Horse Learning

Think how hard it would be to train a horse, even with positive reinforcement, to make the association between something that happens today and something that comes on gradually even a day later. In a punishment paradigm, delay is even more problematic than in a reinforcement paradigm. In fact, that’s why most behaviorists recommend against punitive methods. Unless the timing is immediate, the horse just seems confused by the aversive experience or makes unintended associations with intervening events. Continue reading…