Question

Thorndike and Skinner do not differ at all in

• A. the law of effect
• B. law of readiness
• C. law of contiguity
• D. all of these

Answer 1

Answer:

C. law of contiguity

• E.L. Thorndike was one of the well-known American learning theorists who propounded a theory called connectionism. He posited that learning was a process of 'stamping in' or forming connections between a stimulus and a response. He formulated connectionism and more specifically the laws of learning by studying the effect of reward on animals.

• Similarities between the behaviorism theories of E.L. Thorndike and B.F. Skinner: 
  • Like Thorndike, Skinner also considered reward or reinforcement as the most important element of the learning process.
  • However, Skinner preferred the term reinforcement to reward because he made a difference between the two terms. Reward according to Skinner, is a subjective interpretation of behavior associated with the pleasurable event, whereas reinforcement is a neutral term.
  • According to him, all behavior is learned, and therefore, principles of psychology can be applied in the classroom for bringing a change in pupils' behavior.
• According to Thorndike, learning is by the association between the stimulus (presence of the lever) and the response (pressing the lever). Thorndike (1932), further proposed three laws of leading which are as follows:

1. Law of Readiness: When any conduction unit is ready to conduct (an individual ready to learn something), for it to do so is satisfying. When any conduction unit is not in readiness to conduct, for it to conduct is difficult. So, it implies that if you are not ready to learn something, you cannot learn it effectively. Readiness comes from interest, need, age, maturity, previous learning experiences, etc.

2. Law of Exercise: This law is further divided into two sub-laws: (a) law of use, and (b) law of disuse. Repeated exercising of a response strengthens its connection with the stimulus and disuse weakens it. Later he recognized that mere blind repetition is not sufficient for effective learning, rather knowledge of results is an essential condition for it.

3. Law of Effect: Acts leading to satisfaction becomes associated with that situation. So, it is our natural tendency to learn things that give us happiness and satisfaction and to avoid others. We want to learn the things which make us feel happy and satisfied.