Remy's Training Days 15 and 16-VR schedules

March 11 and 12, 2016.

For these two days, I decided to put Remy on two variable ratio schedules of reinforcement. A variable ratio is different from a fixed ratio in that the number after VR(x) is the average number of responses required for a reinforcement to be issued. My goal for these two days was to challenge Remy, because it seemed like she was getting bored with the bar pressing game.

For these procedures, I just watched Remy press the bar. Which she did, a lot. Our sessions began at 4:30 each day and her weight was 203.6 grams on March 11 and 203.4 grams on March 12 (91% of her starting weight). Take a look below for an example of how she did:

Results:
I was hoping to see less post-reinforcement pauses in this type of schedule and an overall increased level of response in Remy. On the VR3 schedule, she pressed the bar 160 times and got 53 reinforcements. On the VR5 schedule, she pressed the bar 225 times and got 45 reinforcements.

Cumulative Record 3/11/16 (VR3)

Cumulative Record 3/12/16 (VR5)

As you can see, I still saw the pauses marked by a horizontal line, but there were less of them than on the fixed ratio schedules.

Discussion:
I would say that Remy was challenged by this type of schedule. Her behaviors changed during these training sessions, marked by higher levels of aggression towards pressing the bar, constant checking of the food magazine, and more time spent near the bar. She seemed confused often when it didn't deliver reinforcements, but wouldn't give up!

Now that I have tested her skills at variable schedules of reinforcement, I will spend my last two training days extinguishing the bar pressing behavior.

-Jessica