Day 3, Shaping Continued

The notes for the following were recorded yesterday

-------------------------------

Training Day 3: Shaping Continued
9/22/12

Goal: to continue and complete shaping my rat to press the bar

Procedure:
To further shape Mitzy to associate ONLY bar presses with food delivery, I became more selective in which behaviors I would reinforce over the course of the session. I began by delivering food when Mitzy sniffed the top of the bar (sniffing the bottom did not earn food), touched the top with one or both paws, or reared just above the bar. As the session continued, I began to extinguish sniffing behavior, and would only give Mitzy a treat if she touched the bar with one or both hands.

Results:

Mitzy displayed a strong association between touching the bar and receiving a food pellet. She would test out certain behaviors around the bar, and quickly check the magazine for a reward. She did very well in learning just to touch the bar with her paws, rather than explore or sniff the bar. By the end of the session, she was pressing the bar consistently, and required no manual reinforcements. She received 34 manual reinforcements (until ~20 minutes in), and pressed the bar 66 times.

Discussion:
Extinguishing "bar sniffs" required careful monitoring. There were a few instances in which I did have to back up and reinforce a bar sniff. For example, she would sniff the bar several times, check the magazine, and then lose interest for awhile (explore the front of the box, groom herself, etc). In such instances, I would give her a food pellet once she returned to sniff the bar.

Overall, though, I was very impressed by her rate of learning. She is very motivated and inquisitive, and narrowed her range of behaviors quickly in the session. By the end of the session, she did not even attempt to receive a reward from bar touches or sniffs. Instead, she would immediately press the bar, eat her treat, and repeat :). Often, she did not even move her feet at all, but would just rotate her upper body between the bar and the magazine.

Weight at the end of session = 212 grams.
Session ran from 8:35 AM to 9:05 AM (30 minutes).
Reinforcements (manual)= 34; Bar presses= 66.