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Cues and Cueing

The Poisoned Cue: Positive and Negative Discriminative Stimuli

By Karen Pryor on 06/25/2002

Why clicking and correction don't mix.

Behavior analysts refer to a learned stimulus that triggers an operant behavior as a 'discriminative stimulus.' The behaviorists do not, as far as I know, differentiate between a discriminative stimulus that was trained through positive reinforcement and one that was trained through negative reinforcement.

Teaching "Off" with Positive Reinforcement

By Joan Orr on 11/01/2011

Self control is one of the most critical skills a dog needs to learn, and it is a skill that is required multiple times a day. Dogs are expected to refrain from picking up something forbidden when it appears within reach. Some examples that come to mind include: dropped medication, chicken bones, the hamster, dead birds, Granny's hearing aid, Susie's favorite stuffed toy, the last remaining baby soother...

What Makes a Reward Rewarding?

By Kay Laurence on 10/01/2011

"Reward your dog." We've heard this many, many times in many formats. It takes a lot of experience to get the best from a reward—where the reward delivers everything the dog needs in order to offer the behavior again and again, with passion.

A Raven’s Tale: Cues that Reduce Stress

By Sherri Lippman on 04/01/2011

A note from Karen Pryor:

Sherri Lippman was an early adopter of clicker training. She is co-author and co-star, with Virginia Broitman, of the award-winning clicker training video, The How of Bow Wow! Sherri has been a presenter at ClickerExpo and at APDT.

While working in California at a wildlife rehabilitation center with a public display of educational animals, one of the challenges Sherri took on was the training of a long-term resident, a crippled raven that was fearful and unapproachable. The following account is, in my opinion, a dazzling example of ingenious behavioral management. Sherri taught the bird to recognize cues for necessary upcoming events, negative (netting the raven for veterinary care), harmless (cleaning and feeding), and positive (training). More to the point, she taught the staff and the many volunteers to present the cues reliably. Read on to see what happened.

How to Clicker Train Your Critter

By Joan Orr on 04/01/2011

Why train your critter?

Ferrets, hamsters, mice, rats, sugar gliders, flying squirrels, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas, and other small pets.