What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that acquired its effectiveness to increase and maintain a target behavior on the basis of the individual’s history—e.g., pairings with other reinforcers. This systematic review synthesized findings on conditioned reinforcement in the applied animal training fi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1757 |
| _version_ | 1797552433058021376 |
|---|---|
| author | Nicole Pfaller-Sadovsky Camilo Hurtado-Parrado Daniela Cardillo Lucia G. Medina Susan G. Friedman |
| author_facet | Nicole Pfaller-Sadovsky Camilo Hurtado-Parrado Daniela Cardillo Lucia G. Medina Susan G. Friedman |
| author_sort | Nicole Pfaller-Sadovsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that acquired its effectiveness to increase and maintain a target behavior on the basis of the individual’s history—e.g., pairings with other reinforcers. This systematic review synthesized findings on conditioned reinforcement in the applied animal training field. Thirty-four studies were included in the review and six studies were eligible for a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of behavioral interventions that implemented conditioned reinforcement (e.g., clicks, spoken word, or whistles paired with food). The majority of studies investigated conditioned reinforcement with dogs (47%, n = 16) and horses (30%, n = 10) implementing click–food pairings. All other species (cats, cattle, fish, goats, and monkeys) were equally distributed across types of conditioned (e.g., clicker or spoken word) and unconditioned reinforcers (e.g., food, water, or tactile). A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement in behavioral interventions found a medium summary effect size (Tau-U 0.77; CI<sub>95%</sub> = [0.53, 0.89]), when comparing baseline, where no training was done, and treatment levels. Moderators of conditioned reinforcement effectiveness were species (e.g., horses) and research design (e.g., multiple-baseline designs). The small number of intervention-focused studies available limits the present findings and highlights the need for more systematic research into the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement across species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:59:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e2befd145124b3981896987ce0afa79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:59:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e2befd145124b3981896987ce0afa792023-11-20T15:21:55ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-09-011010175710.3390/ani10101757What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisNicole Pfaller-Sadovsky0Camilo Hurtado-Parrado1Daniela Cardillo2Lucia G. Medina3Susan G. Friedman4School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT95AJ, UKDepartment of Psychology, Troy University, Troy, AL 36082, USAGreen Dogs, Via Dante Alighieri 7, 23814 Cremeno, ItalyFaculty of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Bogota 110221, ColombiaDepartment of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USAA conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that acquired its effectiveness to increase and maintain a target behavior on the basis of the individual’s history—e.g., pairings with other reinforcers. This systematic review synthesized findings on conditioned reinforcement in the applied animal training field. Thirty-four studies were included in the review and six studies were eligible for a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of behavioral interventions that implemented conditioned reinforcement (e.g., clicks, spoken word, or whistles paired with food). The majority of studies investigated conditioned reinforcement with dogs (47%, n = 16) and horses (30%, n = 10) implementing click–food pairings. All other species (cats, cattle, fish, goats, and monkeys) were equally distributed across types of conditioned (e.g., clicker or spoken word) and unconditioned reinforcers (e.g., food, water, or tactile). A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement in behavioral interventions found a medium summary effect size (Tau-U 0.77; CI<sub>95%</sub> = [0.53, 0.89]), when comparing baseline, where no training was done, and treatment levels. Moderators of conditioned reinforcement effectiveness were species (e.g., horses) and research design (e.g., multiple-baseline designs). The small number of intervention-focused studies available limits the present findings and highlights the need for more systematic research into the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement across species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1757conditioned reinforcementclicker trainingdogshorsescatsmeta-analysis |
| spellingShingle | Nicole Pfaller-Sadovsky Camilo Hurtado-Parrado Daniela Cardillo Lucia G. Medina Susan G. Friedman What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Animals conditioned reinforcement clicker training dogs horses cats meta-analysis |
| title | What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full | What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_fullStr | What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_short | What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_sort | what s in a click the efficacy of conditioned reinforcement in applied animal training a systematic review and meta analysis |
| topic | conditioned reinforcement clicker training dogs horses cats meta-analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1757 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicolepfallersadovsky whatsinaclicktheefficacyofconditionedreinforcementinappliedanimaltrainingasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT camilohurtadoparrado whatsinaclicktheefficacyofconditionedreinforcementinappliedanimaltrainingasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT danielacardillo whatsinaclicktheefficacyofconditionedreinforcementinappliedanimaltrainingasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT luciagmedina whatsinaclicktheefficacyofconditionedreinforcementinappliedanimaltrainingasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT susangfriedman whatsinaclicktheefficacyofconditionedreinforcementinappliedanimaltrainingasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis |