Fagen

Question 1

What is the key concept being investigated in Fagen (2014)?

Answer 1

Operant Conditioning – learning through the consequences of actions.

Question 2

What is Operant Conditioning?

Answer 2

It’s learning through the consequences of behaviour, where good consequences make behaviours more likely to be repeated.

Question 3

What is Positive Reinforcement?

Answer 3

Adding something good, like chocolate or praise, to encourage a behaviour.

Question 4

What is Negative Reinforcement?

Answer 4

The removal of something unpleasant (e.g., hunger) to encourage behavior, like eating to relieve hunger.

Question 5

What does Operant Conditioning focus on?

Answer 5

It focuses on behaviour, not internal thoughts or feelings.

Question 6

Who pioneered research on Operant Conditioning?

Answer 6

B.F. Skinner.

Question 7

What is the traditional method of training elephants in captivity?

Answer 7

Using punishment through unpleasant stimuli (e.g., hitting with a bamboo stick).

Question 8

What are natural vs. artificial reinforcers?

Answer 8

Natural reinforcers (e.g., food, shelter) occur naturally, while artificial reinforcers (e.g., money, praise) are created by people.

Question 9

Why is Positive Reinforcement gaining popularity in elephant training?

Answer 9

It avoids punishment and uses reward-based methods, which are more ethical and effective.

Question 10

What is Secondary Positive Reinforcement (SPR)?

Answer 10

Teaching animals to associate specific sounds (markers) with food as a reward for behavior.

Question 11

How is SPR better than using food alone for reinforcement?

Answer 11

It can precisely tell the animal when it has performed the desired behavior, whereas food comes after a delay.

Question 12

Why is diagnosing and treating illnesses in elephants important?

Answer 12

It is critical for their well-being, and methods like trunk washing help detect diseases like tuberculosis.

Question 13

What was the aim of Fagen et al.’s (2014) study?

Answer 13

To see if elephants could be trained using Positive Reinforcement to voluntarily participate in a trunk wash.

Question 14

What method was used in Fagen et al.’s study?

Answer 14

Controlled Observation, where elephant behaviors were watched in response to stimuli.

Question 15

Who was included in the study sample?

Answer 15

5 female elephants (4 juveniles and 1 adult) from a stable in Nepal.

Question 16

What were the main methods used in training elephants in the study?

Answer 16

Capture, Lure, and Shaping techniques.

Question 17

What were the stages of the trunk wash procedure in training?

Answer 17

Individual behaviors were trained and then linked together using behavior chaining to form the complete trunk wash.

Question 18

What were the results of the study?

Answer 18

4 juvenile elephants learned the trunk wash, but the adult elephant did not. Training success improved over time.

Question 19

What were the conclusions from the study?

Answer 19

Juvenile, traditionally trained elephants can learn to participate in a trunk wash using SPR techniques without punishment.

Question 20

What are the strengths of the study?

Answer 20

Good reliability, internal validity, ethical treatment of elephants, and good quantitative data.

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of the study?

Answer 21

Small sample size, poor generalizability, practical challenges in training large animals, and ethical concerns.

Question 22

What ethical concerns were raised in the study?

Answer 22

Ethical issues around using animals that may have been mistreated, despite the study’s focus on positive reinforcement.