Dog training – The 4 quadrants of operant conditioning – What they are and how to use them

Like people, dogs are motivated by gain and the avoidance of pain. Therefore, to train a dog you can use reinforcements or punishments.

So what are reinforcements and punishments?

Reinforcers are anything that increases the likelihood that a dog will repeat a particular behavior. Similarly, punishments are anything that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

However, what may not be too clear is that there are 2 types of reinforcements and, similarly, 2 types of punishments. This is why…

The 4 Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

To reinforce a particular behavior from a dog, you can give him something he likes (eg, a treat) or take away something he doesn’t like (eg, an aversive). Either way, the dog is rewarded for repeating the behavior. The first is called positive reinforcement (R+) and the second negative reinforcement (R-).

And to punish a dog for bad behavior to lessen the likelihood that the dog will repeat that behavior, you can administer something the dog doesn’t like (eg, physical punishment) or simply take away something the dog likes (eg eg, withdraw a privilege, for example). the form of a time out). The first in this case is called positive punishment (P+) and the second negative punishment (P-).

As you can see in the examples above, the word positive and negative are simply used to indicate whether something is being managed or taken away. And because you can reinforce or punish a dog by adding or taking things away, we end up with 2 different types of reinforcement and punishment each, or in short, the 4 Operant Conditioning Quadrants.

Examples of the 4 quadrants used in dog training

Here are common examples of the four quadrants in action during dog training:

Positive reinforcement (R+): asking a dog to sit and giving it a treat when it sits

Negative Reinforcement (R-): When teaching a dog to retrieve, pinch the dog’s ear (aversive) and release it (remove aversive) only when the dog retrieves the object.

Positive Punishment (P+): Using a leash pop to correct a dog for undesirable behavior.

Negative Punishment (P-): When a dog is happily playing with another dog, institute a time-out by taking him to a boring corner (taking away playtime) the moment he becomes too rude or aggressive (undesirable behavior)

Clicker Vs Compulsion Dog Trainers And How They Use The 4 Quadrants

Clicker and other positive reward based trainers generally put a lot of R+ into their training. On rare occasions where punishment is called for, they typically administer P-. In clicker training, dogs are often set up for success by giving handlers the opportunity to mark, reward, and reinforce desired behaviors. Therefore, such training is generally referred to as more humane and dog-friendly.

In contrast, compulsion trainers focus a lot on using P+ and R- to get the job done. Sometimes dogs are deliberately set up to make mistakes, giving the trainer an opportunity to correct the dog. Therefore, the terms correction and compulsion are commonly associated with this form of dog training.