4 Flashcards
What is the difference between learning and training?
‘Learning’ is about how an animal’s potential for a behaviour changes with experience; ‘training’ describes the techniques used to ensure that learning comes about in a predictable way in response to human intervention.
What are the three important learning processes relevant to behaviour modification?
The three important learning processes are operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and habituation (and its reverse, sensitization).
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning, also known as trial-and-error learning or instrumental conditioning, is learning as a result of one’s actions.
How does operant conditioning affect behaviour?
Behaviours that are rewarded (reinforced) are more likely to recur, while those that are punished are less likely to recur in similar situations.
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian learning or respondent conditioning, is learning that one event predicts another that causes an instinctive response.
What is the role of a conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?
The conditioned stimulus becomes a signal that certain events will follow and is sometimes referred to as a bridging stimulus.
What is habituation?
Habituation is learning not to respond to a stimulus that triggers an instinctive response.
What is sensitization?
Sensitization is the reverse of habituation, where the animal becomes more reactive each time a harmless stimulus is presented.
What are contingency and contiguity?
Contingency describes the way two events co-vary, while contiguity describes the closeness of two events in time or space.
Why are both contingency and contiguity important in training?
Training is most effective when both contingency and contiguity are high.
What is latent inhibition?
Latent inhibition describes how the initial pairing of two events may interfere with learning about a third event introduced concurrently.
How are reinforcement and punishment defined?
Reinforcement and punishment are defined by their effect, not by the intent of the person delivering them.
What is positive reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is achieved by adding something to increase the likelihood of the desired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.
What is negative reinforcement?
Negative reinforcement is achieved by taking something away to increase the likelihood of the desired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.
What is positive punishment?
Positive punishment is achieved by adding something to decrease the likelihood of undesired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.
What is negative punishment?
Negative punishment is achieved by taking something away to decrease the likelihood of undesired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.
What is extinction in the context of learning?
Extinction is the consistent omission of a reward, leading to the loss of the reinforced association.
What is an extinction burst?
An extinction burst is the intensification of a response before it starts to disappear, often seen as a sign of frustration.
What is the effect of inadvertently giving reinforcement during an extinction burst?
It may lead to the more intense form of the response becoming learned, which is the opposite of the desired outcome.
What are self-reinforcing behaviors?
Behaviors such as play that cannot have their rewards removed without eliminating the behavior itself.
What should be identified to effectively use extinction?
All sources of reinforcement for the pet, including subtle ones like eye contact.
What does apparent failure of an extinction program usually indicate?
The behavior may be self-reinforcing, reinforcement may be coming from another source, or the program has not been given sufficient time to take effect.
How do reinforcement and punishment relate in animal training?
Reinforcement guides the animal to desired behavior, while punishment indicates what was done wrong without providing guidance on how to correct it.
What is the main difference between punishment and negative reinforcement?
Punishment applies an aversive stimulus to stop behavior, while negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus to increase desired behavior.
What is a common misconception about applying punishment?
Owners may think they are applying punishment when they are actually reinforcing unwanted behavior.
What are the risks of using mild aversives as punishment?
They can be ineffective, lead to conflicting information for the animal, and potentially result in greater long-term harm.
What can frequent mild punishment lead to?
Habituation, where the owner may increase the severity of punishment without realizing its ineffectiveness.
What is a potential consequence of applying punishment inappropriately?
It can induce fear or anxiety responses in the animal, leading to confusion and aggression.
What is non-contingent reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement given inappropriately, leading to undesirable behaviors being reinforced.
What is the importance of stimulus discrimination in training?
It allows for a reliable contingency to be set up, improving training efficiency and giving the animal more control over its environment.
What is continuous reinforcement?
A schedule where rewards are given every time a desired behavior occurs, useful in early training stages.
What is the preferred reinforcement schedule after initial training?
An intermittent schedule, which maintains interest and prevents predictability.
What are the potential downsides of a high reinforcement schedule?
It can lead to stress-related problems and a lack of coping mechanisms for unmet expectations.
What is differential reinforcement?
Focusing the delivery of rewards on occasions when performance is best, shaping the response towards higher-end displays.
What should be done as a behavior becomes more reliable?
The rate of reinforcement should be gradually reduced and food replaced with alternatives like social contact.
What are discriminative stimuli?
Discriminative stimuli are signals or cues that indicate what is wanted behaviorally from the animal and its consequences.
What does it mean for behavior to be under stimulus control?
Behavior is under stimulus control if a given discriminative stimulus indicates that reinforcement is only possible when it is present.
What is the differential outcome effect?
The differential outcome effect refers to using different rewards for different actions when teaching multiple tasks.
What is an example of a better predictor of a reward than verbal commands?
In the case of a dog asked to come when called, the owner’s body language and tone may be better predictors of a reward than the word ‘come’.
What can cause a previously established response to be lost?
Reasons include forgetting, extinction, counter-conditioning, and stress-induced dishabituation.
What happens if a learned response is not occasionally rehearsed?
The animal may forget what it has learned.
What is extinction in the context of behavior training?
Extinction occurs when a learned response is not occasionally reinforced, leading to its eventual disappearance.
What is counter-conditioning?
Counter-conditioning happens when an alternative behavior is inadvertently reinforced instead of the desired behavior.
What is stress-induced dishabituation?
Stress-induced dishabituation occurs when chronic stress leads an animal to forget previously learned behaviors.
What is the first step in building a behavior modification protocol?
The first step is to have a clear idea of the functional end goal of the program.
What are the ten key questions in designing a training program?
The ten key questions help ensure a clear protocol is built that can be implemented and assessed efficiently.
