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Edward Lee Thorndike

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Early Life

Edward Lee Thorndike(1874-1949, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. He earned an M.A. at Harvard University in 1897. While he was at Harvard he became very interested in how animals learn. He went on and became an American psychologist. To be more specific, Thorndike was a behavioral psychologist. His work on animal behavior and the learning process led to this theory. He conducted a famous experiment dealing with cats. Thorndike put cats into a cage and timed how long it took them to escape. He soon discovered that it took the cats less time each time they did it. This is experiment is what his theory is based on.

      "behaviors that result in positive outcome will be repeated, and those that result n negative consequence will be avoided" reported Thorndike explain the meaning of his experiment

Outlook on Violence

Thorndike later applied this theory to the school room classes. He thought that if school included classes that were more practical and less intellectual than subjects like mathematics or languages. He claimed students would see immediate benefits of practical subjects and apply themselves to other subjects, which he figured would increase students success in school