Edward Thorndike

Edward Lee Thorndike (1874 to 1949) was an American psychologist who founded the field of educational psychology. He spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he pioneered the scientific study of learning. His theory of connectionism held that learning consists of forming associations, or connections, between stimuli and responses, and his law of effect stated that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated while those followed by discomfort tend to fade. These ideas gave educational psychology an experimental foundation and directly shaped later behaviorist approaches to teaching and classroom management. A prolific researcher, Thorndike ranked among the most-cited psychologists of the twentieth century and served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912, cementing his influence over how psychology's scientific methods were applied to schooling and human learning.