THORNDIKE INTELLIGENCE THEORY IN PSYCHOLOGY

THORNDIKE INTELLIGENCE THEORY IN PSYCHOLOGY

Thorndike's early studies with animal behavior led him to declare his Law of Effect.

The Law of Effect states that a) Responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened; and

b) Responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened.

Thorndike's Law of Exercise continued this line of thought; a) Stimulus-response connections that are repeated are strengthened, and

b) Stimulus -response connections that are not used are weakened.

  Thorndike later conducted research that provided evidence that the Law of Exercise lacked validity. Thorndike characterized the two most basic intelligences as Trial-and-Error and Stimulus-Response Association.

Thorndike and his students used objective measurements of intelligence on human subjects as early as 1903. By the time the United States entered WWI, Thorndike had developed methods for measuring a wide variety of abilities and achievements. During the 1920's he developed a test of intelligence that consisted of completion, arithmetic, vocabulary, and directions test, known as the CAVD. This instrument was intended to measure intellectual level on an absolute scale. The logic underlying the test predicted elements of test design that eventually became the foundation of modern intelligence tests.

Thorndike drew an important distinction among three broad classes of intellectual functioning. Standard intelligence tests measured only "abstract intelligence". Also important were "mechanical intelligence - the ability to visualize relationships among objects and understand how the physical world worked", and social intelligence - the ability to function successfully in interpersonal situations". Thorndike called for instruments to develop measures for these other types of intellect.

Thorndike developed psychological CONNECTIONISM. He believed that through experience neural bonds or connections were formed between perceived stimuli and emitted responses; therefore, intellect facilitated the formation of the neural bonds. People of higher intellect could form more bonds and form them more easily than people of lower ability. The ability to form bonds was rooted in genetic potential through the genes' influence on the structure of the brain, but the content of intellect was a function of experience.

Thorndike rejected the idea that a measure of intelligence independent of cultural background was possible.
Thorndike proposed that there were four general dimensions of abstract intelligence:

Altitude: the complexity or difficulty of tasks one can perform (most important)
Width: the variety of tasks of a give difficulty
Area: a function of width and altitude
Speed: the number of tasks one can complete in a given time .