TRIAL AND ERROR THEORY OF LEARNING(Pleasure and pain theory/ stimulus response theory/Bond theory of learning)
Psychologist Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949) proposed this theory through his experiment on animal in the wooden box in 1898.
EXPERIMENT
The animal (often a cat) is put into a box and tries to find its way out.
The box consists of ropes, levers, and latches that the animal could use as a means of escape.
Once the cat escapes, a reward is given.
Thorndike through his observation realized that after time, the cat would use a trial and error technique.
Thorndike also realized that with more trials the less time it took the cat to escape.
Thorndike concluded that the cat learned through trial and error as do humans in similar circumstances.
LAWS OF LEARNING
Based on above experiment,Thorndike suggested three laws of learning:
1. Law of effect/law of pleasure and pain/law of satisfaction and annoyance: Responses are selected and connected to situations or are disconnected from situations depending upon the consequences they produce (satisfiers or annoyers). It states that responses which occur just prior to a satisfying state of affairs are more likely to be repeated, and responses just prior to an annoying state of affairs are more likely not to be repeated i.e. recurrence of response governed by consequence or effect generally in the form of reward or punishment
2. Law of Exercise(laws of use & disuse)- Connections become strengthened with practice/repetition, and weaken when practice is discontinued.
3. Law of Recency: It state that recent response is likely to govern the recurrence.
Other Subsidiary Laws:
a) Multiple Response: in any given situation, the organism will respond in a variety of ways (supplied by heredity or by past experience) if the first response does not immediately lead to a more satisfying state of affairs. Problem solving is through trial and error.
b) Set or Attitude: What learner already posseses to behave or react in a particular way while begining a new task. These are unique for species or groups of related species, and may be culturally determined in humans. The learner's behavior is influenced by what he or she has been led to expect of a task and its outcome. This may come from instructions or from prior experience, present state of the learner. etc.
c) Prepotency of Elements/Law of Piecemeal Activity- Thorndike observed that a learner could filter out irrelevant aspects of a situation and respond only to significant (proponent) elements in a problem situation.
d) Response by Analogy/ identical elements theory of transfer -In a new context, responses from related or similar contexts may be transferred to the new context. This is sometimes referred to as the theory of identical elements. The learner's behavior will depend in part on the similarity of the present situation to past situations Usage of identical solution/techniques to solve analogous problems.
e) Associative shifting - It is possible to shift/transfer of any response from one stimulus to another.
f) Law of Readiness- a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked. This law refers to the conditions that determine what will act as satisfiers and annoyers.
g) Thorndike’s Law of Belongingness: It states that reward or punishment to be maximally effective must be relevant to the situation. Mere contiguity between the stimulus and the response would not ensure the effectiveness of the reward. While reading a paragraph, the last word of a sentence, and the first-word of the next sentence share physical proximity, but their association would be poor. For example, consider the following two sentences: 'Ramesh spoke loudly', 'Suneet went home'. The association strength of the pair, 'Suneet- went' is more than that of the pair 'loudly-Suneet', though both pairs have same degree of physical proximity. Hence the first pair would be better remembered than the second pair, according to the Law of Belongingness.
CRITICISM
The major criticism of Thorndike’s behaviorist theories may be summarized in two points.
First, Thorndike’s approach restricted psychology by limiting behavior solely to the peripheral events of stimulus and response elements. In dismissing mental events, Thorndike also ignored the central mediation of stimulus and response bonds. DO not focused on reinforcement.
The second problem with Thorndike’s behaviorist theories concerns the issue of reductionism. In fact, for Thorndike, mind was reduced to behavior, and behavior, in turn, was reduced to environmental stimuli and observable responses. Doesn't dealt feelings.
According to Thorndike, learning consists of bond formation which means that connection between situations and responses is strengthened through learning. This theory of learning also explains that the bonds between situations and responses are strengthened by satisfaction and weakened by annoyance. This theory is fundamentally physiological in nature.
But Thorndike's theory of learning is severely criticized by different schools of psychologists. The behaviorists deny the law of effect and claim that frequency is the most important Principle of learning which helps in all kinds of retention.
The gestaltian school criticizes the Laws of Thorndike on the ground that learning is not merely the organization of independent units of behavior and there is no building up process like the formation. The psychologists of this school contend that the relation between situation and response already exists in an experience which is perceived as a whole.
On the whole, it may be concluded that although the Laws of Learning enunciated by Thorndike are found to be much physiological and subjected to so many limitations, they have ample practical truth and utility in the early learning systems. The principle of exercise, readiness and effect has a lot of importance and feasibility for effective learning.
Psychologist Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949) proposed this theory through his experiment on animal in the wooden box in 1898.
EXPERIMENT
The animal (often a cat) is put into a box and tries to find its way out.
The box consists of ropes, levers, and latches that the animal could use as a means of escape.
Once the cat escapes, a reward is given.
Thorndike through his observation realized that after time, the cat would use a trial and error technique.
Thorndike also realized that with more trials the less time it took the cat to escape.
Thorndike concluded that the cat learned through trial and error as do humans in similar circumstances.
LAWS OF LEARNING
Based on above experiment,Thorndike suggested three laws of learning:
1. Law of effect/law of pleasure and pain/law of satisfaction and annoyance: Responses are selected and connected to situations or are disconnected from situations depending upon the consequences they produce (satisfiers or annoyers). It states that responses which occur just prior to a satisfying state of affairs are more likely to be repeated, and responses just prior to an annoying state of affairs are more likely not to be repeated i.e. recurrence of response governed by consequence or effect generally in the form of reward or punishment
2. Law of Exercise(laws of use & disuse)- Connections become strengthened with practice/repetition, and weaken when practice is discontinued.
3. Law of Recency: It state that recent response is likely to govern the recurrence.
Other Subsidiary Laws:
a) Multiple Response: in any given situation, the organism will respond in a variety of ways (supplied by heredity or by past experience) if the first response does not immediately lead to a more satisfying state of affairs. Problem solving is through trial and error.
b) Set or Attitude: What learner already posseses to behave or react in a particular way while begining a new task. These are unique for species or groups of related species, and may be culturally determined in humans. The learner's behavior is influenced by what he or she has been led to expect of a task and its outcome. This may come from instructions or from prior experience, present state of the learner. etc.
c) Prepotency of Elements/Law of Piecemeal Activity- Thorndike observed that a learner could filter out irrelevant aspects of a situation and respond only to significant (proponent) elements in a problem situation.
d) Response by Analogy/ identical elements theory of transfer -In a new context, responses from related or similar contexts may be transferred to the new context. This is sometimes referred to as the theory of identical elements. The learner's behavior will depend in part on the similarity of the present situation to past situations Usage of identical solution/techniques to solve analogous problems.
e) Associative shifting - It is possible to shift/transfer of any response from one stimulus to another.
f) Law of Readiness- a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked. This law refers to the conditions that determine what will act as satisfiers and annoyers.
g) Thorndike’s Law of Belongingness: It states that reward or punishment to be maximally effective must be relevant to the situation. Mere contiguity between the stimulus and the response would not ensure the effectiveness of the reward. While reading a paragraph, the last word of a sentence, and the first-word of the next sentence share physical proximity, but their association would be poor. For example, consider the following two sentences: 'Ramesh spoke loudly', 'Suneet went home'. The association strength of the pair, 'Suneet- went' is more than that of the pair 'loudly-Suneet', though both pairs have same degree of physical proximity. Hence the first pair would be better remembered than the second pair, according to the Law of Belongingness.
CRITICISM
The major criticism of Thorndike’s behaviorist theories may be summarized in two points.
First, Thorndike’s approach restricted psychology by limiting behavior solely to the peripheral events of stimulus and response elements. In dismissing mental events, Thorndike also ignored the central mediation of stimulus and response bonds. DO not focused on reinforcement.
The second problem with Thorndike’s behaviorist theories concerns the issue of reductionism. In fact, for Thorndike, mind was reduced to behavior, and behavior, in turn, was reduced to environmental stimuli and observable responses. Doesn't dealt feelings.
According to Thorndike, learning consists of bond formation which means that connection between situations and responses is strengthened through learning. This theory of learning also explains that the bonds between situations and responses are strengthened by satisfaction and weakened by annoyance. This theory is fundamentally physiological in nature.
But Thorndike's theory of learning is severely criticized by different schools of psychologists. The behaviorists deny the law of effect and claim that frequency is the most important Principle of learning which helps in all kinds of retention.
The gestaltian school criticizes the Laws of Thorndike on the ground that learning is not merely the organization of independent units of behavior and there is no building up process like the formation. The psychologists of this school contend that the relation between situation and response already exists in an experience which is perceived as a whole.
On the whole, it may be concluded that although the Laws of Learning enunciated by Thorndike are found to be much physiological and subjected to so many limitations, they have ample practical truth and utility in the early learning systems. The principle of exercise, readiness and effect has a lot of importance and feasibility for effective learning.
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