Equines do not live for grass alone: Training equines using social interaction as a reinforcer.
Abstract: Functional analysis data and previous studies on animal training have demonstrated that social interaction with humans can serve as a reinforcer for animals. Yet, some studies have demonstrated that tactile interaction (e.g., patting, petting, or scratching) is less effective or ineffective when compared to food. However, the reinforcement procedures used may account for these discrepancies. The current study investigated whether tactile interaction, in the form of petting and scratching, could be used as a reinforcer to train behaviors to two horses and a mule. First, each equine learned when reinforcement would be available and what behaviors to engage in during reinforcement delivery. Next, a series of shaping steps and a changing-criterion design were used to test whether tactile interaction could be used to shape two new behaviors, stay and come. All three equines completed reinforcement training and met the mastery criteria for training stay and come. These results demonstrate that tactile interaction can be used as a reinforcer to train equines and also suggest that details of the reinforcement delivery process may be an important consideration when tactile interaction is used as a reinforcer.
© 2022 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
Publication Date: 2022-08-23 PubMed ID: 36054597DOI: 10.1002/jeab.786Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research explores the effects of social interaction – specifically petting and scratching – as a method of reinforcement for training horses and mules. It suggests that such tactile interactions can indeed be effective, potentially shedding new light on how equines can be trained.
Understanding the Study
- The paper aims to explore the potential for social interaction, in this case tactile interaction (petting, scratching), as a method of reinforcement for training equines (horses and mules). The concept hinges upon prior data and studies that demonstrate animals responding positively to human interaction.
- However, this research seeks to address contradictions presented by other studies, which suggest that food is a more effective reinforcement than tactile interaction, by questioning the procedures used in these studies.
Methods and Procedures Used
- The researchers first trained each animal to understand when reinforcement would occur and what behaviors they should perform when the reinforcement was delivered. This establishes basic communication and expectation between the human and the animal.
- A series of shaping steps and changing-criterion design was used to test if tactile interaction could shape two new behaviors – ‘stay’ and ‘come’. Shaping involves training the animal to progressively closer approximations of the target behavior, while changing-criterion design involves sequentially altering the criterion that defines whether the behavior has occurred.
Findings and Implications
- All three equines successfully completed the reinforcement training process and met the mastery criteria for the training on ‘stay’ and ‘come’ commands.
- This result builds a case for tactile interaction as an effective reinforcer for training equines, contrary to previous studies that suggest food as a more effective reinforcement. It also hints that the specifics of the reinforcement delivery process may play an important role when tactile interaction is used as a form of positive reinforcement.
- Importantly, the study demonstrates that with a well-structured training design, equines can be effectively trained using tactile interactions like petting and scratching in place of, or alongside, more traditional methods like food rewards.
Cite This Article
APA
Nishimuta M, Rosales-Ruiz J, Will SM, Hunter M.
(2022).
Equines do not live for grass alone: Training equines using social interaction as a reinforcer.
J Exp Anal Behav, 118(2), 261-277.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.786 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training.
- University of North Texas.
- Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training.
- Behavior Explorer.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Conditioning, Operant
- Horses
- Humans
- Poaceae
- Reinforcement Schedule
- Reinforcement, Psychology
- Social Interaction
References
This article includes 23 references
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