THORNDIKE CONDITIONISM

SUBMITTED BY,
V.K. VIJITHRA,
B.Ed I YEAR,
OPTONAL :MATHEMATICS,
N.V.K.S.D COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,
ATTOOR, KANNIYAKUMARI - 629177.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

 INTRODUCTION
 ABOUT AUTHOR
 WHY THIS THEORY?
 PUZZLE BOX EXPERIMENT
 THE EXPERIMENT VIDEO
 PRIMARY LAWS OF LEARNING
 OTHER IMPORTANT LAWS
AND CRITICISM
 EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCE BOOKS
TCP PRESENTO-2020

is a more or less permanent change in
behavior potential that occurs as a result of practice;
 it is not a change due to motivational factors,
sensory adaptation, maturation or stimulus change.
 Learning theory describes how students absorb,
process and retain knowledge during learning.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

 Connectionism is the psychology’s first comprehensive
theory of learning.
 It was introduced by HERBERT SPENCER,
WILLIAM JAMES and his student EDWARD LEE
THORNDIKE in the very beginning of 20th
century.
 The basis of learning accepted by Thorndike by
association between sense impressions (stimulation) and
impulse to action (responses). So this called as “bond
psychology” or connectionism
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 AMERICAN Psychologist
 BORN - August 31, 1874 at
Williamsburg, U.S
 EDUCATION -
Roxbury Latin School
Wesleyan University
Harvard University
 OCCUPATION - Psychologist
(professor)
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 SPOUSE - Elizabeth Moulton (married August29,1900)
 KNOWN AS - Father of Educational Psychology
 EXTRA WORK - Member of the board of the
Psychological corporation,
President of the American
Psychological Association(1912)
 DOCTORAL DISSERTATION -
Animal Intelligence : An experimental study of the
Associative Processes in Animals
 DIED - August 9,1949 at Montrose, New York
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 This theory emerged as a real of experiments
on animal learning.
 Because experiments on animals is earlier than
human learning and easily to be controlled.
 And it convincing that man belongs to animal
biological group
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Ω Based on the Watson’s Puzzle box, Thorndike created the puzzle
boxes were approximately
20 inches long 15 inches wide and 12 inches tall.
Ω Each box had a door that was pulled open by a weight attached to
a string and it led to a button or lever inside the box.
Ω Thorndike primarily used cats in his puzzle boxes.
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Ω These boxes were arranged so that the
animal would be required to perform certain
responses (pulling a lever or pushing a
button) while he measured the amount of time
it took them to escape and give reward foods.
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From his puzzle box research, Thorndike creates his own theory
of learning. This predicts that animals made use of extra ordinary
factors such as insight in their problem solving.
Thorndike also identified three main areas of intellectual
development as follows:
Abstract intelligence :ability to understand
different concepts
Mechanical intelligence :ability to handle physical concepts
Social intelligence :ability to handle human interaction
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 The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R
framework of behavioural psychology. This learning is the result of
association forming between stimuli and responses.
 Thorndike theory consists of three primary laws of learning as
follows:
Law of readiness
Law of effect
Law of exercise
TCP PRESENTO-2020

when a modifiable connection is made between
a situation and response that connections strength is, other
things being equal, increased.
when a modifiable connection is not made
between a situation and response, during a length of time,
that connection strength is decreased.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

* After 1930, Thorndike revised the law of effect and the law of
exercise. And he concluded that,
While reinforcements in the form of reward are increasing
the strength of the S-R connection, unpleasant experiences in the
form of pain or punishment do not necessarily weaken it.
* Thorndike said to have discarded the law of use and disuse.
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SOME CRITICISM
Thorndike tried to prove that all forms of thoughts and
behavior can be explained through S-R relations with use of
repetition and reward, without need for introducing any
unobservable internal states, yet this is today generally considered
incorrect.
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 If one wants to learn something, one should prepare
with understanding of its importance.
 What is being taught or learnt at one time should be
linked with the past experiences, and it will helps for
the future learning.
 Whatever we want to learn or teach, we must first
identify the remembered one and forgotten ones.
 This has emphasized the importance of motivation
and highlighted the psychological importance of
rewards and praise in the field of learning.
 This theory made learning purposeful and goal
directed one.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

Thus the theory suggests that transfer of learning
depends upon the presence of identical elements in the
original and new learning situations; that is transfer is
always specific never general. Finally, connectionism helps
the application to education including mathematics (1922),
spelling and reading (1921), measurement of intelligence
(1927) and adult learning (1928).
TCP PRESENTO-2020

# Mangal(2002)’’Advanced Educational Psychology”,
PHI Learning Private Limited.
# Sindya,Vasudevan(2011)”Education from a
psychologicalperspective”Thiruvananthapuram :
General Publishers.
# Ernest,Hilgard and Gurdon,Bower(1966)”Theories
of learning”. New York: Meredith Corporation.
TCP PRESENTO-2020

THORNDIKE CONDITIONISM

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