Mallory
New member
- Jul 31, 2015
- 141
- Media
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- Parrots
- YNA hen "Greenleaf", Black Capped x Green Cheek Hybrid "Eva", CAG (hatched 1/1/2016), European Starling "Koda"
Positive reinforcement uses a reward to encourage a behavior. A reward is something inherently pleasant and positive - this can be petting, calm talking, or a treat but every bird is reinforced by different things. In your case, Mango is not earning a reward for becoming more comfortable. Instead, you are applying the pressure of being close to him which is technically an aversive. It's not causing him pain but it is causing him a bit of discomfort because it makes him nervous. The reinforcement in your case is coming when you take away the aversive (stepping back or even leaving the room) in response to him calming down. This works and there's nothing wrong with it, but you should understand that it is not positive reinforcement. Using a clicker does not inherently make it positive reinforcement, it is just helping to indicate the behavior being reinforced. In this case, it is communicating that the action Mango performed when he heard the click is what caused you to step back.
Desensitization is negative reinforcement and you can even take it as far as using flooding - exposing the animal to the new "scary" stimulus until they calm down and realize it is not hurting them and it becomes a neutral stimulus. Examples of flooding are tying a saddle to a horse and letting them buck until they give up and tolerate the saddle, or holding a parrot in a towel until they stop struggling and realize they are not being hurt. Flooding can work and has been used successfully on humans and other animals but it crosses the line into abuse and you can do some serious damage if you are not careful. There are much easier ways to train. I don't think you have ever used flooding but I think we should define it here for anyone reading. Sitting near the cage of a bird who is clearly distressed and never backing up or relieving that pressure when you see the bird start to calm down is a form of flooding some "parrot trainers" will recommend.
If you wanted to instead use positive reinforcement, you would give him something he views as positive when he performed the behavior you wanted. The obvious positive reinforcement here is offering him a treat when he starts calming down. The added benefit of doing this is that Mango also starts associating your presence with a positive - the treat - whereas with your current method you are only becoming something neutral. Basically, positive reinforcement can help your bird to like you whereas desensitization helps your bird to tolerate and not be scared of you. Of course, not all birds accept treats in the same way and some just won't until they become used to training, so it's up to you to find the way to get through to each individual bird.
Desensitization is negative reinforcement and you can even take it as far as using flooding - exposing the animal to the new "scary" stimulus until they calm down and realize it is not hurting them and it becomes a neutral stimulus. Examples of flooding are tying a saddle to a horse and letting them buck until they give up and tolerate the saddle, or holding a parrot in a towel until they stop struggling and realize they are not being hurt. Flooding can work and has been used successfully on humans and other animals but it crosses the line into abuse and you can do some serious damage if you are not careful. There are much easier ways to train. I don't think you have ever used flooding but I think we should define it here for anyone reading. Sitting near the cage of a bird who is clearly distressed and never backing up or relieving that pressure when you see the bird start to calm down is a form of flooding some "parrot trainers" will recommend.
If you wanted to instead use positive reinforcement, you would give him something he views as positive when he performed the behavior you wanted. The obvious positive reinforcement here is offering him a treat when he starts calming down. The added benefit of doing this is that Mango also starts associating your presence with a positive - the treat - whereas with your current method you are only becoming something neutral. Basically, positive reinforcement can help your bird to like you whereas desensitization helps your bird to tolerate and not be scared of you. Of course, not all birds accept treats in the same way and some just won't until they become used to training, so it's up to you to find the way to get through to each individual bird.
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