operant conditioning

American  

noun

1. conditioning.

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Etymology

Origin of operant conditioning

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

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

Skinner’s operant conditioning theories allowed trainers to reward more precise behaviors in animals and delay their gratification, too — helping animals to “act” in a scene without always looking to a trainer for instructions or treats.

From New York Times