Operant

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of learning where behavior is modified through consequences such as rewards or punishments
2. A concept in psychology where behavior is influenced by its consequences, including reinforcement and punishment
3. Referring to a specific form of learning where actions are shaped by the outcomes they produce, including rewards and penalties

Etymology: "Operant" comes from Latin "operāns," the present participle of "operari," meaning "to work" or "to act," which in turn comes from "opus," "work." The Latin form gave English a word meaning simply "operating" or "acting," an adjective and noun describing something in action. Its Middle English form reached English long before anyone applied it to behaviour. The psychological sense is a much later extension. Its link to "operant" lies in the verb's old sense of producing an effect: an organism acts on its environment, and the environment's response then shapes what it does next. The word therefore carries the sense of working on the world, which is exactly what the behaviourist concept describes.

Synonyms: active, effectual, functional, operative, working

Antonyms: inactive, ineffective, dormant, nonfunctional, useless