I believe this picture accurately shows how my time with Penelope went. I will miss this stubborn little rat.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Farewell Penelope
This experience has been filled with excitement and frustration. I never knew how intense of a process it would be to train an animal to perform a task. From all the readings and practice with Sniffy, I thought it would be an easy process. I soon realized that not all rats like to cooperate. Even though Penelope and I did not have success, I still really enjoyed this experience. I was always hopeful that each new day would be the day that Penelope pressed the bar. Even though she never made it far, I do think I learned a lot about the process of training. It was helpful to see firsthand how they make the connection between food and the light/noise of the food magazine. It is really neat to know how many things could be accomplished if you are a good trainer. This process leaves me hopeful that I can use these techniques on my cat and possibly future roommates or spouse. The most surprising thing to learn was that not every rat is motivated by food. I thought I would automatically be able to train my rat to press the bar, but Penelope showed me that not all animals are the same. I overcame the perception that all rats are mindless creatures that only care about food. I saw a small, but stubborn, personality in Penelope. I really enjoyed spending time with my rat, and I would do this process all over again.
I believe this picture accurately shows how my time with Penelope went. I will miss this stubborn little rat.
I believe this picture accurately shows how my time with Penelope went. I will miss this stubborn little rat.
Bar Presses
Here is a graph of Penelope's bar presses per 30 minute sessions. As you can see, this isn't a very interesting graph. This is for a Fixed Ratio 1 because she never made it past this.
Challenges.. There were many
Unfortunately, the entire experience of shaping was a challenge for me. I could never get Penelope to consistently press the bar. She was very interested in things occurring outside of the box, so I dealt with that by putting the cover on the box. This helped with the outside distractions, but it did not help in getting her attention on the bar. She did not seem interested in the chocolate food pellets, so I food derived her a little more until she was under her target weight. This worked for the first 10 minutes or so of each training session. After she had eaten about 20-30 pellets, she would not touch anymore. There would be a lot of pellets that stacked up in the food magazine that she didn't eat. I had a problem with her staying in the front left corner of the box, so I began reinforcing her anytime she was away from that corner. I also wiped down the cage and gave her fresh shavings before each session, so the operant box wouldn't smell like other rats. Nothing really worked. Penelope did not like to cooperate with me.
Still Trying to Shape Penelope...
It has been over a week of shaping Penelope, and frustration is setting in. I feel like I have tried everything that I could think of, and she isn't making very many improvements. She has pressed the bar on accident a couple of times, and it has been the highlight of my time. I thought I had a breakthrough one day when she pressed the bar 14 times. I was ecstatic. However, disappointment returned the next day when she was no longer interested in the bar or the food pellets.
I began reinforcing her any time she was away from the typical corner that she liked to chill in. I think this only confused her, but she did stay away from that corner for a few days. I think she is equally frustrated with me. On a bright note, every time I take her out of the operant box, she climbs up and sits on my shoulder. I then bend over, and she jumps from my shoulder into her cage. If all else fails, I think I have taught my rat how to do a cannonball into her cage. Pretty cool to me.
Here is a list of the schedule she was on and how many reinforcements/bar presses Penelope had in the course of her time training.
I began reinforcing her any time she was away from the typical corner that she liked to chill in. I think this only confused her, but she did stay away from that corner for a few days. I think she is equally frustrated with me. On a bright note, every time I take her out of the operant box, she climbs up and sits on my shoulder. I then bend over, and she jumps from my shoulder into her cage. If all else fails, I think I have taught my rat how to do a cannonball into her cage. Pretty cool to me.
Here is a list of the schedule she was on and how many reinforcements/bar presses Penelope had in the course of her time training.
|
Day 1
|
2/22/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
28.40 minutes
|
2 bar presses
|
45 reinforcements
|
|
Day 2
|
2/23/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
29 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
49 reinforcements
|
|
Day 3
|
2/24/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
27.30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
39 reinforcements
|
|
Day 4
|
2/25/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
1 bar press
|
47 reinforcements
|
|
Day 5
|
2/26/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
3 bar presses
|
40 reinforcements
|
|
Day 6
|
2/29/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
46 reinforcements
|
|
Day 7
|
3/1/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
38 reinforcements
|
|
Day 8
|
3/2/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
1 bar press
|
34 reinforcements
|
|
Day 9
|
3/3/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
3 bar presses
|
43 reinforcements
|
|
Day 10
|
3/4/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
42 reinforcements
|
|
Day 11
|
3/7/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
47 reinforcements
|
|
Day 12
|
3/8/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
0 bar presses
|
55 reinforcements
|
|
Day 13
|
3/9/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
4 bar presses
|
52 reinforcements
|
|
Day 14
|
3/10/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
14 bar presses
|
33 reinforcements
|
|
Day 15
|
3/11/16
|
Shaping 1 Lever
|
30 minutes
|
2 bar presses
|
36 reinforcements
|
As you can see, Penelope pressed the bar a total of 30 times in 15 training sessions. I believe that about half of those were accidents in which she had no idea that she was being rewarded for pressing the bar. For this reason, I did not put Penelope through extinction. I did not believe that this was necessary because there was not a learned behavior to extinct. I also do not have any cumulative records because for the most part, there was nothing to record.
Here is a video of Penelope's typical activities in the operant box.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
The Failure of Shaping Penelope
Goal: By using the cover on the operant box, I hope to eliminate any distractions and get Penelope closer to pressing the bar.
Results: The cover allowed Penelope to to focus more on the inside of the box, but she did not make any progress when it comes to pressing the bar. She consecutively turns her head to the left after eating, but she does not go any closer to the bar. After about 10 minutes in the box, she becomes completely disinterested in the food. The pellets would build up to where there are over 15 pellets in the food magazine.
Discussion: I still think that Penelope is being reinforced just by being out of her cage. She is not interested in the food pellets, so she is not working very hard to be rewarded. I might need to give her less food, so she will have more motivation to work for food.
Results: The cover allowed Penelope to to focus more on the inside of the box, but she did not make any progress when it comes to pressing the bar. She consecutively turns her head to the left after eating, but she does not go any closer to the bar. After about 10 minutes in the box, she becomes completely disinterested in the food. The pellets would build up to where there are over 15 pellets in the food magazine.
Discussion: I still think that Penelope is being reinforced just by being out of her cage. She is not interested in the food pellets, so she is not working very hard to be rewarded. I might need to give her less food, so she will have more motivation to work for food.
Shaping Penelope
Today was Penelope's first day of shaping!
Goal: The goal for the next few days is to train Penelope to press the bar. She already knows that the light and sound of the food magazine means she gets food, but I will be trying to associate the bar with the delivery of the food.
Procedure: Before beginning, I played out a procedure of when exactly I would reinforce Penelope. To start, I would reinforce her any time she went to the right side of the box. Once I got her to stay on the right sight, I would then reinforce her in the back right corner. After that, I reinforced her once she pulled her head out of the food magazine and looked to the left. I thought this would be simple and easy for her to catch on to.
Results: Penelope cooperated with me until she started pulling her head out of the food magazine. After this, I lost her focus. She found a spot in the front left corner and did not move away from it. She did not even seem interested in the food pellets I was giving her.
Discussion: Since I do not believe Penelope is stupid, I will keep trying the plan that I have played out until she constantly turns her head to the left after being reinforced. It is very possible that just the act of being out of her cage is reinforcing enough to her. It is also possible that she is getting distracted by my presence while in the operant box. Over the next few days, I will put the cover/door on the operant box and hope that some of the outside distractions can be eliminated.
Goal: The goal for the next few days is to train Penelope to press the bar. She already knows that the light and sound of the food magazine means she gets food, but I will be trying to associate the bar with the delivery of the food.
Procedure: Before beginning, I played out a procedure of when exactly I would reinforce Penelope. To start, I would reinforce her any time she went to the right side of the box. Once I got her to stay on the right sight, I would then reinforce her in the back right corner. After that, I reinforced her once she pulled her head out of the food magazine and looked to the left. I thought this would be simple and easy for her to catch on to.
Results: Penelope cooperated with me until she started pulling her head out of the food magazine. After this, I lost her focus. She found a spot in the front left corner and did not move away from it. She did not even seem interested in the food pellets I was giving her.
Discussion: Since I do not believe Penelope is stupid, I will keep trying the plan that I have played out until she constantly turns her head to the left after being reinforced. It is very possible that just the act of being out of her cage is reinforcing enough to her. It is also possible that she is getting distracted by my presence while in the operant box. Over the next few days, I will put the cover/door on the operant box and hope that some of the outside distractions can be eliminated.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Sniffy the Virtual Rat
When I first opened the Sniffy program, I honestly thought it would be a waste of time. I was eager to dive right in to training my live rat that I didn't want to waste my time training a rat on my computer. Boy, I was wrong about that. Training sniffy really helped me have a visual of the training process of an animal. It helped me know what to look for in my live rat, and I actually really enjoyed seeing Sniffy progress through the shaping process.
Magazine training for Sniffy was very simple. It only took about 15 minutes to do before he had the association between the noise and the food.
Shaping Sniffy to press the bar took a lot longer than I thought it would. I started by reinforcing him every time he stood on his hind legs while facing the back wall. Eventually, I only reinforced that behavior when he was over the hopper. After a couple minutes of that, he started consistently pressing the bar. He would press it multiple times in a row, then he would rear up like he didn't completely know that he only has to press the bar. After reinforcing only the bar pressing, he got the hang of it. He got to where he would press the bar over 10 times in a row.
I then put Sniffy on a Variable Interval schedule to where he would only be reinforced once he pressed the bar after 5 seconds passed (VI5''). I could tell he didn't really like this very much. Toward the end, he would press the bar then walk around the cage before he pressed the bar again. He had a routine down, and he kept doing this for a while.
Sniffy did not like extinction at all. He was going crazy trying to press the bar and was getting agitated when nothing came out. After a while, he stopped pressing the bar as much. Eventually, he stopped the behavior altogether.
Magazine training for Sniffy was very simple. It only took about 15 minutes to do before he had the association between the noise and the food.
Shaping Sniffy to press the bar took a lot longer than I thought it would. I started by reinforcing him every time he stood on his hind legs while facing the back wall. Eventually, I only reinforced that behavior when he was over the hopper. After a couple minutes of that, he started consistently pressing the bar. He would press it multiple times in a row, then he would rear up like he didn't completely know that he only has to press the bar. After reinforcing only the bar pressing, he got the hang of it. He got to where he would press the bar over 10 times in a row.
I then put Sniffy on a Variable Interval schedule to where he would only be reinforced once he pressed the bar after 5 seconds passed (VI5''). I could tell he didn't really like this very much. Toward the end, he would press the bar then walk around the cage before he pressed the bar again. He had a routine down, and he kept doing this for a while.
Sniffy did not like extinction at all. He was going crazy trying to press the bar and was getting agitated when nothing came out. After a while, he stopped pressing the bar as much. Eventually, he stopped the behavior altogether.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Penelope Starts Magazine Training
Goal:
The goal of Penelope's first training session was to condition her to realize that food appears once the light flashes and a pellet drops into the food magazine. This is referred to as magazine training. In this session, I am trying to get Penelope to go eat the pellet every time one is dispensed.
Procedure:
Penelope was brought down to 90% of her body weight over the past week in order for her to be more willing to work for a reward (in this case, she will be rewarded with a sugary food pellet). The two days prior to her first session, I introduced these food pellets to her so she would get used to the taste and grow to like them. Penelope successfully reached her target weight by the first day of training and now weighs 204.5 grams. Our sessions begin at 3:00 P.M. each day.
Results:
On day 1 of training, I could tell she was very nervous. When I first put her in the operant box, she immediately began sniffing everything and walking in circles. I delivered a pellet as soon as I put her in the box, hoping that she would eventually make her way to the food magazine and see the food in there. After sniffing for a couple of minutes, she made her way to the food magazine and ate the food. Once she pulled her head out of the food magazine, I gave her another pellet, hoping she would notice the light that comes on and the noise it makes when a pellet is given. After about 10 minutes of this, I believe she figured it out. Every time I pressed the button to administer a pellet, she would make her way over to eat it in 35-50 seconds.
I also began shaping Penelope toward the end of the session, after I thought she figured out magazine training. Every time she turned her head to the left after pulling out of the food magazine, I gave her a pellet. I do not think she learned this in the first session, but it was a good start.
On day 1, Penelope was in the operant box for 24 minutes. She had 3 bar presses, and I gave her 37 pellets. She was on shaping 1 lever.
Discussion:
I believe Penelope has made the connection between the light/sound and the dispensing of food. I do not think she made the connection between the bar and the food though. I will continue shaping tomorrow, now that she is aware that she gets rewarded with food.
The goal of Penelope's first training session was to condition her to realize that food appears once the light flashes and a pellet drops into the food magazine. This is referred to as magazine training. In this session, I am trying to get Penelope to go eat the pellet every time one is dispensed.
Procedure:
Penelope was brought down to 90% of her body weight over the past week in order for her to be more willing to work for a reward (in this case, she will be rewarded with a sugary food pellet). The two days prior to her first session, I introduced these food pellets to her so she would get used to the taste and grow to like them. Penelope successfully reached her target weight by the first day of training and now weighs 204.5 grams. Our sessions begin at 3:00 P.M. each day.
Results:
On day 1 of training, I could tell she was very nervous. When I first put her in the operant box, she immediately began sniffing everything and walking in circles. I delivered a pellet as soon as I put her in the box, hoping that she would eventually make her way to the food magazine and see the food in there. After sniffing for a couple of minutes, she made her way to the food magazine and ate the food. Once she pulled her head out of the food magazine, I gave her another pellet, hoping she would notice the light that comes on and the noise it makes when a pellet is given. After about 10 minutes of this, I believe she figured it out. Every time I pressed the button to administer a pellet, she would make her way over to eat it in 35-50 seconds.
I also began shaping Penelope toward the end of the session, after I thought she figured out magazine training. Every time she turned her head to the left after pulling out of the food magazine, I gave her a pellet. I do not think she learned this in the first session, but it was a good start.
On day 1, Penelope was in the operant box for 24 minutes. She had 3 bar presses, and I gave her 37 pellets. She was on shaping 1 lever.
Discussion:
I believe Penelope has made the connection between the light/sound and the dispensing of food. I do not think she made the connection between the bar and the food though. I will continue shaping tomorrow, now that she is aware that she gets rewarded with food.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Meeting Penelope
Today marks my first ever encounter with a live rat. Initially, I only saw rats as pests. I've never even come close to holding a rat before, so this was a new experience for me. I was really excited to meet my rat, and it was a good experience. After holding my rat for the first time, I decided that rats are more than just pests. I think they could be good pets if they were given a chance.
When I first picked up my rat, I was scared that I would hurt her. She was a lot smaller than I expected. Holding her for the first time went very smoothly, and she was very active. She tried to crawl over my shoulder and down my back. Once I got through the first experience of holding a rat, I am no longer nervous at all about it.
I decided to name my rat Penelope, and I am excited to see Penelope's progress through this class. I think Penelope and I have already bonded well. I find myself excited to go visit her every day.
When I first picked up my rat, I was scared that I would hurt her. She was a lot smaller than I expected. Holding her for the first time went very smoothly, and she was very active. She tried to crawl over my shoulder and down my back. Once I got through the first experience of holding a rat, I am no longer nervous at all about it.
I decided to name my rat Penelope, and I am excited to see Penelope's progress through this class. I think Penelope and I have already bonded well. I find myself excited to go visit her every day.
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