An Examination of Shaping with an African Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata)

Applied behavior analysis and the zoo: Forthman and Ogden (1992) thirty years later

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral principles and procedures to guide zoo welfare efforts. The current paper reexamines and updates Forthman and Ogden's original points, with attention to the 5 categories they detailed: (a) promotion of species-typical behavior, (b) reintroduction and repatriation of endangered species, (c) animal handling, (d) pest control, and (e) animal performances. In addition, we outline 3 current and future directions for behavior analytic endeavors: (a) experimental analyses of behavior and the zoo, (b) applied behavior analysis and the zoo, and (c) single-case designs and the zoo. The goal is to provide a framework that can guide future behavioral research in zoos, as well as create applications based on these empirical evaluations.

Teamwork Makes the String Work: A Pilot Test of the Loose String Task with African Crested Porcupines (Hystrix cristata)

Comparative researchers have heavily focused their studies of social cognition on species that live in large social groups, while neglecting other potential predictors of social cognition. African crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata) are relatively rare among mammals in that they are cooperative breeders that pair for life. Little is known about their social cognition, but they are good candidates for exploring cooperative behavior due to the need to coordinate behavior to cooperatively raise young. Cooperation, as defined in this study, is the process by which two or more participants perform independent actions on an object to obtain a reward for all parties. Humans are thought to outperform all other species in the frequency and magnitude of cooperative behaviors. Yet, only by studying a variety of species can researchers fully understand the likely selection pressures for cooperation, such as cooperative breeding. Here, we pilot tested the feasibility of the popular loose-string task with a mated pair of African crested porcupines, a task that required the porcupines to cooperatively pull ropes to access an out of reach platform baited with food rewards. Other species presented with this task were able to work together to receive rewards but did not always demonstrate understanding of the role of their partner. The porcupines achieved success but did not appear to coordinate their actions or solicit behavior from their partner. Thus, similar to other species, they may achieve success in this task without taking their partner’s role into account. This study demonstrates that the loose string task can be used to assess cooperation in porcupines. However, further experiments are needed to assess the porcupine’s understanding of their partner’s role under this paradigm.

Grounding applied animal behavior practices in the experimental analysis of behavior

Some of the earliest applications outside the laboratory of principles derived from the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), such as the pioneering work of Keller and Marian Breland, involved animals. This translational tradition continues to the present as EAB-related behavior principles are applied with increasing frequency to behavior management and training practices with animals in nonlaboratory settings. Such translations, and those populations to which they are applied, benefit from a rigorous experimental analysis of practices that are promulgated in popular outlets. These translations both affirm the generality of those principles and serve as goads for laboratory and field research that can further articulate extant principles, develop new ones, and refine methods of application and assessment. This review considered several areas of basic EAB research and contemporary applied animal behavior (AAB) practices in relation to one another: (1) response establishment and maintenance, (2) response reduction and elimination, (3) chaining and conditioned reinforcement, and (4) discriminative stimulus control. Within each topic, a selection of processes and procedures in both EAB and AAB work were reviewed in relation to one another.

What's in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Simple Summary

Conditioned reinforcement, for example, clicker training, has become increasingly popular in recent decades. Hence, questions about the effectiveness of the conditioned reinforcer have become prominent in the animal training arena. This article summarizes the scientific literature on conditioned reinforcement in applied animal training settings (e.g., homes). It was found that dogs and horses were the most frequently studied animals. Clickers and food were the most often used training stimuli. Effect size analysis found a medium effect of clicker training. The literature reviewed here shows that conditioned reinforcement is an effective approach to change animal behavior; however, sizable information potentially related to its effectiveness was not clearly reported in the studies (e.g., food preferences). Although this review fills in a gap in the literature, it also points to the need for more research to further the understanding of conditioned reinforcement phenomena.

Abstract

A conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that acquired its effectiveness to increase and maintain a target behavior on the basis of the individual’s history—e.g., pairings with other reinforcers. This systematic review synthesized findings on conditioned reinforcement in the applied animal training field. Thirty-four studies were included in the review and six studies were eligible for a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of behavioral interventions that implemented conditioned reinforcement (e.g., clicks, spoken word, or whistles paired with food). The majority of studies investigated conditioned reinforcement with dogs (47%, n = 16) and horses (30%, n = 10) implementing click–food pairings. All other species (cats, cattle, fish, goats, and monkeys) were equally distributed across types of conditioned (e.g., clicker or spoken word) and unconditioned reinforcers (e.g., food, water, or tactile). A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement in behavioral interventions found a medium summary effect size (Tau-U 0.77; CI_95% = [0.53, 0.89]), when comparing baseline, where no training was done, and treatment levels. Moderators of conditioned reinforcement effectiveness were species (e.g., horses) and research design (e.g., multiple-baseline designs). The small number of intervention-focused studies available limits the present findings and highlights the need for more systematic research into the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement across species.

Training Petting Zoo Sheep to Act Like Petting Zoo Sheep: An Empirical Evaluation of Response-Independent Schedules and Shaping with Negative Reinforcement

Simple Summary

The present study examines the use of response-independent food schedules (food delivered independent of what an animal is doing) and negative reinforcement in the form of a trainer removing themselves from the presence of an animal to effectively train approach and contact behaviors in petting zoo sheep. All sheep had previously been reported to avoid/escape the presence of zoo staff and caretakers, as well as refuse to eat in the presence of any persons. In Experiment 1, we were able to effectively use response-independent schedules to produce both approach and contact behaviors in a Hampshire sheep. In Experiment 2, a Jacob sheep was trained for approach/contact via a shaping procedure that initially rewarded approach behaviors by removing the presence of the trainer (negative reinforcement), and was later switched to rewarding responses directly with food (positive reinforcement) once the sheep began to regularly eat in the trainer’s presence. The results are discussed with respect to how both procedures are effective in examining the applied approach/avoidance behaviors with zoo animals, as well as the greater ethical considerations involved in using negative vs. positive reinforcement to train animals.

Abstract

Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the present study, we examine the use of response-independent food schedules and shaping for increasing approach and contact behaviors in petting zoo sheep. In Experiment 1, a fixed-time (FT) 15 s food schedule was used to effectively increase approach and contact behaviors in one sheep. In Experiment 2, negative reinforcement in the form of removal of the presence of a trainer was made contingent on the successful completion of approximations within a shaping procedure and later switched to food rewards. A changing-criterion design was used to empirically examine the effects of the shaping procedure during each step of the program. The result is one of the first studies to demonstrate the utility of using negative reinforcement within a shaping procedure to successfully intervene on approach/avoidance behaviors in an applied animal setting.