Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skinner box

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.49 in modern English

Syllables
skin-ner box
IPA
23
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A box or cage in which a subject (usually an animal) may be isolated from outside influences and studied; used in operant conditioning experiments where the subject can operate a lever to obtain a reward or avoid a painful shock.

Etymology

From Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904-1990), its inventor.

Inflected Forms

Skinner boxes (plural)

Questions

What does skinner box mean?
A box or cage in which a subject (usually an animal) may be isolated from outside influences and studied; used in operant conditioning experiments where the subject can operate a lever to obtain a reward or avoid a painful shock.
Where does skinner box come from?
From Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904-1990), its inventor.

How to pronounce skinner box

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “skinner box”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “skinner box”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “skinner box” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.