Psychology Roots 246
Skinner Box
The Skinner Box was created by Behaviorist B.F. Skinner who used it to study animals such as rats and pigeons. The chamber (in the shape of a box) contains either a lever or key that can be pressed in order to receive reinforcements such as food and water. There was also a mechanism that recorded all the behaviors of the animals, the schedules of reinforcement the animals were on, etc. It was a very controlled environment that Skinner used to meticulously study behavior. The Skinner Box created what is known as Free Operant Procedure – responses can be made and recorded continuously without the need to stop the experiment for the experimenter to record the responses made by the animal.
