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ANS 142 - Captive & Companion Animals > Animal Learning > Flashcards

Animal Learning Flashcards

1
Q

What is learning?

A
  • Specific experiences result in a change in response to a given situation
  • Many different ways to get from A to B => many different training methods
  • Appropriate training method depends on the situation and the individual animal
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2
Q

What can we do with learning & training?

A
  • Increase or decrease particular behaviors
  • Improve “manners” and self-control
  • Enrichment and confidence-building
  • Change the affective state of an animal in response to a particular situation
    • Try to reduce negativity of several stimuli
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3
Q

Simple Learning

A
  • Animals learn which stimuli they need to pay attention to in their environment
  • Which are important & unimportant
  • Learn to make smart decisions in specific contexts -> habituation and sensitization
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4
Q

Habituation: repeated exposure to the stimulus results in a decrease in response over time

A
  • Can be both positive and negative
  • Ex: trying to eliminate fear in dog for specific object by exposure
  • NOT the same as acclimation
  • Acclimation - physiological and behavioral adjustment to environmental change
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5
Q

Sensitization: repeated exposure to the stimulus results in an increase in response, sometimes generalizes to other similar stimuli

A
  • S1 -> R (might see small response)
  • S1 -> R (more exposure = bigger response)
  • S1 & S2 -> R
  • Generalization of sensitization across similar stimuli
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6
Q

Systematic Desensitization

A
  • Step-wise exposure to a gradually increasing intensity of an aversive stimulus to decrease the response
  • Start around threshold for response - understand how far away the dog can be to not see a response
  • Repeat such that no aggression or very low levels are seen - repeat at a level of threshold, every few days
  • Increase to next level only when it has shows repeated instances over time, of neutral/calm
  • Important to be able to read the animal’s behavior
  • Be patient! - slowly incorporate to reduce negative response
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7
Q

Flooding

A
  • high level of forced exposure, not a good learning tool & can increase fear response
  • Animals often shut down, therefore may see reduced fear & aggression (learned they can’t escape the situation)
    • Assess physiological parameters (pupil dilation, heart rate etc.) & rigid posture to assess for extreme fear w/ freezing behavior
  • Or can amplify response = increased fear and aggression, which risks safety of people
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8
Q

Associative Learning

A
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9
Q

classical conditioning

A
  • strengthen relationship b/twn 2 stimuli
    • Unconditioned response - not learned response => ex: provide food & dog salivate
    • Neutral stimulus - should not cause response
  • During conditioning we pair the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus
    • Repeat to strengthen the relationship b/twn the neutral and unconditioned stimulus
  • After conditioning, neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus
    • ex: blow whistle -> dog salivate
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10
Q

Counter-conditioning (a type of classical conditioning)

A
  • Can be used to change emotional states associated w/ a situation or procedure by pairing it with something good
  • be aware of potential for opposite effects
    • Something that was perceived as positive becomes negatively associated due to learned association w/ something VERY negative
  • won’t see it occur if trear or reward is high value to animal (toy or attention)
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11
Q

operant conditioning

A
  • strengthen relationship b/twn a behavior and the consequence of the behavior
  • Outcome is good, behavior occurs more often
  • Outcome is bad, behavior occurs less often
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12
Q

Key points to remember

A
  • Consistency - need to do things in the same way, repeatedly
  • Reward stimulus -> aversive stimulus - high value rewards are important
  • Gradually build up the procedure while keeping fear/arousal sub-threshold
  • Start off slow, read animal’s behavior
  • Separate components where possible - breaking things down may help increase success
  • Repetition - short periods of time b/twn training sessions (1 to every few days, not weeks/months)
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13
Q

Food training reward fear and aggression?

A
  • Changing an animal’s emotional state w/ food
    • treats/food - raise dopamine levels in brain = feelings of pleasure
    • reinforces food seeking behavior
    • changes negative emotional state to positive
  • only reward behavior you want to see
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14
Q

Animal learning processes

A
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15
Q

positive reinforcement

A

adding something to increase behavior
- ex: giving treats

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16
Q

positive punishment

A

adding something to decrease behavior
- ex: shock collar

17
Q

negative reinforcement

A

removing something to increase behavior
- ex: pushing on dog’s rump to make it sit

18
Q

negative punishment

A

removing something to decrease behavior
- not giving attention to dog to stop it from jumping

19
Q

strategies for deciphering reinforcement/punishment

A
  • what is the behavior
  • is the behavior increasing or decreasing
  • am i applying or taking it away

ex:
- Use of halti lead collar can influence 2 main behaviors: reduce pulling, and increase walking next to you so leash is loose (positive punishment)
- Want to stop puppy from mouthing/biting by walking away when their teeth touch your hands (negative punishment)

20
Q

Problems with aversive training methods

A
  • negative emotional state
  • can cause physical and mental harm
  • breakdown of the human-animal bond
    reduced social referencing impacts learning and training
    • Avoiding looking at owner for cues is problematic b/c this behavior is important for learning and training
    • Communication = key aspect during training
  • only changes the behavioral response, increases negative emotional response = increase chance of aggression

evidence of learning impairments
- Dog performance on a novel learning task was reported to be better for reward vs. positive punishment-based training
- Dogs at training schools using negative reinforcement based methods showed more stress behaviors and those at schools that use positive reinforcement showed more attentiveness
- Increased obedience correlated w/ use of rewards but not positive punishment, and problematic behaviors were related to positive punishment but not rewards

evidence of potential welfare issues
- More stress behaviors in dogs trained w/ shock collars
- Direct reactions to shock suggest pain & more stress behaviors during training & free walking in dogs trained w/ shock collars vs. control dogs
- suggests effects of training using shock collar negatively impact dog even after training during walks w/o shock collar

evidence of potential aggression issues
- Case series of 5 serious dog attacks linked to shock collar training
- Dogs trained w/ confrontational training methods are associated with aggressive responses during vet exams
- Use of physical punishment is associated w/ increases in various forms of aggression in dogs & human directed aggression specifically

21
Q

problems with positive punishment

A
  • doesn’t tell animal the correct behavior = don’t know how they’re supposed to behave
  • must be immediately after the behavior and happen every time
    • Animals like gambling - intermittent reward very reinforcing
  • Ex: counter walking in cats -> positive punishment won’t work well b/c we always have to be there to train them not to go on counters & perching is a highly motivated behavior
22
Q

Not always clear cut…

A
  • aversive training tools: prong collars & shock collars
  • for some animals, alternative training tools such as halters can cause discomfort & stress
  • take an individual approach to decide which tools to use w/ each animal
23
Q

Unwanted behaviors

A
  • teach an alternative or incompatible behavior
    • Ex: dog jumps up when doorbell rings -> train dog to sit on a mat when doorbell rings & give treat
  • interrupt & redirect
    • Ex: dog jumps up when doorbell rings -> re-direct and distract them as they are beginning to perform behavior, like directing them to sit position
  • extinction: breaking association b/twn behavior and the reward by removing reward
    • Ex: dog jumping when doorbell rings -> turn away and ignore them and don’t open the door, they’ll learn that jumping is no longer self-rewarding
24
Q

unintentional learning

A
  • Negative experiences or medical conditions can lead to unintentional learning = can evolve into behavioral problems
  • ex: cat stops using litterbox b/c of bad experience
  • Can be completely out of our control, but we still need to know how to deal w/ it
25
Q

3 key factors affecting learning

A
26
Q

timing of reinforcement

A
  • the faster the better
  • assists w/ making the connection between the behavior and reward
  • ex: clicker training
    • human error slows down process
    • helps communicate w/ dog that reward is coming
    • uses classical conditioning
27
Q

strength of reinforcement

A
  • food is effective for most animals
  • balance internal vs. external factors for reward value
  • beware of the “breakfast effect”
    • train after the hours after feeding
    • don’t want animals so hungry they can’t learn
    • don’t have to limit food for most pets
    • limiting food can be problematic for some => those w/ food aggression issues or food related behavior issues
28
Q

schedule of reinforcement

A
  • how often treats are delivered
  • Initially reward every time to help solidify the association
  • Extinction - reduction in behavior when no longer followed by a reinforcer
29
Q

learned taste aversion

A
  • related to neophobia
  • foods that make an animal ill will be avoided in the future
  • based on classical conditioning, doesn’t require conscious awareness
    • one trial learning
    • duration b/twn intake and illness can be delayed
    • taste/smell most effective sensory cues in animals
    • in birds, visual stimuli effective
  • clinical relevance - medications hidden in food make pet sick, may have to switch food
30
Q

3 training techniques

A

Luring
- using rewards (food) to physically encourage a particular behavior
- sit: push reward over dog’s head
- down: lower food to ground
- heel: hold reward at hip

targeting
- train to touch a target for rewards
- use target to move animal in desired ways = luring w/ a target stick

shaping
- training a complex behavior by rewarding successive approximations
- Start w/ rewards for behaviors that are close or can be built
- Don’t associate command or cue until behavior is complete
- Often used for behaviors that don’t occur naturally

31
Q

training tips

A
  • Start w/ reward every time, slowly reduce how often or replace
  • Only pair w/ command once animal understands what is expected
  • Start training in a quiet, undisturbed area and slowly increase to “real world” settings
  • Don’t do too much at once - lots of breaks, multiple short sessions
  • Remember anyone can call themselves a “behaviorist” - be careful what you read online
32
Q
A

ANS 142 - Captive & Companion Animals (11 decks)

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