In Psychology 101 in college, one of our experiments was training a rat using what’s called a Skinner Box, named for the famous behaviorist B. F. Skinner. I put my assigned rat (named Bianca, for the heroine of The Rescuers) in this box, which was empty except for a lever she could push down and a hole she could get treats through. And then my job was to watch her for hours until she pushed the lever by accident, and when she did, I would quickly push a Rice Krispie through the treat hole into the box. The idea was she would soon become conditioned to push the lever to get a treat, but it turned out Bianca, much like her namesake, was a rat of refined tastes and would not work for plain Rice Krispies. It was Cocoa Krispies that finally got her pushing the lever like a champ, even throughout the inconsistent reinforcement phase of the experiment. By the time the semester was over, I think both of us had Stockholm Syndrome, and so when I learned Bianca was slated to be sacrificed, I stole her and took her home for Christmas, where she lived happily climbing the Christmas tree, making tunnels in the afghan on the couch, and eating all the Cocoa Krispies she wanted until she died of cancer six months later as lab rats are won’t to do. RIP Bianca. (My vet actually sent me a condolence note after we euthanized her, signed by everyone in the office, which was over-the-top and really sweet at the same time).
Anyway, that course taught me an important lesson, other than that lab rats have really short lifespans: you can train anybody or anything as long as the reward is high-enough value. Fast forward to me being 50 years of age and still not adulting sufficiently to consistently floss/waterpick my teeth twice a day–a routine that may sound excessive but which my dentist promises is necessary if I want to avoid the gum transplant surgery my mom just had, and I guarantee you I want to avoid gum transplant surgery. What to do? Skinner Box it. The time-frame was easy since everyone says it takes 2 weeks to form a habit. The Cocoa Krispies were the next step: and lo and behold if Sertodo Copper didn’t happen to have a schmancy copper jam basin that I had heart-eyes for but that was too expensive to just up and buy. But as a reward for 2 weeks of flossing? You betcha.
You can tell by the picture that I succeeded. Better yet, looking at the basin hanging up there on the rack is a great reminder to check if I’ve brushed and flossed yet that morning. It’s like I want to keep earning the reward, and I have been–for 3 months solid now. Cocoa Krispies for the win! I was so chuffed by the success of my Psych 101 method that Malena and I just applied it to training ourselves to do our PT/yoga at least 3x a week (Cocoa Krispie: spa weekend in Japantown). Next step, taking my vitamins every day! Like an adult! (Except I kinda already bought myself those Cocoa Krispies when I got these awesome rose-gold ouroboros hoops from Automic Gold, so I’m gonna have to earn them retroactively….)
PS It was perfect timing on the jam basin b/c I got buried in stone fruit this year. And that basin is THE BOMB. Heats evenly so no scorching even on medium heat, and I don’t know if it’s the reactivity of the pot or what, but I’m getting less browning of the fruit and the flavor is out of this world.
The Rookery 