Question

Edward Thorndike observed cats learning to escape from boxes to obtain a piece of fish and derived from these observations the "law of effect." This was an early statement of:

A) Classical conditioning theory
B) Operant conditioning theory
C) Social cognitive theory
D) Behaviorism

Answer 1

Edward Thorndike's observation of cats escaping boxes for a fish led to the 'law of effect', an early statement of B) Operant conditioning theory, which is behavior modified by its consequences.

Step-by-step explanation:

Edward Thorndike observed cats learning to escape from boxes to obtain a piece of fish, which led to the derivation of the "law of effect." The correct answer to this is B) Operant conditioning theory. The law of effect is an early statement of operant conditioning, a type of learning where behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences. Positive consequences tend to increase the behavior, while negative consequences tend to decrease it.

B. F. Skinner, using the law of effect as a foundation, conducted experiments with animals in a Skinner box where animals could trigger food rewards through certain behaviors, further developing the theory of operant conditioning.

In contrast, classical conditioning involves learning to associate two stimuli together to elicit a behavior, with famous experiments by Pavlov demonstrating this with dogs. Operant conditioning is more about the consequences of a behavior modifying that behavior.