Which of the following is not included among the primary laws of learning?

Concept: Edward Thorndike, working from his puzzle-box experiments with cats, proposed the connectionism (trial-and-error) theory of learning, in which learning is the strengthening or weakening of a stimulus-response bond. He identified exactly three primary laws that govern this bonding: the law of readiness (a learner must be physically and mentally prepared for a connection to form satisfactorily), the law of exercise (a connection is strengthened through repeated practice/use and weakened through disuse), and the law of effect (a connection followed by a satisfying consequence is strengthened, while one followed by discomfort is weakened). Beyond these three, Thorndike also proposed several secondary (subsidiary) laws — including the law of multiple response, the law of set/attitude, the law of prepotency of elements, the law of response by analogy, and the law of associative shifting — which refine the mechanics of learning without being counted among the three foundational laws.

Application: The question asks which of the four listed laws is NOT one of the three primary laws. Readiness, exercise, and effect are exactly Thorndike's three primary laws. The remaining item, the law of multiple response, describes how a learner tries out a variety of responses in a new problem situation until one produces a satisfying result — this is one of Thorndike's secondary/subsidiary laws, not one of the three foundational ones.

Contrast:

• Law of readiness — one of the three primary laws (preparedness of the learner to form the connection).

• Law of exercise — one of the three primary laws (practice/repetition strengthens the connection).

• Law of effect — one of the three primary laws (a satisfying consequence strengthens the connection).

Result: Since readiness, exercise, and effect together make up the complete set of primary laws, the law of multiple response — a subsidiary law — is the one not included among them.