Thorndike's theory falls under which of the following categories?

Concept: Theories of learning in educational psychology are broadly classified by what is treated as the driver of behaviour change. Behaviourist theories treat learning as an externally observable stimulus-response (S-R) process, shaped purely by reinforcement and punishment, with no reference to inner mental states. Cognitive theories instead focus on internal mental processes — how a learner perceives, organises, and constructs knowledge. Psychoanalytic theory explains development through unconscious drives and internal conflict.

Application: Edward Thorndike's theory — built on the Law of Effect and connectionism — describes learning purely as the trial-and-error strengthening or weakening of stimulus-response bonds: a response followed by a satisfying consequence is strengthened, one followed by a dissatisfying consequence is weakened. This is a purely externally-conditioned S-R account, with no internal cognitive structure or unconscious motive involved.

• Cognitive theory (e.g. Piaget's stages, Bruner's modes of representation) explains learning through internal mental structures and active knowledge construction — Thorndike's account has no such internal component.

• Psychoanalytic theory (Freud) explains personality development through unconscious drives and psychosexual conflict — unrelated to Thorndike's trial-and-error, consequence-driven account.

• 'None of these' does not hold, because one of the three listed schools of thought does correctly classify Thorndike's account.

Result: Since Thorndike's theory is a purely stimulus-response, reinforcement-driven account with no cognitive or unconscious component, it is classified as a Behaviouristic theory.