# Edward Thorndike

> He put cats in puzzle boxes and timed how long it took them to escape — then built a theory of learning that shaped a century of classrooms. His "law of effect" made reinforcement the lever of behavior change.

*American psychologist*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/edward-thorndike

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Academic ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631))
- **Category:** Academics
- **Country:** United States
- **Born:** 1874-08-31
- **Died:** 1949-08-09
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Edward Lee Thorndike was born August 31, 1874, and spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His comparative psychology experiments led to his theory of connectionism, laying the scientific foundation for educational psychology. The law of effect — his core contribution — established that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to recur, giving empirical shape to reinforcement theory and behavior analysis. He also applied his methods to industrial problems like employee testing. He served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1912 and sat on the board of the Psychological Corporation. A 2002 survey ranked him the ninth-most cited psychologist of the 20th century. He died August 9, 1949, having turned the puzzle box into a blueprint for the classroom.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 55.4 / 100
- **Momentum:** 0.0 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 24.3 / 100
- **Now attention:** 0.0 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 70.0 / 100

## Topics
#Academics, #Academic, #Psychology, #United States, #Americas, #19th Century

## Sources
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q309765)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Edward%20Thorndike)
- [Edvard Torndayk](https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Torndayk)
- [Эдвард Лі Торндайк](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AD%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%9B%D1%96_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BA)
- [Едуард Торндайк](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BA)
- [এডওয়ার্ড থর্নডিক](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1_%E0%A6%A5%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Торндайк Эдуард Ли](https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BA_%D0%AD%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%9B%D0%B8)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [ادوارد ثورندایک](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF_%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%A9)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Edward Thorndike](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [אדוארד לי תורנדייק](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%93%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%93_%D7%9C%D7%99_%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A7)
- [एडवर्ड थार्नडाइक](https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1_%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%87%E0%A4%95)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Էդուարդ Լի Տորնդայք](https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B7%D5%A4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A4_%D4%BC%D5%AB_%D5%8F%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B6%D5%A4%D5%A1%D5%B5%D6%84)
- [Edward Lee Thorndike](https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Wikiquote](https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [Wikiquote](https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Lee_Thorndike)
- [Wikiquote](https://uz.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike)
- [إدوارد لي ثورندايك](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A5%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF_%D9%84%D9%8A_%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%83)

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