Edward Thorndike's Contributions to Psychology

Scientists Edward Thorndike and Karl T. Compton

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Edward Thorndike was an influential psychologist often referred to as the founder of modern educational psychology. He was perhaps best known for his famous puzzle box experiments with cats, which led to the development of the law of effect.

Thorndike's principle suggests that responses immediately followed by positive consequences are more likely to recur. The law of effect also suggests that behaviors followed by dissatisfaction or discomfort will become less likely to occur.

At a Glance

Edward Thorndike was an early psychologist who introduced the law of effect and became known as the founder of modern educational psychology. Thorndike's theory had a significant impact on the behavioral school of thought, particularly B. F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning.

Edward Thorndike: A Brief Biography

Edward Lee Thorndike was born on August 31, 1874, in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, the son of a Methodist minister. While a very successful student, he initially disliked his first psychology course. Like many other psychologists of his time, Thorndike's interest in psychology grew after reading the classic book "The Principles of Psychology" by William James.

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1895 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Thorndike then enrolled at Harvard University to study English and French literature.

During his first semester, however, he took a psychology course taught by William James and soon decided to switch his study concentration to psychology.

Eventually, Thorndike transferred to Columbia University where he studied under the guidance of psychologist James McKeen Cattell. It was in his doctoral dissertation that he first introduced his law of effect.

After earning his PhD from Columbia in 1898, Thorndike briefly took a position as an Assistant Professor of Pedagogy at Case Western Reserve University. In the year 1900, Thorndike married Elizabeth Moulton.

He then worked as a psychology professor at the Teachers College at Columbia University where he continued to teach for the rest of his career. He died on August 9, 1949.

Edward Thorndike's Work and Theories

Thorndike is perhaps best-known for the theory he called the law of effect, which emerged from his research on how cats learn to escape from puzzle boxes.

What Is the Law of Effect?

According to Thorndike's law of effect, responses that are immediately followed by a satisfactory outcome become more strongly associated with the situation and are therefore more likely to occur again in the future. Conversely, responses followed by negative outcomes become more weakly associated and less likely to reoccur in the future.

As you might imagine, this principle had a strong influence on the development of the behavioral school of thought. B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning process relies on this principle, as behaviors followed by desirable outcomes are strengthened while those followed by undesirable outcomes are weakened.

Adult Learning Research

Thorndike's work also focused on the study of adult learning. He did work for the U.S. Army during World War I and participated in the development of the Army Beta tests. 

He described three primary components of intellectual development: abstract intelligence, mechanical intelligence, and social intelligence. 

Thorndike also introduced a number of different principles related to how people learn. He believed that learning takes place automatically and that all organisms learn the same way, influenced by the law of effect. Such learning takes place incrementally, and that readiness can influence how learning occurs. 

Thorndike's Contributions to Psychology

Thorndike had a tremendous impact on many different schools of psychology, including behaviorsim, Gestalt psychology, and comparative psychology. His contributions also had a tremendous impact on education and our understanding of learning in childhood and adulthood. 

Through his work and theories, Thorndike became strongly associated with the American school of thought known as functionalism. Other prominent functionalist thinkers included Harvey Carr, James Rowland Angell, and John Dewey.

While he was associated with this school of thought, his work had a significant impact on the rise of behaviorism through the first half of the 20th century.

Thorndike is also often referred to as the founder of modern-day educational psychology and published several books on the subject.

During his graduate studies at Columbia, Thorndike also studied the transfer of learning. Learning in one subject does not facilitate learning in another, and improvements that do occur are caused by shared underlying elements and not actual improvements in the learner's abilities.

His research was also significant for becoming some of the first lab research on animal learning. His emphasis on analyzing data quantitatively was also notable since much of the research during this time focused on providing descriptive information.

Thorndike was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1912 and became one of the first psychologists admitted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1917.

Criticisms

Thorndike's contributions changed how researchers understood the learning process, and many of his methods and ideas are still taught in psychology courses today. Despite these contributions, it is important to note that his work was not without criticism.

He was also known for holding sexist, racist, and antisemitic views. Thorndike also promoted eugenics, a controversial and discredited movement that suggested encouraging reproduction of individuals with so-called 'desirable traits' and preventing reproduction among those with 'undesirable traits.'

In 2020, Teachers' College in New York voted to rename the school's Thorndike Hall. The plaque devoted to Thorndike was also relocated to a location where students could learn more about the history of his problematic beliefs.

4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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  4. Teachers College Columbia University. Important announcement from the president and chair of the board of trustees.

Additional Reading

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd
Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."