Thorndike produced two “laws” of learning: (1) The Law of Exercise – repetition strengthens learning. (Or, “Practice makes perfect”.) Learning poetry, lines of a play, math’s tables by repetition is called Rote Learning or “Parrot Fashion”. (2) The Law of Effect – the effect of reward is to strengthen learning. (Or, “If it’s pleasurable, it will be repeated”.) Thorndike found reward (law 2) to be more effective than mere repetition (law 1).
