Edward Lee Thorndike and His Influence on the Development of the US Education - Essay Example

Edward Lee Thorndike and His Influence in the Development of U.S. Education Edward Lee Thorndike was an American psychologist born in 1874 and died in 1949. He had several contributions to the education sector through teaching and lecturing services. He also wrote books to illustrate his research and back up his theories (Lefrancois 12). His father was a Methodist minister who contributed to his success through funding his education. Before joining college, he lived in his home town of Williamsburg, Massachusetts. He had a passion for reading psychology books, and this sparked his need for education. He pursued his dreams and became one of Americas top comparative psychologists. His work has had a major contribution of the education system in America. He studied in several institutions and universities including Wesleyan University, The Roxbury Latin School, and Harvard University. Edward became interested in the department of psychology due to his love for books. Among the book that boosted home was ‘Principles of Psychology by William James. While at Harvard he studied under James care. This motivated his studies on psychology hence came up with his research on ‘mind reading(Lefrancois 24). He continued with his research and until he was later invited to study at Columbia University. This made him not complete his education at Wesleyan University. While at Columbia, he was motivated by James Cattell who helped him in his animal research. He also got involved in other experiments about human and animal behavior. His interest in the department together with continued researches helped him come up with theories supporting human and animal behavior. He continued with his passion for psychology until he was awarded a doctorate in 1898 on ‘Animal Intelligence. He used cats, dogs and chicks to support his thesis. Upon completing his education, he worked at Case Western Reserve University for a short period before becoming a psychology professor at Columbia University in the teachers College department. His has major contributions to education but most notably is from his theories and experimental studies on behaviors. Many students in the American society has been embraced his contribution to psychology by recognizing that he was among the main contributors and founding father of psychology. He is known to have written some of the best psychology books in history. Throughout his entire work history, Edward was a functionalist thinker and joined others who included John Dewey, Harvey Carr and James Rowland. In 1912, he was appointed as the American Psychological Associations president. With this title, he was able to come up with more data from his research where he studied animal behavior. Additionally, he is among the few psychologists who have had their entire studies in the United Sates. This has contributed a lot to education in the country since being a local he had gathered knowledge on how schools operated. This led to his interest in educational psychology. One of his major contributions to education and particularly psychology is the theory of connectionism. He came up with this thesis after his close study to behavioral change in animals. He closely monitored animals that he used for his experiments. Its main aim was to try to understand what he called behavioral psychology. He mostly used cats for his experiments, which he locked in cages. He wanted to pursue his dream of mind reading. This was through examining the connection between a situation that an animal was placed in and how its mind reacted. Their response was also recorded to come up with a situation and its response. This was the difference between his study and that of the founding fathers of psychology because he was the first to use non-human samples. He used cats for experiments and created puzzle boxes or cages that were 20 inches long. They were fitted with doors which would be opened after pulling a string that would in turn open the door through a pulley system. Edward observed the animals and the time that they took to escape from the cages. They had to hit a certain button on the cages floor so that the door would open. It was referred to as the response of the situation that the cat was in. In his cases, the situation was the cage and the need for food that made the cat response and know how to open the puzzle boxes. He always rewarded the cats that responded in the right manner by giving them food. He also ensured that the cats observed other animals as they escaped the puzzle boxes and the button that they would accidentally step. He set up a learning curve which he used to record his findings on how the cats reacted. The cats responded to their situation through insight. Through the responses, he concluded that animals too were intelligent in their own manner. When there was a need for problem solving the animal was able to react in the right manner. Edward’s work in this theory has been used in readings and books globally for the last century. It was a major move in psychology since there was no other successful psychologist as Edward. Edwards theory of connectionism was made up of laws that explained animal behavior; the law of effect, the law of primacy, exercise and the law readiness (Urban 15). The law of effect states that the aftermath of an action may strengthen what caused it. He carried out several experiments on stimuli and the response caused. He claimed that study of these responses would help him learn the behaviors occurrence. He also states that responses that come up as a result of a particular situation and become satisfying have a higher probability of occurring again in a similar situation. Unpleasant effect from a response will lead to low probabilities of the response being repeated in a similar situation. In connection to human lives, he was able to learn how certain situations affected human behavior. His work has helped lecturers and teachers in America to understand human and animal behavior and what can cause it to changes when other factors are held constant. His conclusions were from the learning curve that was obtained from the cats behavior records. In the real world, situations that produce a feeling of defeat are not welcoming at all. Nobody would like to land in the same situation more than once. Learning becomes stronger when it is accompanied by a good feeling such as a reward at the end of it all. Results from his experiments have been used in schools such as the law of effect which boosts students performances. When a student works hard and is rewarded, the reward makes him stronger and works hard in order to receive a reward the next time. This theory of connectionism has also been used in firms to motivate employees to work hard. The law of learning also had major contributions in learning institutions since it would make it easy for lectures to handle their students (Thorndike 30). In places where laws or rules were present, they provided the instructor with the insight needed to in the learning process hence helping the student achieve his/her goals. This law made the learning process simple and has been used in an educational institution globally. For example, rules and regulations have been put in place in schools to monitor the students behavior. They lead to a similar response each time that the student is in a certain situation. For example, failure to complete assignment may lead to detention. This is set in the students mind, and each time that he/she does not finish his/her assignment then detention is inevitable. The teachers through rules have been able to set the student’s mind to remember to complete the assignment. As compared to Edwards experiments, there are set responses to a particular situation, and if they make the student stronger, they are bound to be followed. Additionally there is the law of readiness states that an individual can learn as long as he/she has been mentally and physically altered to receive motivation (Thorndike 34). His contribution has been of great help to the educational sector since lecturers can understand the right time to offer to learn incentives to their students. This means that they can only learn when they have set their minds to learn. Edward also added that they might not learn if they do not have any reason to do it. For a proper coexistence between students and teachers, there has to be set goals and objectives and a purpose for learning. This will provide motivation that helped the students to set their minds to learn and obtain new knowledge. It is all about being ready and willing to learn because it sets the right response. In his work, he also stated that the chaining together of responses may satisfy the same goal and objective. The law of exercise was part of the connection and states that repetition is important to have adequate responses (Thorndike 43). This is because the human mind finds it difficult to remember all concepts about a certain situation after a single exposure. In the educational sector, the lectures have to give students time to repeat and review the tasks issued. This means that they should be given time to revise their notes before they sit for their exams. This provides students with the right response both physically and mentally. In one of his great books, he states that ‘connections become stronger under repeated practice. This means that repeated connections between an individual and the task allocated makes him/her perfect. This is also the case with animals since the cats when repeatedly observing other animals while openings their cages, they were able to get out and be rewarded with food. The law of primacy states that being the first creates a firm connection. This means that lectures and teachers should take care of what they teach their first time since it is believed to be correct. If it must be corrected, it may be too late to change and scrub it off the students mind. According to Edward, the first learning experience should be correct and positive. Edwards law of recent connections also shows that the recently taught or reviewed things are the easiest to be remembered. Remembrance decreases with age making it difficult to remember the past. This law can be connected with the law of exercise that prevents one to forget easily. Finally, in his life, Edward was awarded many rewards in both the psychology field and educational field at large. He had written numerous books and articles that would be used to understand the connection between responses and behaviors that arise. After his research and experiments, the following books Teachers World Book, Animal Intelligence, Thorndike Century Junior, and Journal of Educational Psychology (Roeckelein 22). The four books have had large contributions to education in America making his legacy live on. In spite of criticism from behaviorists, his work has been successful and influential. Works Cited Lefrancois, Guy. Theories of Human Learning: What the Professor Said. Stamford: Cengage learning. 2011. Print Roeckelein, E, J. Elseviers Dictionary of Psychological Theories. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 2006. Print Thorndike, Edward. L. The psychology of learning. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. 2007. Print Thorndike, Edward. L Educational Psychology: The Psychology of Learning. Charleston: Bibliobazaar. 2011. Print Thorndike, Edward. P. The Elements of Psychology. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing. 2006. Print Urban, Wayne. Leaders in the Historical Study of American Education. New York: Springer. 2012. Print Read More