Learning, Training and Behaviour 109
Modifying (changing) unwanted behaviour
Punishment
Within the terminology of learning theory, if a behaviour and its consequence results
in a decreased probability of the behaviour being repeated, it can be said that the
behaviour has been punished. A punisher is the event that follows or accompanies a
behaviour that results in punishment (Lieberman, 1993). A punisher is usually aver-
sive, i.e. it is something that the animal would prefer to avoid, but for training or
behaviour modification purposes it does not need to be painful or frightening. In fact,
causing pain or fear in an attempt to punish an unwanted behaviour may cause or
increase the development of more serious behaviours such as anxiety and aggression
(Box 7.4).
Positive punishment
A positive punisher is an aversive event following a behaviour that effectively
decreases the chances of the behaviour being repeated.
Practical feline examples
● The cat jumps into a neighbour’s garden and is chased by the neighbour’s dog.
The cat learns to avoid that garden. Jumping into the neighbour’s garden has been
positively punished.
● The owner has wrapped ‘cling film’ around a chair leg that the cat normally
scratches. When the cat attempts to scratch the chair leg, the feeling is unpleasant
for the cat and the behaviour of scratching that particular chair leg is reduced and
therefore has been positively punished.
Negative punishment
A negative punisher is an event following a behaviour that results in the end of a pleas-
urable experience and thereby decreases the chances of the behaviour being repeated.
Practical feline example
● The cat is enjoying sitting on the owner’s lap and being stroked. He stretches and
digs his claws into the owner’s leg. The owner puts the cat down on the ground
and moves away. The cat learns that digging his claws into his owner’s leg results
in the end of being stroked and feeling comfortable, so the behaviour has been
negatively punished.
Non-reward
If the cat has come to expect a rewarding (reinforcing) outcome to a behaviour
and then the expected reward stops, this may be sufficiently aversive to act as a