Edward Thorndike
Edward Thorndike
Edward Lee "Ted" Thorndikewas 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth31 August 1874
CityWilliamsburg, MA
CountryUnited States of America
Edward Thorndike quotes about
The un-conscious distortion of the facts is almost harmless compared to the unconscious neglect of an animal's mental life until it verges on the unusual and marvelous.
To the intelligent man with an interest in human nature it must often appear strange that so much of the energy of the scientific world has been spent on the study of the body and so little on the study of the mind.
This growth in the number, speed of formation, permanence, delicacy and complexity of associations possible for an animal reaches its acme in the case of man.
Amongst the minds of animals that of man leads, not as a demigod from another planet, but as a king from the same race.
From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.
The real difference between a man's scientific judgments about himself and the judgment of others about him is he has added sources of knowledge.
Nowhere more truly than in his mental capacities is man a part of nature.
Psychology is the science of the intellects, characters and behavior of animals including man.
It will, of course, be understood that directly or indirectly, soon or late, every advance in the sciences of human nature will contribute to our success in controlling human nature and changing it to the advantage of the common weal.
There is no reasoning, no process of inference or comparison; there is no thinking about things, no putting two and two together; there are no ideas - the animal does not think of the box or of the food or of the act he is to perform.
Some statements concern the conscious states of the animal, what he is to himself as an inner life; others concern his original and acquired ways of response, his behavior, what he is an outside observer
The restriction of studies of human intellect and character to studies of conscious states was not without influence on a scientific studies of animal psychology.
He who learns and runs away, lives to learn another day.
The function of intellect is to provide a means of modifying our reactions to the circumstances of life, so that we may secure pleasure, the symptom of welfare.