PSYC 302L Lab in Learning & Memory
Week 5 Assignment
1. The Operant Association mind view illustrates sound-food, bar sound, and action strength
correlation. During experiments it is important to observe the operant association mind view
window as it illustrates sniffy developing an association between food and the magazine
sound. Later on, operant association mind view window displays an association between sniffy
and the bar sound, as well as action strength.
2. Exercise 22: Mind View-Operant Associations
3. Shaping is the term used during an experiment that is meant to train an animal to behave
in a certain way by using reinforcement to increase the chances of success rates. Shaping is
usually done by using “baby steps” which entails introducing the desired behavior slowly, so
that the animal will learn to associate a sound or action to the desired or targeted behavior. It
is imperative that the trainer is patient and a good observer. For exercise 22, I shaped sniffy
to associate the magazine sound with food. Every time sniffy was approaching the back wall,
or was near the food panel, I would press the bar which would initiate a sound that sounded
like flipping through a magazine, when the bar was pressed and the sound was initiated; food
was then released for sniffy. As I went through the exercises, I would limit when I would
press the bar to only when sniffy was right in front of the food panel, and eventually I would
only press the par when sniffy would reach up and use his hands to touch the back
4. Exercise: 23 Cumulative Record
Exercise: 23 Mind View-Operant Associations
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PSYC 302L Lab in Learning & Memory
5. The cumulative record shows two different colors. The blue marker is for when I hit the
space bar to initiate the magazine sound, and the distribution of the food pellets. Once Sniffy
learned to associate the bar pressing and the sound with food, he eventually started to hit the
bar on his own. The green markers show every time sniffy hit the bar on his own and
received food. There was a positive correlation between hitting the bar/initiating the
magazine sound, and receiving food. Every time sniffy pressed the bar, the result of the
cumulative record was a sloping line with a movement from bottom to top. The quicker sniffy
responded, the steeper the slope became. The steepness of the like become sequential to the
bar pressing rate. It is important to remember that a steeper slope represents that sniffy was
pressing the bar quickly.
6. It was imperative to deliver a pellet of food as soon as sniffy did the desired behavior
because it enforced positive reinforcement. If sniffy did what I was asking him to do, he
would get rewarded. Due to positive reinforcement, he eventually learned to associate the
desired behavior with food, and eventually he learned to press the lever all on his own.
7. Exercise 25 Cumulative Record: “Extinction (Muted) Press Bar”
8. Sniffy exhibited an extinction burst due to his history of positive reinforcement. It was sad
to see sniffy hitting the bar so many times, without food coming out. While this may appear
as a bad thing, extinction bursts actually indicate that the experiment was working. Sniffy
learned to associate pressing the bar with obtaining food. Extinction bursts occurs with
animals that have switched from a continuous reinforcement to extinction.
9. Exercise 27: Cumulative Record- Spontaneous Recovery- “Timeout Press Bar”
10. During exercise 27, it seemed as though Sniffy was pressing the bar more than usual in
the beginning. Sniffy had been taken out of the operant conditioning chamber for 24 hours to
rest, and was then put back into the chamber for observation. Sniffy’s behavior basically re-
set to before extinction occurred. When sniffy was put into the chamber after a 24-hour time
out, he was continuously pressing the bar. After about three minutes of pressing the bar,
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PSYC 302L Lab in Learning & Memory
Sniffy quickly learned that food was not going to come out. Sniffy tried a few more times, but
to no avail, his attempts failed. From the three-minute mark to the 9-minute mark, Sniffy
pressed the lever less than 10 times; whereas he had pressed it more than twenty times in
the first three minutes. This exercise was quicker than the initial extinction, as Sniffy seemed
to learn that no matter how many times he pressed the button, food was not going to come
out. At the end of the experiment. Sniffy was only pressing the bar 0.19 times per minute.
