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Question 1

What is the difference between learning and training?

Answer 1

‘Learning’ is about how an animal’s potential for a behaviour changes with experience; ‘training’ describes the techniques used to ensure that learning comes about in a predictable way in response to human intervention.

Question 2

What are the three important learning processes relevant to behaviour modification?

Answer 2

The three important learning processes are operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and habituation (and its reverse, sensitization).

Question 3

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 3

Operant conditioning, also known as trial-and-error learning or instrumental conditioning, is learning as a result of one’s actions.

Question 4

How does operant conditioning affect behaviour?

Answer 4

Behaviours that are rewarded (reinforced) are more likely to recur, while those that are punished are less likely to recur in similar situations.

Question 5

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 5

Classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian learning or respondent conditioning, is learning that one event predicts another that causes an instinctive response.

Question 6

What is the role of a conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?

Answer 6

The conditioned stimulus becomes a signal that certain events will follow and is sometimes referred to as a bridging stimulus.

Question 7

What is habituation?

Answer 7

Habituation is learning not to respond to a stimulus that triggers an instinctive response.

Question 8

What is sensitization?

Answer 8

Sensitization is the reverse of habituation, where the animal becomes more reactive each time a harmless stimulus is presented.

Question 9

What are contingency and contiguity?

Answer 9

Contingency describes the way two events co-vary, while contiguity describes the closeness of two events in time or space.

Question 10

Why are both contingency and contiguity important in training?

Answer 10

Training is most effective when both contingency and contiguity are high.

Question 11

What is latent inhibition?

Answer 11

Latent inhibition describes how the initial pairing of two events may interfere with learning about a third event introduced concurrently.

Question 12

How are reinforcement and punishment defined?

Answer 12

Reinforcement and punishment are defined by their effect, not by the intent of the person delivering them.

Question 13

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 13

Positive reinforcement is achieved by adding something to increase the likelihood of the desired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.

Question 14

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 14

Negative reinforcement is achieved by taking something away to increase the likelihood of the desired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.

Question 15

What is positive punishment?

Answer 15

Positive punishment is achieved by adding something to decrease the likelihood of undesired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.

Question 16

What is negative punishment?

Answer 16

Negative punishment is achieved by taking something away to decrease the likelihood of undesired behaviour recurring in similar circumstances.

Question 17

What is extinction in the context of learning?

Answer 17

Extinction is the consistent omission of a reward, leading to the loss of the reinforced association.

Question 18

What is an extinction burst?

Answer 18

An extinction burst is the intensification of a response before it starts to disappear, often seen as a sign of frustration.

Question 19

What is the effect of inadvertently giving reinforcement during an extinction burst?

Answer 19

It may lead to the more intense form of the response becoming learned, which is the opposite of the desired outcome.

Question 20

What are self-reinforcing behaviors?

Answer 20

Behaviors such as play that cannot have their rewards removed without eliminating the behavior itself.

Question 21

What should be identified to effectively use extinction?

Answer 21

All sources of reinforcement for the pet, including subtle ones like eye contact.

Question 22

What does apparent failure of an extinction program usually indicate?

Answer 22

The behavior may be self-reinforcing, reinforcement may be coming from another source, or the program has not been given sufficient time to take effect.

Question 23

How do reinforcement and punishment relate in animal training?

Answer 23

Reinforcement guides the animal to desired behavior, while punishment indicates what was done wrong without providing guidance on how to correct it.

Question 24

What is the main difference between punishment and negative reinforcement?

Answer 24

Punishment applies an aversive stimulus to stop behavior, while negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus to increase desired behavior.

Question 25

What is a common misconception about applying punishment?

Answer 25

Owners may think they are applying punishment when they are actually reinforcing unwanted behavior.

Question 26

What are the risks of using mild aversives as punishment?

Answer 26

They can be ineffective, lead to conflicting information for the animal, and potentially result in greater long-term harm.

Question 27

What can frequent mild punishment lead to?

Answer 27

Habituation, where the owner may increase the severity of punishment without realizing its ineffectiveness.

Question 28

What is a potential consequence of applying punishment inappropriately?

Answer 28

It can induce fear or anxiety responses in the animal, leading to confusion and aggression.

Question 29

What is non-contingent reinforcement?

Answer 29

Positive reinforcement given inappropriately, leading to undesirable behaviors being reinforced.

Question 30

What is the importance of stimulus discrimination in training?

Answer 30

It allows for a reliable contingency to be set up, improving training efficiency and giving the animal more control over its environment.

Question 31

What is continuous reinforcement?

Answer 31

A schedule where rewards are given every time a desired behavior occurs, useful in early training stages.

Question 32

What is the preferred reinforcement schedule after initial training?

Answer 32

An intermittent schedule, which maintains interest and prevents predictability.

Question 33

What are the potential downsides of a high reinforcement schedule?

Answer 33

It can lead to stress-related problems and a lack of coping mechanisms for unmet expectations.

Question 34

What is differential reinforcement?

Answer 34

Focusing the delivery of rewards on occasions when performance is best, shaping the response towards higher-end displays.

Question 35

What should be done as a behavior becomes more reliable?

Answer 35

The rate of reinforcement should be gradually reduced and food replaced with alternatives like social contact.

Question 36

What are discriminative stimuli?

Answer 36

Discriminative stimuli are signals or cues that indicate what is wanted behaviorally from the animal and its consequences.

Question 37

What does it mean for behavior to be under stimulus control?

Answer 37

Behavior is under stimulus control if a given discriminative stimulus indicates that reinforcement is only possible when it is present.

Question 38

What is the differential outcome effect?

Answer 38

The differential outcome effect refers to using different rewards for different actions when teaching multiple tasks.

Question 39

What is an example of a better predictor of a reward than verbal commands?

Answer 39

In the case of a dog asked to come when called, the owner's body language and tone may be better predictors of a reward than the word 'come'.

Question 40

What can cause a previously established response to be lost?

Answer 40

Reasons include forgetting, extinction, counter-conditioning, and stress-induced dishabituation.

Question 41

What happens if a learned response is not occasionally rehearsed?

Answer 41

The animal may forget what it has learned.

Question 42

What is extinction in the context of behavior training?

Answer 42

Extinction occurs when a learned response is not occasionally reinforced, leading to its eventual disappearance.

Question 43

What is counter-conditioning?

Answer 43

Counter-conditioning happens when an alternative behavior is inadvertently reinforced instead of the desired behavior.

Question 44

What is stress-induced dishabituation?

Answer 44

Stress-induced dishabituation occurs when chronic stress leads an animal to forget previously learned behaviors.

Question 45

What is the first step in building a behavior modification protocol?

Answer 45

The first step is to have a clear idea of the functional end goal of the program.

Question 46

What are the ten key questions in designing a training program?

Answer 46

The ten key questions help ensure a clear protocol is built that can be implemented and assessed efficiently.