Clicker training
Clicker training describes a method of influencing (or training) the behavior of animals. With the help of a clicker (a device that generates an acoustic signal or sound in the form of a “click”), desired behaviors are reinforced . From a scientific point of view, when the clicker is systematically used as a conditioned , secondary amplifier , clicker training falls under operant conditioning .
Clicker training is possible with almost any species and can be successful. It is used with dolphins or domestic animals such as dogs and cats , but also with horses , birds or even amphibians .
Basics
Clicker training is based on the process of "operant conditioning" (according to BF Skinner ) based on behavioral science and is prepared using " classical conditioning " according to Pavlov .
The clicker training uses the effect that a behavior is shown all the more often when a consequence occurs on the behavior that represents a (colloquially expressed) "gain" for the animal (learning through positive reinforcement in the form of reward, "learning from success" after Thorndike ).
A "win" for an animal is z. B. the satisfaction of needs, especially deficit and basic needs of biological necessity (e.g. food).
The clicker
The “clicker” as such is a device that is similar to the children's toy “ cracking frog ” (an embossed sheet steel strip, mounted in a housing, which generates a loud kinking noise when bent). An essential requirement of the clicker is that its sound is naturally unique in nature (and also in the human environment) and is not inherently associated with any meaning for the animal. This condition is ideally fulfilled by the clicker. A certain amount of conspicuity and volume is also required so that the animal can hear the noise clearly.
The classic clicker cannot be used with deaf animals and must be replaced by an optical stimulus with the same properties.
Learning conditions
It is essential for “learning from success” that the animal experiences the consequences of its behavior within the shortest possible period of time so that the connection between behavior and consequence (the link) is maintained (the link time window for dogs and cats is, for example, in the range of maximum 0.48 to 0.7 seconds). The click itself is not a reward, but only a marking signal for the precise moment of the behavior shown, like a photographic snapshot. In English, the term bridging signal is also used. The signal spans the period from the marking of the behavior to the reward.
execution
The sound of the click is initially meaningless to the animal. If the clicker is activated immediately before a small amount of food is given, the animal learns after a few repetitions that the clicker is announcing food (classic conditioning). In this way, a previously “neutral stimulus” becomes a “conditional stimulus”, which announces that a need (for food) is being satisfied.
Training opportunities
- The animal happens to show a certain behavior. The trainer waits for the moment in which the behavior occurs and “rewards” it with a click (this process is also known as capturing ).
- Behavior generated through help / guidance and / or situational compulsion (the animal can only behave in a certain way in this situation) is rewarded with clicks.
- Approaches to a behavior are rewarded and the approach to the training goal (a certain behavior that the animal does not show at the moment) is worked out ( shaping ).
- A string of individual behaviors ( chaining = concatenation) creates a complex chain of behavior. Here, each single step (every single behavior) to release (will trigger ) of other behaviors that cause the animal to a specified destination.
- In target training , the animal is made to follow a target stick with its head (or nose) (= pointing stick, also just called target ). Once this behavior has been learned, the animal can now be led like on a leash and / or prompted for further action.
- Clicker training as an occupation ( enrichment ) with zoo and circus animals: If the achievement of a certain training goal is not the main focus, clicker training is well suited to "play" with the animal in order to utilize it physically and mentally. This is particularly relevant for domestic, zoo and circus animals, the environment of which does not offer enough stimuli for appropriate keeping.
- Clicker training is also often used for medical training in zoo animals . The animal is used to necessary examinations by a veterinarian. As a result, sedation or anesthesia and their risks can usually be dispensed with. Furthermore, the actions of the veterinarian are associated with significantly less stress for the animal.
Benefits of clicker training
The clicker generates a noise ( stimulus ) that does not occur in the animal's usual environment and cannot occur by chance. The clicker can be activated “precisely” so that the linkage time window can be adhered to. In contrast to the instructor's voice, it is free of emotions and moods and is always the same.
Any device that fulfills these conditions can be used as a "clicker", including a whistle or a photo flash device for animals without hearing. The clicker in the style of the "cracking frog" is the most frequently used device.
Domestic pigs usually start screaming before feeding time as soon as someone enters the barn (for example to clear out). If the animals are used to the fact that a bell sounds when they are being fed, i.e. that there is only feed when the bell sounds, the workers in the barn have more peace and quiet.
concerns
Animal education and training through operant conditioning with the clicker works as free of punishment and coercion as possible. Nevertheless, in individual cases a penalty may be required as a corrective. The term “punishment” is to be interpreted in the behavioral scientific sense and does not mean the infliction of pain, but rather, for example, the withdrawal of a previously existing advantage (see reinforcement (psychology) ).
Clicker training is generally not suitable for weaning an animal off undesirable behavior. Undesired behavior can only be eliminated by " deleting " or creating an alternative behavior . However, undesired behavior can also be linked to a signal so that the undesired behavior is only carried out in response to a sign ( putting an undesired behavior under a cue ).
Clicker training is an effective training method, but without guidance or precise knowledge of the behavioral science behind it, it can lead to failure. The otherwise clear signal could become less important because the allocation is no longer comprehensible for the animal (clicks at the wrong time, too late, etc.).
Dogs that are very close to their humans and are very familiar with clicker training are often highly motivated during training, occasionally they ask for their reinforcement (which consists of click and reward) by barking undesirably or showing behavior they have already learned Coach at that moment doesn't want to see one.
What clickers and clicker training are not
- The clicker is neither a “calling instrument” nor a toy for the animal. If it is used as such, it loses its effectiveness as an aid to operant conditioning, as a training aid and as a means of behavior control.
- Clickers and clicker training are not suitable for “turning off” undesirable behavior.
- Clickers and clicker training are not a means of “keeping” an underutilized or “bored” animal busy.
Trivia
During the Second World War, on the day of the invasion of the Allied troops in French Normandy (June 6, 1944), the American airborne troops (US 101 Airborne Division) had the problem of collecting the soldiers who had been dispersed in the drop zone.
For this purpose, a signaling device was required that could be obtained cheaply, that does not reveal the nationality, the noise of which does not occur in nature and helps to find each other. An officer brought one of his children's “crackers” to the meeting. After some initial laughter (“a toy!”) The clicker was accepted. An English company was won over to produce the clicker to this day on the original machines, from original material, now for a different purpose.
A clicker generates an impulse noise with very steep edges and can (depending on the model) generate sound levels of significantly more than 85 dB / A. Animals with sensitive hearing (e.g. cats) can react scared. The noise can also be damaging to the human ear. It can make sense to dampen the clicker (wrap a rag around it; press it in your pocket).
literature
- Lever, Antje: Every dog is different . Individual dog training with or without a clicker, ISBN 978-3-938071-69-4
- Braun, Martina: Clicker training for cats . Cadmos-Verlag 2005, ISBN 978-3-86127-124-6
- Hauschild, Christine (2010): Trick school for cats . ISBN 978-3-8404-4004-5 .
- Laser, Birgit: clicker training . Cadmos-Verlag, ISBN 3-86127-710-7
- Pryor, Karen: Affirm positively - educate gently . (Original title: Don't shoot the dog! ). Kosmos Verlag, ISBN 978-3-440-10629-7
Web links
- The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies on Animal Training (the theoretical basis of clicker training)
Individual evidence
- ^ Pavlov, Iwan Petrowitsch : The conditional reflexes: a selection from the complete work , Kindler, Munich, 1972, ISBN 3-463-00519-0