Introductory Canine Psychology: Learning Theory, Conditioning, and Behaviour Modification

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering learning theory, the ABC model, classical and operant conditioning, the four operant quadrants, and counter-conditioning techniques.

Antecedent

A thing or event that existed before, logically precedes another, or acts as the cause of an event or situation; in training, it is what happens immediately before the behaviour (such as verbal, visual, or environmental cues).

Behaviour

The way in which an animal or person acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus; simplified as observable actions or durations of non-action (such as sitting, down, or holding a stay).

Consequence

What happens immediately after a behaviour (the payoff); an outcome that either reinforces the behaviour to increase its future frequency or punishes it to decrease its future frequency.

The Antecedent Iceberg

A conceptual model illustrating that beneath the observable antecedent tip of the ABC model, canine behaviour is profoundly driven by deeper factors summarized by the acronym L.E.G.S.: Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self.

Conditioning

The process of learning wherein an animal acquires understanding of what an event, cue, or stimulus means or predicts.

Classical Conditioning

A form of involuntary, reflexive associative learning discovered by Ivan Pavlov in which an organism learns to associate a previously neutral stimulus with a reflexive response.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process discovered by B.F. Skinner in which an animal associates a voluntary behaviour with its consequence, determining how that behaviour operates on the environment.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US / UCS)

A stimulus that triggers a natural, innate, or reflexive response automatically without any prior training or learning (such as food presented to a dog).

Unconditioned Response (UR / UCR)

An unlearned, automatic, or reflexive reaction produced by an unconditioned stimulus (such as salivating to food, feeling pain after an injury, or feeling hungry).

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that initially elicits no response and carries no emotional or predictive meaning prior to conditioning.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A formerly neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairing alongside an unconditioned stimulus, acquires predictive meaning and elicits a learned response on its own.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned, reflexive reaction elicited by a conditioned stimulus after association has taken place (such as a dog salivating solely upon hearing a bell).

Extinction

The gradual fading and eventual cessation of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the pairing of the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of non-exposure; also referred to as an extinction burst and considered confirmation that extinction is occurring.

Law of Effect

A behavioral principle describing that if an action is followed by a satisfying or good consequence, the likelihood of repeating that action increases, whereas actions followed by bad consequences become less likely.

Positive (+)

In learning theory, the presentation or addition of a stimulus to the environment immediately following a behaviour.

Negative (-)

In learning theory, the subtraction, termination, or removal of a stimulus from the environment immediately following a behaviour.

Positive Reinforcement (R+)

A quadrant of operant conditioning where an appetitive or pleasant stimulus is added following a behaviour, causing that behaviour to increase in frequency.

Negative Reinforcement (R-)

A quadrant of operant conditioning where an aversive or unpleasant stimulus is removed or stopped following a behaviour, increasing the future likelihood of that behaviour through relief.

Positive Punishment (P+)

A quadrant of operant conditioning where an aversive or unpleasant stimulus is added following a behaviour, decreasing the future likelihood of that behaviour.

Negative Punishment (P-)

A quadrant of operant conditioning where an appetitive or pleasant stimulus is removed or withheld following a behaviour, decreasing the future likelihood of that behaviour.

Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

The classification system representing the interaction of adding (+) or taking away (-) stimuli with the resulting increase (reinforcement) or decrease (punishment) in future behaviour.

Classical Counter Conditioning

The process of altering an animal's existing emotional response or association toward a stimulus into a new positive or neutral emotion by pairing the trigger with a high-value outcome, independent of the animal's behaviour.

Conditional Emotional Response (CER)

An acquired association connecting an emotional state with a specific stimulus (such as a dog feeling excitement when seeing a leash because it predicts going for a walk).

Desensitization

A behaviour modification technique of exposing an animal to a trigger at an intensity so low that it elicits zero undesirable reaction, then gradually and systematically increasing intensity while the animal remains non-reactive.

Splitting (vs. Lumping)

The training practice of breaking criteria and environmental variables down into incremental, attainable steps so the learner remains successful under threshold, rather than advancing too quickly.

The Criteria Triangle

A dog training model depicting the three essential variables that must be systematically managed and split when setting criteria: distance, duration, and distraction.