Goal 2: Shirley's goal for this training session is to press the bar down ten consecutive times before receiving a reward.
Procedure:
An FR schedule is also known as a Fixed Ratio schedule. This means that after a certain number of responses (in this case 7 and 10) the behavior will be reinforced. Todays FR- 7 session started at 4:45 p.m. and lasted 30 minutes. Shirley weighed 218.7 grams and which is 10.7 grams above her goal weight. Shirley was to press the bar down seven consecutive times in order to receive her reinforcement. The total training session resulted in 57 food presentations (405 bar presses). The second day of FR-7 Shirley weighed 210.2 grams which is only 2.2 grams above her goal weight. This session resulted in 43 food presentations (302 bar presses).
The FR-10 training session was only one day long and started at 2:30 p.m. as well, and lasted 30 minutes. Shirley weighed 217.8 grams and which is 9.8 grams above her goal weight. Shirley was to press the bar down ten consecutive times in order to receive her reinforcement. The total training session resulted in 48 food presentations (481 bar presses).
Results and Discussion:
The first day of FR-7 training started at 4:45 which is unusual because our training normally begins at 2:30. Both Carolyn and I had conflicts at our normal training time and found the closest time slot with no one training in our box. When Shirley was first placed in the box she pressed the bar down a few times and then went to the magazine and tried to dig in it for food. She does this for a few minutes and then goes back to the bar, and finally presses down enough times to get reinforced. It seems to me that sometimes it takes Shirley a few minutes to realize that she is on a new level of reinforcement. Usually after she realizes the change she stays very engaged with the bar, today however she seems to be uninterested. For example, she pressed the bar six times and then took a break in the front left corner of the cage. She is extremely inattentive today and it seems that every outside noise is distracting to her. However, like in a previous reinforcement schedule she is having sporadic bursts of energy where she will run to the bar and press it as many times as she can until she is reinforced. Shirley was also very aggressive toward the bar today. It seems that as the schedules of reinforcement increase and she has to work harder to be reinforced she becomes more and more agressive. She is biting the bar more today and digging around in the magazine. Shirley took a long break in the middle of the training session but in the last few minutes she went back to the bar and continued pressing the bar as much as she could until the very end of the session. She seems to be doing this more often as the schedule of reinforcement is increasing. Because Shirley was not very responsive and did not have as many food presentations as normal Carolyn and I decided it was best to try her on this schedule again at the normal training time. The second day Shirley was acting much more like herself and was very engaged in the bar. After the second day on this schedule we thought she would be able to move up to the next schedule and be more successful!
FR- 10 was the next reinforcement schedule we put Shirley on. This was also the highest FR schedule she was on. After FR-10 we decided to place Shirley on a VR schedule instead. Therefore, this was the last day that Shirley was on a fixed ratio schedule. On this schedule Shirley presses the bar consecutively ten times in a row before checking the food hopper. She is becoming more aggressive toward the bar, biting it and pressing down harder, which may be a sign of frustration. She still takes a break in the middle of the training session and does not press the bar for several minutes, but around twenty-seven minutes she returned to the bar and pressed as much as she could until the end. Shirley's behavior became increasingly more aggressive and she displayed more signs of frustration (like biting, running around, pressing harder) as the schedules of reinforcement increased.
Shirley on FR-7 Schedule
FR- 10 was the next reinforcement schedule we put Shirley on. This was also the highest FR schedule she was on. After FR-10 we decided to place Shirley on a VR schedule instead. Therefore, this was the last day that Shirley was on a fixed ratio schedule. On this schedule Shirley presses the bar consecutively ten times in a row before checking the food hopper. She is becoming more aggressive toward the bar, biting it and pressing down harder, which may be a sign of frustration. She still takes a break in the middle of the training session and does not press the bar for several minutes, but around twenty-seven minutes she returned to the bar and pressed as much as she could until the end. Shirley's behavior became increasingly more aggressive and she displayed more signs of frustration (like biting, running around, pressing harder) as the schedules of reinforcement increased.
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