Category: Advanced Stuff ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Easing Into VSR ¤
   
Julia Winter (who uses her last name! <G>) has difficulty in moving
to a VSR.
   Julia, have faith in the Force. It surrounds us. It holds us
together. It has a bright side and a dark side... Ooops, forget that, I
thought we were talking about duct tape! <LOL>
   Rather than going for a fixed VSR (always two-fers, always
three-fers, whatever), it's more comfortable to bounce around. Do a
couple one-for-ones, then slip in a two-fer, then do a couple more
one-for-ones.
   Another way to ease the way into a VSR is to use differential
reinforcement (a term I think I made up myself, not sure)--differential
reinforcement is where you use ho-hum treats normally and WONDERFUL
treats occasionally. If the normal treat is a Rice Crispie or Cheerio
(one single) then it's not such a leap to leave it out once. I mean,
there's barely a difference between a single Rice Crispie and no Rice
Crispie! <LOL>
   Or... sometimes the best way is to discover it for yourself. Pick a
simple trick. Quantify that trick in as many ways as you can: speed of
action, breadth of action, distance away from you, however it can be
quantified. Record all this stuff! Then pick one aspect to be
quantified. Try a simple VSR bouncing around 1 to 3 responses. Keep
records. Add up your records for each training session and see what
happened to your target behaviour after you started on the VSR. Look at
what happened--if you did it properly (good timing, etc), the response
will have rocketed. Once you've seen it with your own eyes, you're never
so addicted to a 1-for-1 schedule again!

M. Shirley Chong, High School Graduate
The Well Mannered Dog