A behavioral analysis of force-controlled operant tasks in American lobster
Operant conditioning is a common tool for studying cognitive aspects of brain functions. As the first step toward understanding those functions in simple invertebrate microbrains, we tested whether operant conditioning could be applied to train American lobster Homarus americanus that has been extensively adopted as an animal model for neurophysiological analyses of nervous system functions […]
Using Differential Reinforcement to Improve Equine Welfare: Shaping Appropriate Truck Loading and Feet Handling
Inappropriate behavior during common handling procedures with horses is often subject to aversive treatment. The present study replicated and extended previous findings using differential reinforcement to shape appropriate equine handling behavior. In Study 1, a multiple baseline across subjects design was used with four horses to determine first the effects of shaping target-touch responses and […]
Reduction of biting and chewing of horses using differential reinforcement of other behavior
Biting and chewing by horses on crossties can result in injury to the handler and damage to equipment. Operant-conditioning techniques have been used to train horses and could be used to reduce or eliminate undesirable biting and chewing. Presently, a differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedule, in the context of a reversal design, was effective in reducing biting […]