A pigeon or rat is taught to press a lever to gain access to food pellets. Also known as an operant conditioning chamber?

• A. Skinner box
• B. Shaping chamber
• C. Pavlovian chamber
• D. Cognitive chamber

Answer: (A)

This scenario shows operant conditioning in action, where a voluntary action is strengthened by its consequence. The pigeon or rat learns that pressing the lever yields food pellets, so the lever-press behavior increases because it’s reinforced. The device used for this is called a Skinner box, named after B. F. Skinner, and it’s the standard operant conditioning chamber designed to study these reinforcement-based behaviors. The other terms don’t fit because shaping chamber would refer to the process of guiding behavior rather than the apparatus, Pavlovian chamber would imply classical conditioning with reflexive responses, and cognitive chamber isn’t a recognized term in this context.