operant
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
-
a person or thing that operates
-
psychol any response by an organism that is not directly caused by a stimulus
Etymology
Origin of operant
1595–1605; < Late Latin operant- (stem of operāns, present participle of operārī; operate ); -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Verbal and operant responses of young children to vocal versus instrumental song performances.
From Literature
Clive Wynne, founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, ascribed the talking dogs’ skills to operant conditioning rather than an understanding of the words they seem to use.
From Seattle Times
Even Devine says that she thinks Bunny’s “speech” is primarily operant conditioning, where Bunny has made an association between pressing a button and something happening.
From The Verge
The Twittering Machine, as a wholly designed operant conditioning chamber, needs none of the expedients of the casino or opium den.
From The Guardian
The prank had taken a page out of 20th-century behaviorist B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning playbook by allegedly teaching pigeons to peck for a food reward whenever the birds detected a relevant search result.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
