Thorndike S-R Theory

Thorndike S-R Theory 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.

Born August 31, 1874 in Williamsburg,Massachusetts. Died on August 9, 1949.

Edward Thorndike's work on animal behavior and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism and helped lay the foundation for modern educational psychology. he is one of the first pioneers of active learning, a theory that proposes letting children learn themselves, rather than receiving instruction from teachers. 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

LAW OF EFFECT States that if an act is followed by a satisfying change in the environment, the likelihood that the act will be repeated in similar situations increases.

LAW OF READINESS Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally and emotionally ready to learn, and they do not learn well if they see no reason for learning

LAW OF EXERCISE States that any connection is strengthened in proportion to the number of times it occurs and in proportion to the average vigor and duration of the connection. Things most often repeated are best remembered • Students do not lean complex task in a single session

B.F Skinner Operant conditioning theory Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, author and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 1974.

The operant conditioning theory was based on skinner's experiment with a hungry rat that was placed in a box. Upon its accidental pressing of a lever in the box, it was rewarded with a food pellet which served as reinforcement to the reinforcing behavior. Reinforced thus, the rat kept on pressing that bar, this time no longer accidentally but intentionally. Skinner has shown that basic to operant conditioning is the use of reinforcement. REINFORCEMENT is defined as any behavioral consequence that strengthen (increase the frequency of) behavior. The reinforcement increases the likelihood of the recurrence of a particular type of response Responses my be reinforced by the presentation positive or negative of a particular consequences.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCERS POSITIVE REINFORCERS - are events that are presented after a response has been performed and that increase the behavior or activity they follows. NEGATVE REINFORCERS - are escapes from unpleasant situations or ways of preventing something unpleasant from occurring. PRIMARY REINFORCERS - are those that satisfy basic human needs SECONDARY REINFORCERS - are those that acquire reinforcing power because they have been associated with primary reinforcers.