author
Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike
1874–1949
A pioneer of educational psychology, this American psychologist helped shape how people think about learning, habit, and testing. His experiments with animals and his practical approach to measuring intelligence and achievement left a lasting mark on classrooms and psychology alike.
2 Audiobooks
Animal intelligence: Experimental studies
by Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike
The Psychology of Arithmetic
by Edward L. (Edward Lee) Thorndike
About the author
Born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, in 1874, Edward Lee Thorndike became one of the most influential American psychologists of the early 20th century. He spent nearly his entire professional career at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he developed a reputation for bringing careful measurement and experiment into the study of learning.
Thorndike is especially remembered for his work on animal behavior and trial-and-error learning, which fed into his theory of connectionism. His research helped lay groundwork for modern educational psychology, and he also wrote widely used books on teaching, learning, and mental measurement.
Beyond his laboratory studies, he played a major role in the development of intelligence, achievement, and aptitude testing. He died in 1949, but his influence can still be seen in the ways schools assess learning and in psychology's long-standing interest in how behavior is formed.