Download Ans 336. Livestock Behavior and Well

Learning and motivation:
Mazes, aversion and operant
conditioning
Dr. Anna Johnson
Week 11
Thursday 12th April 2007
Students please note: I have included
quite a few links to web pages that will
help define and explain concepts in
this (and future weeks) slides.
Therefore, for the links to work you
need to be on-line and have access to
the internet.
Today
• Mazes
• Aversion
• Operant Conditioning
Mazes
Types of mazes
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Classical maze
T – maze
Multiple t-maze
Y – maze
Radial Y – maze
Elevated plus maze
Morris water maze
Classical Maze
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
T - Mazes
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
http://btc.bol.ucla.edu/id27.htm
Questions from a T – Maze?
• Side preferences
• Learning
• Preference
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
The Multiple T-maze
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
Questions from a multiple T – Maze?
• Cognitive maps and latent learning
• Place learning vs. response learning
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
The Y-maze
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
Questions from a Y – Maze?
• Novelty and memory
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
Piglet Motivation
• Y-maze tests piglet
relative motivations
• Mother’s odor is
learned by 12 hours
of age
• Piglet motivation to
be near the odor of
their mother is
stronger than their
motivation for heat
John McGlone Lab, TTU
A
B
The radial arm maze
Maze Types
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
Maze Types II
Questions from a Radial Arm Maze
• Short-term memory
• Behavioral neuroscience
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
Elevated Plus Maze
http://www.med-associates.com/mazes/elevatedmaze.htm
The Morris water maze
Wee rat!
http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsAndMa
zes.htm
http://btc.bol.ucla.edu/id27.htm
Questions from a Water Maze?
• Spatial learning, place learning,
cognitive maps and memory
• Behavioral neuroscience
http://www.ratbehavior.or
g/RatsAndMazes.htm
MI State Work
• Kind thanks to Dr. J. Siegford, MSU
• Three abstracts
– Acute stress impairs spatial learning and social recognition in
early-weaned pigs. AS Souza, K Laughlin, JM Siegford, AJ
Zanella.
– Maze Task’s Effect on Salivary Cortisol of Pigs at Weaning and
on Subsequent Fear Response. JM Siegford, G Rucker, AJ
Zanella
– Correlating spatial learning, social recognition, and aggression
in young pigs. JM Siegford, AS Souza, J Jansen, AJ Zanella
• Two Powerpoints
• Please review these after this lecture
Aversion
Full paper on the class home page for
you….
Information on the following slides
from:
Using Aversion Learning Techniques to
Assess the Mental State, Suffering and
Welfare of Farm Animals:
J. Rushen
J. Anim. Sci. 1996: 74:1990-1995
Aversion – the background
• Emphasis is upon understanding the structural basis
of consciousness
• Emphasis is upon understanding the function of
mental states
• Humans suffering
– Pain,
Rushen, 1996
– Fear,
– Boredom,
– Anxiety,
– Hunger.
• Similar logic can be applied to measure suffering in
animals
• Animals can learn to predict, from certain cues or
signals, how they are to be handled, and then show
some aversion to these signals
Social learning – Rushen 1986
Pushes
AVERSION…..
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
Attempts
No
Restraint
Shear
6
7
Factors that affect memory
• Factors that could affect memory or
learning ability need to be carefully
controlled
• Horses - learning
• Cattle – learning in a chute
Rushen, 1996
Punishment
• The animal is punished for performing a
particular behavior
• The aversiveness of the treatment is shown
by the extent that the animal stops
performing that particular behavior
• “Avoidance” learning” the animal must learn
to perform a behavior in order to avoid the
treatment
• Often avoidance-learning procedures are not
reliable
Rushen, 1996
SO….
A common method of determining the
relative aversion of handling methods
is to allow the animals to choose
between them
Rushen, 1996
Free choice vs. Forced choice
• Sheep in a Y-maze (Rushen 1986a)
• Choice procedures may allow us to rank one
or more handling methods in terms of the
animal’s preference, but alone they do not
allow us to say that a handling method is
aversive
• To determine the degree of aversion, it is
necessary to make animals pay some “cost”,
for example loss of access to food, in order
to avoid the procedures (Rushen, 1986c)
Rushen, 1996
Advantages of aversion learning
techniques
• More useful than traditional behavioral
measures when widely different handling
procedures are compared
• More able than physiological measures to
discriminate among different handling
methods
• More easily interpretable than either
physiological or other behavioral measures
Rushen, 1996
Examples of using aversion
testing
Electo-immobilization
• “Studies using aversion-learning
techniques, however, clearly showed
that electro immobilization was more
aversive than physical restraint for
both cattle (Pascoe, 1986) and sheep
(Grandin et al., 1986; Rushen, 1986d;
Rushen and Congdon, 1986).”
Rushen, 1996
Windowless
Ewes
discriminate
between alleys
by six 4- x 40-cm
yellow tape
strips 3 cm apart
(vertical on the
electroimmobilizer
side, horizontal
on the other)
were placed just
past the Y's fork
on panels on
both sides of
both alleys.
Human – Animal Relationships
• “Many of the handling treatments that animals find
aversive are performed by humans
• Gonyou et al. (1986) showed that pigs that were
handled pleasantly (i.e., stroked and petted) had
higher growth rates than pigs handled unpleasantly
(shocked)
• Dairy farmers who touch and speak to their cows
more often tend to have higher-producing cows, and
the higher-producing cows allow the farmers to
approach more closely, suggesting that they show
less aversion to them (Seabrook, 1984)
• De Passille´ et al. (1996) specifically examined how
young calves learn to associate aversive handling
treatments with handlers and how they learn to
discriminate between different handlers”
Rushen, 1996
Model of human – animal interactions
Hemsworth et al., 2003
Caretaker
Attitudes
Animal
Behavior
Prod. &
Health
Fear
Stress
Handling Effects on Fear Responses
Time to interact with human
(Hemsworth et al., 1986)
2.5
a
b
Time, min
2
1.5
c
1
0.5
0
Unpleasant
Minimal
Pleasant
% Pregnant
Handling Effects on Gilt Fertility
(Pregnancy rate, %;
(Hemsworth et al., 1986)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
87.5
55.6
33.3
Unpleas.
Minimal
Pleasant
Training effects on ppsy (weaned)
(McGlone and Blackshaw, 1996)
25
20.9
22.14
20
15
ppsy
10
5
1.24
0
Before
After
Change
Operant Conditioning
Learning theory
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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“Different theories of learning:
Instincts,
Social facilitation,
Observation,
Formal teaching,
Memory,
Mimicry,
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning (OC)*”
http://www.wagntrain.com/OC/
Operant Conditioning
•
“Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence
and form of behavior
•
Deals with the modification of voluntary behavior through the use of
consequences
•
Operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning or
instrumental learning, was first extensively studied by Edward L. Thorndike
(1874-1949)
•
Theorized that successful responses, those producing satisfying
consequences, were "stamped in" by the experience and thus occurred more
frequently
•
Unsuccessful responses, those producing annoying consequences, were
stamped out and subsequently occurred less frequently
•
In short, some consequences strengthened behavior and some consequences
weakened behavior
•
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) built upon Thorndike's ideas to construct a more
detailed theory of operant conditioning based on reinforcement, punishment,
and extinction.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
What is operant conditioning…
• “Term used to describe the effects of the consequences of a
particular behavior on the future occurrence of that behavior
• Five types of operant conditioning:
• Strengthen behavior:
– Positive reinforcement,
– Negative reinforcement strengthen behavior.
• Weaken behavior:
– Punishment,
– Response cost,
– Extinction.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Glossary of terms to help..
• “The technical term for "an event started" or "an
item presented" is positive, since it's something
that's added to the animal's environment.
• The technical term for "an event ended" or "an item
taken away" is negative, since it's something
that's subtracted from the animal's environment.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Glossary of terms to help..
• “Anything that increases a behavior - makes it occur
more frequently, makes it stronger, or makes it more
likely to occur - is termed a reinforcer.
• Often, an animal (or person) will perceive "starting
Something Good" or "ending Something Bad" as
something worth pursuing, and they will repeat the
behaviors that seem to cause these consequences.
• These consequences will increase the behaviors that
lead to them, so they are reinforcers. These are
consequences the animal will work to attain, so they
strengthen the behavior.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Glossary of terms to help..
• “Anything that decreases a behavior - makes it
occur less frequently, makes it weaker, or makes it
less likely to occur - is termed a punisher
• Often, an animal (or person) will perceive "ending
Something Good" or "starting Something Bad" as
something worth avoiding, and they will not repeat
the behaviors that seem to cause these
consequences.
• These consequences will decrease the behaviors
that lead to them, so they are punishers.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Positive Reinforcement
• “Something Good can start or be presented,
so behavior increases = Positive
Reinforcement (R+)
• A positive or pleasant stimulus is used in the
process
• The reinforcer is added
• In positive reinforcement, a positive
reinforcer is added after a response and
increases the frequency of the response.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Example…
“ dolphin gets a fish for doing a trick.
The dog gets a piece of liver for returning when called.
The cat gets comfort for sleeping on the bed.
The wolf gets a meal for hunting the deer.
The dog gets attention from his people when he barks.
The dog gets to play in the park for pulling her owner
there.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Negative Reinforcement
• “Something Bad can end or be taken away, so
behavior increases = Negative Reinforcement (R-)
• A negative or aversive stimulus is used in the
process
• The reinforcer is subtracted
• In negative reinforcement, after the response the
negative reinforcer is removed which increases the
frequency of the response”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Examples
“The window looking into the other monkey's
enclosure is shut when the first monkey
bites the trainer
The dog is put on leash and taken from the
park for coming to the owner when the owner
called (this causes the unintentional result of
the dog being less likely to respond to the
recall)
The dolphin trainer walks away with the fish
bucket when the dolphin acts aggressive.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Punishment
• “Something Bad can start or be presented, so
behavior decreases = Positive Punishment (P+)
• Something Good can end or be taken away, so
behavior decreases = Negative Punishment (P-)
• Weakens a behavior by adding a negative stimulus
• After a response a negative or aversive stimulus is
added which weakens the frequency of the
response.”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Examples
“The peeing on the rug (by a puppy) is punished with a
swat of the newspaper
A dog's barking is punished with a startling squirt of
citronella”
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Skinner Box
Wiepkema, http://www.wikipedia.org/
Schedules of reinforcement
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•
•
•
•
Four types of reinforcement schedules:
Variable ratio
Fixed ratio
Variable interval
Fixed interval
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/c
ol/behsys/operant.html
Schedules of reinforcement
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/c
ol/behsys/operant.html
Variable Ratio
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/c
ol/behsys/operant.html
Fixed Ratio
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/c
ol/behsys/operant.html
Variable - Interval
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/c
ol/behsys/operant.html
Fixed Interval Schedule
Homework Assignment
• I will allocate each of you a paper for
you to write your abstract on (1) what
this is and (2) the challenges and
positives associated with this.
• Send you abstracts out to the class by
Wednesday 11th April Noon Central
• Students to present their abstracts in
class on Thursday 12th April 2007
Homework Assignment
• Papers can be found on the class home
page:
– Class home page
Name
Crystal
Lindsey
Ashley
Justin
Paper - subject
Position
Aversion: Pajor et al.,
Elevated Plus Maze:
Janczak et al.,
Operant conditioning: Holm
et al.,
T – Maze: Lensink et al.,
No position this
week – please write
as the Primary
reviewer
Homework Assignment
• Needed for the abstract
– Describe the objective (s)
– Brief materials and methods
– Detail on the tool or test used (maybe link to a
web page if useful)
•
•
•
•
What does it measure
How does it measure?
How can the information be downloaded and used?
How is the item fixed onto the animals etc.,
– Identify in your opinion one challenge and one
positive for this tool or tests as your conclusion
statement
Homework assignment
• Report the results, and conclusions
• Please follow the guidelines for writing
style as if you are a PRIMARY Reviewer
– these can be found in the class
syllabus
• Any concerns e-mail me:
[email protected]
Thanks !