In addition, punishment is not usually identified with an event marker. The results of punishment as a training method are difficult to predict and to control.

Research tells us that punishment may decrease the frequency of an unwanted behavior, but usually results in producing another unwanted behavior. So why shouldn’t punishments follow unwanted behaviors, just as rewards follow wanted behaviors?

“A consequence of any behavior can be unpleasant as well as pleasant. With clicker training the animal is motivated to learn new behaviours, they develop confidence and they are enthusiastic because they expect the consequences to be fun and reinforcing. Those last two sentences start to highlight a side to clicker training that is unique to “clicker trainers”. They are enthusiastic because they expect those consequences to be pleasurable.” They develop confidence because they have control over the consequences of their actions. They remember behaviors even years later because they were aware of them as they learned them, rather than acquiring them without awareness. Clicker trained or operantly conditioned animals try to learn new behaviors. The difference between an animal that behaves with purpose, rather than by habit, is vast. Training through operant conditioning results in purposeful behavior, while training through classical conditioning results in habitual behavior. While clicker training initially employs classical conditioning, it quickly becomes operant conditioning as soon as the animal intentionally repeats an action in order to earn a reward. This type of learning is called “ classical conditioning” and represents reflexive or automatic behavior, rather than intentional behavior. The more a certain event or environment is paired with a particular consequence, the stronger the association. “ When an animal intentionally performs a behavior in order to bring about a desired consequence, as clicker trained animals do, they are learning in a way that researchers call “ operant conditioning.”Īnimals (and people) may also associate an action, event, place, person, or object with a consequence, whether pleasant or unpleasant. This clear form of communication, combined with positive reinforcement, is an effective, safe, and humane way to teach any animal any behavior that it is physically and mentally capable of doing. Desirable behavior is usually marked by using a “clicker,” a mechanical device that makes a short, distinct “click” sound which tells the animal exactly when they’re doing the right thing. “ Clicker training” is an animal training method based on behavioral psychology that relies on marking desirable behavior and rewarding it.

Let me start by giving a definition of clicker training (as defined by Karen Pryor, KPCT) As opposed to someone who trains with a clicker in their hand?

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