Resources for unit 3

An American Psychologist Edward L. Thorndike (1874–1949) was the first scientist to systematically study operant conditioning.  In his research, Thorndike (1898) observed cat who had been placed in a “puzzle box” from which they tried to escape. After many attempts, the cat accidentally pressed the lever that opened the door and went to their prize: a small piece of fish.

The next time, the cat was constrained within the box, it attempted fewer of the ineffective responses before carrying out the successful escape, and after several trials the cat learned to almost immediately make the correct response.

The research of Thorndike: The law of effect

Observing these changes in the cats’ behavior led Thorndike to develop his law of effect, the principle that responses that create a typically pleasant outcome in a particular situation are more likely to occur again in a similar situation, whereas responses that produce a typically unpleasant outcome are less likely to occur again in the situation. The key idea of the law of effect is that successful responses, because they are pleasurable, are “stamped in” by experience and thus occur more frequently.  Unsuccessful responses, which produce unpleasant experiences, are “stamped out” and subsequently occur less frequently.