Fagen

• Name of Researcher and Date: Fagen 2014
• Title of Research Study : Training Elephants
• Approach : Learning Approach
• Assumptions of the Learning Approach :

  • We begin life as a blank slate (tabula rasa). Experiences and interactions with the environment shape our behaviour and these changes are directly observable.
  • We learn through the processes of operant conditioning, classical conditioning and social learning. This can be understood using the stimulus-response model.
• Aim of the Study : To investigate whether secondary positive reinforcement could be used to train the elephants to voluntarily complete a trunk wash, a behaviour that allows the elephants to be tested for a disease called TB.
• Methodology used in the Study : Controlled Observation
• Strengths of Controlled Observations

  • More Control
  • More accurate observations
  • Easier to replicate
  • Usually avoid ethical problems of consent
• Weaknesses of Controlled Observations

  • Demand Characteristics 
  • Low Ecological Validity 
  • Cause and Effect
• Details about the Elephants :

  • 5 female elephants (this was like a pilot study). 4 juveniles aged 5-7 and one adult (at least 50). 
  • Elephants were chosen due to being tame, not pregnant, and because handlers were happy to allow them to take part. 
  • Elephants had had no previous training with secondary positive reinforcement training. 
  • The mahouts (handlers) were present but not involved with the training.
• Training Process :

  • Elephants taught the marker-reward process  then
  • Capture : wait for the behaviour then ‘capture’ it by marking/rewarding with a banana
  • Lure: lure the elephant into a certain body position using the reward
  • Shaping: rewards only given as the behaviour got closer and closer to the desired behaviour
• Results

  • Two juveniles could only hold steady when doing the actual trunk wash
  • Easiest behaviour to learn was blow into the bucket (54 offers)
  • Most difficult behaviour to learn was trunk here (295 offers)
• Conclusion Drawn from Study :

  • Secondary positive reinforcement is effective for training juvenile, traditionally trained elephants to voluntarily and reliably participate in a trunk wash
• How can we use this information?

  To improve captive animal welfare
• Strengths of this Study

  • Ethics - had elephant leg chain BUT could walk away from trainer whenever they wanted to - could walk freely within their stalls - helped reduce the distress of the animals and the risk of physical harm to the trainers
  • Reliability - use of a behavioural checklist which detailed the exact operational descriptions of each of the taught behaviours - increases the reliability of the observer's decisions regarding whether the elephant passed or failed each aspect of the performance test
• Weaknesses of this Study

  • Objectivity and Subjectivity - trainers decided whether they felt the elephant would be successful if they were performing a real trunk wash - trainers could've been biased towards viewing behaviours  
  • Generalisability - small sample size + lack of male and adult elephants - only one female adult and she failed to learn the full trunk-wash sequence - suffered from physical issues e.g. impaired vision or trunk weakness - abscess on her foot made her impatient and unfocused
• Nature - it is possible to learn during some sort of a critical period. It seems difficult for older adults to learn these new behaviours.

  Nurture - using our environment, we can teach elephants to complete new behaviours.
• Operant conditioning :

  The consequence of behaviour determines the probability of that behaviour being performed again. 
• Positive reinforcer :

  It meets the basic needs of the participant/animal 
• Captive animal welfare :

  The absence of suffering and the respect of animals' needs, not only imperative and nutritional 
• Positive reinforcement :

  When you get a reward because you’ve done the correct behaviour.
• Secondary positive reinforcement :

  A stimulus that reinforces a behaviour after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer.
• Behavioural chaining :

  Involves the reinforcement of individual responses occurring in a sequence to form a complex behaviour. OR Two or more independent behaviours are linked together in the correct order.
• Desensitisation :

  A psychological process by which a response is repeatedly elicited in situations where the action tendency that arises out of the emotion proves to be irrelevant.
• Psychology Investigated

  • Operant Conditioning - The consequence of behaviour determines the probability of that behaviour being performed again -
  • Positive Reinforcement - Fagen trained the elephants by rewarding them when performing a specific trunk movement (positive reinforcement)
• Psychology Investigated

  • Primary Reinforcement - each time the elephant moved its trunk it was rewarded with a banana. The banana is a primary reinforcer as it meets a basic need (hunger) and the elephant was likely to repeat the same movement if rewarded a banana
  • Secondary Reinforcement - Animal trainers often use secondary reinforcers like sound so the animal is taught to associate with the primary reinforcer - a short blast on a whistle was used for the elephants - created a strong association between the behaviour and the consequence
• Psychology Investigated

  • Shaping - elephants had to learn several separate behaviours - firstly had to allow trainers to inject saline solution into their trunks - hold their trunks upright so fluid could travel to the base of their trunks - spray fluid out their trunks - then only rewarded when similar movement was made
• Psychology Investigated

  • Behavioural Chaining - overtime the trainer will begin to reward the elephants only for chaining the learned behaviours together - first behaviour must be followed by the second behaviour - once they've learned this they'll be rewarded for chaining the three behaviours in the correct order and so on
• Results

  • The juveniles learnt the trunk-wash in 25 -35 sessions (averaging 12 minutes each)
  • Elephant 5 - the older one failed to learn the full sequence (never desensitised, failed on blowing and hold steady)
• Strengths of the Study

  • Generalisability - data collected in a lively, naturalistic setting - many tourists gathered during training sessions plus there were many distracting noises from surrounding animals - increases ecological validity as it shows it's possible to achieve similar results in their normal settings
• Strengths of the Study

  • Validity - mahouts (elephant trainer) complied with the researchers request not to speak to or signal to the elephants in any way - shows the changes in behaviours were due to secondary positive reinforcement delivered by the trainer, not the mahout - increased validity of the secondary positive reinforcement training is helpful in training elephants to voluntarily participant in trunk washing