ABOUT SNIFFY 2.0 Sniffy the Virtual Rat is a fun, realistic simulation of a rat in a Skinner Box. This interactive software gives undergraduate students a virtual laboratory experience... without all the drawbacks of using a real laboratory rat. There are two versions of Sniffy, the Virtual Rat. Sniffy Pro 2.0 is a comprehensive simulation of advanced learning phenomena as described in detail in this web site. Sniffy is currently used by 50,000 students; the new version has also been field tested at several colleges and universities for use in Learning and Animal Behavior courses. Visit the link called “Manual Contents” for a comprehensive list of the features. This new version includes a new way of measuring classical conditioning that enables users to study classical conditioning before operant conditioning. The new version also includes exercises on punishment and now allows students to operantly condition Sniffy to perform several tricks in addition to bar pressing. A new “shaping tutor” enables students to see how an expert could train Sniffy to perform these new moves. Sniffy Lite 2.0 was designed for more introductory level courses and demonstrates the most basic phenomena of Operant and Classical conditioning. The Sniffy Lite Manual contains chapters 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 and 12 of the Sniffy Pro Manual and covers 16 of the 47 exercises in Sniffy Pro. Advanced phenomena of classical conditioning, stimulus discrimination and generalization, and punishment are not included. Software Features The Sniffy program provides a simple, point-and-click user interface that enables students to program events in Sniffy's operant chamber in much the same way research psychologists program events for real animals. The Sniffy software comes packaged in the front of a hands-on Lab Manual that walks users through the steps that they need to follow. Detailed documentation makes the program accessible even to unsophisticated computer users. Included are 47 interactive exercises (16 of them in Sniffy Lite 2.0). In operant conditioning, for instance, there are exercises on magazine training, shaping, extinction, spontaneous recovery, primary and secondary reinforcement, and the effects of variable-interval, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and fixed-ratio schedules. The program outputs the response measures employed by research psychologists such as realistic cumulative records for operant conditioning and two behavioral measures of classical conditioning. Sniffy’s classical and operant-conditioning algorithms are a mixture of connectionist and neural-net models that simulate the psychological processes that psychologists believe are involved in learning. The strength of memories or associations in the models are shown graphically in the blue windows. These "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. Sniffy is a flexible teaching tool for lectures, for take-home assignments, and in computer laboratory settings. Students can design their own experiments, collect behavioral data and write reports suitable for Research Methods type courses. Sniffy data can also be exported in a form that most spreadsheet and statistical-analysis programs can read. This feature enables advanced students to perform sophisticated data analyses and draw elaborate graphs. A one-step process enables the user to copy the image of a Sniffy data window and paste it into a word-processor document. This feature makes it easy for students to incorporate Sniffy data in lab reports and term papers. A time-saving feature is an "Isolate Sniffy" mode which dramatically speeds up the simulation and reduces the time required to run the more complex experiments. When Sniffy is isolated, the operant chamber is closed, and Sniffy is hidden behind a door. Isolating Sniffy greatly accelerates the speed in which the user's computer can execute experiments. Data files are cross-platform. The Windows and Macintosh versions of the program write files in the same format so that a user of either platform can readily open and use files created in the other operating system. New Version 2.0 Features The manual has been updated and reorganized to match the sequence of most learning textbooks which cover classical conditioning before operant conditioning. Teachers can now more easily assign laboratory exercises to match the current readings and lectures. The new classical conditioning exercises incorporates a Movement Ratio that indicates inhibition of movement (freezing) as a measure of classical conditioning. As in previous edition, once users have trained Sniffy to press the bar, they can also employ the Suppression Ratio as a measure of classical conditioning. A simulation of the effects of punishment on extinction in operant conditioning is now included. This feature simulates three classic studies described in many learning books. Students can now teach Sniffy to perform tricks, such as grooming his face, sitting up, and begging. Students can also teach Sniffy to perform any emitted behavior more frequently. A new "auto reinforcement" feature aids trick training. Students select the behavior they want reinforced, and a virtual "Lab Assistant" ensures that all occurrences of the target behavior are reinforced. Sniffy software generates a digital cumulative record, which will improve students' and professors' ability to export numeric data. The manual includes clear, user-friendly printing instructions to enable users to print data and graphs. Sniffy now includes a "pause" feature so the student can take a break and pick up an experiment when they come back, rather than having to start over. Sniffy now includes a "mark" feature so the student can make a mark on the Cumulative Record to help keep track of events. About SNIFFY'S creators Tom Alloway Tom Alloway is Professor of Psychology and Zoology at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. 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 for hands-on teaching laboratories in 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, Tom enjoys hiking, web surfing, and training his two Jack Russell terriers, Scooter and Frenzy. Greg Wilson Greg Wilson is President and C.E.P. (Chief Executive Programmer) of DiD Software Inc. DiD Software Inc has its 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 done the programming for all the Sniffy programs. 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 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. Dr. Graham is responsible for designing software for teaching Introductory Psychology. His Ph.D. dissertation examined memory in children's simple arithmetic and he has commercialized an intelligent tutor program called MATHFACTOR, a web-based accelerated learning curriculum for early childhood mathematics. He also teaches gifted (and/or hyperactive) children a course on Relaxation and Mindfulness. Visit his website at (MindingWhatMatters.com) to learn about a relaxation technique that calms the mind, releases stress, and opens a door to unconscious sources of creativity. Be prepared to gain the benefits of a night's rest in twenty minutes. Simple breathing and awareness exercises explore a spiritual psychology for everyday living. Study the games we play with our families and friends that sometimes undermine our own happiness and fun. We also look at how our attitudes are conditioned by our environment and learn a range of techniques including meditation, and mindfulness to begin the journey of discovering who you are and who you can become. Visit MindingWhatMatters.com, or email Jeff at jgraham@utm.utoronto.ca Allan Sura Allan Sura is President of InnerActive Productions and Publishing whose focus is creative direction and development of new and innovative products. He has worked on numerous projects across many industries; from aviation to software development. With an Honors Bachelor of Psychology degree from the University of Western Ontario, Allan's education and skill sets have meshed perfectly with the Sniffy projects. Early on in the development of Sniffy, Allan was brought on board to create a more life like image of Sniffy than the original simple graphic animation of the 1st version. The current Sniffy images were extracted from 4 hrs of videotape. They were then sized, color corrected and registered to create the discrete behaviors you see in the Sniffy program. Sniffy's new chamber was also designed and produced by Allan with photography assistance from Dr. Graham. Production and art direction of the website and tutorials have also come out of the InnerActive Production house with great assistance from Keith Seim. Allan pursues all creative ventures on and off the job. He plays a variety of musical instruments, paints with acrylic on canvas, dabbles with cameras, and writes poetry and lyrics. Based in the Greater Toronto Area, he also enjoys golfing and skiing with his wife and son. alsura@inneractivepublishing.com MAIN | ABOUT | TUTORIALS | CONTENTS | EXERCISES | DOWNLOAD | SUPPORT | CONTACT