Behavior

Question 1

A dog repeatedly sees a leash just before going for a walk and eventually becomes excited as soon as the leash appears.

What type of learning is this?

Answer 1

Classical conditioning

A previously neutral stimulus (the leash) becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus (the walk) and elicits an involuntary emotional response (excitement).

Question 2

A dog is gradually exposed to ear handling at very low intensity while receiving a high-value treat at each step, with the goal of creating a positive emotional response to ear touches. Which behavior-modification approach is being used?

• A. Flooding
• B. Classical conditioning
• C. Desensitization with counterconditioning
• D. Operant conditioning via positive punishment

Answer 2

C. Desensitization with counterconditioning

The stimulus is introduced gradually (desensitization) and paired with something the animal finds pleasurable to create a positive emotional response (counterconditioning).

Question 3

A dog sits on command and immediately receives a treat, making it more likely to sit on command in the future.

What type of learning is this?

Answer 3

Operant conditioning

(specifically, positive reinforcement)

The dog’s voluntary behavior (sitting) is followed by a consequence (treat) that increases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again.

Question 4

What type of learning is clicker training, and how does it work?

Answer 4

It is a form of positive reinforcement training that uses a marker (e.g., clicker, word, or signal) to indicate the exact behavior being rewarded

The marker is first classically conditioned to predict a reward, then used to precisely communicate which voluntary behavior will be reinforced, increasing the likelihood the behavior is repeated.

Question 5

True or False:

A cat quickly moves off a mat when a sound of a tone begins, and this behavior increases in the future because the tone stops when it leaves the mat. This is an example of negative reinforcement.

Answer 5

True

Negative reinforcement involves removing or avoiding an aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior, as seen when the cat’s action stops the unpleasant tone.

Question 6

Making a loud noise immediately after a dog jumps on the counter to decrease that behavior is an example of what type of learning?

Answer 6

Positive punishment

Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus to reduce the likelihood of a behavior, but it should be used cautiously due to potential stress, fear, or aggression in the animal.

Question 7

What do the letters A, B, and C stand for in the ABC model of behavior analysis?

Answer 7

• A = Antecedent
• B = Behavior
• C = Consequence

The ABC model examines what happens before a behavior, the behavior itself, and what follows it to understand and modify animal behavior effectively.

Question 8

True or False:

Urine marking in cats is a normal behavior that may be motivated by sexual factors or by stress and anxiety.

Answer 8

True

Urine marking is a normal feline communication behavior that can be hormonally driven or triggered by social and environmental stressors, even though it is undesirable in the household setting.

Question 9

True or False:

The first step in managing aggression between household cats is to immediately punish the aggressive cat to stop the behavior.

Answer 9

False

Punishment is inappropriate and can worsen aggression; the correct first step is to separate the cats and address triggers safely before using behavior‑modification strategies.

Question 10

Define a stereotypy in horses and give an example.

Answer 10

• Definition: a repetitive, apparently functionless behavior that occupies a large part of a horse’s daily activity
• Examples: cribbing, weaving, stall-walking, wood-chewing, and pawing

(typically stereotypies arise in confined or unstimulating environments)