ABC'S: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

CONCERNS & SOLUTIONS

A Question & Answer Forum For Animal Professionals

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Welcome to the ABC's! Animal Behavior Concerns & Solutions is an animal behavior column written by animal behaviorist and animal trainer, Diana L. Guerrero. This section is dedicated to animal training techniques for all animals and pets, and topics related to operant conditioning and reinforcement. This column is dedicated to discussing and clarifying the operant conditioning term called secondary reinforcers. For pet training please visit the pet sections, see our pet behavior booklets in the shop, or click here for enrollment information for classes and teleseminars.

Clarifying "Secondary Reinforcers"

QUESTION
We have some new trainers on board, can give us some guidance and clarify the training term "secondary reinforcers?"

ANSWER
Earlier columns in this series, "Common Training Errors" may be useful to you. If you would like to submit specific questions for your new trainers I would be happy to help, until then I am going to focus on defining secondary reinforcers and only touch on a couple of suggestions for integrating novice trainers.

Used in the training context, a reinforcer is anything that increases the behavior it immediately follows. It reinforces the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

Primary reinforcers are innately reinforcing to an animal. Trainers commonly use food as the primary reinforcer. Water, sex, etc.. might also be considered primary reinforcers.

Secondary reinforcers become reinforcing through the association with a primary reinforcer. This means that initially a secondary reinforcer might not have any significance to an animal.

One example of a secondary reinforcer is the bridge. Your facility might be using clickers, whistles, lights, specific tones or words, or you might have specific actions that serve as a bridge. These are all examples of a secondary reinforcer. They are a link to the primary reinforcer and so also become reinforcing.

One way to think of a secondary reinforcer is as an IOU. Used efficiently it allows you to quickly communicate without having to dispense primary reinforcement at that exact moment. The trick here is that you have to train the secondary reinforcer, just as you would any behavior, before you can use it.

The bridge is trained through consistent application and presentation with food (or primary reinforcement). So, if you use a tone, pair it with the presentation of the food. (I prefer to use small tidbits for a "flavor burst" to coincide with the bridge since I do not want the animal chewing, spending excessive time eating it or becoming satiated too quickly.) Each time the animal gets a tidbit; the tone is sounded at exactly the same time.

Watch for the "light bulb." This is the point when the animal forms the association between the presentation of the food and the bridge. They seem to "click" into understanding the link. That is when the first association is formed. Eventually you will wean away from "one tone equals one tidbit" into a variable reinforcement schedule, but that is another column.

Terminology confuses many new trainers because secondary reinforcers are also called conditioned reinforcers, alternative reinforcers, etc. There are at least a half a dozen more names used to add to your bewilderment! Stick to using the terms secondary or conditioned reinforcer to avoid confusion.

Secondary reinforcers go beyond being the bridging stimulus into different types of reinforcement options. This is what makes training even more interesting and variable to the animal (and the trainer). If the animal has no food drive (lacks motivation to work for food) it is useful to know what these are.

Depending on the species, other types of activities can be used as secondary reinforcers. Some of the common activities can include social interludes, tactile variations, play or related desirable items or actions. Having a multitude of options at your fingertips makes training your animal easier and more interesting.

Examples of some of these options could be mist sprayers, rubdowns, grooming or preening, games, and a variety of tactile or activity variations. In my experience there are some animals with a stronger drive for social interactions or attention than with food.

Having said that, you will also find individuals that have little or no interest in play or interactions. In many cases, once trained to accept these options as secondary reinforcers the animals can become more playful and interested in interactions both inside and outside of the training application. Remember that these efforts can take time if you have a difficult animal to motivate.

Another benefit of using a secondary reinforcer is that it can help you out in your timing efficiency. The blow of a whistle is a lot easier than trying to accurately toss a tidbit to a moving creature! When you are shaping behavior, timing is critical. If you are late, you might be reinforcing something different from the behavior you are after.

Just a couple of notes on starting novice trainers.
Begin with simple activities so they don't have to be coordinated on all levels at once. Remember that there is a lot to remember and think about. Positioning, proper delivery of physical and verbal SD (Discriminative Stimulus), pairing of tidbit with bridge, timing of it, etc., Start your beginners off so that they are successful and not overwhelmed or frustrated.

Another pitfall to avoid with new trainees is excessive chatting during a session. Questions are great because it shows interest and drive, however make sure that they know that it is best to wait until after the session. Why? Because training efforts and your animals require full attention.

To help your new trainers, and add to your collection of secondary reinforcer options, have them get familiar with the natural history and behavior of the species that you all are working with. Glancing through training notes on individual animals and having a training forum where everyone shares their knowledge of your specific animal quirks are other useful activities.

Finally, remind new trainers to avoid pushing their relationships with the animals too far or too fast. Certain animals might be accepting of touch or interactions from certain trainers but not all of them! It will be much safer if your new people understand the differences between the individual animal temperaments and tolerances!

Former Columns of Interest
Guerrero, Diana. Common Training Errors 101: Reinforcement & Punishment. Animal Keepers Forum. AAZK. Vol. 25(06) June 1998.

Guerrero, Diana. Common Training Errors 101: Moving Ahead Before A Behavior Is Stabilized. Animal Keepers Forum. AAZK. Vol. 25(01) January 1998.

Guerrero, Diana. Common Training Errors 101: Understanding Applications of the Bridge & Bridging Criteria. Animal Keepers Forum. AAZK. Vol. 24(09) Part One: Sept 1997.

Guerrero, Diana. Common Training Errors 101: Understanding Applications of the Bridge & Bridging Criteria. Animal Keepers Forum. AAZK. Vol. 24(10) Part Two: Oct 1997.

Guerrero, Diana. Common Training Errors 101:Confusing Consistency With Predictability. Animal Keepers Forum. AAZK. Vol. 24(03) March 1997.

Are you a reader with a question? Be sure to submit it--and good luck in all your training endeavors!

About the columnist: Since 1978 Diana L. Guerrero has worked professionally with both wild and domestic animals. Guerrero has been affiliated with, and certified by, a variety of animal programs in the USA and Europe. Based in California, she writes, consults, and speaks. Information on her animal career programs, training courses, and her books {What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality (SkyLight Paths, 2003), Blessing of the Animals (Sterling, 2007), Help! My Pet is Driving Me Crazy (Guerrero Ink, 2007), Animal Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners & Pet Professionals (Guerrero Ink, 2007)} can be found in this web site and in the shop. Questions for Guerrero should be submitted via the blog comments or membership forum.