This slide explains the key concepts and principles of Thorndike's theory, including experiments with animals, such as puzzle boxes, and how these experiments contributed to his theory.
3. Thorndike placed a hungry cat inside a
box that had a latch that could be
opened by manipulating a lever.
At first, the cat would engage in
random movements, but eventually,
through trial and error, it would learn to
operate the lever and escape from the
box.
Thorndike observed that the cats were
able to learn to escape from the box
more quickly with repeated trials,
suggesting that learning occurred
through a process of trial and error.
The puzzle box
experiment
4. Sum up of the Experiment
Drive: In the experiment, it was hunger and was intensified by the sight of
food.
Goal: To get at the food by getting out of the box.
Block: The cat was confined in a box with a closed door.
Random Movements: The cat persistently tried to come out of the box
without knowing how.
Chance Success: As a result of this striving and random movements
the cat, by chance, succeeded in opening the door.
Selection (of proper movement): Gradually, the cat recognized the
correct way to manipulate the latch.
Fixation: The cat learned the proper way to open the door by
eliminating all the incorrect responses ad fixing only the right
response.
5. Theoretical
Principles
Learning involves trial and
error.
Learning is the stamping in of the correct
responses and stamping out of the
incorrect responses through the process
of trial and error.
Learning is the result of the
formation of connection.
Learning is the result of the formation of
the connection between the stimuli and
the response. Strengthening or weakening
of this bond or connection results in the
making or breaking of habits. This system
is called connectionism.
6. Theoretical
Principles
Learning is incremental
Thorndike concluded that learning
performance is dependent upon the
number of trials or opportunities fulfilled
by the learner. As we go on increasing the
number of trials or practices, our
performance gradually improves.
Thorndike termed such improvement in
performance as incremental.
Learning is direct
Learning is not mediated by thinking,
reasoning, or other such mental functions.
Learning is a process of establishing a
simple connection between sensory
stimuli and appropriate responses.
