Editing Operant conditioning chamber (section)

== Purpose ==

[[File:Augustin Lignier rat selfie 1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|A rat presses a button in an operant conditioning chamber.]] An operant conditioning chamber allows researchers to study [[animal behaviour]] and response to [[Conditioning, operant|conditioning]]. They do this by teaching an animal to perform certain actions (like pressing a lever) in response to specific stimuli. When the correct action is performed the animal receives positive reinforcement in the form of food or other reward. In some cases, the chamber may deliver [[Positive_punishment#Positive|positive punishment]] to discourage incorrect responses. For example, researchers have tested certain [[invertebrate]]s' reaction to operant conditioning using a "heat box".<ref name=":3">{{cite journal | vauthors = Brembs B | title = Operant conditioning in invertebrates | journal = Current Opinion in Neurobiology | volume = 13 | issue = 6 | pages = 710–717 | date = December 2003 | pmid = 14662373 | doi = 10.1016/j.conb.2003.10.002 | s2cid = 2385291 | url = https://epub.uni-regensburg.de/28572/1/brembs.pdf }}</ref> The box has two walls used for manipulation; one wall can undergo temperature change while the other cannot. As soon as the invertebrate crosses over to the side which can undergo temperature change, the researcher will increase the temperature. Eventually, the invertebrate will be conditioned to stay on the side that does not undergo a temperature change. After conditioning, even when the temperature is turned to its lowest setting, the invertebrate will avoid that side of the box.<ref name=":3" />

Skinner's pigeon studies involved a series of levers. When the lever was pressed, the pigeon would receive a food reward.<ref name=":2" /> This was made more complex as researchers studied animal learning behaviours. A pigeon would be placed in the conditioning chamber and another one would be placed in an adjacent box separated by a [[Poly(methyl methacrylate)|plexiglass]] wall. The pigeon in the chamber would learn to press the lever to receive food as the other pigeon watched. The pigeons would then be switched, and researchers would observe them for signs of [[cultural learning]].