Cheryl Trotter
Cheryl Trotter: June 7, 1949 – March 23, 2019 Cheryl had a huge impact on the world through her consistent use of reinforcement-based dog training decades before other trainers had even heard of it. She trained her dogs to advanced levels in obedience and herding competitions with precision, passion, and enthusiasm while the dogs never […]
Operant Conditioning – Who, What, How?
B. F. SKINNER Operant Conditioning was hidden behind Classical Conditioning. When Skinner reached the Psychology lab, researchers were running rats through runways, trying to find out what initial stimulus would make them run more and faster. It was when Skinner put rats into boxes and allowed them more freedom of choice in behavior that he […]
Ann Edie: Teacher and Student of Operant Conditioning Part 2: Putting Behavior Science to Work: Behavior Science by and for the Disabled
Ann Edie was born legally blind. The culture of the 1950s drove her parents to try to help her resist disability; if she could see at all, she should try to develop her vision to avoid being labeled as a disabled person. It’s easy to see why, when you consider the everyday challenges faced by […]
Ann Edie: Teacher and Student of Operant Conditioning Part 1: Behavior Science in the Classroom
After B.F. Skinner discovered operant conditioning, the way animals learn new skills by getting something they want as a consequence of what they choose to do, he couldn’t help but use positive reinforcement to teach his daughters. Animals and children alike eagerly volunteered to learn and the sunny attitudes they displayed during the learning exercises […]
Ann Edie and Guide Horse, “Panda”
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be blind? Imagine the challenges of moving about to pursue your goals of happiness, feeling useful, earning a living, or taking care of a family without being able to see. Cooking meals, taking care of a home, going to work, and enjoying social time with […]
Alexandra Kurland and Her Horses
In the barns where you have visited horses, it’s likely the horses have been in stalls or behind barriers, safely separated from humans to a great extent. It’s smart to use barriers for protection because horses are big and capable of hurting humans, doing damage with their hooves, teeth, or even by using their large […]
Simon Prins
As an outdoorsman at a young age, Simon Prins was inspired by a hunter who spoke softly to his spaniels and retrievers when asking them to do their jobs in the field. Ton’s dogs appeared joyful in their work and the relationship between hunter and dogs was one of partnership and trust. Ton was a […]
Susan Garrett
Susan Garrett is famous in the world of dog training because she is a dog agility competitor at the highest level. She has been on the world team multiple times and has won repeatedly. It’s clear she is really good at training her dogs and herself to create winning partnerships in the sport. The interesting […]
Bob Bailey, ScD: In the Right Place at the Right Time
Bob Bailey was in the right place at the right time to influence discovery and innovation in the world of animal behavior, and indeed, human behavior. As he was working in his laboratory job at UCLA, Bob came upon a job posting for a director of the U.S. Navy’s Dolphin Training Program. This was a […]
Dr. Julie Vargas
What was it like to grow up with Dr. B.F. Skinner as your dad? Dr. Skinner is famous for having discovered how animals learn in nature and how humans learn through positive reinforcement. He named the phenomenon Operant Conditioning and it set the world on fire as people learned its power to change the behavior […]