This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
Skinner box
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun Psychology.
a box used in experiments in animal learning, especially in operant conditioning, equipped with a mechanism that automatically gives the animal food or other reward or permits escape, as by opening a door.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of Skinner box
First recorded in 1940–45; named after B. F. Skinner
Words nearby Skinner box
skinking, skinless, skinned, skinner, Skinner, B. F., Skinner box, Skinnerian, skinnery, skinny, skinny-dip, skin off one's nose
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for Skinner box
Skinner box
noun
a device for studying the learning behaviour of animals, esp rats and pigeons, consisting of a box in which the animal can move a lever to obtain a reward, such as a food pellet, or a punishment, such as an electric shock
Word Origin for Skinner box
C20: named after B. F. Skinner
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012