Has Pavlov Left the Building?

Christina Ingerslev, Karen Frost & Karen S. Ulrich

We all know that Elvis has left the building (and Fraiser too). But has Pavlov also left the building?

Recently back home from Clicker Expo in San Francisco, we continue to puzzle over what seems to be an emerging trend among some of the presenters at the conference. In traditional learning theory we view learning from two perspectives; i.e. that of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. In a number of presentations at the conference we found an approach to learning that was purely operant, seemingly disregarding the aspects of learning that are classically conditioned. In fact, one presenter even argued that we might as well disregard classical conditioning altogether as all learning, from his point of view, is really operant. This presenter proceeded to show a video clip of a counter conditioning session (done by someone else) and argued that the dog’s emotional response was not being changed but that it was simply learning a new operant response. Another presenter spoke of establishing the association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, in this case done in order to condition a secondary/substitute reinforcer, as an operant process, that could be viewed “as a behavior that you can reinforce”. In contrast to this purely operant approach, renowned presenters like Susan Friedman and Kathy Sdao continue to use the terminology of both operant and classical conditioning when speaking of the different aspects of learning and different ways of changing behavior. Hence, the reason why we feel inclined to ask the question; “Has Pavlov Left the Building?” After all, a conference on training and learning must be the very place to present and discuss the various aspects of learning in all its nuances, not a place to cut corners or trivialize the importance of knowing one’s tools and techniques.

When we train dogs and other animals to perform a variety of behaviors, our immediate goals are, indisputably, operant. To put it simply, we wish to teach the animal to perform certain behaviors on cue. The behaviors are brought under stimulus control so that we can get reliable performance of the desired behaviors when the learned cues are presented. However, when we work with animals, it is also important to consider the emotional state of the learner. Consequently, we cannot disregard the fact that classical conditioning is continually taking place – while we are busy at work changing the operant skills of our learner. Also, some aspects of our training and some of the tools we use are a product of classical conditioning. This goes for our conditioned marker signals and substitute reinforcers but also associations between cues and behaviors and between behaviors and reinforcers are classically conditioned. Cues and behaviors as well as training locations and training equipment all take on a value for the learner, of either pleasure or discomfort, depending on the training techniques employed. In our opinion, this is no small matter and certainly not one to be disregarded when discussing, planning, or executing training with animals.

 

We humans like to organize things, e.g. concepts, into nice and orderly categories. Textbooks on learning distinguish between the two types of conditioning. However, in real life things are not quite as neatly organized. Classical and operant conditioning are indeed separate ways of learning. We know this from studies of how and where these processes take place in the brain. But in real life learning situations we cannot separate the two completely or simply choose to disregard the one. Classical and operant conditioning go hand in hand and in most situations take place at the same time. What is learned differs, depending on whether you take a respondent or an operant view of a given situation but they are both part and parcel of any learning situation in which we look to change the behavior of our learner. This goes for any training in which the primary objective is to change the operant behavior of the animal.

When dealing with animals with behavior issues such as fear and aggression, it is even more important to consider classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is essential both in order to understand the conditioned emotional response (CER) that motivates the operant responses that are considered problematic and in order to know and employ counter conditioning as a central approach to change the CER and in that way change the behavioral output that is motivated by the animal’s emotional state. We do not dispute the fact that operant training can change the emotional state of an animal through the empowerment gained by acquiring a sense of operant control in a stressful situation and through the classical conditioning that takes place when a certain behavior is heavily associated with attractive reinforcers. But operant conditioning does not do the trick alone, nor does it suffice to explain all aspects of learning when we teach, train or learn…

 

We wonder if this tendency to view all learning from an operant perspective springs from on the one hand a purely Skinnerian approach to learning and on the other what can be conceived as a limited interest in the motivational and emotional aspects of behavior.

Angste hunde

Af Karen Frost

I løbet af den sidste månedstid har jeg været i kontakt med en del hundeejere, som har kontaktet mig, fordi deres hunde er bange for at forlade huset eller haven efter mørkets frembrud. Fælles for dem alle er, at de har været bange i tiden op til nytår. 
 

Hunde har fra naturens side en tendens til at blive bange for høje lyde. På samme måde som vi mennesker har en naturlig frygt for højder og kryb. I den del af deres hjerne, der tager sig af følelser, heriblandt angst, sidder der hos hunden hjerneceller, der kun reagerer, når der kommer høje lyde. Aktiveres disse, udviser hunden angst.

Uden at have nogle tal til at bakke min formodning op, så er det min fornemmelse, at rigtigt mange hunde i større eller mindre grad bliver påvirket af nytåret. Alt fra hunde der bare søger ejeren mere, når der bliver fyret af til hunde der gemmer sig, eller lige frem holder op med at spise og slet ikke vil med ud i hele perioden. Angsten for høje lyde kommer ofte med alderen og har desværre en tendens til at sprede sig til alle høje lyde. Selvom man har en hund, der ikke har reageret (endnu!), så er det desværre ikke nogen garanti for, at den ikke vil begynde at reagere til næste nytår.

De hundeejere, jeg har haft kontakt med, er forståeligt nok meget bekymrede over, at deres hunde nu nægter at gå ud, når det er blevet mørkt. Specielt her i den mørke tid, kan det være svært at nå at lufte hund, før det bliver mørkt. Det går heldigvis mod lysere tider, og for de fleste af disse hunde, vil man måske se, at problemet ”løser sig selv”, fordi det bliver lysere og lysere. Det kan give ejerne en falsk formodning om, at så er problemet løst, og for enkelte hunde kan det da også være sandt. For langt de fleste hunde er problemet dog kun løst, indtil det bliver mørkt igen og/eller der begynder at være fyrværkerilyde i aftenluften igen. Så vender hundens angst tilbage for fuld styrke og forude venter et par måneder, hvor hunden måske skal leve med at være angst dagligt. 

Angst for fyrværkeri kan være meget svært at gøre noget ved. Man kan forsøge at løse det ved at give hunden angstdæmpende medicin, men det virker desværre ikke lige godt på alle hunde. Hvis din hund er bange og det hjælper at give den angstdæmpende medicin, så giv det! Endelig! Min pointe er, at det her er en af de problematikker, hvor det at investere i forebyggelse virkeligt kan betale sig. Lær hunden at høje lyde er FANTASTISKE ved at afspille høje lyde samtidigt med at du laver noget sjovt med hunden, hav skåle med godbidder stående alle steder i huset det første nytår hvalpen oplever og kast godbidder til den hver gang det brager, lær den selv at lave larm for at få godbidder. Denne tilgang kan man også bruge lidt mere gradvist med hunde, der bekymrede uden at være meget bange. Med hunde der er meget bange, kan man have held med at lære dem at høje lyde er ok ved at afspille CDer med fyrværkerilyde (læs brugsvejledningen eller søg professionel hjælp først – du kan komme til at gøre problemet værre, hvis du gør det forkert), men det virker ikke på alle hunde.

En strategi, der kan hjælpe hunde, der er bange (uanset hvad de er bange for), er at lære dem, at de kan kontrollere deres omgivelser. At føle at man har kontrol gør, at man kan ”tåle” betydeligt mere intensitet af det, man reagerer på uden at blive bange. Hvordan lærer man så sin hund at have kontrol? Det gør man ved at træne øvelser, hvor hunden lærer, at dens initiativ kan føre til noget godt. Forskellige typer af initiativøvelse er et godt sted at begynde. Der er andre strategier, man kan bruge samtidigt – alle med det formål at øge hunden tolerance overfor de høje lyde. Man ”helbreder” ikke fyrværkeriangst, men med den rette blanding af træning og en eller anden form for medicin, kan de fleste hunde få et mere udholdeligt nytår.

Har du en hund, der er bange for fyrværkeri eller vil du bare gerne undgå, at det sker, så kom evt. til det foredrag jeg holder i Klampenborg d. 5. marts. Se mere her: http://shop.dogtraining.dk/foredrag-81/

Til jyderne – jeg kommer til Jylland og/eller Fyn i løbet af foråret.