An experimental analysis of the law of effect.

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Abstract
The aim of these experiments was to determine whether repetition of rewarded responses is, as Thorndike contends, an automatic effect of the reward alone, or whether it is a consequence also of the learning motive present in the situation which Thorndike employed. The experiment devised, duplicated Thorndike's in all respects except that it did not possess the character of a learning experiment. The experiment was rather, for the subject, a test of extra-sensory perception, in which there existed, therefore, no reason for him to repeat previous correct responses. Results differed from Thorndike's in the following respects: (1) They failed to show the high percentage of repetition of rewarded responses which Thorndike found. (2) The general high level of repetition of wrong responses which was conspicuous in Thorndike's experiment was absent. (3) No gradient of repetition of wrong responses around rewarded ones was obtained. The results are interpreted as indicating that reward as such does not have the effect of favoring recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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