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Why Is It Effective? |
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When an animal intentionally performs a behavior in
order to bring about a desired consequence, as clicker
trained animals do, they are learning in a way that
researchers call “operant conditioning.”
Animals (and people) may also associate an action,
event, place, person, or object with a consequence,
whether pleasant or unpleasant. 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.”
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