Thorndike puzzle box

The Thorndike puzzle box was a scientific apparatus used in early experiments on animal learning. Developed by psychologist Edward L. Thorndike, these boxes were cages from which an animal, typically a cat, could escape by performing a specific action, such as operating a lever or a button.1

Thorndike used these puzzle boxes to study how animals learn through trial and error. He observed that animals would initially behave randomly but, with repeated trials, would become more efficient at performing the action needed to escape and receive a reward, like food. This led to his "law of effect," which proposed that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated. These studies were foundational in the field of behaviorism and influenced later work on conditioning.234