This presentation was filmed at the 2021 Ethics in Professional Practice Conference at Endicott College
About the presentation:
Negative reinforcement is a bit like a train wreck: You know you should maintain speed and drive past it but you just can’t help slowing down to satisfy your curiosity. Recent interest in basic research on negative reinforcement sets the occasion to check our understanding of why animals need trainers who support the least intrusive principle for selecting behavior-change procedures. This principle doesn’t preclude the use of negative reinforcement per se; rather, it limits the use of negative reinforcement when it isn’t necessary, i.e., when positive reinforcement-based procedures may be equally efficient and effective. All professions have ethical guidelines — that part of applied practice that science doesn’t (indeed can’t) address. And many of them adhere to the least intrusive principle, e.g., special education, mental health, medicine and law. In this presentation, we will 1) examine the rational for a hierarchy of behavior-change procedures according to the least intrusive principle, 2) consider its impact on both animal welfare and trainers’ skills, and 3) address concerns with the adoption of this ethical guideline as it applies to the animal training profession.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will operationalize the construct “least intrusive” as it relates to behavior-change procedures.
- Participants will describe the problem of superimposition of positive and negative reinforcement.
- Participants will explain when negative reinforcement can be the least intrusive behavior-change solution.
About the presenter:
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. Susan has co-authored chapters on behavior change in five veterinary texts, and her popular articles have been translated into 15 languages. She teaches seminars and a course on animal learning online (Living & Learning With Animals) and consults with zoos and animal organizations around the world. Susan was appointed to the F&WS California Condor Recovery Team from 2002 – 2010, after which time the team was retired due to the success of the birds in the wild. She is the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee of American Humane Association (AHA) Film and TV Unit, and a member in good standing of ABAI, ABMA, IAATE and IAABC. See behaviorworks.org and facebook.com/behaviorworks