Newsletter
Volume 31 | 2008 | Number 2
Applied Animal Behavior
By Jennifer Sobie
The Applied Animal Behavior Special Interest Group was created in 1994 to promote research and application of behavior analytic principles in the field of animal training and animal behavior therapy. Originally named the Trainer’s Forum, the SIG changed its name in 2007 to reflect the overriding interest of its membership—the application of behavior analysis to the improvement of the lives of people and their pets and animals living in captivity.
One avenue of support that we are proud to provide is the Marian Breland Bailey Award (MMBA) for Student Research and Scholarship. This award recognizes student achievements in the field of AAB research based on behavior analysis, selecting award recipients from those presenting at the annual convention based on research topic, design, methodology, and presentation. There were over 15 applied animal-related student presentations at the 2007 conference in San Diego, CA, and we are pleased to announce the following award winners:
Angela Drake from the University of North Texas received the MBBA in the amount of $100 for her poster titled “From Feral to Friendly: Shaping ‘Tameness’ in Felines.”
Jesus Rosales-Ruiz, also from the University of North Texas, was the second author of this poster.
Kathryn Kalafut from the University of North Texas received the MBBA in the amount of $100 for her talk titled “Free Operant Training Tasks: The Effects of a 2:1 Ratio of Conditioned and Unconditioned Reinforcer Delivery on the Performance of Dogs.”
Erica Feuerbacher and Jesus Rosales-Ruiz, also from the University of North Texas, were the second and third authors of this talk.
Renee Railton from the University of Waikato received the MBBA for Best Bridge Study in the amount of $50 for her talk titled “Presenting Stimuli to Hens: Which Type of Screen is Best?” T. Mary Foster, Catherine R. Sumpter, and William Temple, all from the University of Waikato, were the second, third, and fourth authors of this talk.
Please share in congratulating each of these three students on their fine work in the area of applied animal behavior research, and check our Web site for a list of 2008 recipients.
Programs Needed
The field of applied animal behavior has experienced impressive growth in recent years, growth reflected in part by the exponential increase in animal behavior-related presentations at the annual convention. This trend is exciting and encouraging, and yet growth rarely comes issue-free. As an expanding field with a substantial market, the discipline is facing problems similar to those faced by clinically practicing behavior analysts. By example, in the spring 2006 issue of The Behavior Analyst, Johnston, Foxx, Jacobson, Green, and Mulick made the statement,:
- The competencies required for practicing behavior analysis cannot be acquired through nonacademic training experiences because those experiences tend to lack many important features, such as prerequisites for admission, intensive supervised involvement with course material and recipients of behavior-analytic services over a period of months, and systematic measurement of performance.
Johnson et al. were referencing the increasing popularity of the positive behavior support movement and the relative lack of education accompanying its practice. However, the sentiment rings equally true in the field of applied animal behavior. Particularly impacted is the segment of applied animal behavior dedicated to behavior consultation for owners of pet dogs.
In the absence of any regulating bodies and a paucity of accredited education programs, countless self-acclaimed “behavior experts” borrow vocabulary and little else and wade into the living rooms of unsuspecting families while espousing nonvalidated and potentially harmful treatments. In reality, applied animal behavior counseling is a field that requires knowledge of species-specific ethology coupled with a complete understanding of the principles and applications of behavior analysis. Many self-proclaimed animal behaviorists have neither.
A large part of the problem is that need has out-distanced academic opportunity. The AAB SIG receives a steady stream of correspondence from both undergraduate and graduate students inquiring into the availability and location of behavior analytic programs that offer education relevant to applied animal behavior. But accredited programs of study in applied animal behavior are few. An exception to this rule is found in the United Kingdom, where many universities offer flourishing programs in applied animal behavior. Programs such as the University of Southampton’s Companion Animal Behaviour Counseling provide dedicated study in the field, but the United States has only one such program: the Applied Animal Behavior program at the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana.
In recognition of the gap between need and resource, the SIG would like to encourage ABAI members to consider mentoring students with an interest in the field. We understand that many faculty members who teach behavior analysis do not have a great deal of experience in determining the validity of research projects in the field of applied animal behavior, and we will be happy to provide you any support you may require.