William N. Boyer

The effects of dog obedience training and behavioural counselling upon the human-canine relationship

Abstract We assessed the effects of obedience training and canine behaviour counselling upon the human-canine relationship. Thirty adult participants provided perceptions of their dogs behaviour and were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: the Obedience group, which received obedience training and canine behaviour counselling; the Time Instructed group, which was asked to spend 20 min a day interacting with their dog; the No Instruction group, which did not receive any instructions. After assignment, the Obedience group completed an 8-week obedience and canine behaviour counselling class where all the participants again provided information about their dogs behaviour. In addition, all participants were also asked to keep daily logs of the time spent with their dogs in training, play, exercise and other activities. A video-camera was used to obtain pretest and posttest measures of obedience behaviour, proximity, tactile behaviour and separation anxiety exhibited by each dog. Results indicated that the Obedience group showed the most improved obedience behaviour and the highest improvement in the human-canine relationship. The Obedience group also showed lower separation anxiety than the No Instruction group. Contrary to expectation, the Time Instructed group also displayed improvement in obedience behaviour and improvement in the relationship. The Time Instructed group showed lower separation anxiety than the No Instruction group. The No Instruction group revealed higher separation anxiety, no improvement in obedience and no change in the relationship. Results were interpreted in terms of positive interaction and quality time.

Coloring the environment: Hue, arousal, and boredom

One hundred and forty undergraduate subjects, sitting in carrels having side panels painted either light blue, blue, pink, red, orange, white, brown, green, yellow, or gray were exposed to procedures designed to induce boredom. Subjects listened to a tape that repeated one of two words every 2 sec for 10 min. The results showed that self-reported arousal and evaluations of the environment were higher in the yellow condition than in the other color conditions. Response to boredom-induction procedures did not vary with color or saturation.

An analysis of the solution of PAN ambiguous-cue problems by rhesus monkeys

Abstract Twenty-four monkeys were given 2-choice discrimination problems composed of three planometric plaque stimuli: P, the rewarded stimulus; N, the nonrewarded stimulus; and A, the ambiguous stimulus which was negative when paired with P, but positive when paired with N. When both pair of stimuli, PA and NA, were presented within a given session S was forced either to approach or to avoid the A plaque depending upon the stimulus with which it was paired. The results corroborated previous reports for plaque stimuli by showing PA performance to be superior to NA. The data also revealed that when plaque stimuli with distinctive cues were employed, NA performance exceeded PA as previously reported for stereometric object stimuli. Pretraining S s with plaque stimuli possessing distinctive cues, then switching to plaques with less distinctive cues, also resulted in superior NA performance. These findings are discussed in the context of an interference-cue theory.

Extinction in a straight alley as a function of varied quality and quantity of reward sequence

Six groups of albino rats were extinguished in a straight alley after receiving two daily trials an one of the following varied quality and/or quantity of reward sequences: 1 regular pellet followed by 1 regular pellet, 1 regular pellet followed by 1 sucrose pellet, 1 sucrose pellet followed by 1 regular pellet, 1 regular pellet followed by 16 sucrose pellets, 1 sucrose pellet followed by 16 sucrose pellets, and 16 sucrose pellets followed by 1 sucrose pellet. Further evidence for an extension of the sequential hypothesis to include quality of reward was provided by showing that greater resistance to extinction results when a high-quality reward follows a low-quality reward than when the opposite sequence occurs. In addition, variations in both quantity and quality of reward produced more resistance to extinction than variations in quantity of reward alone.

Extinction as a function of varied quality and quantity of reward sequence in a straight alley

Four groups of male albino rats were extinguished in a straight alley after receiving two daily trials on one of the following varied quality and/or quantity of reward sequences: 1 alfalfa pellet followed by 1 sucrose pellet, 1 sucrose pellet followed by 1 alfalfa pellet, a single alfalfa pellet followed by 16 sucrose pellets, and a single sucrose pellet followed by 16 sucrose pellets. The results indicated that a high-quality reward following a low-quality reward produced greater resistance to extinction than when a low-quality reward followed a high-quality reward. The findings were interpreted within Capaldi’s sequential theory.

Determination of a DL using two-point tactual stimuli: A signal-detection approach

Following a suggestion by Underwood, a difference limen was determined for two-point tactual stimuli, all of which were supraliminal. A signal-detection (TSD) procedure was employed, and consideration was given to subsequent research possibilities in this area.

Quality reward preference in the rat

Rats’ preferences among three qualitatively different food pellets (alfalfa, regular, and 93% sucrose) were determined by a free-choice and barpress procedure. In both situations, it was found that reward qualities can be ordered on an ordinal scale with sucrose most preferred, then regular, and finally alfalfa. The results raise the question of extending the vast literature which now exists on reward quantity to include reward quality.

A TSD determination of a DL using two-point tactual stimuli applied to the back

A signal-detection (TSD) approach was used to determine a difference limen (DL) for supraliminal two-point tactual stimuli applied to the back. Using a standard stimulus of 80 mm, the DL for four male Ss appeared to lie between 10–15 mm. This DL was larger than one previously reported for the dorsal forearm, in harmony with the fact that the two-point threshold is larger for the back than for the forearm.

Effect of stimulus variation upon reversal shift performance of kindergarten children

Two experiments examined the effects of differences between stimulus conditions present during an initial learning task and a reversal task. Each experiment consisted of four groups of kindergarten children trained in a two-choice discrimination problem. All Ss first learned a simple form discrimination in which the discriminanda were of the same color. Immediately upon reaching criterion, all Ss were required to learn a reversal, i.e., learn to respond to the formerly nonreinforced stimulus. For Group 1, the control group, the stimulus conditions remained constant during reversal. Group 2 had the color of the stimuli changed; Group 3 had the size of the stimuli altered, and Group 4 had both color and size changed during reversal. The results provide support for the idea that reversal speed is a function of the variability between the stimulus conditions of the learning and the reversal tasks.

Effect of variations in a reinforcement complex upon reversal shift performance of kindergarten children

Seventy-two kindergarten children were trained on a two-choice discrimination problem with each correct response being accompanied by a marble and five specifiable stimuli which served as secondary reinforcers. Following initial training, half of the Ss learned a reversal shift with the specifiable stimuli remaining with the response to the formerly positive cue while the other half learned the reversal with the stimuli shifted to the response to the new positive cue. Within each of these two groups, three stimulus-number (5, 3, or 1 of the original stimuli) conditions were used. Reversal speed was a negative function of the commonality of the reinforcement complex associated with the training and test tasks.