American psychologist and educator, a key figure in the formation of behaviorism and the scientific study of the learning process. He conducted the most famous experiments with the “problem box”: he studied the behavior of animals that learned by trial and error (and random success) to open a cage in order to receive a reward. On the basis of his research, Thorndike derived several laws of learning:
1) The law of exercise: other things being equal, the reaction to a situation is associated with it in proportion to the frequency of repetitions of connections and their strength;
2) The law of readiness: exercises change the readiness of the body to conduct nerve impulses;
3) The law of associative shift: if one of the stimuli causes a reaction when acting simultaneously, the others acquire the ability to cause the same reaction;
4) The law of effect: any action that causes pleasure in a certain situation is associated with it and further increases the likelihood of repeating this action in a similar situation, while displeasure (or discomfort) during an action associated with a certain situation leads to a decrease in the probability of committing this act in a similar situation.
Thorndike’s research in the field of learning became an epoch-making phenomenon in psychology. His work stimulated the rise of learning theory in American science, and the spirit of objectivity that he strictly adhered to was embodied in the theory of behaviorism.