Download - Employees

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Online Training for Perfect Start™ Certification Program
from Invisible Fence®
Created by
Animal Behavior Associates, Inc.
303-932-9095 phone
[email protected]
Instructors:
Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB, CVJ
Dan Estep, Ph.D., CAAB
COURSE NOTES FOR Perfect Start™ Online Training
Session Three
Animal Learning Part One
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
2
GLOSSARY
Conditioned punisher – a stimulus that signals the onset of a positive punisher.
It should be able to mark the unwanted behavior just as a conditioned positive
reinforcer does. The warning tone in the Invisible Fence® system is example of
a conditioned punisher.
Continuous reinforcement – each correct response is reinforced
Extinction - Withholding or removal of positive reinforcement for a previously
reinforced behavior. Extinction can also refer to the loss of the association
between a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus (tone no longer predicts
shock, clicker no longer predicts a treat)
Intermittent reinforcement – only some correct responses are reinforced, on a
schedule the animal cannot predict. There are several different patterns, or
schedules, for the delivery of intermittent reinforcement.
Learning - A process by which a relatively permanent change in behavior is
produced as a result of specific experiences. Learning can’t be observed
directly, only its effects on behavior. You must see a change in behavior
(performance) to infer that learning has occurred. Physical injury, maturation and
fatigue can all produce changes in behavior as a result of experience but they
are not learning.
Latent learning – from being exposed to a particular situation without any
apparent benefit (no reward or punishment), an animal is then able to use this
experience later in a beneficial way. The animal learned something from the
exposure, but the learning wasn’t expressed until the benefit was made available.
Habituation - A decline in a response as a result of the repeated presentation of
a stimulus. Example - A dog in a cage at an animal shelter initially jumps or
cowers when he hears unfamiliar sounds. After several hours or days in the
cage, he no longer jumps up or cowers when he hears the noises. This process
allows animals to actively ignore things in the environment that aren’t important.
Motivation - all external and internal factors that influences the likelihood an
animal will engage in a particular behavior.
Premack Principle – any high probability behavior can be used to reinforce a
low probability behavior. Everyday activities a dog enjoys can be used to
reinforce a behavior you are trying to teach. An example would be rewarding a
dog for coming when called by releasing him to go play in the park.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
3
Primary (unconditioned) reinforcer – something the animal naturally enjoys
(without any conditioning) and will work to obtain. Examples include food, water,
sex, and in some animals, the opportunities to explore new areas or things,
opportunities to play, and social contact with others.
Sensitization - The opposite of habituation, an increase in a response as a
result of repeated exposures. A dog that showed shaking only to very bad
thunderstorms, now shows fear and shaking to even very mild thunderstorms
after several experiences with them.
Sensitization and habituation are the simplest forms of learning. No new
behavior is learned nor does the animal learn new associations. A behavior
increases or decreases as a result of repeated exposure. Animals generally
habituate to things that aren’t important and sensitize to things that may be
harmful or important to survival.
Classical or Respondent Conditioning - Stimulus substitution learning, where
a new stimulus comes to elicit an automatic response. Example - A strong clap
of thunder (unconditioned stimulus) produces a fearful startle response in a dog
(unconditioned response). After experiencing a number of storms where the
smell of rain preceded the thunderclaps, now the smell of rain by itself
(conditioned stimulus) with no thunder, produces the startle response
(conditioned response). The dog has learned to associate rain with thunderclaps
and now rain by itself produces fearful behavior. The dog’s response and the
consequences of that response have no effect on the learning. Classical
conditioning is most often seen in very emotional behaviors such as fears and
aggression.
Operant or Instrumental Learning – Response-consequence learning. The
animal learns a relationship between its behavior and the consequences of that
behavior. The consequences can be pleasant or unpleasant. Example - A dog
that learns to bark or ‘speak’ on command to get a food treat. The word “speak”
is the antecedent or cue for the behavior, barking is the response, and the treat is
the consequence. After repeated trials, Rover learns a treat follows when he
barks after he hears the word “speak”, but no treat follows when he barks at
other times.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
4
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental or Skinnerian
conditioning, is based on the principle that the consequences of animal’s
behavior will influence its frequency. This is known as Thorndike’s Law of Effect,
which says behavior that results in pleasant outcomes will be repeated, and that
which results in unpleasant consequences will decrease in frequency. The
outcomes are positive and negative reinforcement, and positive and negative
punishment. These terms are illustrated in the following table.
Consequence
(What Follows
the Behavior)
An enjoyable,
“good” thing
Add It, Present It, Give It
(Positive)
Positive Reinforcement (R+)
Behavior Increases
Example:
Dog sits, he receives a food treat
Remove It, Withhold It, Take It
Away
(Negative)
Negative Punishment (P-)
Behavior Decreases
Person stops petting a dog when
the dog jumps on her
An unpleasant,
“bad” thing
Positive Punishment (P+)
Behavior Decreases
When he barks, a dog receives a
spray of citronella from an anti-bark
collar
Negative Reinforcement (R-)
Behavior Increases
Example:
A person backs away from a
fearful dog who is growling.
What To Use For Positive Primary Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is anything an animal will work to obtain. For most dogs,
primary reinforcers – things dogs inherently like and will try to acquire for
themselves are food, toys (or at least the opportunity to play) and petting.
Also consider the use of so-called ‘life rewards’, a term coined by Dr. Ian Dunbar.
Examples include the opportunity to chase a squirrel, go for a walk in the park,
get on the bed and cuddle. The technical term for this is the Premack Principle.
It means that a behavior that is highly likely to occur can be used to reinforce one
that is much less likely.
Use the Motivational Pyramid to help clients identify what things in life are
important to their pets and then use these things to reinforce behavior.
Food As A Reinforcer. Tidbits should be small, very palatable, soft and
easy to swallow without much chewing, and be a mixture of several types of food
the pet doesn’t receive outside of training.
Toys As Reinforcers. As already described, if a toy is used to reinforce
good behavior, the pet cannot have free access to this toy. Contrary to popular
belief, tug toys make great reinforcers. Research has shown that playing tug of
war is not correlated with the development of aggression problems. Two main
rules are that the dog’s teeth must never touch skin during the game, and that
the dog will release the toy when requested. For some dogs, it may be better to
delay tug until a release word is learned.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
5
Petting As A Reinforcer. Most pets and many cats enjoy petting,
however its value as a reinforcer is often diminished because most everyone
tends to pet and touch their pets all the time. Since this is a resource that is
usually impractical to control access to, its best use is probably as an additional
reinforcement, rather than the sole reinforcer.
Vary The Reinforcer. A particular reinforcer will remain more motivating
if it isn’t given every time. If a small piece of cheese is the only thing an owner
uses for reinforcement, the pet is going to tire of cheese pretty quickly. Owners
should vary their reinforcers by using a mixture of food, or a selection of toys.
The ‘Eager To Please’ Belief
This is an anthropomorphic description of dogs for whom social
reinforcements and punishments are very important. ‘Eager to please’ could
either mean that petting, praise and attention are very strong inducements, or
that verbal discipline and threatening body postures are very unpleasant
consequences.
Criteria for Effective Positive Punishment
1. Must be immediate – the aversive stimulus must occur within a few
seconds of the behavior. Punishment “after the fact” is ineffective and unfair to
the animal. Punishment delivered at the beginning of the unwanted behavior is
more effective.
2. Must be consistent – be delivered after every occurrence of the target
behavior. Contrary to intermittent reinforcement, intermittent punishment is not a
tool for effective learning.
3. Must be of appropriate intensity – should be sufficiently unpleasant to
suppress the behavior within a few trials. If it does not, then by definition, the
aversive event is not punishing. The minimum intensity required to suppress the
behavior should be used, which is difficult to determine ahead of time. Weak
“punishers” may not be perceived as punishment. Punishers that are too strong
create fear which interferes with learning
4. Must “turn off” – the aversive event must terminate when the animal’s
behavior stops and the animal must know what behavior will “turn it off”
5. Remote punishment is usually advantageous over interactive –
the aversive event should not come from the owner but is instead activated by
the dog’s behavior
6. Best if provide alternative response which can be reinforced –
suppressing a highly motivated behavior creates a ‘behavioral vacuum’ that
animal will fill with his own choice if another is not provided. Reinforce the dog
for the behavior you want him to do instead. For example if you choose to
positively punish jumping up, the dog should be reinforced for sitting to greet
people.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
6
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning, also known as respondent conditioning or Pavlovian
conditioning, is the process by which an animal learns an association between
two events. One stimulus (the CS, conditioned stimulus) predicts the occurrence
of the other (the UCS, unconditioned stimulus. The CS can then elicit the same,
or similar response as the UCS. Classical conditioning is not dependent on the
animal’s behavior.
In other words, the association between events occurs regardless of what the
animal is doing. However, the UCS and the CS do elicit a response. Examples
are in the following table. The response elicited by the UCS, and after training
(conditioning), the response elicited by the CS, is typically involuntary. In
Pavlov’s classic example, the food (the UCS) and then the bell and the light (the
CSs) elicited salivation (the UCR then the CR), an involuntary reflex.
Conditioned Stimulus
Doorbell
Ride in the car
Wind
Leash
Can opener
Tone
Unconditioned
Stimulus
Arrival of visitors
Veterinary visit
Thunder
Walk
Food
Shock
Response
Greeting, fear, threat
Fear
Fear
Excitement
Salivation
Avoidance
Animals learn a significant amount about their environment through classical
conditioning. In many situations, classical and operant conditioning occur
simultaneously. For example dogs learn what sequence of events predicts a
walk and will approach the door in anticipation. Being near the door is then
reinforced with a walk.
Operant Counter Conditioning
Counter conditioning can be based on either operant or classical conditioning.
Operant counter conditioning is a technique whereby a particular cue comes to
elicit a behavior that is “counter to”, or incompatible with the unwanted behavior.
For example, for many untrained dogs, a visitor entering the house is a cue for,
or elicits, jumping up. Successful counter conditioning would result in the visitor’s
appearance eliciting an automatic “sit” instead.
Classical Counter Conditioning
This type of counter conditioning is not based on eliciting a specific behavior from
the animal. Classical counter conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus
(CS) predicts an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that is “counter to” the previously
conditioned one.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
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For example, a particular sound might predict pain and unpleasantness.
Classical counter conditioning would be accomplished when instead, sound
predicts something pleasant. Classical counter conditioning can successfully
change emotional reactions.
Classical and Operant Conditioning and their Effect on Voluntary and
Involuntary Behaviors
Emotions can influence other voluntary behaviors. Anxiety and other emotions
can result in poor, or no performance of previously conditioned voluntary
behaviors.
Address Emotional States First
Because emotional states affect behavior it is often necessary to modify the
emotional state before we can influence a voluntary behavior.
When we conduct an in-home consultation we are often met by an aggressive,
frightened or even an unruly dog. These dogs may be shying away from us,
barking and growling at us, or jumping at us. In most situations, the first thing we
do is to toss treats on the floor while otherwise ignoring the dog. Rather than
reinforcing any of those behaviors, instead this functions to change the dog’s
emotional state which in turn changes the motivation for the unwanted behavior.
Can We Reinforce Fear and Other Emotional States?
Of all the myths and misconceptions that have surrounded dog behavior and
training for a very long time, perhaps the most persistent is the one that claims it
is possible to reinforce an animal’s fear by paying attention to him or trying to
reassure him.
Behavioral scientists have long known that it is difficult to influence emotional
states and involuntary behaviors using rewards and punishments. Ever tried to
influence your heart rate or other physiological parameter using biofeedback?
Not easy to learn, with the cognitive abilities of people that animals don’t share.
So, if your dog is afraid of say thunder, and you hold your pet and calmly stroke
her to help her relax and calm down do you think her fearful behavior is likely to
increase?
That’s what reinforcement does - increase the frequency of behaviors it follows.
So if reassurance rewards fearful behavior, then it also follows that your pet is
becoming more afraid as a result. It’s the emotion of fear that is expressed with
observable behaviors. If your pet’s feelings of being afraid don’t intensify, then
neither will her fearful behaviors.
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
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There seems to be a persistent belief that it is possible to reward fearful
behaviors without rewarding the emotion of fear. This may be true in people. We
all know individuals with a “martyr” mentality who will act fearful and helpless just
to get attention and have others take care of them.
This doesn’t seem to be true for animals. They don’t pretend. If they don’t feel
afraid, they don’t act afraid. When their emotional state changes, so do their
behaviors.
Behavioral researchers back in the 1940s, conditioned rats to jump to the other
side of their enclosure in order to avoid the shock that followed a buzzer. In the
next phase of training, the researchers changed the sequence so that cheese
followed the buzzer and the shock was discontinued.
Over multiple experiences with cheese follows buzzer, even as the rats
attempted to jump to the other side, do you think the rats became more fearful
and increased their jumping behavior? That’s what would happen if you believe
the jumping behavior (and therefore the fear) was reinforced by the cheese.
Just the opposite occurred. The rats’ fear decreased, the jumping stopped and
they began to eat the cheese. This is an example of classical conditioning
changing behavior by changing emotional state rather than operant conditioning
rewarding fear.
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burch, M.R. & Bailey, J.S. How Dogs Learn. New York: Howell Book House.
Donaldson, J., 1998. Dogs Are From Neptune. Montreal, Canada: Lasar
Multimedia Productions.
Hetts, S. Pet Behavior Protocols. What to Say, What to Do, When to Refer.
1999. Lakewood, CO: American Animal Hospital Association Press, pp. 27-44.
Miklosi, A. 2007. Dog Behaviour, Evolution and Cognition. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Pryor, K., 1984. Don’t Shoot the Dog. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Schwartz, B., and S. J. Robbins. 1995. Psychology of Learning and Behavior.
New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.
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Reid, P.J. 1996. Excel-erated Learning. Explaining in Plain English How
Dogs Learn and How Best To Teach Them. Oakland, CA: James and
Kenneth Publ.
Reid, P.J. 2007. Learning in dogs. In Jensen, P. (Ed.) The Behavioural Biology
of Dogs. Cambridge, MA: CAB International, Pp. 120-144.
Wright, J.C., Reid, P.J. and Rozier, Z. 2005. Treatment of emotional distress
and disorders-non-pharmacologic methods. In McMillan, F.D. Ed. Mental
Health and Well-Being in Animals. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 145158. To download the Chapter Click HERE
Copyright 2011,2012 Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission for Perfect Start™ Certification Program. May not be reproduced or distributed in
whole or in part outside of these parameters without express permission from Animal
Behavior Associates, Inc.