Notes

Observable Behaviors:            -Sharon

1. Paws against glass

2. Nose to ceiling

3. Sticking nose under the bars on the floor

4. Paws on lever (4 times)

5. Stand on hind legs

6. Sniffed tail

7. Stuck face in magazine

I CHECKED AND WE CAN USE SNIFFING BUT NOT SMELLING            –Ashley

Actions Observed:           -Ashley

1. Sticking nose between bars

2. Sniffing top of bars

3. Rearing up on back legs

4. Paws against glass/walls

5. Sniffing ceiling

6. Sniffing magazine

7. Sniffing glass/walls

8. Scratched nose with back paw

9. Walking courner to courner

10. Sniffing tail

11. Put paw on level (4 TIMES)

12. Sat still turning head side to side

13. Used back paw to scratch stomach

14. Put front paws to mouth/nose and sniffed them

Issues That Occured:          -Ashley

1. Trial #1: At first Ashley thought we HAD to always use 5 drops when reinforcing and didn’t fade the number of drops at the appropriate time 

2. Trial #2: Ashley accidentally used the 1st rat again in a second experiment and did not use a brand new rat

3. Ashley attempted and failed experiment 2 times; Passed 3rd time

c. Each time failed and started a new experiment the procedure used became more specific with reinforcement guidelines

Original Procedure (Trial #1):       -Ashley

1. Reinforce 5x when the rat’s nose is at or in the magazine for the first few times

2. Allow to move farther away then reinforce 5x when close to magazine a few times

3. Allow to even move farther away and reinforce 5x when the rat looks at the magazine

4. Fade to 2x when looking at magazine and across the cage

5. Fade to 1x when not looking at magazine and across the cage

Was not happening without delay so added the following step 6:

0. 1x when not looking at the magazine but 2x if rat responds immediately 

Never Mastered- Failed Trial #1

0. Fade to 1x when not looking at magazine and across the cage

If happened 5x with success then experiment would have been successful

Updated Procedure (Trial #2):           -Ashley

1. Reinforce 5x when the rat’s nose was at or in the magazine (5x before moving on)

2. Allow the rat to move a little farther away from the magazine and reinforce when it gets close to the magazine 2x (5x with success before moving on)

3. Fade to allowing the rat to move farther away and reinforce 2x when the rat looks at the magazine (5x with success before moving on)

4. Fade to allowing the rat to go to the other side of the cage and reinforce when the rat looks at the magazine 2x (5x with success before moving on)

5. Fade to 1x when the rat is across the cage not looking, but did another 1x if the rat responded immediately (5x with success before moving on)

Never Mastered- Failed Trial #2

0. Fade to 1x when rat is across the cage not looking 

If happened 5x with success then experiment would have been successful

Updated Procedure (Trial #3):            -Ashley

1. Reinforce 5x when the rat’s nose was at or in the magazine (5x before moving on)

2. Allow the rat to move a little farther away from the magazine and reinforce when it gets close to the magazine 2x (5x with success before moving on)

3. Fade to allowing the rat to move halfway across the cage and reinforce 2x when the rat looks at the magazine (5x with success before moving on)

4. Fade to allowing the rat to go to the other side of the cage and reinforce when the rat looks at the magazine 2x (5x with success before moving on)

5. Fade to 2x when the rat is across the cage and not looking at the magazine (5x with success before moving on)

6. Fade to 1x when the rat is across the cage not looking at the magazine, but another 1x is the rat responds immediately (5x with success before moving on)

MASTERED- PASSED- LAB SUCCESSFUL

0. Fade to 1x when the rat is across the cage not looking at the magazine (5x with success before moving on)

Never Mastered

· Experiment was done 3 times:               -Ashley

· 20 min (Observation)

· 30 min (Experiment 1)

· 30 min (Experiement 2)

· 30 min (Experiment 3)

· Total Experiment time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

· Number of drops given: 

· 179

CyberRat Lab Report #1: Magazine Training

Sharon Cuellar, Ashley Chase, and Tajah Williams

Department of Applied Behavior Analysis, Russell Sage College 

ABA 501: Introduction to Behavior Analysis

Dr. Lori Finn 

June 12, 2023

CyberRat Lab Report #1: Magazine Training

Part One: Observation Notes

Before magazine training, the rat was observed for a 20-minute period in its natural environment inside the experimental chamber.  The experimental chamber has two glass walls, on the front and back sides, and two metal walls, on the right and left sides of the experimental chamber. The inside the chamber on the right metal wall there is the lever and magazine. The bottom of the chamber has metal bars and the ceiling is glass. During this observation time, the rat engaged in 10 different types of behavior. The rat stuck its nose between the bars on the bottom of the cage. We also observed the rat sniffing the ceiling of the chamber. There were some instances where the rat was rearing up on its back legs and moments where it pressed its paws against the glass walls of the experimental chamber. We also observed several instances of sniffing behavior which included, sniffing the ceiling, the magazine, its own tail, and the glass walls of the experimental chamber. There were also moments when the rat scratched itself on its stomach with its back paw. We also noticed that the rat was walking from one end of the experimental cage to the other. There were times were the rat would sit down and turn its head from side to side. It should be noted that we observed the rat put its paw on the level 4 times.

Part Two: Magazine Training

Our goal of magazine training was to get the rat conditioned to respond to the sound of the click immediately by orienting itself and moving straight to the magazine from the back of the cage. We wanted the click to become a secondary reinforcer and be an sD for the availability of water. In our original strategy, the first step was to provide reinforcement only when the rat’s head was inside or at the magazine. If the rat was at the magazine, but it’s head was not inside, we planned to provide additional reinforcement once the rat put it’s head inside. We planned to do this a few times then move on to step two. The second step was to wait for the rat to move away and then come back towards the magazine, and when the rat was a small distance away, we planned to provide reinforcement with additional reinforcement provided once the rat puts it’s head inside the magazine. This is repeated until the rat was consistently responding to the click immediately at that distance, then we planned to move on to step three. The third step planned to allow the rat to move away from the magazine and when the rat orients toward the magazine again, but further away that during the previous step, reinforcement would be delivered. Step four plans to repeat step three with the rat further and further away from the magazine until the rat is responding to the click immediately from the back of the cage.

In your next paragraph(s), describe in a step-by-step manner what actually occurred during the magazine training. The focus of this report is the “technological dimension” that you learned about from Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968). Explain in a clear and simple manner, using formal language. Be specific enough that your instructor knows what you did and what your rat did throughout the session. Use transition words such as “first”, “then”, “next”, “finally”. At each step, describe what you did (specifically) and what the rat did (specifically). If you ran into any problems, describe them. If you deviated from your strategy, indicate how and why. Be clear about the point at which the rat met the criterion. ( Results)

The final paragraph should be a general conclusion that includes a statement indicating how long it took to complete the process and how many drops of water you delivered. This entire section should be at least 300 words in length. Most students will require more words than this to sufficiently describe what occurred.

Some general suggestions for this section: When you describe the process of reinforcement, you can say that you delivered reinforcement or that you reinforced a certain response. It is better not to describe the process as “giving” water to the rat. Also keep in mind that you do not reinforce “the rat”—you reinforce behavior. If you are quantifying this, you can talk about the number of drops delivered, the number of reinforcers, or the number of times you reinforced. Do not talk in terms of the number of “reinforcements” provided. This is shown on CyberRat, but it is not correct to use “reinforcements” in the plural.

When you describe the magazine training process, remember that you are pairing the click with the delivery of water. This pairing establishes the click as a secondary reinforcer. Use this terminology. Keep in mind that the rat is not pairing anything, you are presenting the stimuli in a paired manner. The rat is also not expected to make an association between the sound of the click and the water. It does not need to understand that the sound means water is available. This is a mentalistic explanation. You can explain all of this in behavioral, objective language, and you should.