Member-only story
I Taught Roberta to Push a Car off a Cliff
There is power in reinforcement.
Behavior change is a key variable in improving mood, and as a psychologist, I have extensive training in this area.
I first learned how to alter behavior in one of my favorite undergraduate courses, Behavior Modification. I loved learning about ways to influence behavior, and I was particularly fascinated by operant conditioning. The use of reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease behavior is a simple, yet powerful concept.
The highlight of this class was practicing operant conditioning with Roberta, my lab rat.
When I first heard I would be assigned a rat, I pictured a mouse. A cute, furry, little mouse. Instead, it was just as the instructor described — a rat. A large, white one with pink eyes and an incredibly long tail.
Frankly, she was somewhat terrifying to me. I imagine I was a little scary to her too.
Our class assignment was to train Roberta “to do something amazing.” That was a vague task, and my lab partner and I weren’t sure where to begin. We started by just watching her.
After removing Roberta’s house (a nicely decorated shoebox), we let her explore the large lab table. We wanted to see what behavior was natural to her, hoping that might…
