Polar Vortex and +R Ramblings (Behavior Science part 2)
Hello friends!
We’re having a bit of a polar vortex in middle TN this week. We are getting quite the accumulation of sleet and ice instead of snow… and boy it is NASTY! I hope you all are staying safe, warm and dry wherever you are reading from today.
So last week we talked a little bit about behavior science and the different types of reinforcements and punishments that influence behavior. If you missed that email, no worries! I’ve transcribed it into a blog post, which you can read here:
This week I figured we’d stay on that same topic and cover some of the “why” behind my switch to using positive reinforcement as my preferred training method.
Remember - they aren’t called “positive” and “negative” because they’re “good” or “bad.” Think about it in the mathematical sense meaning to add something or take something away. I want to be clear that just because I’m advocating for the use of positive reinforcement doesn’t mean I think negative reinforcement is inherently bad.
Okay Barb, we get it! Let’s get on with it.
My number one reason for loving positive reinforcement training is the mindset it puts you in as a trainer. “Click” means “that was right,” so you are always looking for little things the horse is doing right - or almost right - to get you closer and closer to the end behavior goal. With negative reinforcement I find people (myself included) spend a lot more time dwelling on what the horse did wrong. Correcting the horse, saying “no, that was wrong.” Focusing on the positives has really helped me find more and more positives, more and more things my horse is doing right. Fewer reasons to call him names like “lazy” or “stupid” or “sassy.”
Another difference is that when training with positive reinforcement we are activating the horse’s seeking system. He’s looking for the right answer, searching for the behavior that will get him a reward, something that he wants. When he get’s it right - BINGO! - reward! The dopamine rush that hits after that means that eventually the behavior itself will become inherently rewarding. (Yes, that means you may not always need food rewards for certain behaviors!) This also means that once trained, the behaviors will “stick” for much longer because they become something the horse enjoys.
When we’re training with negative reinforcement, our training tool is by definition various levels of something the horse doesn’t want. The horse get’s it right - ahhhhh - relief from something painful, uncomfortable, or annoying. Whereas the +R horse was operating with his seeking system, the -R horse is operating out of at best avoidance and in many cases fear. Remember what I said about +R behaviors “sticking” better? Ever tried to teach a cat not to climb on your countertops by spraying them with water? This is a prime example of negative reinforcement. Your cats might not get on the counter when you’re there, or when they can see the water bottle, but they’re probably hopping right back up there when you leave for work! Negatively reinforced behaviors tend to deteriorate once the threat of the reinforcer is lifted.
This has widespread implications for our horses’ long term mental, physical, and emotional health - and we’ll get into all of that soon - but I think this email is long enough for this week. We’ll keep diving deeper down this rabbit hole next time!