*Basic

The law of effect stated that those behavioural responses that were most closely followed by a satisfying result where most likely to become established paterns and to occur again in response to the same stimulus.[1]

**Intermediate

If you work hard and then receive a promotion and a pay rise, you will be more likely to continue to put in more effort at work.[2] If you run a red light and then get a traffic ticket, you will be less likely to disobey traffic lights in future.[3] Learning is achieved when an individual is able to form associations between a particular stimulus and a response.[4] The three main laws are the law of readiness, the law of exercise, and the law of effect.[5] Edward Thorndike came up with the law of effect originally.[6] He suggested that “responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation.”[7]

***Advanced

Whereas classical conditioning depends on developing associations between events, operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behaviour.[8] Thorndike introduced the concept of reinforcement and was the first to apply psychological principles to the area of learning.[9]

Sources

[1] Editors. Law of effect. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
[2] Editors. The Law of Effect in Psychology. Verywellmind.com
[3] Editors. Thorndike's law of effect. Britannica.com
[4] Editors. What is the law of effect in psychology? Thoughtco.com
[5] Editors. The Law of Effect: Definition and Importance. Studysmarter.co.uk
[6] Thorndike, E.L (1927). The Law of Effect. Jstor.org
[7] Nevin, J (1999). Analyzing Thorndike's Law of Effect. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
[8] Meehl, P.E. On the circularity of the law of effect. Appstate.edu
[9] Gallistel, C. R (2005). Deconstructing the law of effect. Sciencedirect.com