At a Glance
The law of effect helps explain why we repeat some behaviors and not others.
When something good happens after behavior, we’re more likely to engage in that behavior again.
Examples of the Law of Effect
Imagine that you arrive early to work one day by accident.
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Your boss notices and praises your diligence.
The praise makes you feel good, so it reinforces the behavior.
You start showing up for work a little bit early each day to keep receiving your bosss commendations.
Because a pleasing consequence followed the behavior, the action became more likely to be repeated in the future.
More Examples
Who Discovered the Law of Effect?
F. Skinner, this notion has its roots in the early work of psychologistEdward Thorndike.
In his experiments, Thorndike utilized what is known as puzzle boxes to study how animals learn.
Thorndike would place a cat inside the puzzle box and then place a piece of meat outside the box.
He would then observe the animals efforts to escape and obtain the food.
He recorded how long each animal took to figure out how to free itself from the box.
Thorndike noted that with each trial, the cats became much faster at opening the door.
If an unfavorable outcome follows an action, then it becomes less likely to be repeated.
In fact, B.F. Skinner based his theory of operant conditioning on the law of effect.
Operant Conditioning
Inoperant conditioning, behaviors that arereinforcedare strengthened.
Behaviors that arepunished, however, are weakened.
Many behavioral principles remain in use today.
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B.F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.
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