PSYCHOLOGIA
Online ISSN : 1347-5916
Print ISSN : 0033-2852
ISSN-L : 0033-2852
SPECIAL ISSUE: MINDS OF COMPANION ANIMALS Guest Editor: Kazuo Fujita
FAILURE TO FIND REINFORCEMENT EFFECT OF NECK PATTING IN HORSES (EQUUS CABALLUS)
Akio TAKAHASHIKeita NISHIYAMAMidori OHKITAKosuke SAWA
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2016 Volume 59 Issue 2-3 Pages 91-99

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Abstract

From the perspective of animal welfare, positive reinforcement should be used in animal training situations, such as an equestrian event. To assess the reinforcement properties of patting the neck of horses, a simple instrumental conditioning test was administered. Three horses were required to press a button with their nose for a food pellet and patting. ABA reversal design was administered to assess the relative reinforcement properties of patting to food reinforcement; and, the reinforcement schedule for the food reinforcer was gradually changed from the continuous reinforcement (CRF) to a fixed ratio (FR) 5. All subjects consistently showed a low level of response for a patting reinforcer, suggesting that reinforcement effect of neck patting may be trivial, if any.

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© 2016 by the PSYCHOLOGIA SOCIETY
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