How Animals Learn
How do animals learn at SeaWorld?
SeaWorld trainers use operant conditioning techniques to train marine mammals. In addition, the animals at SeaWorld often learn through observational learning. Both types of learning are explained below.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behaviors are altered by the consequences which follow them. When an animal performs a particular behavior and the consequences of that behavior are in some ways reinforcing to that animal, the animal is likely to repeat that behavior.
For instance, if a whale splashes its trainer, any of several consequences may follow: the trainer becomes wet, the trainer jumps backward, the crowd cheers, etc. If any of these consequences is reinforcing to the whale, the whale is likely to repeat the splashing behavior.
When an animal responds with a behavior that is close to what the trainer wants, the trainer delivers a positive reinforcer. As a result, the animal increases the frequency, intensity, and duration of that particular behavior. For example, if a dolphin leaps into the air and a reinforcer follows, the behavior of leaping is like to increase in frequency, duration, and intensity under the same conditions.
Humans learn by the same principles. For example, consider the behavior of putting money into a candy machine. That behavior is reinforced by the candy that follows. We are likely to repeat that behavior. If no reinforcement (candy) were to follow, we would not repeat that behavior.
The behavior of putting money into a candy machine is reinforced by the
candy that follows.
What is a positive reinforcer?
A positive reinforcer is any consequence that increases the frequency of the preceding behavior. A reinforcer can be anything that the animal may perceive as reinforcing. A back scratch, a toy, a fish, or a favorite activity are all example of positive reinforcers. Positive reinforcement is the only type of reinforcement SeaWorld trainers use to train animals.
All of our training is based on reinforcing desired behaviors.
Reinforcers encourage the animal to repeat these desired behaviors. The reinforcer tells the animal, "Yes, you have done that well." Reinforcers are one of the keys to training marine mammals at SeaWorld.
How do we know what is reinforcing to an animal?
The animals cannot tell us what they like and don't like, instead, we look carefully at their frequency of behavior after we apply a reinforcer. If the frequency goes down, we assume that the consequence was not reinforcing; therefore, we use a different reinforcer -- something that increases the frequency of the behavior.
Can you teach an animal to respond to a new reinforcer?
Often new reinforcers can be conditioned by pairing something unfamiliar to the animal, such as a toy, with a known positive reinforcer. Eventually, through repeated pairing, the unfamiliar stimulus (toy) takes on positive characteristics and becomes a new reinforcer. We call it conditioned reinforcer.
What is observational learning?
Observational learning is a term we use to describe how an animal learns by watching others. Observational learning occurs with no outside reinforcement -- the animal simply learns by observing.
During the first few months of life many young animals' entire repertoire of behaviors is made up of behaviors that copy or mimic from others. Killer whales calves constantly follow their mothers and attempt to mimic everything they do.
Adult animals trained with experienced animals may learn at a faster rate. An intriguing question with no simple answer, observational learning remains a powerful learning process.
Are marine mammals intelligent?
The ability of an animal to process information is based largely upon its own physical ability. genetics dictate how the brain and nervous system develop. Without certain nerve pathways, electrical impulses that dictate behaviors and memory simply cannot be activated. The learning process is solely dependent upon an animal's physical structure, particularly the nervous system, and the specific experiences the animal has.
It is extremely difficult, and in many cases misleading, to rate the intelligence of different kinds of animals. In fact, we have yet to provide a reliable and consistent intelligence test for humans. It would be inaccurate to attempt to quantify or qualify the intelligence of marine mammals.
What we do know is that dolphins and whales have rather large brains and are capable of performing some very complex tasks. Genetically, marine mammals are predisposed to responding more efficiently to stimuli found in aquatic environments. They learn different tasks at different rates, faster than some species and slower than others. There is also great variation among individual animals of the same species. Researchers have gathered very little information on short - and long - term memory in whales and dolphins. Marine mammals are able to use sensory processes to an extent that still remains a mystery.
Trainers continue to learn more about the relationships between reinforcers and behaviors through direct contact and observing the animals. Correlating this data on a daily basis helps us to better understand the animals' natural behavior as well as their ability to learn. The rest of our questions remain as yet unanswered, but our curiosity continues.
Killer whale calves mimic their mothers.
Introduction to Animal Behavior | Introduction to Animal Training | How Animals Learn | Marine Mammal Training At SeaWorld | The SeaWorld Auditory Cueing System | Why do We Train Animals? | Bibliography | Books For Young Readers
