. p. 448.
 Connectionism. Thorndike, Edward.Q Retrieved Dec 10, 2010
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BDujDOLre-8
 (Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike). Retrieved
November 9, /2002 from http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html
(Merriam & Caffarella, 1991)
 (Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike). Retrieved
November 9, /2002 from http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html
(Merriam & Caffarella, 1991)
 Thorndike, E. L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the
associative processes in animals. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 2(4), i-
109.
REFERENCES