Law of Effect

From WikEd

Introduction

The law of effect is the idea that behaviors are selected by their consequences. Behavior that is repeated is often followed by a desired consequence and behavior that is not repeated had previously been followed by a bad consequence. It is similar to positive recognition in that a child does a positive behavior and is praised and rewarded. The assumption is that the child will continue with these behaviors (Canter & Canter, 57) this places the responsibility for the action on the students and helps motivate them to succeed by creating a positive atmosphere in the classroom. This also gives sincere and meaningful attention to students and becomes a positive part of a classroom discipline plan. By using positive discipline, students who are exhibiting proper behaviors are given attention. Those students who previously used poor behavior to gain attention will soon loose the reinforcement of recognition and begin to seek attention with positive behaviors. (Canter & Canter, 59) Additionally, the positive recognition does not always have to be given directly to the student; additional recognitions could be positive notes home, phone calls home or choice time. They can also be class oriented so that the class can earn rewards for positive behaviors. (Canter & Canter, 71)

Developed by Edward Thorndike, the law of effect is closely related to the principle of Positive Reinforcement.

The law of effect is engrained in Thorndike's research.

Thorndike's theory generally consists of three primary laws: (1) law of effect - responses to a situation which are followed by a rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened and become habitual responses to that situation, (2) Law of Readiness - a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked, and (3) law of exercise - connections become strengthened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued. A corollary of the law of effect was that responses that reduce the likelihood of achieving a rewarding state (i.e., punishments, failures) will decrease in strength.-Thorndike information

Personal Experiences and Testimonies

There are many things that show this basic psychological principle. I think the first one that comes to mind, from a parent’s point of view, is toilet training. When we want out kids to use the toilet, we make every effort to praise them when they tell us BEFORE they go. Kids thrive on praise. Although, if praise does not work, we will stoop to candy, stickers or other small prizes to keep our kids using the potty. My kids happened to prefer smiley face stickers. Thorndike's law says that behavior that results in a positive response will be repeated.

In a school setting, Thorndike's law is all over the place. Teams use team bucks to enforce good behaviors, constantly reminding students of the prizes they can purchase with their "bucks" at the end of the quarter. while some may think we are 'buying' their good behavior, I prefer to think of it as showing them that doing the right things has positive consequences in the end. This is just what Thorndike's law imparts - Debby Heater 2-08-05