Thorndike’s Laws of Learning 6.

Pre potency of Elements

 Edward Lee “Ted” Thorndike

 American Psychologist
Primary Laws of Learning
 Born on August 31,1874 in Massachusetts, United States
 Graduated from Wesleyan University (B.S.), Graduated from LAW OF EFFECT
Harvard University (M.A.), PhD from Columbia University, and an
Learning is strengthened when it is accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying
Instructor/Director Teacher College at Columbia University.
feeling.
 Thorndike’s studied learning in animals (usually cats).
 Spouse: Elizabeth Moulton. LAW OF EXERCISE
Thorndike’s Laws of Learning Things that are most repeated are best remembered.
Primary Laws of Learning LAW OF READINESS
1. Law of Effect The degree of preparedness and eagerness to learn.
2. Law of Exercise LAW OF EFFECT
3. Law of Readiness  Learning is strengthened when it is accompanied by a pleasant or
satisfying feeling.
 Learning is weakened when it is associated with an unpleasant
Secondary Laws of Learning feeling.
 The emotional state of the learner affect the learning.
1. Law of Primacy
 Learning takes place properly when it results in satisfaction and the
2. Law of Recency learner derives pleasure out of it.

3. Law of Intensity Educational Implications

 As a failure is accompanied by a discouraging emotional state, it

should be avoided.
Subordinate Laws of learning
 Reward and recognition play a great role in encouraging the pupil.
1. Law of Freedom  Punishments should be avoided as far as possible. Punishment
2. Law of Multiple Response produces a negative effect, and it causes discouragement.

3. Law of Set Attitude

4. Anatomy & Assimilation

5. Law of Associative shifting

Law of Exercise
  Things that are most repeated are best remembered.
 Students do not lean complex task in a single session.
 Law of Use and Disuse
- Law of Use: the learning are strengthened with repeated trial or practice.
- Law of Disuse: learning are weakened when trial or practice is
discontinued.
Educational Implications
 The teacher should provide different opportunities for learners to
practice or repeat the task. (Recall, manual drill, review etc.)
 The teacher should have constant practice in what has once been
learnt. Delayed use or long disuse may cause forgetfulness.
Law of Readiness
 The degree of preparedness and eagerness to learn
 Law of Readiness or Law of Action Tendency, which means that
learning takes place when an action tendency is aroused through
preparatory adjustment, set or attitude.
 Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally and
emotionally ready to learn, and they do not learn well if they see no
reason for learning.
Educational Implications
 The teacher should arouse curiosity for learning, so that the pupils
feel ready to imbibe the new experiences.
 The teacher should, before taking up the new lesson arouse the
interest and desire of the students to learn.
Secondary Laws of Learning
Law of Primacy
"Learning that takes place in the beginning is the best and lasting'.
Law of Law of Recency
Things most recently learned are best remembered, while the things
learned some time ago are remembered with more difficulty.
Law of Intensity
The law of intensity states that if the stimulus (experience) is real, the more
likely there is to be a change in behavior (learning).
Law of Primacy
 ‘Learning that takes place in the beginning is the best and lasting’.
 Learning should be done correctly for the first time since it is
difficult to “unlearn” or change an incorrectly learned material.
 Things learned first create a strong impression
 What is taught must be right the first time.
Educational Implications
 The learning on the first day is most vivid and strong. The teacher
also should be most serious on the first day of teaching.
 For the instructor, this means that what they teach the first time
must be correct. It is more difficult to un-teach a subject than to
teach it correctly the first time.
Law of Recency
 Things most recently learned are best remembered, while the
things learned some time ago are remembered with more difficulty.
 Frequent review and summarization help fix in the mind the
material covered.
 The recency effect is a cognitive bias in which those items, ideas, or
arguments that came last are remembered clearly than those that
came first.
Educational Implications
  Instructors recognize the law of recency when they plan a lesson Law of Analogy & Assimilation
summary or a conclusion of the lecture. Repeat, restate, or
According to this law, the individual makes use of old experiences or
reemphasize important matters at the end of a lesson to make sure
acquisitions while learning a new situation. There is a Itendency to utilize
that learners remember them instead of inconsequential details
common elements in the new situation as existed in a leirmiar past
(illogical/irrelevant).
situation.
Law of Intensity
Law of Associative
 The law of intensity states that if the stimulus (experience) is real,
Shifting
the more likely there is to be a change in behavior (learning).
 A vivid, dramatic or exciting learning experience teaches more than According to this law we may get a response, of which a learner is capable,
a routine or boring experience. associated with any other situation to which he is sensitive
 The more the intense the material taught, the more it is likely
M.Sometimes, a reaction to a certain stimulus might shift to a different one
learned.
 This is because our brains are more sensitive to changes in intensity
when the original intensity is low.

Educational Implications
 A learner will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute.
Demonstrations, skits, and models do much to intensify the learning
experiences of learners.

SUBORDINATE LAWS OF LEARNING

Law of Freedom

 Things freely learned are best learned.

Law of Multiple Response

 Confronted with a new situation the learner responds in a variety of

ways arriving at the correct response.

Law of Set Attitude

 Learning is guided by a total set or attitude of the learner, which

determines not only what the learner will do but what will satisfy
him/her.