Shaping Lil Thing DAY 1

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DAY 1


The first day of shaping training lasted 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes I administered 100 pellets with the handswitch. During this process I could tell very quickly that she knew the lever had something to do with her task. I began delivering pellets when she put her head near the lever. Then her nose on the lever. Then she began biting the lever which I rewarded. She then began putting her right hand on lever and ducking her head under the lever (as seen in photo). I reinforced this action because she was making contact with the lever but then I was afraid she would think she was being rewarded for ducking her head. Then I waited for her to bring her head up to reward her. Throughout this discovery process she would get frustrated or uninterested and would take a lap or two around the operant box. By the end of the 30 minute session though Lil Thing was making good contact with the lever but was not pressing down yet. I hope that DAY 2 of shaping we will make more progress. This process has been similar to the in class discussion because she is learning but it is clear she is having to learn in steps. I didn't just put her in the box and she knew exactly what to do. 

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