Welcome to Journeyman Module Three – Reinforcement: Building Behavior That Works

Getting the Most from This Module

As we progress through the Journeyman course, we continue to build on the foundations established throughout Apprentice and in the earlier Journeyman modules.

In this module, our major theme is reinforcement.

We already know that reinforcement is fundamental to learning, but there is much more to explore than simply asking, "What can I give the dog as a reward?"

We'll look more closely at what can function as reinforcement, how reinforcers acquire their value, how and when reinforcement is delivered, and how our reinforcement choices can influence the behavior we are training.

We'll also revisit several subjects you've encountered previously, including the Learning Cycle, bridging stimuli, life rewards, and emotional contagion. This is intentional. The DTC follows a spiral curriculum, so rather than leaving these subjects behind, we'll return to them with greater knowledge and examine them at a deeper level.

As always, we encourage you to watch each recorded lesson before spending a few minutes reading any accompanying notes.

The written resources are designed to complement the recorded lessons rather than simply repeat them. Depending on the topic, you may find:

• Lesson Notes → How and why. These expand on the practical concepts and training principles introduced in the lesson and help connect them to what you already know.
• Additional ABA Notes → The science behind it. Where appropriate, these explore relevant concepts from applied behavior analysis in greater depth.
• Professional Practice → How to apply it with real clients. Where appropriate, these help bridge the gap between understanding a concept yourself and successfully applying or explaining it when working with pet dog guardians.

Not every lesson will include every type of resource. We'll include them where they genuinely add value.

Continuing the Spiral

Some of the subjects in this module will sound very familiar - and that's exactly as they should.

You've already learned about reinforcement, bridging stimuli, the Learning Cycle, the Premack Principle, and ways in which access to things a dog wants can be incorporated into training.

As we progress, we'll start asking more detailed questions.

What actually makes something a reinforcer?

Does something we think of as a reinforcer necessarily function as one for this learner, at this moment, and in these circumstances?

How does a previously neutral stimulus acquire reinforcing properties?

How might the schedule, timing, type, magnitude, placement, or delivery of reinforcement affect behavior?

How can we use reinforcement strategically to develop increasingly fluent and reliable behavior?

These are important questions because effective reinforcement is not simply about having treats available. It involves observing our learner, understanding the function of our consequences, and making thoughtful training decisions based on the behavior we want.

Alongside the science, we'll keep training practical. We'll work on useful everyday behaviors, develop existing skills into something new, and explore different ways of delivering and using reinforcement.

Enjoy Journeyman Module Three - and enjoy discovering just how much there is to explore when we look beyond simply "rewarding the dog."

What Will We Explore in This Module?

Journeyman Module Three places reinforcement firmly at the center of our learning.

We'll explore not only different types of reinforcers, but also how reinforcers acquire value, how reinforcement can be scheduled, and how the way we deliver reinforcement can influence the behavior that follows.

Throughout the module, we'll connect this knowledge to practical training. After all, understanding reinforcement isn't simply an academic exercise. The decisions we make about what, when, where, and how we reinforce can have a considerable effect on our training.

Reinforcement: Much More Than Treats

We'll take a closer look at:

• Primary and secondary reinforcers and how they differ.
• How a stimulus can acquire reinforcing properties through learning.
• Life rewards and opportunities already available in the learner's everyday environment.
• Continuous and intermittent schedules of reinforcement.
• Fixed and variable ratio schedules.
• The Partial Reinforcement Effect.
• Differential reinforcement of excellent behavior.
• Different reinforcement strategies and how our choice of delivery can support the behavior we're training.
• Conditioning a toy so that it can function as a secondary reinforcer.

A particularly important idea will run throughout these lessons:

We cannot define something as a reinforcer simply because we offer it after a behavior.

Whether something has functioned as reinforcement is determined by its effect on the future probability of behavior under similar conditions.

That means we need to pay attention to what our learner's behavior tells us rather than relying solely on what we intended our consequence to achieve.

Building on What We Already Know

We'll also return to several topics introduced earlier in the DTC.

We'll revisit the Learning Cycle and look again at the relationship between behavior and its consequences.

We'll build on our understanding of bridging stimuli, considering their role within the reinforcement process and the information they provide to our learner.

We'll explore life rewards in greater depth. You've already encountered the idea that access to something a learner wants can reinforce behavior, including through our discussions of the Premack Principle. Now we'll consider more closely how naturally occurring activities and opportunities can become part of a thoughtful reinforcement strategy.

We'll also return to emotional contagion, exploring further how the emotional states and behavior of those around a learner may influence their experience.

Returning to these subjects isn't about starting again. Each time we revisit an important concept, we have more knowledge available to connect with it.

Behaviors We'll Train

We'll put our knowledge into practice through several training exercises.

Close

We'll teach Close, a useful left-side position that shares some similarities with a traditional heel position but has a very different practical goal.

We want the dog positioned parallel to the person's left leg, but this is not a formal obedience-style heel. The dog doesn't need to remain glued to the person's leg or maintain continuous visual attention toward them.

The dog might look at the person, ahead, or toward something in the environment. Close is intended to be a comfortable, functional position that can be incorporated into everyday loose-leash walking.

Come When Called

We'll work on one of the most important everyday behaviors we can teach: coming when called.

Recall gives us an excellent opportunity to consider reinforcement strategically. What makes returning to us worthwhile? How can our reinforcement choices support a fast, enthusiastic response? How do reinforcement history and environmental conditions influence whether our learner responds?

Go Hide!

We'll also have some fun with Go Hide!

This behavior builds on skills taught previously. Our learner will move away from us, travel around an object, and remain hidden behind it until released. They can then complete the movement around the object.

Rather than teaching every component from the beginning, we'll be combining and developing behaviors already within the learner's repertoire. This gives us another opportunity to see how previous learning can become the foundation for more complex behavior.

Bringing Reinforcement into Our Training Mechanics

Knowing what might reinforce behavior is only part of our job as trainers.

We'll also examine how we deliver reinforcement.

Where does the reinforcer appear? Does its delivery help maintain the learner's current position, encourage movement, reset the learner for another repetition, or prepare them for what happens next?

We'll explore different reinforcement strategies and see demonstrations of how seemingly small changes in reinforcement delivery can influence the training process.

As you progress through Journeyman Module Three, keep asking:

What behavior am I reinforcing?

What is functioning as reinforcement for this learner?

What effect is my reinforcement strategy having on the behavior?

And what does the learner's subsequent behavior tell me about the choices I've made?

Those questions take us beyond simply delivering rewards and toward using reinforcement with purpose, precision, and an understanding of its function.