According to Thorndike's Law of Effect, which type of consequences make a response more likely to be repeated?

• A. Punishing consequences
• B. Unrelated outcomes
• C. Satisfying consequences
• D. Neutral consequences

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is that the outcome after a behavior influences how likely that behavior is to happen again. When a consequence is satisfying or rewarding, it reinforces the action, making it more likely to be repeated in the future. This is the essence of Thorndike’s Law of Effect: behavior followed by pleasing results tends to be repeated, while behavior followed by unpleasant results is less likely to occur again. In Thorndike’s puzzle-box experiments, cats learned to perform actions that led to getting food, because those outcomes were satisfying. Conversely, consequences that are punishing discourage the behavior, neutral outcomes don’t really change how often the action is done, and unrelated outcomes don’t influence the behavior since they’re not tied to the action.