Influential People in Learning Theory Part II

Canine Trainers Forum: Influential People in Learning Theory Part II
By Robert Forto, PhD

This is a weekly series of articles on Canine Training. We will post these articles every Saturday. We are going to start by posting articles about the history of human-canine communication and learning theory and why this approach is the de-facto method of training our companion animals. The training methods used by many trainers and training schools simply do not work. They are not based on the principles of how a dog learns. I classify these types of trainers into two groups: Yank and Crank and Wait and See trainers (We will discuss both of these methods in a future article so stay tuned and subscribe to our blog on our website Denver Dog Works). Both of these methods will have a degree of success but not a long term effect on changing your dog's overall behavior. Both of these methods are an "easy way out" for training your dog.
I will be the first to admit that dog training is work. Hard work and it takes a great deal of knowledge, understanding, patience and adaption in order for it to be a success. Do you want to go to a trainer or training school that has a trainer that is still wet-behind-the-ears or is earning minimum wage at a big box store? Or do you want to go to a professional that has literally lived with a pack of sled dogs for the better part of fifteen years and earned his doctorate on the basis of human-canine communication? If you would like to talk about this in more detail, I encourage you to give us a call anytime at 303-578-9881 303-578-9881 or send us an email at train@denverdogworks.com We look forward to hearing from you!
Influential People in the Development of Learning Theory
Pavlov, Thorndike, and Watson
Many attribute the beginning point of modern theories of behavior to Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936).A Russian physiologist, and Nobel Prize winner, Pavlov studied digestion in dogs.While conducting this research he observed his canine subjects salivating before the food was presented.Pavlov reasoned that his dogs were displaying this behavior in response to either the presence of his lab assistants, or the sound of the door opening.
Pavlov then conducted a series of experiments where he rang a bell just prior to feeding his canines.After a number of trials, the ringing of the bell by itself elicited the reflexive salivation of the canines.This phenomenon became known as Pavlovian or classical conditioning.Pavlov had succeeded in taking a reflexive action and putting it on cue, thereby creating a "conditioned reflex".This new science became known as respondent conditioning, and was an important predecessor to modern operant conditioning.Respondent conditioning and conditioned reflexive responses explain why a dog begins to salivate when its owner begins the feeding ritual.The understanding of this type of conditioning can enhance a trainer's procedure.Most training procedures are indeed built upon the principles of operant conditioning, which will be discussed in greater depth in a later part of this chapter.Respondent conditioning on the other hand is most useful when trying to change a dog's behavior.Some examples might be habituation, counter-conditioning, systematic desensitization, and flooding.These principles will also be discussed later in this chapter.
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) studied the effect different consequences have on behaviors.Thorndike is known for the Law of Effect, which simply states that responses or behaviors that produce pleasant rewards are likely to increase in frequency.This law is the foundation on which operant conditioning is built, and is the predecessor of all the "treat training" now being advocated in modern dog training.Thorndike's experiments were being conducted in the United States near the time that Pavlov's dogs were salivating in Russia.
J.B. Watson (1878-1958) has been credited as the father of modern behaviorism.A psychologist who worked at John Hopkins University, as well as, The University of Chicago, Watson emphasized the need to move the study of behavior away from the concentration on thoughts and feelings towards a more scientific, experimental study of behavior.Watson is best known for his "Little Albert" study in which he and his colleague, R. Rayner, conditioned a fear reaction in an eleven-month-old boy named Albert.The study went like this:
"Initially, Albert was allowed to play freely with a white rat.Then, a loud noise was presented whenever Albert reached out and touched the rat.The noise was loud enough to startle Albert.In one week, whenever the rat was presented Albert would cry, even without the noise.He also generalized his fear to other things, including a dog, a rabbit, and a Santa Claus mask.Watson used respondent conditioning (in this case, the startle reflex) to modify Albert's behavior." [i]
Skinner, Keller, and Schoenfeld
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) continued the work that Thorndike started.He was the leading advocate of a more modern version of Thorndike's Law of Effect, which states, "The frequency of a behavior increases or decreases according to the result it [the behavior] produces." [ii]
When Skinner was pursuing his doctorate at Harvard University he discovered that he could methodically change the behavior of lab rats by rewarding them with food.This study proceeded in the following stages:
"First, the rat was rewarded simply for facing the correct end of the cage.Next, the rat was rewarded only when it stood next to the lever.Later stages delayed the reward until the rat touched the lever with its body.Eventually the rat learned it had to press the lever to receive a pellet of food." [iii]
Skinner's viewpoints were unique in that he felt the proper study of behavior should be limited to "observable events" of behavior, and instead of how the subject might think.He consistently argued against making interpretations based on events that could not be observed.Skinner did not discuss intervening variables, such as hunger or thirst, when interpreting behavioral learning.
In 1938, B.F. Skinner published The Behavior of Organisms (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co.).Many consider this milestone work the leading authority on the science of operant conditioning.Today many dog trainers are using clickers for training canines; clickers are conditioned reinforcers that have been used by conditioning experts since the 1940's.Skinner wrote about clickers, which he called "crickets", in a paper called How to Teach Animals in 1951.
While on the faculty of the University of Minnesota, Skinner's study of operant conditioning principles was expanded to include pigeons.He was studying a phenomenon known as extinction when it occurred to him to ask himself, are theories of learning necessary?As previously discussed Skinner felt the study of behavior should be limited to events that were observable and measurable.Skinner maintained that the science of behavior should actually deal with behavior in its relation to variables that could be systematically manipulated.
Skinner was a leading advocate of Expectancy Theory; it was his contention that learning theory was in reality nothing more that expectancy.He wrote, "When we assert that an animal acts in a given way because it expects to receive food [or any reinforcers], then what began as the task of accounting for a learned behavior becomes the task of accounting for expectancy." [iv] Skinner is also partially credited for moving the science of operant conditioning beyond the lab, and towards a viable technology for changing behavior.
Fred S. Keller (1899-1966) is well known for his work on a teaching method known as Personalized System of Instruction (PSI).Keller was a classmate, and lifelong friend of B. F. Skinner. While it is true that Skinner ultimately wound up on the faculty at Harvard, where as Keller taught at Columbia, they remained colleagues throughout their lives.
In 1947, Fred Keller teamed up with William Schoenfeld (1915-1996) at Columbia University and began to teach the first college psychology course employing Skinner's methods.Undergraduate students taught rats to respond to stimuli in order to obtain reinforcement.Keller and Schoenfeld published the first text in the emerging field of operant conditioning in 1950 entitled Principles of Psychology.
Breland and Bailey
In 1938, Marian Kruse, a research assistant, was bitten by one of B. F. Skinner's lab rats.On her way to receive medical attention Kruse met Keller Breland, a brilliant and ambitious graduate student in psychology. A professional and personal relationship developed and they were married in 1941; the same year the United States was going to war.
B. F. Skinner was convinced that the science of operant conditioning could be used to effectively help the war effort.Skinner's prior experience with the behavior of pigeons was invaluable to Project Pelican.Keller and Marian Breland trained pigeons to guide bombs for the Navy; fittingly these bombs were called "pelicans".Project Pelican was disbanded in 1943, but Marian Breland carried on by training animals for commercials and animal shows.
The Brelands published Applied Animal Psychology in 1951.This paper described how operant conditioning could be used to teach animals.They are credited by many for ushering in the commercial application of the science of operant conditioning.
With stories in The Wall Street Journal, Time, and even Life; the Brelands were obviously quite popular.With this popularity, Marine Studios in Florida noticed the Brelands and worked with them to develop a dolphin act.The development of this same act led to the publication of the first procedural training manual for dolphin trainers.Operant conditioning and conditioned reinforcers played an enormous role in the training procedures of dolphins due to the distance that the trainer is removed from the subject.
The Brelands' involvement with dolphins brought them, and their teaching methods, to the attention of the Navy yet again.A zoologist from the University of California by the name of Bob Bailey headed up the Navy's Dolphins at Sea program.In 1965 Bailey drew on the extensive experience of the Brelands in respect to the behavior of pigeons. In this with respect, in developing an ambush detection system for the Army.In the same year Keller Breland passed away.Bob Bailey and Marian Breland continued the work that the three of them had started. They were eventually married in 1976.
Bob Bailey also developed the concept of a bridging stimulus, which is a method of using a "bridge of time" between the subject animals' correct response and the delivery of a primary reinforcer.
The value of the contribution that these individuals made to the advancement of learning theory is without measure and cannot be understated.Because of their redundant work the understanding of learning has made important advancements throughout the years. If you would like to read my doctorate dissertation: Chasing the Dream: A History of Human-Canine Communication in the Sport of Dog Sledding in its entirety it can be purchased as a .pdf from for $19.10 please send me an email at train@denverdogworks.com and I will arrange it.


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[i] Burch, M., Ph.D., and Bailey, J. S., Ph.D ., How Dogs Learn. Howell Book House,1999, Pg. 5.
[ii] Plonsky, M., Ph.D., " How Dogs Learn," Thomson Education Direct, Scranton, PA, 2001, Pg. 36.
[iii] Plonsky, M., Ph.D., " How Dogs Learn," Thomson Education Direct, Scranton, PA, 2001, Pg. 36. Pg. 37
[iv] Skinner, B.F., Are Theories of Learning Necessary?, (1950), Web Document: "Classics in the History of Psychology" by Christopher D. Green, http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Skinner/Theories.
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and the Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto hosts a weekly program, The Dog Doctor Radio Show every Saturday. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com