Sniffy Final

7/27/2019 Sniffy Final

1/19

Sniffy the Virtual RatPsych 210 Winter Lab Assignment


2/19

Today:

1) The Experiment

2) Operant Conditioning3) The 5 Reinforcement Schedules well use

4) Steps to completing the assignment

5) Grade Determination


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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 learnedbehavior?


4/19

Operant Conditioning

Increases the rate of a desired

behavior by reinforcing that

behavior when it occurs

In our case, we want Sniffy tobar-press

We will reinforce with food

pellets

See Chapter 5 (B.F. Skinner) in

your textbook


5/19

Operant Vs. Classical Conditioning

Operant (Type R):

Emphasis is on the

Response

Use reward to increase

a response

Classical (Type S):

Emphasis is on the

Stimulus

Get a stimulus to elicit

a response not

normally paired with it


6/19

Schedules of Reinforcement-2 Main Types:

Continuous Reinforcement(CRF):

Rewarded every time

the desired behavior

occurs

Every time Sniffy

presses the bar, he will

get a food pellet

Partial Reinforcement(PRF):

Rewarded some times

when behavior occurs;

not every time

e.g. Sniffy might press

the bar 5 times and

only get rewarded

once.


7/19

PRF Schedules-

Types:

Fixed:

Reward happens after

a setnumber ofresponses

Fixed Ratio

OR

after a setamount of

time passes

Fixed Interval

Variable:

Reward happens around

a certain average numberof responses

Variable Ratio

OR

after an averageamount

of time passes

Variable Interval


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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 toreach a quota to getpayment


9/19

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 ChristmasBonus each year for hard work


10/19

Variable Ratio (VR):

Set an average number of responsesneeded for reward, e.g. 5

Sniffy will get rewarded for about5bar-presses- maybe after 4, maybeafter 7, etc. It fluctuates around acertain number.

Real Life Example:

VLT machines rewardingrandomly (video lotteryterminal)


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Variable Interval (VI): Set a number of seconds that will

need to pass, on average, beforereward, e.g. 15 seconds

Sniffy will be rewarded when heresponds after about15 seconds-maybe after 12 seconds, 14, 18, etc.

Real Life Example:

Pop quizzes in class thathappen about everymonth or so


12/19

The Computer Program:

My Computer

Apps on Caesar (S: )

Sniffy Folder

Double-click Sniffy Icon


13/19

Completing the Assignment: Step 1) Observe Sniffys 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 FR schedule and Extinguish

Step 7) Train on FI schedule and Extinguish

Step 8) Train on VR schedule and Extinguish

Step 9) Train on VI schedule and Extinguish


14/19

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, save

over the same file. So, throughout CRF training,

keep saving as CRF. Once done, do NOT

overwrite again.


15/19

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*

FR (documents Step 6 Training)

FRext (documents Steps 6- Training and Extinction)*Print this*

FI, and then FIext (Step 7) -*Print this*

VR, and then VRext (Step 8) - *Print this*

VI and then VIext (Step 9) -*Print this*


16/19

You Submit:

Assignment is due the week of April 2nd

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*


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Grade Determination:

Questions: 5.5%

Printed Records: 2%

Participation: 5%

Total: 12.5%


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Passing in the Lab:There will be lab every week up until:

Mar. 26th- 30th: NO LABS

Work independently if you need to catch up

Apr. 2nd-6th: NO LABS

Pass in the assignment to the Annex

My office 114F, or the Drop Box in MainHallway


19/19

Starting Today:

Read through your manual

Start on steps 1 and 2

Observe Sniffys 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

Documents

Sniffy Final