Summary
Highlights
Pavlov's experiments with dogs demonstrated classical conditioning—a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that already elicits a response. Once connected, the previously neutral stimulus triggers the response.
Psychologists have long explored decision-making, and Thorndike's Stimulus-Response Theory is a foundational concept. Proposed by Edward Thorndike, it suggests learning is based on the relationship between a stimulus and a response, exemplified by Pavlov's famous experiment where food (stimulus) led to salivation (response).
Thorndike's work with cats in puzzle boxes led to the Law of Effect. Cats learned to pull a lever to escape and get fish. If a response to a stimulus produces a satisfying effect, it's likely to be repeated; if unsatisfying, it's avoided. This strengthens the stimulus-response relationship.
Initially, Thorndike believed frequent connections strengthened the stimulus-response link (Law of Exercise), but he later revised this. He found that if a response led to an unsatisfying effect, the connection wouldn't strengthen. The Law of Readiness states that the subject's eagerness or readiness to learn greatly influences the strength of the stimulus-response connection.
Other behaviorists built on Thorndike's work. Edwin Guthrie's Contiguity Theory suggested that the immediacy of a response after a stimulus affects the strength of their association. Clark Hull's Drive Reduction Theory in the 1940s and 50s proposed that all human behavior is driven by the need to reduce internal drives (like hunger or desire for comfort) and return to a state of homeostasis.
Despite their influence, stimulus-response theories face criticism for being overly simplistic and deterministic, not fully accounting for complex human thought processes and experiences. This led to the development of other psychological schools of thought, such as humanism, positive psychology, and cognitive psychology, which acknowledge the greater complexity of human behavior and decision-making beyond mere stimulus-response.