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Shaping Cows' Approach to Humans Using Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement can be a powerful tool for behavior analysts, yet it is often overlooked as a treatment method. Pryor (1999) outlines a method for approaching a "timid" animal using a combination of negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement. When the animal stands still, the human operates a clicker, and then retreats from the animal. Gradually, the human moves closer to the animal through the clicking and retreating shaping process. Once the human is standing close enough, food may be offered as a positive reinforcer, and the negative reinforcer is canceled out. The purpose of this study was to experimentally demonstrate the click-retreat technique with cows. A multiple-baseline design across subjects was used to test this technique. Results show that the click and retreat technique was effective. Results are discussed in terms of the difference between the click-retreat technique and systematic desensitization.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc4730
Date05 1900
CreatorsMorehead, Melissa L.
ContributorsRosales-Ruiz, Jesus, Hyten, Cloyd, Ellis, Janet
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Copyright, Morehead, Melissa L., Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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