Learning Theory 3.1 PDF

SO WHAT CAN GO WRONG… Techniques of operant conditioningare sometimes difficult to implement What do you think can go wrong? Timing Too aversive delivery – make behaviour worse or break trust Incorrect behaviour increased/decreased Reinforcer or punishment selected is not effective – no change...

SO WHAT CAN GO WRONG… Techniques of operant conditioningare sometimes difficult to implement What do you think can go wrong? Timing Too aversive delivery – make behaviour worse or break trust Incorrect behaviour increased/decreased Reinforcer or punishment selected is not effective – no change in behaviour PB OR BP? Problem behaviours Problem for the human, not so much the animal For the dog the behaviours are normal E.g. digging, barking, peeing on stuff etc. Behavioural problems Problem for the animal– welfare/pain/fear/stress E.g. fear of fireworks/thunder, fear urination, excessive fear of visitors (stress), self-mutilation, stereotypies, separation anxiety, extreme aggression etc.  PROBLEM BEHAVIOURS What do you notice? It isn’t always about changing the behaviour of the animal! 1.Environment 2. Human behaviour  UNDESIREABLE BEHAVIOURS Abnormal behaviours e.g. dog biting trees, parrot trying to mate with human head Anticipatory behaviours(goal directed increase of activity). Behviour itself is neutral, but intensity and duration may be a positive or negative welfare indicator. Interesting article e.g. pacing while waiting for food, waiting by a door. May disrupt their natural behaviours – can it be avoided? How disruptive is it? Repetitive behaviours– again, intensity and duration? e.g. chasing tail, licking same area, constantly asking for a ball to be thrown. Stereotypical behaviours(repetitive behaviours that seem to have no function, and no tangible reinforcer). e.g. pacing (when not anticipating something), head swinging, dogs leaping in kennels What are some examples from Caralyn’s lectures?  WHAT DO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOURSIN ANIMALS INDICATE? They are considered to be indicators of poor welfare They are linked with environmental conditions generally considered aversive, for example restricted feeding and social isolation, barren environment with little stimulation, lack of exercise, sometimes a consequence of hand rearing etc. With stereotypies; the type of behaviour displayed is linked to the species and stressor What about inconsistency in training? Changes in the environment out of control of the animal? Behaviours that develop out of initially innocuous behaviour? Let’s consider behaviours we see in our companion animals and how they may have developed using learning theory…  RESOURCE GUARDING Aggression when a resource is threatened What kinds of resources? What behaviours do you SEE? We have to think about HOW the behaviour probably developed (and was reinforced) in the animal… Past experiences? – shelter animals or strays (guarding of food or territory), lack of confidence/security/resilience, poor socialisation etc. Reinforcement of those protection behaviours Negative reinforcement, I growl they back away (when I growl the bad thing is removed, behaviour increases) Positive reinforcement, I growl = I get cuddles (good thing added, behaviour increase)  TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION Lots of types of aggression What behaviours do you see? Positive punishment Aggression when a territory is threatened by humans/animals Past experiences? Breed, species, reinforcement (purposeful or not) Reinforcement - aggression keeps the threat away Morepork and sun conures, will dive at your head during nesting season Negative or positive reinforcement? E.g., Barking at the postman – what do you think is happening here? Cable ties on bike helmet – what type of Operant Conditioning method is that?  REDIRECTED AGGRESSION Aggressive behaviour directed to a conspecific (or human!) when the stimulus is unavailable. Dogs will attack each other when the stimulus is removed – so it is a result of Extinction.Another example – turning on human when breaking up a fight. Energy needs to go somewhere Usually not intense enough to draw blood Short lived Don’t want to reinforce – could become a behaviour that reoccurs in the same context and become a behaviour problem. Kea – lowest of the hierarchy may have been re-directing aggression onto humans Flying down to your feet, trying to follow out the door to “chase you out”. Tried to ignore these behaviours, but most keepers avoided the aviary!  BITING We teach kids that if a dog growls you back away (Not good for the dog’s behaviour) Humans will often scold the dog for growling – Yes? What type of learning is this? So, the dog learns not to growl… What do you think will happen instead? Biting and Aggression can be, in part, to overdoing positive punishment (could also be due to other factors) Abuse path - biting occurs due to fear and a lack of perceived escape Unfortunately, biting/scratching/hissing/growling results in removal of the fearful stimulus and it is reinforced. Need to find out WHY the animal is being aggressive/defensive, to effectively decrease the behaviour. Often human is not reading the animal.  FEAR OF FIREWORKS OR THUNDER Both are unpredictable stimuli What behaviours will you see? Very tough to get rid of fear – linked to survival instincts How do you think this behaviour might be maintained? Reinforcement of fear behaviours? – cuddling when an animal trembles? AZ Better to change the environment Horses – more difficult to manage due to size/power and instinct to run when scared (rather than hide). George the dog– phobia of any loud noises. What methods are used to help George?  URINATION Fear or excitement? Or both? Act of submission to a perceived threat e.g A bigger dog approaches An unknown human approaches After a verbal or physical punishment, or scary situation e.g. fireworks! Normal in young dogs – weak bladder control + submissive instincts How is fearful urination reinforced? Urinating can remove the fearful stimulus – i.e. you Or… it can remove the stress of the situation, by submitting to the threat Both of these can negatively reinforce the behaviour Often, they then get verbally/physically punished by humans – what are the consequences of this? AT THE END OF THE DAY.. We, and the environment, can play a role in providing consequences to a behaviour Good and Bad Some techniques to help with PB’s and BP’s…  CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Using operant and classical conditioning we can modify behaviour. Habituation – ‘Getting used to’ a stimulus with repetition (stimulus does not change) Counter conditioning – Undoing a conditioned bad experience (with positive reinforcement or classical conditioning) Desensitization – Gradual and systematicmethod of decreasing the reaction to a stimulus (stimulus starts at a low level). Similar to habituation but less intense. Extinction – Not reinforcing a previously conditioned behaviour, to stop the behaviour. CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Habituation Getting used to it (stimulus does not change) Gradual decline in the magnitude of the behaviour after it has been elicited repeatedly. E.g. dog gets used to skateboard as skateboard has become predictable. Repeated exposure with no reinforcement = decline E.g. my rescue dog was nervous around trucks, habituated with daily walks. The negative reaction (fear) decreases over repeated exposure. Her nervousness was not bad enough that she needed positive reinforcement (counter-conditioning). Zoo animals are habituated to the sounds of the public from day one (naturally). Habituation for airport biosecurity puppy needs to include walking through crowds of people (socialisation) Cunningham skinks in covid lockdown Courtesy of thegoodd oglifeblog.com CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Remember Little Albert from Classical Conditioning? Counter conditioning Undoing conditioned bad experiences E.g. by pairing with a pleasant unconditioned stimulus (milk and cookies) OR by giving positive reinforcement (treats) when the correct behaviour is offered. Counter conditioning counters the effects of previous, usually aversive, conditioning (purposeful or accidental conditioning) E.g. how would you use positive reinforcement to make Little Albert less afraid of rabbits? Tips: Small steps and patience. Allow the animal choice to engage or not, to avoid creating more fear. CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Territorially insecure cats gettingdesensitised to each other. Systematic desensitization Treating fears and anxieties Method similar to habituation but less intense – stimulus starts at a low level Aim is for animal to have no reaction to the stimulus (feel neutral, not love the stimulus – unlikely the cats will cuddle!) Relaxation training + visualisation (obviously for humans) Rank least to most problematic situations E.g., Desensitizing dogs to loud noises by gradually increasing volume Can use counter conditioning with desensitisation e.g. give treat when dog does not react. Feeding cats in proximity to each other – positive association/reinforce calm behaviour.  CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Extinction If I ignore it, it will go away Extinction occurs when a behaviour that was previously reinforced is no longer reinforced, then the behaviour no longer occurs. E.g. dog barking for ball to be thrown When reinforcement was previously delivered and is then stops. During Extinction, a response is never reinforced   Results in an increase in responding, and other behaviours (frustration/confusion)    THEN a gradual decline in responding EXTINCTION E.g., Speckles was a Dalmation that received tid-bits at the dinner table. Aunt Mary came to stay and was appalled at the behaviour of the dog. To stop Speckles begging he was longer given food at the table. Speckles firstly ‘tried harder’ to receive the food by whining and putting his paw and chin on his owners. When he was still not reinforced, this behaviour eventually decreased and stopped.  Retrieval! Problem Behaviour or Behaviour Problem? Cat scratching furniture? Problem behaviour – issue for the humans, animal welfare not affected Horse terrified by fireworks and often hurts itself on the fences? Behaviour problem – mainly an issue for the animal – welfare affected (sound sensitive). Bird plucks its feather out due to stress? Behaviour problem – mainly an issue for the animal – welfare affected (self- mutilation). Dog chews a shoe you left in the lounge? Problem behaviour – issue for the humans, animal welfare not affected Dog always chews the couch when he is left alone? Behaviour problem – mainly an issue for the animal – welfare affected (separation anxiety).