Thursday, March 24, 2011

Using a Cue as a Reward

1 comment:

  1. Ok, so after watching the video, isn't he using the cue as a MARKER rather than the reward (and I am assuming that by "reward" he means "reinforcer," i.e., the thing that is increasing the frequency of the behavior). He waits for the behavior, when it happens he cues "touch," when the dog performs that he clicks, and then delivers a primary reinforcer (food). The cue is marking the behavior and telling the dog "yes, that was right, now you have one more step to do to earn the reward. If he was truly using a cue as a reinforcer, wouldn't the cue come after the marker and NOT lead to a primary reinforcer (e.g., [behavior] --> "yes" -- "touch")? The dog has caught on to the pattern, but what is really reinforcing the behavior here?

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