Edward Lee "Ted" Thorndike (August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949) was an American
psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at
Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on
Comparative psychology and the
learning process led to the theory of
connectionism and helped lay the scientific foundation for modern
educational psychology. He also worked on solving industrial problems, such as employee exams and testing. He was a member of the board of the
Psychological Corporation and served as president of the
American Psychological Association in 1912. A
Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Thorndike as the ninth most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Edward Thorndike had a powerful impact on reinforcement theory and behavior analysis, providing the basic framework for empirical laws in behavior psychology with his Law of Effect. Through his contributions to the behavioral psychology field came his major impacts on education, where the Law of Effect has great influence in the classroom.