Classical
conditioning
Also
called Pavlovian conditioning. This takes place when the
cat forms an association between a neutral stimulus &
a conditional response. Because Pavlov's dogs heard a tone
while they had food in their mouths, an association was
formed & the dogs drooled when they heard the tone
again, without the meal present. This happens to all
living beings. A cat at a show can develop a conditional
fear of the cage due to the loud noises etc., happening,
even though the cage itself is harmless. If it is
sufficiently traumatic, then a single event is all it
takes. One of my Somali neuters developed a conditional
fear of our cat run, because the lawn mower frightened him
while he was in it. I knew it was specific to the cat run,
as he was more than happy to go outside on a lead. It took
quite a few sessions to desensitize him. Associations can
be pleasant, of course, and cats can be
counter-conditioned to form a more positive association,
usually with the use of food.
Operant
conditioning
Operant
conditioning refers to learning that takes place from
cause and effect. If there is a consequence to a behaviour
that a cat likes, he or she is more likely to repeat it,
conversely if the consequence is unpleasant, it may be
less likely. A reinforcer is the consequence
that would cause the repeat behaviour, a punisher is
anything that may cause it to stop. For example, an Abyssinian
kitten may jump on your lap because he likes the strokes
he gets there (reinforcement) yet may desist (eventually!)
jumping on top of the bird cage if given a squirt from the
bottle (punishment). Pretty common sense…Now,
reinforcement can be either positive or negative depending
on if you are adding or subtracting. Adding a pleasant
consequence (such as stroking) is a positive
reinforcement. Yet if there was an unpleasant situation
already, and we took the unpleasantness away, then we may
also cause the behaviour to repeat. In this way, we also
get positive punishment (adding a negative consequence,
like a squirt of water) and negative punishment (removal
of a pleasant consequence – say stroking – the cat may
cease its lap-sitting behaviour if you stop the stroking).
So
to summarise:
|
|
Positive
|
Negative
|
|
Reinforcement
(to increase a behaviour)
|
Add
a desirable outcome (eg treats, attention,
strokes)
|
Take
away undesirable outcome
|
|
Punishment
(to decrease a behaviour)
|
Add
an undesirable outcome (eg water spray)
|
Remove
a desirable outcome
|
Armed
with this understanding, we can set about trying to teach
our cats things. Either withdrawing the pleasant
consequence (negative punishment), or positive punishment
(eg spray bottle) can decrease undesirable behaviour.
Extinction of behaviour occurs either way. However, it is
important to remember that upon withdrawal of
reinforcement, most living beings will redouble their
efforts before they stop. After all, it always worked
before! So the undesirable behaviour may get worse before
it gets better, however be persistent and the behaviour
will be extinguished. Consistency is also very important.
If I give in occasionally when a little Somali girl begs
for food from the table, I will be intermittently
reinforcing her behaviour, which makes extinction very
difficult. Same principle the pokies use – the pay off
may be the next time, or the next time – so keep on
trying! If reinforcement ceases altogether, extinction is
much quicker.
It
may be apparent now that identification of the antecedents
and consequences to a given behaviour is of supreme
importance. We may unwittingly reinforce problem behaviour
by lavishing attention after the behaviour, and ignore the
cat when it is behaving well, because the good behaviour
is unobtrusive. Therefore reinforcing good behaviour is
extremely important. If our Aby kitten jumps on the
birdcage, he will get a squirt. However, when he sits on
the chair in the room with the bird, and pays it little or
no attention, he has earned a reward. Shaping this
behaviour is very useful. It may be that an Aby kitten
cannot be expected to ignore the bird for an hour, so
there is no chance of rewarding him. He should then be
rewarded for staying put for, say, one minute, then five,
then 15, and gradually increase the amount of time he
needs to demonstrate the good behaviour. Most behaviours
can be shaped in this way, by reinforcing behaviours that
may not be perfect initially, but get successively closer.
Most animal trainers work this way.
To
be effective, food reinforcers (treats) should be given
only after the desired behaviour. I have started with new
treats which the cats trample over each other to get,
however they get them only after events such as a bath,
having pills, or at shows, to reinforce compliance and to
create a more pleasant association with these situations.
Suggested
applications
·
Reinforce
cats for good behaviour after unpleasant procedures
·
Give
treats in the show cage to create a positive association
·
Train
kittens to enjoy being a cage with toys and treats before
going to a real show
For
shy cats, provide visitors with treats to teach them that
strangers can be good people to know
If
you have any cat related questions, please direct them to
the cat forums.
