Sniffy the Virtual Rat, Pro Version is a fun, interactive software program that gives undergraduate students a virtual laboratory experience... without all the drawbacks of using a real laboratory rat.

Using Sniffy, students can explore operant and classical by performing experiments that demonstrate most of the major conditioning phenomena discussed in textbooks on the psychology of learning.

The new "Pro" version of the famous Sniffy software (as featured on CNN) simulates a wide range of learning phenomena that are typically discussed in undergraduate courses on the psychology of learning. Sniffy, a digital rat in an operant chamber (Skinner Box), helps users explore the principles of operant and classical conditioning with all the benefits of using a live animal and none of the drawbacks. Users begin by training Sniffy to press a bar to obtain food and progress to studies of complex learning phenomena.

The Sniffy Pro program provides a simple user interface that enables students to set up events in Sniffy's operant chamber in much the same way research psychologists set up events for real animals. To visualize the results of experiments, the program produces realistic cumulative records and other appropriate behavioral measures of Sniffy's performance. In addition, a series of "Mind Windows" enable students to visualize how Sniffy's experiences in the Skinner Box produce the psychological changes that their textbooks discuss in connection with the phenomena simulated.

One very convenient new feature is an "Isolate Sniffy" mode which dramatically speeds up the simulation. Some of the complex experiments require many hours to run in real time. The Isolate Sniffy feature drastically reduces the time required to run complex experiments. When Sniffy is isolated, the operant chamber is closed, and Sniffy is hidden behind a door. When operating in this mode, the user's computer runs the simulation as fast as possible. This feature was requested by our beta test sites to save the student's valuable time.

The Sniffy software comes packaged in the back of a hands-on Lab Manual that walks users through the steps that they need to follow to set up a wide variety of operant and classical-conditioning experiments that closely resemble experiments discussed in standard psychology of learning texts.

There are two versions of Sniffy, the Virtual Rat. Sniffy Lite is a primer on Operant and Classical conditioning but does not have the complexity and flexibility for advanced learning topics. The suggested retail price is US$15.95 Sniffy Pro is a comprehensive simulation of advanced learning phenomena as described in detail in this web site. The suggested retail price is $25.95.

Tom Alloway

Tom Alloway is Professor of Psychology and Zoology at the University of Toronto at Mississauga and Associate Chair of the University of Toronto's Psychology Department. He obtained his B.A. in psychology from Knox College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Northwestern University. Prof. Alloway is an authority on the behavior of insects. His early research dealt with maze learning and the effects of low temperatures on memory in grain beetles. However, he is best known for his studies of the role of learning in the colony-member recognition systems of certain species of ants.

Most recently, he has become interested in developing virtual-laboratory software for undergraduate teaching. Sniffy, The Virtual Rat, gives students access to phenomena that are studied using equipment that is too expensive for most universities and colleges to acquire in service of hands-on teaching laboratories for large undergraduate courses. An early version of the Sniffy program became the first university-developed product ever to win an award in the Financial Post's annual Design Effectiveness competition. Sniffy has been featured in The Economist, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Toronto Globe and Mail, BBC radio, CBC television, and a Science and Technology news segment on CNN.

In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, web surfing, and training his two dogs, Scooter and Porsche.


Greg Wilson

Greg Wilson is President and C.E.P. (Chief Executive Programmer) of DiD Software Inc. DiD Software Inc has it's world headquarters in Unionville, Ontario and specializes in developing application software for the education market.

Greg received his bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 1981. Shortly after graduation, he bought his first personal computer, an Apple II+, and has been developing software using a variety of Apple and Windows computers ever since. In 1991, he wrote the first Sniffy program under a contract with University of Toronto for use in their Psychology teaching lab. He has continued to do the programming for all the Sniffy programs and revisions to the present day. He enjoys developing applications which, like Sniffy, allow him to apply his mathematics background while learning about other disciplines.

Greg also holds a Commercial Pilot's license and is an avid golfer. He lives in Unionville with his wife and two children. He can be reached via email at didsoft@mac.com.


Jeff Graham

Jeff Graham is a cognitive psychologist at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) with interests in neural network modeling, computer-assisted instruction, creativity and problem solving. His Ph.D. dissertation examined memory retrieval dynamics in children's simple arithmetic and he has commercialized an intelligent tutor program called MATHFACTOR. As an Associate Professor in Dunedin, New Zealand Dr. Graham developed connectionist models of children's arithmetic and studied an accelerated learning curriculum for early childhood mathematics. Steps to bring this teaching program to Canada have been initiated, given its success in New Zealand (with the Moari and European populations), China, Japan, and Australia.

Dr. Graham is responsible for designing, managing and teaching an innovative program for using computers in Introductory Psychology. His work has been received at a number of conferences, most recently at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (1997). During that address he presented a video showing examples of 60 of his 800 first-year students working through two-hour labs on 30-computers and a segment from CNN's Science and Technology Week program highlighting the Sniffy software developed in his lab.

Jeff enjoys playing in a home-grown rock band (with high-school bud Allan Sura who is the art director for the Sniffy animations). In his spare time he skiis and hikes with his wife and two daughters.