Fagen Et Al (Procedure)

Question 1

Describe the stages in this procedure:

Answer 1

1. Reinforcement
2. Capture, lure, shaping method
3. Behavioural tasks
4. Behavioural chaining
5. Desensitation

Question 2

Define postive reinforcement

Answer 2

• Involves rewarding a desirable behaviour
• To increase the likilihood it will be repeated
• A form of operant conditioning

Question 3

Define Secondary Positive Reinforcement training

Answer 3

• A type of postive reinforcement training method
• Which involves a secondary reinforcer (like a sound marker) being used
• Which is then followed by the adminsitration of a primary (positive) reinforcer like food.
• In which the animals are conditioned to build an association between
• Following conditioning, the marker will be used to reward the desired behaviour. But to maintain this assoication food rewards are given at intervals.

Question 4

Define Primary reinforcer

Answer 4

• Naturally occuring rewards that fulfil biological needs (food, sleep)

Question 5

Define Secondary reinforcers

Answer 5

• Rewards associated with primary reinforcers that have to be learnt

Question 6

Why were sound markers used?

Answer 6

• Better than using food on its own
• As the marker can indicate precisely to the animal when it has correctly perfomed the desired behaviour

Question 7

What was the primary and secondary reinforcers used?

Answer 7

• Primary reinforcer=Chopped banana
• Secondary reinforcer= Short whistle blow

Question 8

Describe the training sessions generally

Answer 8

• Conducted in indoor sessions
• 1 Morning session (7:30-10AM)
• 1 AfterNoon Session (4:00pm-7:00pm)
• Trainer and mahout present (for safety)
• Mahouts stood by the elephant without speaking/signalling to them.
• No elephant went more than 2 days without training
• Elephants walked/ turned away from the trainer to indicate they did not wnat to enagage in the session

Question 9

2.Capture, lure, shaping method:

Answer 9

• After establishing the marker-reward relationships.
• The elephants were tarined using 3 methods

Question 10

Capture method definition

Answer 10

• Waiting for the animal to perform a behaviour naturally
• Then capturing it with a reward

Question 11

Lure method definition

Answer 11

• The animal is lured into a certain body position
• By placing a reward in a certain place
• For non-natural behaviours

Question 12

Shaping method

Answer 12

• Rewards are only adminstered for behaviours incrementally closer to the desired/goal behaviour

Question 13

What were the 5 behavioural tasks in training

Answer 13

1. Trunk here
2. Trunk up
3. Bucket
4. Blow
5. Steady

Question 14

1Describe Trunk here task

Answer 14

• Elephant places end of trunk in trainers hand
• To allow the saline to be instilled into trunk
• Lure method- Chopped banana placed in trainers hand

Question 15

2Describe Trunk up task

Answer 15

• Elephant raises trunk upwards
• To allow the saline solution to run to the base of the trunk
• Lure/ Shaping; Trainer lifts chopped banana above elephant’s head so it raises trunk

Question 16

3Describe bucket task

Answer 16

• Elephant places end of trunk in bucket
• To allow placement of trunk in bucket (ready for exhale)
• Lure; Chopped banana at the buttom of bucket

Question 17

4Describe the Blow task

Answer 17

• Elephant exhales through trunk into bucket
• To exhale the sample for collection
• Capture/shaping: Wait for natural exhales and rewards and shape with further rewards fro more forceful exhales

Question 18

5: Describe the steady task

Answer 18

• Elephant holds position they’ve been previously asked to do.
• To SHOW the elephant could hold ANY position for the required amount of time
• Shaping (Extending the time the position was held for with a reward

Question 19

There were 5 behavioural tasks but 3 other tasks where abandoned what were they?

Answer 19

• Targeting
• Trunk down
• Trunk out
• Discarded halfway through training as they were unneccessary

Question 20

What happened after the individual behavioural tasks were completed?

Answer 20

*** The tasks were paired with a verbal cue **
* One syllable word (no meaning in English/Nepali to avoid having any meaning to the elephants/mahouts)

Question 21

4.Behavioural chaining

Answer 21

• First, The trainers put the behaviours together in small sequences (behavioural chaining)
• This technqiue meant that correctly performing the 1st behaviour in a sequence earned the animal the chance to perfom the 2nd behaviour correctly and thus gain a reward.
• Seperate behavioural tasks were first paired and then put together in longer sequences until the full trunk wash was done.

Question 22

5.Desensitisation

Answer 22

• The syringe was introduced incrementally using desensitisation
• The syringe was introduced in the trunk here position and across the repeitions of the trunk wash sequence
• First gradually to the trunk, touching the trunk, inserted, increasing fluid until the elephant tolerated the full 60ml required for the sample collection

Question 23

How did the reseachers avoid the elephants drinking the saline solution?

Answer 23

• They were offerred drinks before each training session

Question 24

One elephant preferred preffered drining saline after rjeecting the drinking water. How was this problem fixed/

Answer 24

• Switched to a water solution for the behavioural task

Question 25

Data collection

Answer 25

• No time limits for the training stage instead this was determined by the individual sucess of the elephants
• The training plans varied according to each elephants needs
• After session 10: Each elephant was teseted on previously taught behaviours
• The passing score was 80%. 8/10 correct cues.
• Once the WHOLE sequence was passed at a rate of 80% or HIGHER the training was complete

Question 26

What did the assisstant record? (Data collection)

Answer 26

• An assistant recorded the length of each training session in MINUTES
• An assistant recorded the number of times the elephant was given a behavioural cue

Question 27

It important in terms of validity that the mahouts did not assist with training. This meant..

Answer 27

• Mahouts did not speak/signal to the elephants
• The verbal cues were designed to be distinctive from any other cues used with the elephants

Question 28

How was the primary reinforcer and secondary reinforcer paired?

Answer 28

• A short whistle blow is presented with the banana
• The whistle alerts the elephant that they are recieving the banana as they have performed the desired behaviour
• This pairing is used every time the elephant is rewarded