In this article, you will read the major three laws propounded by Thorndike on his theory of connectionism. He reveals that the foundation of learning is the association between sense impressions and impulses to action. The implications of the theory are also discussed.
According to Thorndike, the fundamental of learning is the association between sense impressions and impulses to action (stimuli and responses). These associations become strengthened, or weakened by the nature and frequency of the stimuli-responses pairings.
This means that an organism will repeat the behaviour if it obtains a pleasant or satisfying stimulus after first demonstrating it. He therefore postulated that learning in an organism involves the act of selecting the most appropriate response and associating it with specific problems or stimuli. Thorndike then described this type of theory as learning by “trial and error” or “trial and success”.
Eventually, it succeeded in operating the mechanism, which paved way for its escape and obtaining the food. On the subsequent attempt, the random movement was reduced, and the cat concentrated much on the direction of the release mechanism until it was able to escape again. The help of the “release mechanism” made it possible for the cat to succeed in its escape, hence this type of learning is also known as “instrumental conditioning”.
In arriving at this theory, a cat was put in a puzzle box, with food outside it. The logic was that the cat has to escape before it could get the food. There was a release mechanism inside which the cat would operate before it could get outside. In the process, the cat made a series of effort to get outside.
In line with the experiment performed above, Thorndike came up with a set of laws which are believed to be responsible for learning in organisms. These are the laws of readiness, exercises and effect.
Thorndike believed that “any act that produces a satisfying effect will be repeated”. The principle of effect is that learning is strengthened when accompanied by an enjoyable or satisfying feeling and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling. The student will strive to continue doing what provides a pleasant effect to continue learning. Positive reinforcement is more apt to lead to success and motivate the learner, so the instructor should recognize and commend improvement.
Many of the everyday effects of electrostatics involve a charged object losing its charge and…
Area expansion of solids refers to the increase in the surface area of a solid…
The increase in the length of a body resulting from being heated is known as…
Different disciplines have developed theories of aging due to the complex nature of aging process.…
The 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum Framework (ZECF) has been developed not only to provide guidance…
Discover the Africa’s Big 5 and learn about the majestic animals that make up this…
Leave a Comment