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

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 7; p. 1122
• Main Author: Fernandez, Eduardo J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal training; Animals, Training of; Avoidance behavior; Behavior; Behavior modification; counterconditioning; Experiments; Food; husbandry; Laboratories; Methods; negative reinforcement; operant conditioning; petting zoo; Reinforcement; Reinforcement (Psychology); Schedules; Sheep; Training; United States
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani10071122

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.