Rat In A Box

Craving for another fix
Addicted to the bait
The rat that Skinner once foretold
Comes early, never late

And presses all the buttons
For pellets one by one
No care that she’s predictable
So long she has won

Won the reward she wants to win
The feather in her hat
With belly filled to oversized
Yet branded on her back

But in actual reality
She is a rat in box
Responding just as she is bid
Until fed to the fox!

English: Skinner box (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Conditioning Fish

So it seems that it’s possible
To condition certain fish
To come when they are beckoned by
A ‘bell’ they reminisce

And they’ll even press a lever
For reward of extra food
At certain times of day or night
When this has been imbued

So the question that is begging
Is are they just like mice
To train in some laboratories
With clinical device

For apparently it’s been shown
Our fish can be so foxed
By training them to come when called
In a fishy Skinner’s box

Want to know what this is all about?  Why not click these links and find out more:

Fish Memories Last For Months, say Scientists

Goldfish Memory Minimyth