I had talked to the original programmers -- their algorithm was based
on cognitive theory rather than observation of actual rodent
behavior. If you follow their instructions Sniffy shapes.
You have to shape the topography of lever pressing first, then shape
its location (shape Sniffy to rear up against the nearest wall; then
move him to the lever).
I've talked to other behavior analysts who've noticed the same thing.
With a real rat (or Roger Ray's CyberRat), on the other hand (and
I've shaped hundreds, and supervised students shaping several
thousand more) you shape the rat towards the lever; then shape her up
and over the lever.
And I agree -- natural contingencies will usually result in the rat
acquiring the lever press even without hand shaping (that was
Skinner's original shaping technique described in the Behavior of
Organisms -- structure the environment and stand back. He didn't
start using hand shaping until he started working with pigeons in the
'40's). See:
Peterson, G. B. (2004).
A day of great illumination: B. F. Skinner’s discovery of shaping.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82, 317-328.
On Mar 14, 2010, at 2:45 PM, Shearon, Tim wrote:
> 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
>
> ________________________________________
> 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]
>
>
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