This week's resource is a video clip showing one of Edward Thorndike's experiments with his puzzle box. Thorndike put hungry cats in these boxes and put pieces of tasty fish outside them to motivate them to escape. To escape, the cats had to push a lever and pull on a string. When first put in the box, the cats would behave in a fairly random way, pacing up and down, scratching at the sides etc., but eventually, by chance, they would push the lever and pull on the string in the correct sequence. They would then be rewarded by being able to eat the fish.

Were the behaviourists right? Children learn smart behaviors without knowing what they know New research supports the old assumption that learning can take place without the need for understanding. Edward Thorndike formulated his law of effect about 100 years ago when he discovered that cats showed no insight into how they learned to escape from puzzle boxes. Now, it appears, the same is true for children.