Sniffy the Virtual Rat
Psych 210 Winter Lab Assignment
Today:
1) The Experiment
2) Operant Conditioning
3) The 5 Reinforcement Schedules we’ll use
4) Steps to completing the assignment
5) Grade Determination
The Experiment
 Train Sniffy using Operant Conditioning
 using campus computer program
 Using 5 different Reinforcement Schedules
 Analyze results to determine how choice of reinforcement
schedule affects extinction
 Ultimately asking:
• How do different schedules of reinforcement
affect the persistence of a learned
behavior?
Operant Conditioning
 Increases the rate of a desired
behavior by reinforcing that
behavior when it occurs
 In our case, we want Sniffy to
bar-press
 We will reinforce with food
pellets
 See Chapter 5 (B.F. Skinner) in
your textbook
Operant Vs. Classical Conditioning
Operant (Type R):
Classical (Type S):
 Emphasis is on the
Response
 Emphasis is on the
Stimulus
 Use reward to increase
a response
 Get a stimulus to elicit
a response not
normally paired with it
Schedules of Reinforcement2 Main Types:
Continuous Reinforcement
(CRF):
Partial Reinforcement
(PRF):
 Rewarded every time
the desired behavior
occurs
 Rewarded some times
when behavior occurs;
not every time
 Every time Sniffy
presses the bar, he will
get a food pellet
 e.g. Sniffy might press
the bar 5 times and
only get rewarded
once.
PRF SchedulesTypes:
Fixed:
 Reward happens after
a set number of
responses
Variable:
 Reward happens around
a certain average number
of responses
 “Fixed Ratio”
 “Variable Ratio”
OR
OR
 after a set amount of
time passes
 after an average amount
of time passes
 “Fixed Interval”
 “Variable Interval”
Fixed Ratio (FR):
 Set a specific number of responses
required for reward, e.g. 5
 Sniffy will then get a food pellet after
he presses the bar 5 times
 Real Life Example:
Salesperson having to
reach a quota to get
payment
Fixed Interval (FI):
 Set a certain number of seconds
to pass before reward is given,
e.g. 10 seconds
 Sniffy will be rewarded on his first
bar-press after 10 seconds passes
 Real Life Example:
Employees getting a Christmas
Bonus each year for hard work
Variable Ratio (VR):
 Set an average number of responses
needed for reward, e.g. 5
 Sniffy will get rewarded for about 5
bar-presses- maybe after 4, maybe
after 7, etc. It fluctuates around a
certain number.
 Real Life Example:
• VLT machines rewarding
randomly
Variable Interval (VI):
 Set a number of seconds that will need to
pass, on average, before reward, e.g. 15
seconds
 Sniffy will be rewarded when he responds
after about 15 seconds- maybe after 12
seconds, 14, 18, etc.
 Real Life Example:
• Professor gives bonus
points for attending the
lecture about every
month or so
The Computer Program:
 My Computer
 “Apps on Caesar (S: )”
 “Sniffy” Folder
 Double-click “Sniffy” Icon
Completing the Assignment:
 Step 1) Observe Sniffy’s behaviors
 Step 2) Magazine Train Sniffy
 Step 3) Train on CRF schedule
 Step 4) Extinguish behavior
 Step 5) Observe Spontaneous Recovery and Extinguish
 Step 6) Train on VR schedule and Extinguish
 Step 7) Train on VI schedule and Extinguish
 Step 8) Train on FR schedule and Extinguish
 Step 9) Train on FI schedule and Extinguish
Saving your Progress:
 Saving properly is IMPORTANT for this lab!
 THINK about what and how you are Saving each time
 Always save to your H: Drive
 Manual tells you when to Save and when to Print
 As you are progressing through one step, you can
save over the same file. So, throughout CRF training,
you can keep saving as “CRF”. Once you move onto
a new step be sure to save under a new name, e.g.
“CRFext”
 Hit save often as you are working, to avoid losing
work
Saving your Progress:
 You should save and print these files as you go:
 “CRF” (documents Steps 1-3) – DO NOT SAVE OVER THIS FILE ONCE
DONE THE ORIGINAL TRAINING!
 “CRFext” (documents Steps 1-5) –*Print this*
 “VR” (documents Step 6 –Training)
 “VRext” (documents Steps 6- Training and Extinction) –*Print this*
 “VI”, and then “VIext” (Step 7) -*Print this*
 “FR”, and then “FRext” (Step 8) - *Print this*
 “FI” and then “FIext” (Step 9) -*Print this*
You Submit:
 Assignment is due the week of April 1st
 As you go through the Steps, your manual instructs
you to record certain observations
 You will use these, and Ch. 5, to answer the
questions attached at end of manual
 Submit these answers, typed and in APA format
 Also, submit the Records you have Printed out as an
Appendix
*See directions on this in Manual*
Grade Determination:
Questions: 5.5%
Printed Records: 2%
Participation: 5%
Total: 12.5%
Passing in the Lab:
There will be lab every week up until:
 Mar. 25th- 29th: NO LABS
 Work independently if you need to catch up
 Apr. 1st -5th: NO LABS
 Pass in the assignment to the Annex by 4pm on
your regular day of lab
 My office 114F, or the Drop Box in Main
Hallway
Starting Today:
 Read through your manual
 Start on steps 1 and 2
 Observe Sniffy’s behavior and get him Magazine
Trained
 Before you leave, save your work as ‘CRF’
 Use the drop-down arrow in the “Save” window to
save to your H: drive