Paul Hmmm. I didn't have a problem with it. That's not a criticism or questioning of your skills but it does suggest that the "author" had a particular theory of shaping and programed it that way. So for a student (or old geezer!) with a matching theory/model it probably worked. For someone with a different model of shaping it didn't (and I suspect your skill at it was superior to mine!) This could lead to something interesting to discuss but I do see your point- Sniffy always seemed like a useful tool but certainly NOT a substitute for the real thing. BTW- I found that just leaving the rat alone often lead to successful bar-press training which also matched my experience. Tim _______________________________ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: [email protected]
teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker ________________________________________ From: Paul Brandon [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 9:56 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Sniffy.... On a slightly more serious note.... I spent fifty years shaping rats. When I tried to shaped Sniffy as if it were a living rat, nothing happened; it's a very poor simulation of the actual operant conditioning process. On Mar 12, 2010, at 1:56 PM, Marc Carter wrote: > > Hi, All -- > > It's Friday before Spring break starts. I am on the edge of > checked-out. So! > > Does anyone find it strange that Sniffy, a computer program > designed to teach people the principles of learning, has "Mind > Windows" so you can know what the virtual rat is thinking? I'm > having to fight to get my students to stop using those as evidence > for some phenomenon instead of showing me the behavior. It's > making me laugh. > > Somehow I envision two or three generations of behaviorists > spinning in their graves... Not in my grave yet .... Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b177a&n=T&l=tips&o=1256 or send a blank email to leave-1256-13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b1...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1282 or send a blank email to leave-1282-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
