Stimulus control

Cueing, Poisoned Cues and Faulty CuesThanks to Karen Pryor for the slide info!!!!!

Cueing Basics• A cue is like a green light

– Tells the animal that it has anopportunity to earn reinforcement

– by performing the behaviorthat is associated with the cue.

There are five criteria for aneffective cue. The cue should be:

1. Easy to give consistently2. Easily perceived by the animal3. Not confused with praise or other meanings4. Distinct from other cues the animal already knows5. Easy to transfer to others

Cueing Basics:

• A fluent cue response is:– Precise: animal performs the behavior exactly as you

had envisioned– Performed with low latency– Performed with optimal speed– Shows resistant to distraction– Performed at any distance from the handler– Performed for the duration required by the handler

Cueing Basics

• A cue is properly trained when– it meets the conditions for fluency, and – when the criteria for stimulus control are met.

• Criteria for fluency are:

– The animal performs the behavior when it perceives the cue.

– The animal no longer offers the behavior in the absence of the cue.

– The animal does not perform the behavior in response to some other cue.

– The animal does not perform some other behavior when it perceives he cue.

Most Common Cueing Problems

• Poisoned cues—cues that have a negative connotation or negative emotions for the learner

• Faulty cues—cues that are not clear to the learner, the trainer, or both

Poisoned Cues

• Poisoned Cue = cue that has negative connotations or negative emotions associated with it for the learner.

• A cue can become poisoned when it is enforced or taught with force or punishment (even inadvertently),– resulting in an animal that feels conflict or fear when it

perceives the cue.

• Poisoned cues = useless as tools for operant conditioning because they have no positive reinforcement value

Conditioned Positive Cues• Conditioned Positive Cue = cue taught with positive reinforcement

– The basis for success and reliability when teaching and working with complex behavior chains.

• An example of how a Positive Cue can become Poisoned:– green light to a driver is good news—”yes you can go now.” – Over thousands of repetitions drivers feel happy to see the light change to

green. – A certainty develops: You CAN proceed through a green light. – Foot moves to the gas pedal automatically as we see the light turn green.

• What happens if another driver runs a red light and we are injured as we are responding to the green light cue?– Taints or poisons the cue– Will be hesitant, anxious, uncertain

Poisoned cues and dogs

• Animals show same ambivalence to a cue that has been poisoned. – Cue is no longer guarantee of good things to come. – In fact, may result in adverse consequence. – uncertainty causes emotional distress – Result: Deterioration in performance.

• Common myth among dog trainers: – once a dog “knows” a behavior and for some reason does

not respond as instructed, the dog should be corrected. – Problem: It taints or poisons the cue!!!!!!

Caution: Don’t poison your cue!• Trainers error:

– Believe that at some point dog has learned it well enough that it should Just do it.

– Decide to punish noncompliance. – Actions will likely create a poisoned cue, and the dog will lose at least

some of its faith in the cue

• Many people believe that they must tell the dog when it has done wrong,– Believe that dog will actually learn faster if It has a clear choice:

• Comply and get a cookie,• Disobey and get a verbal or physical reprimand

• But actually poisons the cue!

Data to support this position

• Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz of the University of North Texas and his graduate students have been conducting experiments to determine just how cues actually work.

• According to the work of Dr. Rosales-Ruiz: – even a small (seemingly inoffensive) physical correction can

become associated with a positively trained cue – can cause emotional distress in a dog– Result: Deterioration in performance of a previously fluent

cue

Murrey and Rosales-Ruiz:

• Condition #1: train a clean cue — “Ven”

• Condition #2: train a poisoned cue — “Punir”

• Over the course of 17 sessions:– both cues were trained to 100% accuracy with

shaping and positive reinforcement.– Then the “punir” cue was poisoned.

Training and then poisoning• Two cues, “ven” and “punir,”

– Both cues meant the same thing: come to the square onthe floor ¡n front of the handler.

– Both cues were trained to fluency with shaping and positivereinforcement.

– All training sessions were conducted ¡n the same room, withthe same dog, and with the same trainer.

• Then, “poisoned” the “punir” cue.– Dog received a gentle tug on its leash if it failed to comply within 2 seconds of perceiving

the cue.– Note that the dog still received a click and treat when It arrived in the

proper location

• ABA design:– 17 sessions of baseline– 12 sessions:

• Ven: C/T• Punir: Tug if not react within 2 seconds of cue; C/T if did

– 50 sessions: C/T

Phase II• Determine the reinforcing ability of the two cues by using them to try to

capture and shape new behaviors. – a cue can be used as a reinforcer to shape new behavior. – “ven” and “punir” were used instead of a click to mark the new

goal behaviors

Condition Goal Behavior Dog Approximates Goal BehaviorYes NoVen Touch briefcasein right comer Dog gets C/TNothing happens

Punir Touch trash canin left comerDog gets C/TDog gets tug and C/T

Results:

• Significant differences in the speed and accuracy of the target touch– Dogs in Ven condition are faster and more accurate– Dogs in punir condition are slower and show shyness

• Significant difference in the attitude of the dog even though there is no more tugging. – Dog in tug condition shows conflict– Dogs in ven condition rapidly approach new task– Dogs in punir condition are slow and hesitant

Signs of a Poisoned Cue

• Obviously, impossible to know what our animals are thinking,BUT IS possible to observe their behavior.

• Signs that an animal is working under a poisoned cue are obvious:– SluggIsh response– Lack of response– Default to a favored behavior (often “sit” or “down”)– Looking for an escape– Displacement behaviors (licking, sniffing, head down)– Submissive behavior– Anxious facial expression

What is your dog learning?

• Sit taught with C/T and correction:– Sit now means maybe a good thing – And maybe a bad thing. – Even if the dog responds correctly, he is

• Sit taught with C/TResult: – Sit means always a good thing– If the dog fails, nothing happens. – The cue become carries important information,– Serves as a powerful (secondary) reinforcer

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNwxEDmjAP0

Causes of a Poisoned Cue

• According to Dr. Rosales-Ruiz, trainers can poison cues in the following three ways:

– Add aversive stimulation to a positive reinforcement program.

– Teach with aversive stimulation for errors, and positive reinforcement for correct behavior.

– Elicit behavior with aversive stimulation, and capture it withpositive reinforcement (e.g., tying a ribbon to a cat’s tail toelicit a spin behavior).

Causes of a Poisoned Cue

• Takes very little to poison a cue. – Even a very gentle tug on the leash repeated in association with the

cue is enough to cause a change ¡n the emotional state of the dog. – This ¡s true even if the cue has been trained with positive

reinforcement.

• Common circumstances that lead to poisoned cues:.– Shelter dogs with poor training histories– A well-trained dog forced to comply in a stressful situation (at a

field trial for example)– Painful or uncomfortable veterinary or grooming procedures

become associated with the cue

Causes of Poisoned Cues

• Sometimes a cue can be poisoned through no fault of the trainer. – E.g., car backfiring at the same time as the

dog is picking up a dropped object could poison the “pick itup” cue for a noise-phobic dog.

– Threats from other dogs can poison cues for sensitive dogs in multi-dog settings.

Durability of a Poisoned Cue

• Poisoned cues can retain an element of ambiguity for the animal for a long time

• In Rosales-Ruiz research, the “punir” cue – elicited emotional responses and was ineffective as a

positive reinforcer,– This true even though the “correction” associated with the

cue was used for only a few sessions– Dog had received much more positive reinforcement than

correction in association with the cue.

Cures and Preventions

• Can be very easy to get rid of poisoned cues: – simply reshape the behavior and then add a new cue.– With a clicker savvy dog this can happen in a matter of minutes.

• Changing the cue is essential,– the poisoned cue will always have some negative emotions attached

to it.

• Shelter dogs often come with a lot of baggage left over from poor, abusive,or confusing training. – Giving the dog a new name and retraining basic behaviors from

scratch, with new cues ,may be just what the dog needs to become a confident and well-mannered canine

Cures and Preventions

• Can prevent cues from being poisoned in the first place:– set up training situations to give the animal the best chance

to succeed without adverse consequences or associations.

– For instance, training your dog in a small area (e.g., inside your house, In a puppy pen), where It Is safe for your dog to be off-leash, allows you to build a strong history of reinforcement before adding more freedom and distractions.

– Working off-leash eliminates the possibility that an inadvertent leash correction could occur during the early training

Cures and Preventions

• One area in which many trainers unwittingly put thepoisoned cue phenomenon to use: – the dog’s name. – Use a nickname or pet name when they are happy with the dog

Use a more formal name when the dog is in trouble!

– Some people do this with their children as well.

• Though it’s often unintentional on the trainer’s part, it is actually a good way to avoid poisoning the dog’s name.

Faulty Cues

• Faulty cues = cues that are not clear to the trainer and/or the learner.

• Commonly, cues become faulty when:– Unintentional extraneous elements (movements,

sounds, etc.) have become part of the animal’sperception of the cue.

– A trainer makes a cue different (louder, biggergestures), and these extraneous elements become partof the trainer’s perception of the cue, but are confusingthe animal.

Unintentional Cue

• A very common unintentional cue: Hand signal that tells the animal “food Is coming!”.

• Cue develops from the trainer’s unconscious habit of reaching for the food before clicking.

• Not only does this create a faulty cue, but the movement of the hand can actually supersede the click and weaken its power.

• This ¡s also a surefire way to teach your dog to be a dedicated hand or treat pouch watcher!

Unintentional Cue

• Trainers will often unconsciously speak more loudly or give more expansive hand gestures if the animal does not respond to the cue. – Repeating the cue: dog learns “say it three times before I comply!” – Saying the cue louder: dog learns “say it really loud before I

comply”

• These extra aspects can become part of the cue from the trainer’s perspective,

• BUT: are irrelevant or, even worse, confusing to the animal.

Prevent and Solve Faulty Cues

• Practice good clicker mechanics.

• When using prompts and lures to jump-start a newbehavior, fade them as quickly as possible.

• Minimize cues when possible—”smalIer” cues are easier togive consistently.

• Identify and “clean up” any cues that contain extraneouselements.

Chains and Cues

• A chain is a group of cues that lead to a reinforcer– E.g.: Sit-Down-roll over-sit-up

• Each cue in the chain:– Serves as a REINFORCER for the previous response– Serves as a CUE for the next behavior

• E.g.: Down reinforces sit and asks dog to down; roll over reinforces down and asks dog to roll over…..

Timing in Chains is IMPORTANT

• Give the cue as animal BEGINS behavior– E.g., as dog sits, cue “Down”– If you wait until the end of the behavior, dog will

have a pause as he waits for the next cue– Must give the dog enough time to DO the next

behavior

• Most problems with chains involve poor cue timing!

Problems Chains!

• Problem: The Animal Anticipates the Cue: – After a few repetitions, an animal may anticipate the next

cue and act before the cue is given. – Common problem. – Because the trainer sees the desired behavior, he or she doesn’t

realize that there is a cueing problem that will eventually jeopardize the chain.

• Without a cue reinforcing behavior #2, the behavior willbegin to shorten and then to blend with behavior #3, andeventually will be lost from the chain.

Animal Anticipates the Cue: The FIX• Always practice portions or subunits (2 to 4

behaviors)within a chain much more often than the whole chain.

• Make sure EACH behavior in a chain is fluent by practicingthem individually as needed.

Animal Anticipates the Cue: The FIX

• When having a problem: Take three behaviors out of the chain: – the one giving trouble, – the one BEFORE it, a– the one AFTER it.

• Cue #1, cue #2 while #1 is going on, C/T. – Then do the same with #2– and #3,– then with all three.

• If a behavior has completely broken down, – reshape the behavior– bring it under stimulus control with a new verbal cue or hand signal.– Even in chains cues can become faulty and poisoned.

An Example: Navigating an A Frame• Teaching a dog to navigate agility equipment is often done

by leading, luring, targeting, or shaping the dog through theprocess.

• For example: A-frame– A low version is used to start. – The dog is shaped to go

• near it,• touch it, • go part way up, • then a little farther, • until he goes all the way over.

• If the dog jumps off partway, the trainer starts again.

• In this process there is a lot of reinforcement for the going up part, but not much for the going down part—which in actuality is the part we want to strengthen.

So: ReTeach it!• The Solution: Starting on the downward side

• Better yet: taking the frame apart and working just on touching the contact zone and coming off, would be a way to teach thelast part of the chain first. – Add more boards – then increasing the angle while – working on increasing the number of steps before the contact zone

• This would allow you to work backward while gradually adding difficulty.

• At this point the dog would be walking up the down side, turning and coming down.

• learn the going up part last and – would know just what to do after coming over the top because – he would have been reinforced so many times for executing this part correctly.

Hazards of Praise and Clicks During the Chain

• Many people don’t realize that if you interrupt a well-established chain with a conditioned reinforcer that is not a cue (a click, or cheers and applause, for example), the animal will– expect and be looking for a primary reinforcer—the treat,

game, or other desired event usually received at thecompletion of the chain.

– An animal doing a chain in performance or competition may continue the chain once, without flaw, despite your cheers

• BUT: even a few such interruptions may cause inexplicable breakdowns in future performances

Hazards of Praise and Clicks During the Chain

• If you really want to cheer, click, and show your joy for a particularly fine episode in the chain,– you must be ready to back up that communication or click

with a reinforcer (treat or game). – Can continue the rest of the performance as a second

chain

• In general, best to let your cues keep the chain linked, and save your cheering or praise for the end of the chain.

Superstitious Chains• Superstitious chains = strings of behaviors that the

animal believes are linked and lead to reinforcement– In actuality there is no contingency between the behaviors and the

reinforcement

– In some cases these superstitious behaviors are true chains,

– Behaviors are linked by stimuli the animal perceives as cues.

• chain will quickly break down.

Superstitious Chains• For example, a dog that hears the back door opening, sees a

toy and grabs it, and runs to the door– developed a chain that ¡s held together by environmental cues:

– door opening is the cue for grab the toy, – toy is the cue for run to the door. – The chain is then reinforced by attention and a tossed toy from the

person entering.

• Solution: If the toy Is not available or In sight when the dog hears the door opening, this superstitious chain will quickly break down.

Superstitious Chains

• Sometimes strings of behaviors that develop are simply apattern or series of behaviors that the animal has strungtogether. – To the animal, they are essentially one behavior.

• For example, the dog that runs to the door at the sound ofthe doorbell, then spins and jumps– The dog thinks his behavior of running/spinning/jumping is what

makes the door open (the reinforcement), – in fact the door opening ¡s not contingent on the dog’s behavior at all.

Superstitious Chains: Examples

• Dog jumps on people and then sits in hopes of attention or reinforcement.

• Dog hears doorbell, runs to door, spins, barks, and then the door opens.

• Cat meows, goes to person, goes to food bowl, meows, and repeats until food is delivered.

Take Home Message:Your Tag points:

• USE CLEAN cues.• BE consistent with your cues• USE positive Reinforcement• Watch our for hidden cues• Reshape and retrain right away• Break up your chain if it breaks down– Practice its components– Carefully rebuild