#stereotypicbehavior

New podcast episode available! Not all repetitive behavior is stereotypic. Many times it is the result of reinforcement. Determining why an animal is presenting repetitive behavior requires asking our selves a series of questions that can reveal triggers and consequences that maintain the undesired behavior. This can then help us develop a strategy to address the problem. In this podcast I go over these questions as well as define stereotypic behavior and some practices to avoid when dealing with a true stereotypy that can make the problem worse! Click the link below to listen and for a video example and a download discussed in the podcast. Also available on iTunes and other podcast outlets. #repetitivebehavior #stereotypy #stereotypicbehavior https://animaltrainingfundamentals.com/podcasts/repetitive-behavior-stop-the-madness/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ziIaklddP/?igshid=1ciamy6g63blh

Repetitive behavior or stereotypy? While repetitive behavior can be stereotypic, not all repetitive behavior IS stereotypic. One of the things I commonly see is repetitive behavior that is reinforced and therefore maintained via reinforcement. It is also often reinforced intermittently. Meaning the animal never knows when reinforcers will be delivered, so it learns to keep doing the behaviors, often for loooooong duration. (Savvy trainers will recognize this is a strategy we intentionally use to train duration behaviors.) If we are not careful we sometimes accidentally train undesired behaviors using this same approach. Think about those animals who learn to pace in front of shift doors as feeding time approaches, or elephants who rock when trainers are nearby, or parrots who vocalize for attention. Nope, those animals aren’t crazy. They are being extremely logical, following the principles of behavior science. What is the solution? Teach another behavior that will work to get the animal what it desires under those conditions prior to the presentation of the undesired behavior. Pacers can learn stationing gets doors to open, parrots can learn words, whistles or soft vocalizations get generous amounts of attention and elephants like this one, can come to understand pretty much anything except head nodding works to earn desired reinforcers. Be a super sleuth about repetitive behavior before labeling it stereotypic and trying to treat it with copious enrichment. The solution may simply be you are inadvertently reinforcing the wrong thing. #stereotypy #repetitivebehavior #elephant #behaviorproblem #stereotypicbehavior https://www.instagram.com/p/BpfY6xsg-_s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16kajuruw8pym