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Edward Thorndike: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Edward Thorndike
Edward Lee Thorndike was the first psychologist to prove that animals do not use insight to solve problems, but rather learn through a slow, mechanical process of trial and error. In the late 1890s, he constructed a wooden puzzle box approximately 20 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 12 inches tall, designed to hold a hungry cat inside while a door remained locked. The mechanism was simple yet ingenious: a string attached to the door ran over a pulley to a lever inside the cage. When the cat stepped on the lever by pure accident, the door swung open, allowing the animal to escape and receive a piece of fish as a reward. Thorndike did not place the cat's paw on the lever for it, nor did he show it how to escape. He simply recorded the time it took for the animal to get out, and over repeated trials, the cat learned to press the lever faster and faster. This gradual improvement created an S-shaped learning curve that contradicted the prevailing belief that animals possessed a special faculty of insight or understanding. Thorndike's work with these cats became the essential document of modern comparative psychology, establishing that learning was a process of strengthening connections between stimuli and responses rather than a flash of genius.
The Architect Of Connectionism
Thorndike spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he developed a theory of learning known as connectionism. He believed that the mind was a web of connections that could be strengthened or weakened based on consequences. His Law of Effect stated that behaviors followed by a satisfying state of affairs would be repeated, while those followed by an annoying state of affairs would be weakened. This principle became the bedrock of behavioral psychology and influenced giants like B.F. Skinner and Clark Hull. Thorndike also proposed the Law of Exercise, which suggested that the more often an association was used, the stronger it became, and the Law of Recency, which claimed the most recent response was most likely to reoccur. However, he eventually had to abandon the Law of Exercise after discovering that practice alone did not strengthen an association, and that time alone did not weaken it. He revised his views to emphasize that consequences, not mere repetition, were the true drivers of learning. This shift marked a transition from the school of functionalism to behaviorism, allowing psychology to focus on empirical laws of learning rather than abstract mental states. His work provided the basic framework for empirical laws in behavior psychology, making him the ninth-most cited psychologist of the 20th century according to a 2002 survey.
What did Edward Thorndike prove about animal problem solving in the late 1890s?
Edward Thorndike proved that animals do not use insight to solve problems but rather learn through a slow, mechanical process of trial and error. He demonstrated this by placing hungry cats in wooden puzzle boxes where they escaped by accidently stepping on a lever to open a door. This gradual improvement created an S-shaped learning curve that contradicted the belief that animals possessed a special faculty of insight.
What are the three laws of learning proposed by Edward Thorndike?
Edward Thorndike proposed the Law of Effect, the Law of Exercise, and the Law of Recency. The Law of Effect stated that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences would be repeated while those followed by annoying consequences would be weakened. He eventually abandoned the Law of Exercise after discovering that practice alone did not strengthen an association.
When did Edward Thorndike serve as president of the American Psychological Association?
Edward Thorndike served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912. He was also elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1932 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1934. That same year he was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
What word books did Edward Thorndike publish to assist teachers with reading instruction?
Edward Thorndike published The Teacher's Word Book in 1921, A Teacher's Word Book of the Twenty Thousand Words Found Most Frequently and Widely in General Reading for Children and Young People in 1932, and The Teacher's Word Book of 30,000 Words in 1944. He analyzed sources ranging from children's books like Black Beauty and Little Women to standard literature such as The Bible and Shakespeare.
Why was Edward Thorndike's name removed from Thorndike Hall in 2020?
Edward Thorndike's name was removed from Thorndike Hall by the Board of Trustees of Teachers' College in New York in 2020 due to his proponent of eugenics and racist, sexist, and antisemitic ideals. He argued that selective breeding could alter man's capacity to learn and claimed that women were by original nature submissive to men.
How did Edward Thorndike apply his testing expertise during World War I?
Edward Thorndike applied his testing expertise to the United States Army by participating in the development of the Army Beta test. This assessment was designed to evaluate illiterate, unschooled, and non-English speaking recruits to prove that psychological principles could be applied to large-scale industrial and military problems.
During World War I, Thorndike applied his testing expertise to the United States Army, participating in the development of the Army Beta test. This assessment was designed to evaluate illiterate, unschooled, and non-English speaking recruits, proving that psychological principles could be applied to large-scale industrial and military problems. He believed that instruction should pursue specified, socially useful goals, and he argued that the ability to learn did not decline until age 35, and only then at a rate of 1 percent per year. Thorndike identified three main areas of intellectual development: abstract intelligence, which is the ability to process and understand different concepts; mechanical intelligence, which is the ability to handle physical objects; and social intelligence, which is the ability to handle human interaction. He took a statistical approach to education in his later years, collecting qualitative information intended to help teachers and educators deal with practical educational problems. His work on motivation and attitude formation directly affected studies on human nature as well as social order, and he served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912. He was also elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1932 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1934, and that same year, he was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The Word Counting Machine
Thorndike composed three different word books to assist teachers with word and reading instruction, creating a massive statistical analysis of language usage. The first book, The Teacher's Word Book, was published in 1921, followed by A Teacher's Word Book of the Twenty Thousand Words Found Most Frequently and Widely in General Reading for Children and Young People in 1932, and The Teacher's Word Book of 30,000 Words in 1944. He analyzed sources ranging from children's books like Black Beauty and Little Women to standard literature such as The Bible and Shakespeare, and even common facts and trades like the United States Constitution and mail-order catalogues. His list told anyone who wished to know whether to use a word in writing, speaking, or teaching how common the word was in standard English reading matter. He advised teachers to emphasize the most frequently occurring words, making them a permanent part of students' stock of word knowledge, while words not on the list only needed to be understood temporarily in context. This work represented a unique blend of psychology and linguistics, using data to dictate educational priorities and proving that learning could be measured and managed through statistical analysis of language frequency.
The Colony On The Hudson
In the early stages of his career, Thorndike purchased a wide tract of land on the Hudson River and encouraged other researchers to settle around him, forming a colony with him as its tribal chief. This community became a hub for psychological research, where he studied human learning, education, and mental testing alongside his peers. He married Elizabeth Moulton on the 29th of August 1900, and they had five children, among them Frances, who became a mathematician. His brothers, Lynn and Ashley, also became important scholars, with Lynn specializing in the history of science and magic and Ashley serving as an English professor and noted authority on Shakespeare. Thorndike's influence extended beyond the laboratory into the very fabric of American education, where he helped lay the scientific foundation for educational psychology. He was a member of the board of the Psychological Corporation and served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912. His work on solving industrial problems, such as employee exams and testing, demonstrated the practical application of his theories to the real world, bridging the gap between academic research and societal needs.
The Controversial Legacy
Thorndike was a proponent of eugenics, arguing that selective breeding could alter man's capacity to learn, to keep sane, to cherish justice, or to be happy. He stated that there was no more certain and economical way to improve man's environment as to improve his nature, and he hoped to provide for the original intellect and character of man in the future with a higher, purer source than the muddy streams of the past. He believed that differences in the parental behavior of men and women were due to biological, rather than cultural, reasons, arguing that women were by original nature submissive to men in general. These views, which included racist, sexist, and antisemitic ideals, led to the removal of his name from Thorndike Hall by the Board of Trustees of Teachers' College in New York in 2020, amid the George Floyd protests. Despite these controversial beliefs, his contributions to the behavioral psychology field came to have a major impact on education, where the Law of Effect has great influence in the classroom. His work represents the transition from the school of functionalism to behaviorism, and enabled psychology to focus on learning theory, influencing countless psychologists over fifty years and even still today.