EDUCATION (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Edward Lee Thorndike was the initiator of the theory of trial and error learning based on the findings he showed how to manage a trial-and-error experiment in the laboratory. In his famous experiment, a cat was placed in a series of puzzle boxes in order to study the law of effect in learning.

Detailed explanation-2: -a type of learning in which the organism successively tries various responses in a situation, seemingly at random, until one is successful in achieving the goal. Across successive trials, the successful response is strengthened and appears earlier and earlier.

Detailed explanation-3: -¢Thorndike propounded this theory in 1898 and was published in 1913. ¢According to this theory if an organism is kept in a new situation, it shows different kinds of faulty responses.

Detailed explanation-4: -The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R framework of behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such associations or “habits” become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the S-R pairings.

Detailed explanation-5: -Meaning of Thorndike’s Trial and Error Theory: These connections formed are illustrated by the symbols S-R. Another word used to describe these connections is the word ‘bond’ and hence, ’ this theory is sometimes called a ‘Bond Theory of learning’.