A History of Dogs as Subjects in North American Experimental Psychological Research

Feuerbacher, Erica N.; Wynne, Clive D. L.

doi:10.3819/ccbr.2011.60001

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 151 publications

(137 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) is a well-studied property of both operant and Pavlovian behavior, and has been shown in a range of situations and species, including dogs (e.g., Feuerbacher & Wynne, 2011; Mackintosh, 1974). The PREE is thought to occur, at least partly, because introducing nonreinforced responses during training increases the similarity between training and extinction (Capaldi, 1966; 1994).…”

Section: Persistence Of Chained Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence the persistence and relapse of discriminated behavior chains

Thrailkill

Bouton

2017

Behavioural Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Behavior chains are composed of sequences of behaviors that minimally include procurement and then consumption. This review surveys recent research from this laboratory that has examined the properties of discriminated heterogeneous behavior chains. In contrast to another review (Thrailkill & Bouton, 2016a), it discusses work examining what makes chained behavior persistent, and what makes it relapse. Results suggest that responses in a discriminated heterogeneous behavior chain may become associated, so that extinction of either one reduces the strength of the other. Evidence also suggests that the goal of the first (procurement) response may be the next (consumption) response (rather than the upcoming discriminative stimulus, a putative conditioned reinforcer, or the primary reinforcer at the end of the chain). Further studies suggest that methods that promote generalization across acquisition and extinction (partial reinforcement and delivery of noncontingent reinforcers during extinction) lead to greater persistence of the procurement response. A third set of studies analyzed the contextual control and relapse of chained behaviors. The context controls both the acquisition and extinction of chained behaviors. In addition, a separately-extinguished consumption response is renewed when returned to the context of the chain. The research expands our general understanding of the learning processes that govern instrumental behavior as well as our understanding of chains.

show abstract

Section: Persistence Of Chained Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence the persistence and relapse of discriminated behavior chains

Thrailkill

Bouton

2017

Behavioural Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) is a well-known and widely-replicated property of extinction learning; it has been observed in a wide range of species, including dogs (e.g., Mackintosh, 1974; Feuerbacher & Wynne, 2011). The PREE has been demonstrated with responses learned in Pavlovian, free operant, discriminated operant, and discrete-trial operant paradigms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing the persistence of a heterogeneous behavior chain: Studies of extinction in a rat model of search behavior of working dogs

Thrailkill

Kacelnik

Porritt

et al. 2016

Behavioural Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs trained to search for contraband perform a chain of behavior in which they first search for a target and then make a separate response that indicates to the trainer that they have found one. The dogs often conduct multiple searches without encountering a target and receiving the reinforcer (i.e., no contraband is present). Understanding extinction (i.e., the decline in work rate when reinforcers are no longer encountered) may assist in training dogs to work in conditions where targets are rare. We therefore trained rats on a search-target behavior chain modeled on the search behavior of working dogs. A discriminative stimulus signaled that a search response (e.g., chain pull) led to a second stimulus that set the occasion for a target response (e.g., lever press) that was reinforced by a food pellet. In Experiment 1 training with longer search durations and intermittent (partial) reinforcement of searching (i.e. some trials had no target present) both led to more persistent search responding in extinction. The loss of search behavior in extinction was primarily dependent on the number of non-reinforced searches rather than time searching without reinforcement. In Experiments 2 and 3, delivery of non-contingent reinforcers during extinction increased search persistence provided they had also been presented during training. Thus, results with rats suggest that the persistence of working dog performance (or chained behavior generally) may be improved by training with partial reinforcement of searching and non-contingent reinforcement during both training and work (extinction).

show abstract

“…any particular precedents (Feuerbacher & Wynne, 2011). The development of rigorous experimental procedures and high research standards has allowed us to use methodologies that were not available before to ask important scientific questions in the study of dogs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Trends in Canine Problem-Solving and Cognition

Miklósi

Kubinyi

2016

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs have occupied a central place in modern comparative cognition, partly because of their specific past and present relationship with humans. Over the years, we have gained insights about the functioning of the dog's mind, which has helped us to understand how dogs' problem-solving abilities differ from those present in related species such as the wolf. Novel methodologies are also emerging that allow for the study of neural and genetic mechanisms that control mental functions. By providing an overview from an ethological perspective, we call for greater integration of the field and a better understanding of natural dog behavior as a way to generate scientific hypotheses. Keywordscanines; problem-solving; personality; heterochrony The New Momentum of Dogs in Comparative CognitionDuring the hundred years that followed groundbreaking research initiated by Pavlov, Thorndike, and many others, comparative cognition had not reached its full potential. In the mid-1990s, research focused mostly on humans (infants) and apes, with some attention to a few mammalian and bird species (for review, see Shettleworth, 2010). Research on dogs including observational work by ethologists (Fox, 1971) and experimental studies exploring their problem-solving abilities (Frank, 1980) helped to stimulate renewed comparative interest in the study of canines. The (re)discovery of dogs as a subject of interest was a true revolution for the field of comparative cognition, which is only now beginning to fulfil its early promise. Interestingly, this process began only recently

show abstract

A History of Dogs as Subjects in North American Experimental Psychological Research

Cited by 20 publications

References 151 publications

Factors that influence the persistence and relapse of discriminated behavior chains

Factors that influence the persistence and relapse of discriminated behavior chains

Increasing the persistence of a heterogeneous behavior chain: Studies of extinction in a rat model of search behavior of working dogs

Current Trends in Canine Problem-Solving and Cognition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About