Page 32 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

4 1 Learning Theory

Anthropomorphism refers to the attribu­
VetBooks.ir of keys at that time means food is being tion of human traits, such as language or
provided.
Now that we have a better sense of the
maintain anthropocentric biases. For example,
term learning, let’s move on to an overview emotion, to other animals. It is often used to
of animal learning theory. In the rest of the Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat features a cat that
chapter you should expect the discussion walks upright, speaks perfect English and
of the history and expansion on the types wears human cloths in a similar way to a
of learning that will be important as we human. Anthropomorphism also charac­
continue further into the book. terises many Disney movies, for example
Finding Nemo, The Incredible Mr. Fox, Bambi.
All these movies give human characteristics
1.2 Individual Learning to animal species. Animal professionals
know that although an animal’s behaviour
A great place to start to explain individual mimics a behaviour engendered by a human
learning is with the work of Edward in a similar setting, it may be explained in a
Thorndike. Although there were scientists different way. One reason for this is parsi­
before him who referred to animal behaviour mony. Scientists look for the most parsimo­
(such as Darwin, Romanes, and Morgan), nious, or simple, explanations of observed
Thorndike was the first to study animal behaviour. Between two equally good expla­
behaviour empirically. Before Thorndike, nations, choose the simpler. For example,
scientists observed animal behaviour in you may come home to the living room
naturalistic settings. They collected anecdo­ covered in what used to be the stuffing of
tal accounts from a variety of people (pet very expensive pillows. Your sweet playful
owners, amateur nature enthusiasts, military dog got bored and found a way to entertain
officers, etc.) and compiled them as evidence himself. You look at your dog only to see
for a hypothesis or theory. those big droopy eyes, tucked tail, dropped
This anecdotal approach was not just ears, and him backing up very slowly. You
anthropocentric but anthropomorphic. think to yourself ‘he looks guilty and knows
Anthropocentrism is when a person regards that what he has done is wrong’. However, the
human beings as the central or most sig­ most parsimonious explanation is that he is
nificant species on the planet. An anthropo­ actually reacting to your body language (tone
centric person may believe that humankind in your voice, staring in your dog’s eyes,
has unique abilities superior to those of moving erratically, not greeting your dog as
other animals. For example, some scientists, you normally would, etc.). Indeed, experiments
like Romanes, used animal models to prove have shown this body‐language explanation
animals could think and solve problems the to be the better explanation (Horowitz 2003).
way people do. Instead of studying animal Thorndike was the first to introduce exper­
behaviour in its own right, he tried to model imental methods with animals in 1898. What
their behaviour to meet that of human stand­ were these methods … to put a cat in a box of
ards. For example, he had a few anecdotal course!
‘experiments’ where he trapped ants and Thorndike was a very unconventional
watched to see if their mound‐mates helped scientist for his time. He didn’t have a labora­
free them. He wrote ‘I next covered one up tory, but kept his subjects (chickens, cats,
with a piece of clay, leaving only the ends of dogs, fish, and monkeys) in his own home
its antennae projecting. It was soon discovered ‘until the landlady’s protests were imperative’
by its fellows, which set to work immediately, (Thorndike 1936, p. 264). He also felt that
and by biting off pieces of the clay soon previous scientists paid too much attention
liberated it’ (Romanes 1888, p. 48). to animal intelligence and although he took