Thorndike's laws of learning

n. Three generalizations concerning the acquisition of stimulus-response links suggested by Edward Thorndike. The law of effect suggests that rewarded behavior tends to be repeated. The law of exercise suggests that the bonds between a stimulus and a response are strengthened by practice and weakened by the passage of time in which they are not practiced. The law of readiness suggests that previously learned responses can be chained into more complex sets of behavior if doing so will satisfy a goal.