Thorndike's connectionism theory
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1) Edward Lee Thorndike was an American psychologist who pioneered research in human and animal learning through experiments using puzzle boxes with cats. 2) He developed the law of effect, which states that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become strengthened through repeated experiences. 3) Thorndike's theory of connectionism represented the original stimulus-response framework of behavioral psychology, where learning occurs through associations forming between stimuli and responses that are strengthened or weakened based on experiences.
Thorndike's connectionism theory
- 1. WHO IS EDWARD L. THORNDIKE? Figure I. Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949)
- 3. Edward Lee Thorndike, is an American pioneer in comparative psychology, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1874 to the family of a Methodist minister. He became interested in the field of psychology after reading William James' "Principles of Psychology" and after graduating from Wesleyan University, he enrolled at Harvard in order to study under James (1895–1897). BIOGRAPHY
- 4. Born August 31, 1874 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. Died on August 9, 1949.
- 5. He completed his Ph.D In 1898 in Columbia University, he was awarded the doctorate for his thesis, "Animal Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals", in which he concluded that an experimental approach is the only way to understand learning and established his famous "Law of Effect”. Thorndike spent one year at the College for Women of Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. Then he became an instructor in psychology at Teachers College at Columbia University, studying human learning, education, and mental testing. He remained at Columbia the rest of his career.
- 6. Edward L. Thorndike's pioneer investigations in the fields of human and animal learning are among the most influential in the history of Psychology. In 1912, he was recognized for his accomplishments and elected president of the American Psychological Association. In 1934, the American Association for the Advancement of Science elected Thorndike as the only social scientist to head this professional organization. Thorndike retired in 1939, but worked actively until his death in 1949. His work was a major influence on B.F.Skinner. (Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike).
- 7. The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S- R framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such associations or "habits" become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the S-R pairings. The paradigm for S-R theory was trial and error learning in which certain responses come to dominate others due to rewards. The hallmark of connectionism (like all behavioral theory) was that learning could be adequately explained without referring to any unobservable internal states. THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM THEORY
- 8. LAW OF READINESS LAW OF EXERCISE LAW OF EFFECT THREE LAWS OF LEARNING:
- 9. First primary law of learning, according to him, is the ‘Law of Readiness’ or the ‘Law of Action Tendency’, which means that learning takes place when an action tendency is aroused through preparatory adjustment, set or attitude. Readiness means a preparation of action. If one is not prepared to learn, learning cannot be automatically instilled in him, for example, unless the typist, in order to learn typing prepares himself to start, he would not make much progress in a lethargic & unprepared manner. LAW OF READINESS
- 10. The law of exercise had two parts: (a) the law of use and (b) the law of disuse. This law stated that connections grow stronger when used—where strength is defined as “vigor and duration as well as the frequency of its making”—and grow weaker when not used. LAW OF EXERCISE
- 11. Many examples of this case are found in case of human learning. Learning to drive a motor-car, typewriting, singing or memorizing a poem or a mathematical table, and music etc. need exercise and repetition of various movements and actions many times.
- 12. which states that responses which occur just prior to a satisfying state of affairs are more likely to be repeated, and responses just prior to an annoying state of affairs are more likely NOT to be repeated. The second contribution was his rejection of the notion that man is simply another animal that can reason. He believed intelligence should be defined solely in terms of greater or lesser ability to form connections. LAW OF EFFECT
- 13. Figure IV. Simplified graph of the result of the puzzle box experiment. Figure III. Trials
- 14. Figure V. Video of a cat trying to scape from the box.
- 15. Thorndike’s Puzzle-Box. The graph demonstrates the general decreasing trend of the cat’s response times with each successive trial Thorndike emphasized the importance of the situation in eliciting a response; the cat would not go about making the lever-pressing movement if it was not in the puzzle box but was merely in a place where the response had never been reinforced. The situation involves not just the cat’s location but also the stimuli it is exposed to, for example, the hunger and the desire for freedom. The cat recognizes the inside of the box, the bars, and the lever and remembers what it needs to do to produce the correct response.
- 16. 1. Multiple response or varied reaction – When faced with a problem an animal will try one response after another until it finds success.(Trial and Error) -- If the individual wants to solve a puzzle, he is to try in different ways rather than mechanically persisting in the same way. Thorndike’s cat in the puzzle box moved about and tried many ways to come out till finally it hit the latch with her paw which opened the door and it jumped out. ADDITIONAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES OF THORNDIKE'S LEARNING THEORY
- 17. 2. Set or attitude –Learning is guided by a total set or attitude of the organism, which determines not only what the person will do but what will satisfy or annoy him. For instance, unless the cricketer sets himself to make a century, he will not be able to score more runs. A student, similarly, unless he sets to get first position and has the attitude of being at the top, would while away the time and would not learn much. Hence, learning is affected more in the individual if he is set to learn more or to excel..
- 18. 3. Partial activity or prepotency of elements – According to this law, the learner reacts selectively to the important or essential in the situation and neglects the other features or elements which may be irrelevant or non- essential. The ability to deal with the essential or the relevant part of the situation, makes analytical and insightful learning possible. In this law of pre-potency of elements, Thorndike is really anticipating insight in learning which was more emphasized by the Gestaltions.
- 19. 4. Law of Response by Analogy- According to this law, the individual makes use of old experiences or acquisitions while learning a new situation. There is a tendency to utilize common elements in the new situation as existed in a similar past situation. The learning of driving a car, for instance, is facilitated by the earlier acquired skill of driving a motor cycle or even riding a bicycle because the perspective or maintaining a balance and controlling the handle helps in stearing the car .
- 20. 5.The Law of Associative Shifting- According to this law we may get a response, of which a learner is capable, associated with any other situation to which he is sensitive. Thorndike illustrated this by the act of teaching a cat to stand up at a command. A fish was dangled before the cat while he said ‘ stand up’. After a number trails by presenting the fish after uttering the command ‘stand up’, he later ousted the fish and the over all command of ‘stand up’ was found sufficient to evoke the response in the cat by standing up or her hind legs.
- 21. 1) According to this theory the task can be started from the easier aspect towards its difficult side. This approach will benefit the weaker and backward children. 2) A small child learns some skills through trial and error method only such as sitting, standing, walking, running etc. In teaching also the child rectifies the writing after committing mistakes. 3) In this theory more emphasis has been laid on motivation. Thus, before starting teaching in the classroom the students should be properly motivated. IMPLICATIONS
- 22. 4) Practice leads a man towards maturity. Practice is the main feature of trial and error method. Practice helps in reducing the errors committed by the child in learning any concept. 5) Habits are formed as a result of repeitition. With the help of this theory the wrong habits of the children can be modified and the good habits strengthened. 6) The effects of rewards and punishment also affect the learning of the child. Thus, the theory lays emphasis on the use of reward and punishment in the class by the teacher.
- 23. 7) The theory may be found quite helpful in changing the behaviour of the deliquent children. The teacher should cure such children making use of this theory. 8) With the help of this theory the teacher can control the negative emotions of the children such as anger, jealousy etc. 9) The teacher can improve his teaching methods making use of this theory. He must observe the effects of his teaching methods on the students and should not hesitate to make necessary changes in them, if required. 10) The theory pays more emphasis on oral drill work. Thus, a teacher should conduct oral drill of the taught contents. This help in strengthening the learning more.
- 24. Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner. (2011). "Psychology Second Edition" New York: Worth Publishers. "Law of Effect". eNotes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02. Nevin, John (1999). "Analyzing Thorndike's Law of Effect: The Question of Stimulus - Response Bonds". Journal of the Experiment Analysis of Behaviour. p. 448. Connectionism. Thorndike, Edward.Q Retrieved Dec 10, 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BDujDOLre-8 (Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike). Retrieved November 9, /2002 from http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html (Merriam & Caffarella, 1991) (Lefrancois, 1972) Kearsley, G. (n.d.) Connectionism (E. Thorndike). Retrieved November 9, /2002 from http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html (Merriam & Caffarella, 1991) Thorndike, E. L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 2(4), i- 109. REFERENCES
Editor's Notes
- #14: Fig3.Initially, the cat’s responses were largely instinctual, but over time, the pressing lever response was strengthened while the others were weakened