IQ Zoo and Teaching Operant Concepts

• Published in: The Psychological record Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 523 - 526
• Main Authors: Bihm, Elson M., Gillaspy, J. Arthur, Lammers, William J., Huffman, Stephanie P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.07.2010; Southern Illinois University Carbondale; The Association for Behavior Analysis International; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amusement parks; Animal Behavior; Animals; Behavior Modification; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Behavioral Science Research; Behavioral Sciences; Birds; Colleges & universities; Demonstrations (Educational); Enterprises; Ethology; Evolution; Exhibits; Instructional Materials; Intelligence Quotient; Internet; Invited Lecture; Learning; Learning Activities; Operant Conditioning; Positive Reinforcement; Psychology; Recording; Resistance (Psychology); Teaching Methods; Video Technology; Web Sites; United States; history of psychology; Skinner; Breland; IQ Zoo; animal behavior
• ISSN: 0033-2933; 2163-3452
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03395725

Psychology texts often cite the work of Marian and Keller Breland and their business, Animal Behavior Enterprises (ABE), to demonstrate operant conditioning and the “misbehavior of organisms” from an evolutionary perspective. Now available on the Internet at the official IQ Zoo website (http://www3.uca.edu/iqzoo/), the artifacts of ABE’s work, in the form of photographs, documents, and audio/video recordings, provide a wealth of concrete examples of operant and evolutionary contingencies. Included in this site is the related work of Robert E. Bailey. These exhibits and their associated learning materials are relevant to many courses, including introductory psychology, psychology of learning, behavior modification, and history and systems of psychology.