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operant
This term is primarily used within the specialized register of behavioral psychology and neuroscience. It describes a specific mechanism of learning where an action is strengthened or weakened based on the outcome that follows it. This distinguishes it from respondent behavior, which is an involuntary reflex to a stimulus.
When used as a noun, the term refers to the specific action being measured or reinforced. While it can be pluralized in technical reports to describe multiple types of behaviors, it is most frequently encountered as an adjective modifying "conditioning" or "behavior" to specify the psychological framework being applied.
Meanings
Relating to or denoting behavior that is modified by its consequences, such as rewards or punishments, in the context of behavioral psychology.
The researchers studied the operant behavior of rats in a maze.
A behavior that is emitted spontaneously and is reinforced or punished by its consequences.
The subject's operant was a simple press of a lever to receive food.