Fagen et al Flashcards
what is the psychology being investigated in Fagen et al
operant conditioning and positive reinforcement
what is operant conditioning
learning through the consequences of our actions
what is a ‘ primary positive reinforcer’?
a reward for a behaviour that fulfils a biological need
what is a secondary reinforcer
a stimulus that is associated with primary reinforcers
what is an example of a primary reinforcer
food or praise
what is a negative reinforcer
when something negative is removed in response to a stimulus so a behaviour is repeated
what is captive animal welfare
an animals natural needs for accommodation, environment, food water and movement should be met
what is positive reinforcement
A form of operant conditioning, rewarding desirable behaviour so that it is repeated
What is SPR training
training in which a secondary reinforcer such as sound is used and then followed with a primary positive reinforcer
why is using a sound maker first better than rewarding with food on its own
it can precisely indicate to the animal when it has performed the desired behaviour
what is the background of the study
SPR was investigated to avoid punishment. Tuberculosis is a serious respiratory disease and can pass from elephants to humans, it could only be detected through trunk wash and they are hard to get
what is the aim of the study
to see whether free contact, traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in a trunk wash using positive reinforcement
what was the research method used and design
controlled observation
behavioural checklist
structured observation
what was the sample
5 female elephants
4 juvenile 1 adult
the juveniles between 5 and 7 years.
adult aged around 50
elephants were chosen as they were docile, not pregnant or looking after a calf.
their mahouts gave consent
none had previous experience of spr
what did the elephants spend their day doing
spent most of day grazing the jungle with their mahouts, the rest of the day leg chained in stable, with freedom to move 6 to 8 feet
the elephants diet was fresh grass grain and nutritional supplements . given access to a river
what was the primary reinforcer
chopped banana
what was the secondary reinforcer
short whistle blow
when was training conducted
7:30 am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm
what three methods were used for training
capture, lure and shaping
what is ‘capture’
waiting for an animal to perform a behaviour naturally then ‘capturing it’ by marking it with a reward
what is ‘lure’
for non natural behaviours, an animal is ‘lured’ into a certain body position by placing a reward in a certain place
what is ‘shaping’
after capture or lure, rewards are only given for the best behaviour closer to the goal behaviour
what was the purpose of training
for the elephants to perform a voluntary trunk wash
what did the trunk wash consist of
trunk here, trunk up, bucket, blow and steady
what is behavioural chaining
a process that allows separately trained behaviours to come together
why was it important that mahouts did not assist with training?
for validity, they did not speak to or signal the elephants
what were the verbal cues used
verbal cues were not in english or nepali so that they were distinct from the mahouts used with the elephants
how was the syringe introduced
through desensitisation, over a series of repetitions the syringe was gradually brought closer to the elephants trunk until the elephant tolerated 60ml
how was elephants drinking saline avoided
they were offered water before each training session
after session 10 how many times were elephants tested
every 5 sessions
what was a passing score
80%
what were the results
the four juveniles were successful, the adult was not, elephants 2 and 4 never passed their steady test but passed their full trunk wash tests. there were a number of factors that may have influenced elephant number 5s behaviour. she was reported as distracted and impatient, she had a foot abscess during her last week, a calf also interrupted her training. some behavioural tasks were harder than others. Trunk here in particular.
what did the success rate go from
from 39% to 89.3%
what was the conclusion
juvenile, free contact traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in a trunk wash using only SPR . This can be carried without punishment
what are the weaknesses of this study
small sample. Only female sample. Difficult to generalise. hard to say elephants are representative. Tourists and other distractions may have affected elephants concentration . elephants pose a risk to humans. experience of trainer and their personality could affect reliability. ethical arguments
what are the strengths of the study
controlled observations can be easily replicated. Study can be tested for reliability. Verbal cues had no meaning in English or Nepali to attempt to maintain validity. collected quantitative data, allows objective analysis.
