Editing Law of effect (section)

== History ==
This principle, discussed early on by [[C. Lloyd Morgan|Lloyd Morgan]], is usually associated with the [[connectionism]] of [[Edward Thorndike]], who said that if an association is followed by a "satisfying state of affairs" it will be strengthened and if it is followed by an "annoying state of affairs" it will be weakened.<ref>Thorndike, E. L. (1898, 1911) "Animal Intelligence: an Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals" Psychological Monographs #8</ref><ref>A. Charles Catania. "Thorndike's Legency: Learning Selection, and the law of effect", p. 425–426. University of Mary Land Baltimore</ref>

The modern version of the law of effect is conveyed by the notion of [[reinforcement]] as it is found in [[operant conditioning]]. The essential idea is that behavior can be modified by its consequences, as Thorndike found in his famous experiments with hungry cats in puzzle boxes. The cat was placed in a box that could be opened if the cat pressed a lever or pulled a loop. Thorndike noted the amount of time it took the cat to free itself on successive trials in the box. He discovered that during the first few trials the cat would respond in many ineffective ways, such as scratching at the door or the ceiling, finally freeing itself with the press or pull by trial-and-error. With each successive trial, it took the cat, on average, less and less time to escape. Thus, in modern terminology, the correct response was reinforced by its consequence, release from the box.<ref>[http://icebreakerideas.com/learning-theories/#Connectionism_E_Thorndike ''Connectionism'']. Thorndike, Edward.Q Retrieved Dec 10, 2010</ref>