Schedules of Reinforcement and Animal Behavior. Presented by Eduardo Fernandez PhD

CEUs: PPAB 1.5, IAABC 1.5, CCPDT 1.5, KPA 1.5

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The use of Behavior Analysis within the animal training and welfare community has become commonplace. While the core principles of Behavior Analysis (i.e., a focus on reinforcement contingencies and functional understandings of behavior) are now frequently used for applied animal behavior purposes, it’s not always clear how this is directly applied. For instance, what is behavior and how is it defined? What is the relationship of behavior to the environment, and what does it mean to analyze these environment-behavior interactions?

This webinar focuses directly on some of the core principles of Behavior Analysis, namely that of understanding how behavior relates to the environment. Specifically, this talk will focus on (1) how we define behavior, with attention to what it is and is not, and (2) what it means to define a behavioral contingency in terms of the events that precede and follow it, (3) how we use data to analyze behavior and its function. The goal will be to provide a general, empirical framework for any applied animal behaviorist that looks to understand how Behavior Analysis analyzes behavior.

Learning Objectives

• Understand how we operationally define a schedule of reinforcement.
• Identify the four basic types of schedules, as well as the difference between continuous, intermittent, and “variable” reinforcement.
• Recognize applied instances of schedules of reinforcement, including how different schedules might be effective for our applied animal behavior purposes.

About The Presenter

Eduardo J Fernandez, PhD

Dr. Eduardo J. Fernandez received his Ph.D. in Psychology (minors in Neuroscience and Animal Behavior) from Indiana University, where he worked with the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Zoo. He received his M.S. in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas, where he founded and was President of the Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals (ORCA).

Most of his past and current work involves behavioral research applied to the welfare and training of zoo and companion animals. He has worked with over 50 species of animals, with a focus on marine animals, carnivores, and primates.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide in Australia. His past positions include a Visiting Professorship in the School of Behavior Analysis at the Florida Institute of Technology, an Affiliate Professorship in the Psychology Department at the University of Washington, a Research Fellowship with Woodland Park Zoo, and a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. While working with UW and Woodland Park Zoo, he started the Behavioral Enrichment Animal Research (BEAR) group, which conducted welfare research with many of the species and exhibits located throughout the zoo.

Eduardo also continues to run the Animal Reinforcement Forum (ARF), a former listserv and now Facebook group, which is dedicated to group discussions on animal training and behavior from a scientific perspective. Many of his past publications, research projects, and presentations can be found on his ResearchGate profile