Background A handheld metal noisemaker known as a “clicker” is widely used to train new behaviors in dogs; however, evidence for their superior efficacy compared to providing solely primary reinforcement or other secondary reinforcers in the acquisition of novel behavior in dogs is largely anecdotal. Methods Three experiments were conducted to determine under what circumstances a clicker secondary reinforcer may result in acquisition of a novel behavior more rapidly or to a higher level compared to other readily available reinforcement methods. In Experiment 1, three groups of 30 dogs each were shaped to emit a novel sit and stay behavior of increasing duration with either the delivery of food alone, a verbal stimulus paired with food, or a clicker with food. The group that received only a primary reinforcer reached a significantly higher criterion of training success than the group trained with a verbal secondary reinforcer. Performance of the group experiencing a clicker as a secondary reinforcer was intermediate between the other two groups, but not significantly different from either. In Experiment 2, three groups of 25 dogs each were shaped to emit a nose targeting behavior and then perform that behavior at increasing distances from the experimenter using the same three methods of positive reinforcement as in Experiment 1. No statistically significant differences between the groups were found. In Experiment 3, three groups of 30 dogs each were shaped to emit a nose-targeting behavior upon an array of wooden blocks with task difficulty increasing throughout testing using the same three methods of positive reinforcement as previously tested. No statistically significant differences between the groups were found. Results Overall, the findings suggest that both primary reinforcement alone as well as a verbal or clicker secondary reinforcer can be used successfully in training a dog to perform a novel behavior, but that no positive reinforcement method demonstrated significantly greater efficacy than any other.

中文翻译：

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点击不是诀窍：点击器和其他强化方法在训练幼犬执行新任务方面的功效

背景 一种被称为“响片”的手持式金属发声器被广泛用于训练狗的新行为。然而，与仅提供初级强化物或其他二级强化物相比，它们在获得狗的新行为方面具有更高功效的证据在很大程度上是轶事。方法 进行了三个实验，以确定在什么情况下，与其他现成的强化方法相比，clicker 二级强化物可能会导致更快或更高水平地获得新行为。在实验 1 中，每组 30 只狗的三组被塑造成发出一种新颖的坐姿和逗留行为，这种行为会随着单独提供食物、与食物搭配的口头刺激或与食物一起发出咔哒声而增加。仅接受初级强化物的那组达到的训练成功标准明显高于接受口头二级强化物训练的那组。将答题器作为辅助强化物的那组的表现介于其他两组之间，但与任何一组都没有显着差异。在实验 2 中，每组 25 只狗被塑造成发出瞄准鼻子的行为，然后使用与实验 1 相同的三种正强化方法，在距离实验者越来越远的地方执行该行为。各组之间没有统计学上的显着差异成立。在实验 3 中，三组 30 只狗，每组被塑造成在一系列木块上发出瞄准鼻子的行为，在整个测试过程中，任务难度增加，使用与先前测试相同的三种正强化方法。未发现组间存在统计学显着差异。结果 总体而言，研究结果表明，单独的初级强化以及口头或答题器二级强化都可以成功地用于训练狗执行新的行为，但没有任何积极的强化方法显示出比其他任何方法更有效的效果。