Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

226 The Praeger Handbook of Education and Psychology
the box at will. From experiments like these that involved trial-and-error learning, Thorndike
formulated the Law of Effect and the Law of Exercise.
The Law of Effect simply states that when an animal’s behavior is followed by a rewarding
experience, the probability that the animal will repeat the behavior when faced with the same
context will increase. In this realization, Thorndike theorized that there was a connection between
a stimulus and a response in that when an animal acted within its environment the response from
the environment would affect what the animal learned. Thorndike followed the Law of Effect
with the Law of Exercise, which stated that repetition strengthens the connection between a
stimulus and a response. These connections, which Thorndike characterized as connectionism,
between an animal’s behavior, the environmental response, and the effects of that response on the
animal would be developed to a more complex and sophisticated degree by B. F. Skinner in his
development of operant conditioning. In 1911, Thorndike published his findings in his seminal
work Animal Intelligence. Through the work of Thorndike and other behavioral psychologists,
the field of behavioral psychology would influence all aspects of the field of education.
Through his use of scientific experimentation and statistical analysis, Thorndike also contributed
to the development of empirical measurement in psychology and education. In the early
1900s, Thorndike and his colleagues began to develop objective measurement instruments that
could be applied to educational contexts, especially in the measurement of human intelligence.
For instance, in 1904, Thorndike published An Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social
Measurements. Through efforts such as this, Thorndike was able to promote the quantitative
measurement of educational phenomenon and linked the field of statistics to the field of education
(Lagemann, 2000, p. 65). Thorndike’s use of statistical analysis and large-scale quantitative
testing was especially evident in his contribution to the development of the understanding of
intelligence as a multifaceted entity rather than a single, general intelligence as theorized by
Charles Spearman. Thorndike theorized that there were three categories of intelligence, abstract,
mechanical, and social, rather than the single “g” that Spearman proposed. One of his significant
publications in the area of intelligence was The Measurement of Intelligence in 1927.
THORNDIKE AND EDUCATION
Thorndike’s application of his psychological principles and methods in the field of education is
still a powerful influence on the field today. Thorndike applied his theory to education in publications
such as his 1901 Notes on Child Study, the 1912 Education: A First Book, his three-volume
Educational Psychology that was published in 1913, and later works such as The Teacher’s Word
Book in 1921 and The Fundamentals of Learning in 1932. Today in the field of educational
psychology, Thorndike’s influence on education through behavioral psychology, standardized
testing, and the statistical analysis of educational data is evident in the behavioral and analytical
techniques that are available for educators to employ in their teaching and learning, classroom
management, motivation, and assessment practices. The knowledge, skills, and dispositions of
many school administrators also reflect Thorndike’s behavioral and quantitative ideas and perspectives.
In fact, in 1913 Thorndike and George D. Strayer published one of the first books for
school administrators, Educational Administration: Quantitative Studies. However, Thorndike’s
influence also extends to curriculum, the acquisition of knowledge, and the role of educators.
Thorndike’s Influence on Curriculum
In contemporary education, organization of curriculum is predominately disciplinary, not interdisciplinary,
in nature. Curriculum that is organized around disciplines (i.e., math, science, social
studies, language arts, fine arts) is one in which students study each discipline as a separate body