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PSYCHOLOGIST

Edward Thorndike

1874 - 1949

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Edward Lee 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 educational psychology. He also worked on solving industrial problems, such as employee exams and testing. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Edward Thorndike has received more than 1,208,140 page views. His biography is available in 50 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). Edward Thorndike is the 20th most popular psychologist (down from 19th in 2019), the 206th most popular biography from United States (down from 188th in 2019) and the 7th most popular American Psychologist.

Edward Thorndike is most famous for his work on learning theory and the law of effect. His theory of learning is based on the idea that learning is a process of trial and error. The law of effect states that responses that are followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated in the future.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 71.41

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 50

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 12.10

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.53

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Edward Thorndikes by language


Among PSYCHOLOGISTS

Among psychologists, Edward Thorndike ranks 20 out of 183. Before him are Carl Rogers, Gustave Le Bon, Albert Bandura, John B. Watson, Kurt Lewin, and B. F. Skinner. After him are Melanie Klein, Anna Freud, Daniel Kahneman, Wilhelm Reich, Irvin D. Yalom, and Alfred Binet.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1874, Edward Thorndike ranks 8. Before him are Guglielmo Marconi, Robert Frost, Harry Houdini, Arnold Schoenberg, Herbert Hoover, and Howard Carter. After him are Lucy Maud Montgomery, Ernst Cassirer, Chaim Weizmann, Max Scheler, António Egas Moniz, and Johannes Stark. Among people deceased in 1949, Edward Thorndike ranks 6. Before him are Maurice Maeterlinck, Richard Strauss, Sigrid Undset, George Gurdjieff, and Georgi Dimitrov. After him are Margaret Mitchell, Hassan al-Banna, Charles Ponzi, James Ensor, Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and Friedrich Bergius.

Others Born in 1874

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Others Deceased in 1949

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Edward Thorndike ranks 206 out of 18,182. Before him are B. F. Skinner (1904), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), Barry White (1944), Henry Fonda (1905), David Rockefeller (1915), and Christopher Reeve (1952). After him are Jesse Owens (1913), Mel Gibson (1956), Philip K. Dick (1928), Charlton Heston (1923), Coen brothers (null), and Buster Keaton (1895).

Others born in United States

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Among PSYCHOLOGISTS In United States

Among psychologists born in United States, Edward Thorndike ranks 7. Before him are Abraham Maslow (1908), John Dewey (1859), William James (1842), Carl Rogers (1902), John B. Watson (1878), and B. F. Skinner (1904). After him are Irvin D. Yalom (1931), Lawrence Kohlberg (1927), Jerome Bruner (1915), Paul Ekman (1934), Howard Gardner (1943), and Milton H. Erickson (1901).

American born Psychologists

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