Law of Effect

The Law of Effect, as stated by psychological theorist Thorndike, deals with what is called “stimulus-response” reaction that is exhibited by living creatures. Stimulus-response means exhibiting a reaction to some form of reward. This law is based on the observation of the effects that rewards have on animal behavior in test conditions.

For example, an animal can be taught to push a lever to receive a bite of food as a reward. When the animal receives a treat for its behavior, it becomes more willing to continue to perform the behavior. In this example, you can see the effect the reward has the animal's behavior.