A thesis in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in

The Law of Effect

Thorndike‟s Law of Effect derives from the idea that pleasant prior occurrences encourage responses to be repeated, while unpleasant prior occurrences gradually discourage such responses to be repeated. In fact, he even stated that those behavioral responses that were closely followed by satisfactory results were more likely to become established patterns and to occur again in a response to the same stimulus. He called these pleasant events „satisfiers‟ and unpleasant events „annoyers‟.

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Besides, it is also crucial to note that this theory suggested a connection between the stimulus and response and not the response and the reward. Lefrancois, (2000) summaries the Law of Effect as responses just prior to satisfying states of affairs are more likely to be repeated while responses just prior to an annoying state of affairs are more likely not to be repeated. In short, the level of satisfaction derived from a response is directly proportional to the likelihood the response is repeated and therefore enables effective learning via the trial and error approach.

This law can be applied in a classroom situation that has been equipped with ICTs. For example, if students are not paying attention in the classroom because they are not capable of handling the use of the computers, they will distract the teacher and the teacher will not be able to teach effectively. In fact the teacher will become de-motivated and his or her effort to create interest among his students may fail. In addition, the teacher may react hostilely and as such introduce annoyers into the teaching, making the learning experience less conducive. Subsequently, with the less satisfying response, the students too lose concentration and together this exacerbates the deteriorating condition in the learning process in the class. Therefore, students will not gain any benefit from the lesson and their interest in ICT application will also diminish. In this case, there will be no satisfying state of affairs and the lesson will become a complete annoyance.
However, if the students realize that by being attentive and showing interest to the teacher‟s lesson in order to gain knowledge and skill in using the ICT, the

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teacher will be motivated and able to teach effectively and this will make the lesson more interesting. To make such a situation a reality, the teacher must first ensure that the software used is compatible with the IT ability of the students while at the same time, the contents of the learning must be attractive to the students. Therefore, the students will be satisfied and they will eventually comprehend the lesson better, making the learning process more meaningful. Reciprocally, the teacher will also be equally motivated by the pleasant situation and will continue to provide satisfiers for the students. The positive outcome here would definitely be beneficial to both teachers and pupils.

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