Fagen et al

Question 1

what is the psychology being investigated in Fagen et al

Answer 1

operant conditioning and positive reinforcement

Question 2

what is operant conditioning

Answer 2

learning through the consequences of our actions

Question 3

what is a ‘ primary positive reinforcer’?

Answer 3

a reward for a behaviour that fulfils a biological need

Question 4

what is a secondary reinforcer

Answer 4

a stimulus that is associated with primary reinforcers

Question 5

what is an example of a primary reinforcer

Answer 5

food or praise

Question 6

what is a negative reinforcer

Answer 6

when something negative is removed in response to a stimulus so a behaviour is repeated

Question 7

what is captive animal welfare

Answer 7

an animals natural needs for accommodation, environment, food water and movement should be met

Question 8

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 8

A form of operant conditioning, rewarding desirable behaviour so that it is repeated

Question 9

What is SPR training

Answer 9

training in which a secondary reinforcer such as sound is used and then followed with a primary positive reinforcer

Question 10

why is using a sound maker first better than rewarding with food on its own

Answer 10

it can precisely indicate to the animal when it has performed the desired behaviour

Question 11

what is the background of the study

Answer 11

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

Question 12

what is the aim of the study

Answer 12

to see whether free contact, traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in a trunk wash using positive reinforcement

Question 13

what was the research method used and design

Answer 13

controlled observation
behavioural checklist
structured observation

Question 14

what was the sample

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what did the elephants spend their day doing

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what was the primary reinforcer

Answer 16

chopped banana

Question 17

what was the secondary reinforcer

Answer 17

short whistle blow

Question 18

when was training conducted

Answer 18

7:30 am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm

Question 19

what three methods were used for training

Answer 19

capture, lure and shaping

Question 20

what is ‘capture’

Answer 20

waiting for an animal to perform a behaviour naturally then ‘capturing it’ by marking it with a reward

Question 21

what is ‘lure’

Answer 21

for non natural behaviours, an animal is ‘lured’ into a certain body position by placing a reward in a certain place

Question 22

what is ‘shaping’

Answer 22

after capture or lure, rewards are only given for the best behaviour closer to the goal behaviour

Question 23

what was the purpose of training

Answer 23

for the elephants to perform a voluntary trunk wash

Question 24

what did the trunk wash consist of

Answer 24

trunk here, trunk up, bucket, blow and steady

Question 25

what is behavioural chaining

Answer 25

a process that allows separately trained behaviours to come together

Question 26

why was it important that mahouts did not assist with training?

Answer 26

for validity, they did not speak to or signal the elephants

Question 27

what were the verbal cues used

Answer 27

verbal cues were not in english or nepali so that they were distinct from the mahouts used with the elephants

Question 28

how was the syringe introduced

Answer 28

through desensitisation, over a series of repetitions the syringe was gradually brought closer to the elephants trunk until the elephant tolerated 60ml

Question 29

how was elephants drinking saline avoided

Answer 29

they were offered water before each training session

Question 30

after session 10 how many times were elephants tested

Answer 30

every 5 sessions

Question 31

what was a passing score

Answer 31

80%

Question 32

what were the results

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

what did the success rate go from

Answer 33

from 39% to 89.3%

Question 34

what was the conclusion

Answer 34

juvenile, free contact traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in a trunk wash using only SPR . This can be carried without punishment

Question 35

what are the weaknesses of this study

Answer 35

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

Question 36

what are the strengths of the study

Answer 36

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.