Changing Behavior by Arranging Antecedents with Kathy Sdao
On-Demand Webinar: Watch as soon as you register
Webinar Description
Animal trainers and behavior consultants sometimes overlook or undervalue Level 2 (Antecedent Arrangements) of the Humane Hierarchy. This six-level progression of behavior-change procedures, arranged so that the least intrusive and most positive interventions come first, was introduced by Dr. Susan Friedman in 2010. (See What’s Wrong With This Picture? Effectiveness is Not Enough) We may be tempted to skip ahead to familiar operant training procedures such as positive reinforcement (Level 3) & differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors (Level 4). Antecedent arrangements (Level 2) suggest we first notice and adjust the learner’s environment in ways that facilitate the behaviors we wish to reinforce. It invites us to be creative in changing conditions that precede these behaviors, with the goal of making learning more effective and efficient. Level 2 is much broader than simply “managing the environment” to prevent problem behaviors from occurring. We’ll look at specific examples of antecedent arrangements drawn from Kathy’s work with behavior-consultation clients.
Your Presenter – Kathy Sdao
Kathy Sdao is an applied animal behaviorist who has spent 30 years as a full-time animal trainer, initially with marine mammals and currently with dogs and their people. As a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, she received a Master’s as part of a research team that trained dolphins to solve complex cognitive puzzles. She was then hired by the United States Navy to train dolphins for open-ocean tasks. Next, Sdao worked as a marine-mammal trainer at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. After leaving the zoo world, she and a colleague created Tacoma’s first dog daycare facility, where she began teaching clicker training classes for dog owners. For the past 17 years, Sdao has owned Bright Spot Dog Training in Tacoma. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers who want to maximize the power of positive reinforcement training. Sdao is an original Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpos faculty member and has taught at 29 of these popular conferences since 2003. She has also traveled extensively to educate students about the science of animal training. Her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace, was published in 2012.
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