Edward Thorndike
Psychology project
Edward's Test and Connectionism
He was the first to study non-human subjects. He observed if they learned from imitation or observation. He put animals in a box-like structure that had doors that were controlled by buttons. There was usually food on the outside of the structure to reward the animals. His first experiment with animals showed him that they learned better when they mistakenly press the button themselves than when he put their paws on the button. There time to escape lessened the more that they pressed the button either mistakenly or on purpose. He learned that the animals were learning in the same way and learning gradually. He proved other that the animals weren't using insight. He created connectionism through these tests. It explains that mental phenomena can be explained by connected networks of uniformed units.
Why is it important
Edward's experiment showed insight to how animals and we learn. He made laws based on what he observed. These laws include the law of use and law of disuse. If knowledge is used more or less it becomes more apparent or less apparent to the person or animal.
Other Facts.
Edward was born in August 1874, and died in August 1949. He married in 1900 to Elizabeth Moulton and had five children. He was the second president of The Psychometric Society