Editing Operant conditioning chamber (section)

== Structure ==
[[File:Skinner box photo 02.jpg|right|thumb|300px|On the left are two mechanisms including two levers and light signals. There is a light source and speaker above the box and an electrified floor at the bottom.]]
The outside shell of an operant conditioning chamber is a large box big enough to easily accommodate the animal being used as a subject. Commonly used animals include [[rodent]]s (usually [[lab rat]]s), [[pigeon]]s, and [[primate]]s. The chamber is often [[soundproofing|sound-proof]] and light-proof to avoid distracting stimuli.

Operant conditioning chambers have at least one response mechanism that can automatically detect the occurrence of a [[behavior]]al response or action (i.e., [[pecking]], pressing, pushing, etc.). This may be a lever or series of lights which the animal will respond to in the presence of [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimulus]]. Typical mechanisms for primates and rats are response levers; if the subject presses the lever, the opposite end closes a switch that is monitored by a computer or other programmed device.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fernández-Lamo I, Delgado-García JM, Gruart A | title = When and Where Learning is Taking Place: Multisynaptic Changes in Strength During Different Behaviors Related to the Acquisition of an Operant Conditioning Task by Behaving Rats | journal = Cerebral Cortex | volume = 28 | issue = 3 | pages = 1011–1023 | date = March 2018 | pmid = 28199479 | doi = 10.1093/cercor/bhx011 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Typical mechanisms for pigeons and other [[bird]]s are [[telegraph key|response keys]] with a switch that closes if the bird pecks at the key with sufficient [[force]].<ref name=":2" /> The other minimal requirement of an operant conditioning chamber is that it has a means of delivering a [[primary reinforcer]] such as a food reward.[[File:Operant Conditioning Involves Choice.png|alt=A pigeon is pecking at one of four lights which corresponds with the coloured stimuli presented. It correctly pecks the yellow light (was shown a yellow image) and is therefore, rewarded with food pellets.|thumb|A pigeon offering the correct response to stimuli is rewarded with food pellets.]]A simple configuration, such as one response mechanism and one feeder, may be used to investigate a variety of psychological [[Phenomenon|phenomena]]. Modern operant conditioning chambers may have multiple mechanisms, such as several response levers, two or more feeders, and a variety of devices capable of generating different [[stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]] including lights, sounds, music, figures, and drawings. Some configurations use an [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] panel for the computer generation of a variety of visual stimuli or a set of [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] lights to create patterns they wish to be replicated.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jackson K, Hackenberg TD | title = Token reinforcement, choice, and self-control in pigeons | journal = Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior | volume = 66 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–49 | date = July 1996 | pmid = 8755699 | pmc = 1284552 | doi = 10.1901/jeab.1996.66-29 }}</ref>

Some operant conditioning chambers can also have electrified nets or floors so that shocks can be given to the animals as a [[positive punishment]] or lights of different colors that give information about when the food is available as a [[Positive_reinforcement#Positive_reinforcement|positive reinforcement]].<ref>{{cite book
 |editor-last1=Craighead
 |editor-first1=W. Edward
 |editor-last2=Nemeroff
 |editor-first2=Charles B.
 |author-link=Charles Nemeroff
 |date=2004
 |title=The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science 3rd ed.
 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey
 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 |page=803
 |isbn=0-471-22036-1
}}
</ref>