Editing Operant conditioning chamber (section)

== History ==
[[File:Original "Puzzle Box" Apparatus Design.png|alt=An old black and white drawing of a puzzle box used by Edward Thorndike. The box looks similar to a cage with an opening at the front. The front door is connected to wiring which connects to a lever.|thumb|Original puzzle box designed by [[Edward Thorndike]]]]
In 1898, American psychologist, [[Edward Thorndike]] proposed the '[[law of effect]]', which formed the basis of operant conditioning.<ref>{{Cite book| vauthors = Gray P |title=Psychology|publisher=Worth Publishers|year=2007|location=New York|pages=108–109|language=English}}</ref> Thorndike conducted experiments to discover how cats learn new behaviors. His work involved monitoring cats as they attempted to escape from puzzle boxes. The puzzle box trapped the animals until they moved a lever or performed an action which triggered their release.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Edward Thorndike – Law of Effect {{!}} Simply Psychology|url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/edward-thorndike.html|access-date=November 14, 2021|website=www.simplypsychology.org}}</ref> Thorndike ran several trials and recorded the time it took for them to perform the actions necessary to escape. He discovered that the cats seemed to learn from a trial-and-error process rather than insightful inspections of their environment. The animals learned that their actions led to an effect, and the type of effect influenced whether the behavior would be repeated. Thorndike's 'law of effect' contained the core elements of what would become known as [[operant conditioning]]. B. F. Skinner expanded upon Thorndike's existing work.<ref name=":0" /> Skinner theorized that if a behavior is followed by a reward, that behavior is more likely to be repeated, but added that if it is followed by some sort of punishment, it is less likely to be repeated. He introduced the word reinforcement into Thorndike's law of effect.<ref name=":4" /> Through his experiments, Skinner discovered the [[Operant learning|law of operant learning]] which included extinction, punishment and generalization.<ref name=":4" />

Skinner designed the operant conditioning chamber to allow for specific hypothesis testing and behavioural observation. He wanted to create a way to observe animals in a more controlled setting as [[observation]] of behaviour in nature can be unpredictable.<ref name=":1" />