Skinner box
n. A soundproof, light-resistant box or cage used in laboratories to isolate an animal for experiments in operant conditioning and usually containing only a bar or lever to be pressed by the animal to gain a reward, such as food, or to avoid a painful stimulus, such as a shock.
[After Burrhus Frederick Skinner.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Skinner box
n (Psychology) 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
[C20: named after B. F. Skinner]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Skin′ner box`
n. a box used in experiments in animal learning, esp. in operant conditioning, typically equipped with a device that gives the animal a reward, as food, or a painful stimulus, as a mild shock, for a particular performance.
[1940–45; after B. French.
Skinner]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.