Edward Thorndike: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Edward Lee Thorndike

(born Aug. 31, 1874, Williamsburg, Mass., U.S. — died Aug. 9, 1949, Montrose, N.Y.) U.S. psychologist. He trained under William James and James McKeen Cattell and later taught at Columbia University (1904 – 40). A pioneer in the fields of animal learning and educational psychology, he developed a form of behaviourism known as connectionism, which holds that learning takes place through associative bonds. He contributed significantly to the development of quantitative experimental methods and to more efficient and scientifically based methods of teaching. Among his writings are Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements (1904), Principles of Teaching Based on Psychology (1906), Animal Intelligence (1911), and The Psychology of Wants, Interests, and Attitudes (1935).

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