Edward Thorndike Quotes

Powerful Edward Thorndike for Daily Growth

About Edward Thorndike

Edward Lee Thorndike (August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949) was an American psychologist and educational theorist who significantly influenced behavioral psychology and education with his innovative theories and methods. Born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, he was the eldest of six children to Edward Jackson Thorndike and Emma Lee Willis. His father was a Congregational minister, which may have influenced Thorndike's later interest in psychology and its applications to human behavior. Thorndike attended Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1895 and earning his Ph.D. in 1898. His doctoral dissertation, "Animal Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals," marked the beginning of his pioneering work in the field of comparative psychology. Thorndike's most famous theory is the Law of Effect, which states that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are likely to be repeated, while those followed by unsatisfying consequences are less likely to be repeated. This theory was based on his experiments with animals, particularly cats, in puzzle boxes. In 1899, Thorndike joined Teachers College, Columbia University, where he spent the rest of his career. He became a professor in 1904 and served as the school's dean from 1924 to 1932. As an educator, Thorndike is best known for developing intelligence tests and advocating for the use of statistics in education. Some of his major works include "Educational Psychology" (1903), "The Psychological Foundations of Educational Practice" (1913), and "The Measurement of Intelligence" (1926). Thorndike's contributions to psychology, education, and the application of psychological principles to education have had a lasting impact on both fields. His work continues to be relevant today, particularly in areas such as learning theory, educational assessment, and instructional design.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

This quote by Edward Thorndike suggests that genuine education goes beyond rote learning and memorization, focusing more on understanding concepts deeply enough that they are retained over time. It implies that the true value of education lies in its ability to impact our thinking processes and problem-solving skills, fostering critical thought and adaptability rather than merely filling minds with facts that may be forgotten later.


"Everyone is a prodigy. By the age of three a child can manage about 700 different motions with the hands alone; by the age of five he can control the complex movements which ride a tricycle, and when he is six or seven he can play a simple game on the piano. These accomplishments are not due to any innate ability, but to the fact that the child has had an enormous amount of practice."

This quote by Edward Thorndike emphasizes that early childhood development is primarily shaped by practice rather than inherent talent or ability. He suggests that children's abilities to perform various tasks by ages 3, 5, and 7 are the results of extensive practice, not innate skills. The implication is that with consistent exposure and repetition, any individual has the potential to master a wide range of skills over their lifetime, further underlining the importance of early experiences and nurturing in child development.


"The future education of the nation cannot be entrusted solely to the schools; it can only be achieved by the cooperation of parents and teachers working together for the welfare of the children."

This quote emphasizes the collaborative role that both parents and educators play in a child's education. It suggests that the responsibility of nurturing future generations cannot rest solely on schools, but instead requires active participation from parents and teachers to ensure the overall well-being and success of children. In other words, the shared efforts between home and school are essential for a comprehensive, successful education system.


"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

This quote by Edward Thorndike highlights the human tendency to resist change or new ideas, especially when one's financial stability or livelihood is connected to the existing system. In essence, it suggests that people may purposely avoid understanding something novel if their income depends on maintaining the status quo, thus showing a potential conflict between personal gain and intellectual growth or progress.


"The most important factor in learning is practice."

This quote by Edward Thorndike suggests that consistent practice is crucial for effective learning. It implies that repetition and application of knowledge are key to understanding and retaining information. In other words, practical application of skills or knowledge reinforces the learning process, enhancing one's ability to recall and use this knowledge in the future.


Nowhere more truly than in his mental capacities is man a part of nature.

- Edward Thorndike

Nature, Nowhere, His, Capacities

Dogs get lost hundreds of times and no one ever notices it or sends an account of it to a scientific magazine.

- Edward Thorndike

Lost, Ever, Times, Notices

The un-conscious distortion of the facts is almost harmless compared to the unconscious neglect of an animal's mental life until it verges on the unusual and marvelous.

- Edward Thorndike

Mental, Unconscious, Almost, Marvelous

There is no reasoning, no process of inference or comparison; there is no thinking about things, no putting two and two together; there are no ideas - the animal does not think of the box or of the food or of the act he is to perform.

- Edward Thorndike

Process, Think, Comparison, Inference

Human education is concerned with certain changes in the intellects, characters and behavior of men, its problems being roughly included under these four topics: Aims, materials, means and methods.

- Edward Thorndike

Education, Means, Aims, Roughly

The function of intellect is to provide a means of modifying our reactions to the circumstances of life, so that we may secure pleasure, the symptom of welfare.

- Edward Thorndike

Circumstances, May, Means, Reactions

The real difference between a man's scientific judgments about himself and the judgment of others about him is he has added sources of knowledge.

- Edward Thorndike

Sources, Added, Judgments, Real Difference

It will, of course, be understood that directly or indirectly, soon or late, every advance in the sciences of human nature will contribute to our success in controlling human nature and changing it to the advantage of the common weal.

- Edward Thorndike

Nature, Will, Advantage, Understood

Human beings are accustomed to think of intellect as the power of having and controlling ideas and of ability to learn as synonymous with ability to have ideas. But learning by having ideas is really one of the rare and isolated events in nature.

- Edward Thorndike

Think, Intellect, Having, Controlling

From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.

- Edward Thorndike

Found, Intellect, Which, Affirm

The restriction of studies of human intellect and character to studies of conscious states was not without influence on a scientific studies of animal psychology.

- Edward Thorndike

Character, Intellect, Studies

To the intelligent man with an interest in human nature it must often appear strange that so much of the energy of the scientific world has been spent on the study of the body and so little on the study of the mind.

- Edward Thorndike

Mind, Study, Been, Human Nature

Psychology helps to measure the probability that an aim is attainable.

- Edward Thorndike

Measure, Aim, Psychology, Helps

Just as the science and art of agriculture depend upon chemistry and botany, so the art of education depends upon physiology and psychology.

- Edward Thorndike

Education, Art, Chemistry, Botany

The intellectual evolution of the race consists in an increase in the number, delicacy, complexity, permanence and speed of formation of such associations.

- Edward Thorndike

Complexity, Associations, Increase

On the whole, the psychological work of the last quarter of the nineteenth century emphasized the study of consciousness to the neglect of the total life of intellect and character.

- Edward Thorndike

Study, Last, Psychological, Nineteenth

The dog, on the other hand, has few or no ideas because his brain acts in coarse fashion and because there are few connections with each single process.

- Edward Thorndike

Ideas, Process, Other, Connections

Some statements concern the conscious states of the animal, what he is to himself as an inner life; others concern his original and acquired ways of response, his behavior, what he is an outside observer.

- Edward Thorndike

Original, Some, Statements, Response

For origin and development of human faculty we must look to these processes of association in lower animals.

- Edward Thorndike

Development, Processes, Faculty

Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.

- Edward Thorndike

Fact, Find, Eager, Folk

When, instead of merely associating some act with some situation in the animal way, we think the situation out, we have a set of particular feelings of its elements.

- Edward Thorndike

Think, Some, Set, Elements

So the animal finally performs in that situation only the fitting act.

- Edward Thorndike

Act, Finally, Performs, Animal

This growth in the number, speed of formation, permanence, delicacy and complexity of associations possible for an animal reaches its acme in the case of man.

- Edward Thorndike

Complexity, Associations, Animal

Amongst the minds of animals that of man leads, not as a demigod from another planet, but as a king from the same race.

- Edward Thorndike

Minds, Same, Amongst, Leads

Psychology is the science of the intellects, characters and behavior of animals including man.

- Edward Thorndike

Including, Characters, Behavior

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