Sniffy is a normal happy
rat. He is naive. The idea is to teach Sniffy to press a bar.
While doing so, Sniffy will teach you about using reinforcers properly
to get the maximum effect. Topics covered include:
Magazine Training
Baselines
Successive Approximation
Schedules of Reinforcement
Time Outs
Extinction
Cumulative Records
In the book, you will find instructions
for using the program, a brief overview of the basic principles of reinforcment,
and exercises to give you something to teach Sniffy. It takes patience
and close attention to detail, but you will begin to understand the complexities
of teaching a child to make their bed.
There is a section at the back of
the documentation where you can get a taste of the computer commands used
to create Sniffy's responses. It is interesting to see the relationship
between the computer commands and the theory they express.
© Marilyn
Shea, November 1999
Department
of Psychology, University of Maine at Farmington
Images of
Sniffy captured from Sniffy: The Virtual Rat, version 4.5
