Thorndike and Skinner: Learning Theories and Behaviorism
Edward Thorndike: Instrumental Learning
A contemporary of Pavlov, Thorndike focused on instrumental learning, where an animal’s behavior is reinforced. His experiments with a hungry cat in a box demonstrated that animals learn through trial and error, reducing the time and errors to escape and reach food.
Theory of Association or Connection of Learning:
- Learning is the connection between sensory impressions and action impulses.
- Achieved through trial and error, where the brain records correct responses and eliminates incorrect ones.
- Reinforcement contingencies facilitate the association.
Laws of Learning:
- Law of Readiness: Preparation for action, involving activation and generation of the action (e.g., an animal preparing to pounce).
- Law of Exercise: Connections are strengthened through practice (law of use). Learning requires action and repetition; lack of practice leads to forgetting.
- Law of Effect: A connection followed by a satisfactory outcome strengthens the behavior, while an unsatisfactory outcome weakens it. Reinforcement is more effective than punishment and must be immediate.
Thorndike’s work influenced educational psychology, emphasizing interest, improvement, and meaning in learning.
B.F. Skinner: Radical Behaviorism
Skinner extended Thorndike’s ideas, focusing on radical behaviorism, which is descriptive and atheoretical. He emphasized the stimulus-response relationship and observable, measurable behavior.
Key Concepts:
- Behavior is what the body does and can be observed.
- Scientific method: understand, predict, control, and modify behavior.
- Individual histories of contingencies shape behavior.
Criticism of Education:
- Aversive stimulation dominates (avoidance over achievement).
- Long delays between behavior and reinforcement.
- Passive learning; students need active reinforcement.
Role of the Psychologist:
- Understand reinforcement conditions.
- Teach and reinforce adaptive behaviors.
Human as an “Unopened Box”:
Skinner viewed humans as tabula rasa, shaped by environmental changes. Internal forces are not measurable and thus not considered.
Types of Behavior:
- Respondent: Reflexive behaviors caused by a stimulus.
- Operant: Spontaneous behaviors influenced by their consequences.
Reinforcement Programs:
- Interval schedules: Reinforcement based on time intervals.
- Ratio schedules: Reinforcement based on the number of responses.
- Variable ratio schedules are most effective for maintaining behavior.