Edward Thorndike
| Edward L. Thorndike | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Edward Lee Thorndike August 31, 1874 Williamsburg, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 1949 (aged 74) Montrose, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Roxbury Latin School, Wesleyan University, Harvard University, Columbia University |
| Occupation | Psychologist |
| Employer | Teachers College, Columbia University |
| Known for | Father of modern educational psychology |
| Title | Professor |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Moulton (married August 29, 1900) |
Edward Lee Thorndike (August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on Comparative psychology and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for modern educational psychology. He also worked on solving industrial problems, such as employee exams and testing. He was a member of the board of the Psychological Corporation and served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Thorndike as the ninth most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Edward Thorndike had a powerful impact on reinforcement theory and behavior analysis, providing the basic framework for empirical laws in behavior psychology with his Law of Effect. Through his contributions to the behavioral psychology field came his major impacts on education, where the Law of Effect has great influence in the classroom.
Thorndike, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, was the son of Edward R and Abbie B Thorndike, a Methodist minister in Lowell, Massachusetts. Thorndike graduated from The Roxbury Latin School (1891), in West Roxbury, Massachusetts and from Wesleyan University (B.S. 1895). He earned an M.A. at Harvard University in 1897. His two brothers (Lynn and Ashley) also became important scholars. The younger, Lynn, was a medievalist specializing in the history of science and magic, while the older, Ashley, was an English professor and noted authority on Shakespeare.
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