Edwin Ray Guthrie (9 January 1886 – 23 April 1959) was a philosopher of mathematics who turned to psychology later in life. He was considered a pioneer in learning theory following the work of Edward Thorndike and was one of the top 3 learning theorists along with the likes of Clark L. Hull and Edward C. Tolman. His work followed a Behaviorism style of psychology which focuses on only observable behavior in people and animals and it obviously was reflected in his learning theory. Guthrie stated that “When a familiar pattern is discovered, the response last following that pattern will be evoked” (Guthrie, 1959). He was also a celebrated teacher and towards the mature end of his career the head of the American Psychological Association(1945-1946).
Guthrie, E. R. (1959). Association by contiguity. In Sigmund Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A
study of a science (Vol. 2, pp. 158–195). New York: McGraw-Hill