When an animal
intentionally performs a behavior in order to bring about a desired consequence,
as clicker trained animals do, they are learning using “operant conditioning.”
Animals
(and people) may also associate an action, event, place, person, or object with
a consequence, whether positive or negative. The more a certain event or
environment is paired with a particular consequence, the stronger the
association. This type of learning is called “classical conditioning” and
represents reflexive or automatic behavior, rather than intentional behavior.
While
clicker training initially employs classical conditioning, it quickly becomes
operant conditioning as soon as the animal intentionally repeats an action in
order to earn a reward. Training through operant conditioning results in
purposeful behavior, while training through classical conditioning results in
habitual behavior.
The difference between an
animal that behaves with purpose, rather than by habit, is vast. Clicker
trained or operantly conditioned animals try to learn new behaviors. They
remember behaviors even years later because they were aware of them as they
learned them, rather than acquiring them without awareness. They develop
confidence because they have control over the consequences of their actions.
They are enthusiastic because they expect those consequences to be pleasurable.
The essential difference
between clicker training and other reward-based training is that the animal is
told exactly which behavior earned it a reward. This information is
communicated with a distinct and unique sound, a click, which occurs at the
same time as the desired behavior. The reward follows.
Without
hearing a click during an action, an animal may not connect the reward with
that action. Or, the animal may associate the reward with another, unwanted
action. With the click, a trainer can precisely “mark” behavior so that the
animal knows exactly what it was doing. That’s why clicker trainers call the
click an “event marker.” The click also bridges or connects the behavior and its
reward, and so is also called a “bridging signal.”
A click is more powerful
for training than a spoken word because it is not a sound heard by the animal
in other circumstances. It means one thing only: a reward is coming because
of what you did when you heard the click. It can be produced instantly and
at the exact moment a behavior occurs.
Unlike
our voices, which can say the same word in different ways, the click sounds the
same every time it is heard; its meaning never varies. Humans are highly verbal
creatures, but our pets are not. It can be difficult for them to pick out a
single word from the stream of meaningless words they hear us speak every day.
The click’s meaning, however, is always clear. It is always directed at the
animal, and it is always good news.
The trainer clicks at the
moment the behavior occurs: the horse raises its hoof, the trainer clicks
simultaneously. The dog sits, the trainer clicks. Clicking is like taking a
picture of the behavior the trainer wishes to reinforce. After “taking the
picture,” the trainer gives the animal something it likes, usually a small
piece of food but sometimes play, petting, or other rewards.Very soon
(sometimes within two or three clicks), an animal will associate the sound of
the click with something it likes: the reward. Since it wishes to repeat that
pleasurable experience, it will repeat the action it was doing when it heard
the click.
Any
behavior can be trained with any animal following these three simple steps:
- Get the behavior.
- Mark the behavior.
- Reinforce the behavior.
http://www.clickertraining.com/whatis
