As the line is drawn, the pen and paper begin to move upward creating a slope in the line on the cumulative recorder paper (Alloway 147). As the frequency of bar pressing increases, it means that Sniffy is becoming more conditioned. The cumulative record measures the frequency of bar pressing from Sniffy. The cumulative recorder consists of a long role of tape that has a pen resting on it and every time the bar is pressed, a line is drawn on the paper. Once this association is strong, Sniffy begins to press the bar more and more creating a solid conditioning that pressing the bar gives food.Ī cumulative record is used to explain the bar pressing behavior of Sniffy and was created by B.F. This occurs once Sniffy has realized that pressing the bar releases food. The next association Sniffy makes is the Action Strength association. After random pressing of the bar, Sniffy begins to associate the bar with the sound, making the connection that if it presses the bar and hears the sound, it will receive food. This is because Sniffy has been conditioned to know that when it hears a certain sound, food will be there, but it is unaware what causes the sound. Bar-sound association happens after the sound-food association in Sniffy is strong.
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This creates a connection that when he hears the sound, food will automatically be there. Sniffy is classically conditioned to expect food when he hears the sound of the bar being pressed and food being released. This sound-food association involves classical conditioning. The sound-food association is essential to Sniffy’s operant conditioning. During magazine training, Sniffy endures secondary reinforcement in which a sound-food association is created between himself, the bar in his conditioning chamber, and the food that is dispensed. Secondary reinforcers involve creating a conditioned link between the subject and their biological primary reinforcer in order to elicit a desired behavior. Primary reinforcers consist of things the subject biologically needs to survive (i.e.
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Within conditioning a series of primary and secondary reinforcers are used in order to condition a subject to complete the desired behavior. The reinforcement of variant behaviors continues until the subject finally completes the target behavior. This second variant is then reinforced until Sniffy constantly does this behavior. A second variant behavior could be Sniffy standing on his hind legs because it is one step closer to the target behavior. This behavior is then reinforced with food until he constantly moves toward the bar. For example, when attempting to train Sniffy to press the bar in his conditioning chamber, one variant behavior could be Sniffy moving towards the bar. The subject does not automatically perform the desired behavior, they perform variants of that behavior (Alloway 142). All of these movements of the response class are then reinforced slowly getting the subject to the desired goal. Shaping consists of a response class (similar movements towards the conditioned goal).
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Shaping involves reinforcing small steps that the subject takes towards a target behavior (what the experimenter is trying to condition). Operant conditioning consists of shaping a subject to do something based on rewards and punishments. Sniffy is a virtual rat, who can experience classical as well as operant conditioning.