What was Edward Thorndike cat experiment?
Hungry cats were individually placed into a box that could be opened by the animal via a device such as a latch. Once outside of the box, the cats gained access to food (a positive reinforcer). Thorndike found that the cats took less and less time to get out of the box the more trials of training had been given.
How did EL Thorndike use cats to show his law of effect?
Thorndike would place a cat inside the puzzle box and then place a piece of meat outside the box. He would then observe the animal’s efforts to escape and obtain the food. He recorded how long each animal took to figure out how to free itself from the box.
What would Thorndike say his cats learn about in their puzzle box experiment?
In successive trials the cats would learn that pressing the lever would have favourable consequences and they would adopt this behaviour, becoming increasingly quick at pressing the lever.
What did Thorndike discover when working with animals?
He regarded adaptive changes in animal behaviour as analogous to human learning and suggested that behavioral associations (connections) could be predicted by application of the two laws.
When did Thorndike study cats?
1898
Thorndike’s thesis on animal intelligence, published in 1898, experimented with cats to establish that animals learn gradually through a trial and error process. Over time, the trial and error process leads to the ‘stamping in’ of correct responses (Lefrancois, 2000).
What is Edward Thorndike best-known for?
Edward Thorndike was an influential psychologist who is often referred to as the founder of modern educational psychology. He was perhaps best-known for his famous puzzle box experiments with cats which led to the development of his law of effect.
How did Edward Thorndike describe animal learning?
Development of law of effect Thorndike’s research focused on instrumental learning, which means that learning is developed from the organism doing something. For example, he placed a cat inside a wooden box. The cat would use various methods while trying to get out, however nothing would work until it hit the lever.
What does Thorndike’s Law of Effect state?
Thorndike. The law of effect stated that those behavioral responses that were most closely followed by a satisfying result were most likely to become established patterns and to occur again in response to the same stimulus.
How did Skinner’s box work?
A Skinner Box is a often small chamber that is used to conduct operant conditioning research with animals. Within the chamber, there is usually a lever (for rats) or a key (for pigeons) that an individual animal can operate to obtain a food or water within the chamber as a reinforcer.
What did Edward Tolman study?
Tolman originally started his academic life studying physics, mathematics, and chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After reading William James’ Principles of Psychology, he decided to shift his focus to the study of psychology.
What is Edward Tolman known for?
Tolman, in full Edward Chace Tolman, (born April 14, 1886, West Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.—died November 19, 1959, Berkeley, California), American psychologist who developed a system of psychology known as purposive, or molar, behaviourism, which attempts to explore the entire action of the total organism.
What is Edward Thorndike best known for?