Thorndike, Edward L.

Edward L. Thorndike (18741949), perhaps educational psychology's most significant formative force, helped transition the emerging field from a primarily conjectural, philosophical endeavor to an experimental, scientific enterprise. This resulting paradigm helped focus curriculum studies on rigorous research methodology often directed toward the empirical investigation of outcomes. This reorientation has had a significant impact on classroom practices as well. Thorndike's role in this evolution was largely inspired by his great confidence that sound experimentation would produce reliable and valid quantified data that could then help solve educational problems. Thorndike's methods and objectives are the crux of much contemporary educational research, and in his own time, Thorndike was guided by his pragmatic empiricism to develop principles of learning, societal roles and instructional practices for schools, and a rationale for curricular modification.

Through his research, Thorndike posited many principles of learning, including the law of effect. The law of effect states that if one's response to a stimulus is followed by satisfaction, then the response is more likely to reoccur in an identical situation. Likewise, responses followed by dissatisfaction are less likely to reoccur in identical situations. Therefore, one learns through rewards and punishments that strengthen and weaken connections between stimuli (S) and responses (R).

Originally, the Law of Effect was derived from Thorndike's work with animals, specifically chickens, dogs, and cats. The most famous experiments were conducted with cats that were trapped inside a crude wooden cage or puzzle box that had only one trapdoor exit and food positioned [Page 884]immediately outside. To free themselves from captivity and famine, the felines needed to perform a particular behavior that would open the trapdoor (e.g., pulling a string lasso). Generally, when placed in the box (S/the stimulus), the cats would engage in a variety of behaviors (R/the responses). In this manner, the cats learned as connections between stimulus (S) and response (R) formed. Through repetition, these connections were intensified and habits resulted.

Ultimately, Thorndike's research led him to produce a theory of learning called connectionism. The foundation for behaviorism, connectionism stated that learning occurred when relationships between detected stimuli and performed responses formed neural connections. Those individuals who were genetically endowed with the ability to more easily form an abundance of these S-R connections could more readily learn and possessed great intellect. Thorndike felt that this fairly small gifted cohort was more rational, efficient, and moral than the rest of the population, and therefore it should be in positions of authority to ensure a more habitable, humane society.

Thorndike contended that schools could not make individuals significantly more intelligent, but instead should help make society more efficient and address individuals' idiosyncratic needs. To this end, schools should use cognitive tests, which Thorndike helped pioneer, to appropriately group students according to innate ability. This use of tracking would prepare society's future leaders and would help in designing curricula to meet the needs of schools' diverse learners.

Within schools, Thorndike believed that pupils should be taught using empirically based evidence. Such instruction involved teachers introducing stimuli, thus eliciting desirable student responses and building neural connections. Additionally, educational leaders would use empirical, quantified data to guide school policy and curriculum. Because of his strong research agenda, Thorndike provided much data to help steer such educational decisions, including curricular content considerations.

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