Animal Behavior Enterprises (ABE) First business to commercially apply the principles of Operant Conditioning to animal training. Founded by Keller and Marian Breland, in the roughly 45 years of its existence, ABE staff trained 15,000 animals in 140 different species.

Aversive Something the animal is willing to work to avoid.

Back-chaining Training the last behavior in a chain first, then training the next-to-last behavior, then the behavior before that, and so on. Back-chaining takes advantage of the Premack Principle.

Bailey, Bob (Robert E.) A chemist and zoologist who pioneered OC-based animal training methods in free environment and production settings. Bob and his wife, Marian Breland Bailey, taught the principles of Operant Conditioning to dog trainers in their "chicken training" camps.

Bailey, Marian Breland B.F. Skinner's second graduate student. Marian and her first husband, Keller Breland, worked with Skinner on the "pigeon bombing project" in World War II, and then left their graduate studies to found Animal Behavior Enterprises. Marian got her Ph.D in 1978 and was a college professor for twenty years. Although she retired in 1998, Marian and her second husband, Bob Bailey, continued teaching the principles of Operant Conditioning in their "chicken training" camps.

Balanced training A type of training using all five principles of Operant Conditioning and an event marker (clicker) to modify behavior. This type of training is better known as "combined training." Balanced training implies equal amounts of reinforcement and punishment. However, the fallout associated with punishment makes such a "balance" a poor training choice.

Behavior Anything an animal does.

Breland, Keller B.F. Skinner's first graduate student. Keller and his wife, Marian Breland (Bailey), worked with Skinner on the "pigeon bombing project" in World War II, and then left their graduate studies to found Animal Behavior Enterprises. Keller was the first to use an event marker, which he called a bridging stimulus, as a bridge between the desired response and the delivery of the primary reinforcer.

Bridging stimulus An event marker that identifies the desired response and "bridges" the time between the response and the delivery of the primary reinforcer. The clicker is a bridging stimulus.

Calming signals Subtle body signals used by dogs to indicate stress and to avoid or diffuse confrontation and aggression.

Chaining The process of combining multiple behaviors into one continuous behavior with a single cue.

Classical Conditioning The process of associating a neutral stimulus with an involuntary response until the stimulus elicits the response.

Clicker A toy noisemaker. Animal trainers make use of the clicker as an event marker to mark a desired response. The clicker is an excellent marker because it is unique, quick, and consistent.

Clicker training A term coined by Karen Pryor and defined by her as a subset of Operant Conditioning using positive reinforcement, extinction, negative punishment, and an event marker to modify behavior.

Combined training A type of training using all five principles of Operant Conditioning and a marker signal (clicker) to modify behavior.

Compulsion training The traditional style of dog training where the dog is modeled or otherwise compelled to perform the behavior and physically corrected for non-compliance.

Conditioned reinforcer A neutral stimulus paired with a primary reinforcer until the neutral stimulus takes on the reinforcing properties of the primary. A clicker, after being repeatedly associated with a food treat or other reinforcer, becomes a conditioned reinforcer.

Consequence The result of an action. Consequences frequently - but not always - affect future behavior, making the behavior more or less likely to occur. The five principles of Operant Conditioning describe the potential results.

Continuous reinforcement The simplest schedule of reinforcement. Every desired response is reinforced.

Counter-conditioning Pairing stimuli that evoke one response with an opposite response, so that the stimulus now evokes the new response. For example, a dog is afraid of men wearing hats. When a man wearing a hat approaches, the dog is repeatedly fed his favorite food. The goal is to replace the fear with the pleasure elicited by the food. Counter-conditioning must be done gradually, however. If the process were rushed, the favorite food could take on the fear association instead.

Criteria The specific, trainer-defined response in a training session. The trainer clicks at the instant the animal achieves the criteria. Criteria can include not only the physical behavior but elements like latency, duration, and distance.

Crossover dog A dog that has previously been trained by a non-clicker method who is now being clicker trained.

Crossover trainer A trainer who previously used non-clicker methods to train animals who is now clicker training.

Cue A stimulus that elicits a behavior. Cues may be verbal, physical (i.e., a hand signal), or environmental (i.e., a curb may become a cue to sit if the dog is always cued to sit before crossing a road).

Desensitization The process of increasing a tolerance to a particular stimulus by gradually increasing the presence of the stimulus.

Differential reinforcement Correct responses are rewarded and incorrect ones are not, OR better responses are given a more powerful reinforcer and lesser responses are given a lower value reinforcer. Differential reinforcement is not a schedule of reinforcement.

Event marker A signal used to mark desired behavior at the instant it occurs. The clicker is an event marker.

Extinction The weakening of behavior through non-reinforcement. "Ignoring" the behavior. In extinction, nothing is added or removed from the environment. For example, a treat lies on the other side of a fence. A dog reaches his paw under, but cannot reach the treat. Because reaching for the treat doesn't work - because it isn't reinforced through success - the dog will eventually quit reaching for the treat.

Extinction burst A characteristic of extinction. If a previously-reinforced behavior is not reinforced, the animal will increase the intensity or frequency of the behavior in attempt to earn the reinforcement again. After these bursts, the offering of the behavior will diminish.

Fixed interval A schedule of reinforcement in which the trainer reinforces the first correct response after a specific period of time - for example, after a minute.

Fixed ratio A schedule of reinforcement in which the trainer reinforces the first correct response after a specific number of responses. Two-fers and three-fers are examples of fixed ratios.

"Four quadrants of Operant Conditioning" An incorrect reference to the commonly-seen chart illustrating the concepts of reinforcement and punishment. This description is misleading in two ways. It neglects to mention extinction, and it implies that the other principles of Operant Conditioning are of equal value in a training program.

Head halter Similar to a horse's halter, a dog's head halter gives the trainer control of the dog's head, making it easier to manage a dog on leash until the dog has been taught to walk at the handler's side.

Interval reinforcement The trainer reinforces the dog according to a time schedule. In a fixed interval, the trainer reinforces the first correct response after a specific period of time - for example, every minute. In a variable interval, the trainer reinforces the first correct response after varying periods of time within a certain timeframe.

Jackpot A "mega-reward" given after a particularly exceptional effort.

Keep Going Signal (KGS) A signal - verbal or otherwise - given in the middle of a behavior to tell the dog he is doing the behavior correctly and should keep doing what he's doing. Keep Going Signals are an unnecessary level of complexity in training.

Latency The time between the cue and the response. Ideally, that time is zero - or as close to immediate as possible.

Negative punishment (P-) Take away something the animal will work for to suppress (lessen the frequency of) a behavior. For example, a dog jumps on you to get attention. By turning your back or leaving the room you apply P- by removing the attention he wants.

Negative reinforcement (R-) Remove something the animal will work to avoid to strengthen (increase the frequency of) a behavior. Heeling is traditionally taught through R-. The dog receives a "correction" when he walks anywhere except heel position. Walking in heel position increases because that is the only "safe" place - because the threat of correction is removed by walking there. The key to R- is an aversive must first be applied or threatened in order for it to be removed.

No Reward Marker (NRM) Intended to be a signal to say "No, that isn't what I want -- try again." From the OC perspective, it's intended to add a verbal cue to extinction. However, once something has been added to the situation, it is impossible to know whether a change occurred through extinction or punishment. No Reward Marks are usually an unnecessary level of complexity in a training program.

Operant Conditioning The process of changing an animal's response to a certain stimulus by manipulating the consequences to the response. The five principles of Operant Conditioning were developed by B.F. Skinner. Clicker training is a subset of Operant Conditioning, using only positive reinforcement, extinction, and to a lesser extent, negative punishment.

Permanent criteria Criteria that are found in the final behavior. Permanent criteria should be trained to a higher level of reliability than temporary criteria.

Positive punishment (P+) Add something the animal will work to avoid to suppress (lessen the frequency of) a behavior. For example, jerking on the lead to stop a dog from jumping on someone is P+ used to suppress the behavior of jumping. Other common examples of P+ include yelling, nose taps, spanking, electric shock, and assorted "booby traps."

Positive reinforcement (R+) Add something the animal will work for to strengthen (increase the frequency of) a behavior. For example, give the dog a treat for sitting in order to increases the probability the dog will sit again.

Premack Principle A theory stating that a stronger response will reinforce a weaker response.

Primary reinforcer A reinforcer that the animal is born needing. Food, water, and sex are primary reinforcers.

Pryor, Karen Author and dolphin trainer credited with coining the term "clicker training" and popularizing the method with dog trainers.

Punishment In Operant Conditioning, a consequence to a behavior in which something added to or removed from the situation makes the behavior less likely to occur in the future.

Rate of Reinforcement The number of reinforcers given in a specific period of time. A high rate of reinforcement is critical to training success.

Ratio A schedule of reinforcement in which the trainer reinforces based on number of responses. In a fixed ratio, the trainer reinforces the first correct response after a specific number of correct responses. Two-fers and three-fers are examples of fixed ratios. In a variable ratio, the trainer reinforces the first correct response after varying numbers of correct responses.

Reinforcement In Operant Conditioning, a consequence to a behavior in which something added to or removed from the situation makes the behavior more likely to occur in the future.

Reinforcer Anything dog will work to obtain.

Secondary reinforcer A conditioned reinforcer. A reinforcer the animal is not born needing. Secondary reinforcers may be as or even more powerful than a primary reinforcer.

Skinner, BF Scientist who defined the principles of Operant Conditioning.

Spontaneous recovery A characteristic of extinction in which a behavior that was thought to be extinct unexpectedly reappears. If the trainer ensures the behavior is not reinforced, it will disappear quickly.

Stimulus A change in the environment. If the stimulus has no affect on the animal, it is a neutral stimulus. A stimulus that stands out in the environment - that the animal notices more than other environmental stimuli - is a salient stimulus. A stimulus that causes a change of state in the animal - for example, causes him to perform a specific behavior - is a discriminative stimulus.

Target Something the animal is taught to touch with some part of his body. A target is generally stationary.

Target stick A mobile target the animal is taught to follow. Target sticks are often used as lures.

Temporary criteria Criteria that are stepping stones to a final behavior that won't, in their current form, be present in the final behavior. Temporary criteria should be trained only to about 80% reliability before "making it harder." If a temporary criterion is reinforced for too long, the animal may be reluctant to change its behavior.

Three-fer The animal has to perform three correct behaviors in order to earn one click and one treat.

Timing The timing of the clicker. Ideally, the click should occur at exactly the same instant the target criterion is achieved. Timing is a mechanical skill and requires practice. The trainer must be able to recognize the behaviors that precede the target behavior in order to click at the same moment the target behavior occurs.

Traditional training Compulsion training. Traditional training is characterized by modeling or luring to get the behavior and the use of negative reinforcement and positive punishment to "proof" it.

Training period A pre-set period of time set aside for training. A training period may be composed of multiple training sessions.

Training session Either a pre-set period of time or per-set number of repetitions. Your criteria should remain constant during a single session. At the end of a training session, you evaluate your animal's progress and decide whether to make the next session harder or stay at the same criteria.

Two-fer The animal has to perform two correct behaviors in order to earn one click and one treat.

Variable interval A schedule of reinforcement in which the trainer reinforces the first correct response after varying periods of time within a certain timeframe.

Variable ratio A schedule of reinforcement in which the trainer reinforces the first correct response after varying numbers of correct responses.

Variable schedule of reinforcement (VSR) Technically, either a variable interval or variable ratio. However, most trainers use VSR to mean a variable ratio.

Melissa Alexander
mca @ clickersolutions.com
copyright 2001, CLICK FOR JOY, by Melissa C. Alexander (pub. date Feb. 2003)

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List and Site Owner: Melissa Alexander, mca @ clickersolutions.com