I had a relatively difficult time with magazine
training Sniffy. I reinforced Sniffy with a treat every time he got near the
lever. This process took about an hour and a half. Once Sniffy began to remain
in the general area of the lever, I began the process of shaping. I reinforced
Sniffy every time he stood up and descended down onto the lever. That was the
motion I wanted Sniffy to learn because I thought he would press the lever when
he was lowering himself. I also reinforced Sniffy every time he showed an
interest in the lever, including sniffing and even touching it. It was really
important to pay close attention to Sniffy because I had to reinforce him
immediately in order for him to make the association between pressing the lever
and receiving a treat. I probably spent a total of two hours magazine training
and shaping Sniffy.
Once Sniffy was consistently pressing the
lever, I placed her on a variable ratio (VR) schedule. On this schedule, Sniffy
walked around the operant box less than when he was shaping. Sniffy was
constantly pressing the lever as opposed to getting near the lever and
aimlessly wandering around. I can definitely see how this program will
prepare me to train my real rat through magazine training and shaping.
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