Is clicker training ethical?

Cierra Dibbert
2025-06-25 19:07:24
Count answers: 12
I think that last part sums up why bribery feels unethical to me. Clicker training does not. I think clicker training is very ethical: you give the horse a voice and a choice in his own training. It’s giving the learner a choice that makes the difference between bribery and positive reinforcement. In bribery there’s an urgency for outcome. In clicker training you use a cue, not a threat. There will be no punishment for the learner if he isn’t performing right away in clicker training. Bribery doesn’t built on the relationship, positive reinforcement does.

Palma Conroy
2025-06-25 16:32:33
Count answers: 11
Clicker training relies on the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Proponents of clicker training focus on its precision, how the clicker can provide a source of immediate, consistent feedback. The animal can tell exactly when they’re doing the right thing. The sound of the click never changes. By using a clicker, Levy was able to not only provide instant feedback to his residents, but also able to remove emotion from the situation. Instead of focusing on their relationship with him, their teacher—trying not to disappoint him or seeking his praise—the students focus on learning to do the task properly. Clicker-trained animals remember what they learned years after training and develop confidence in their actions, and response systems like iClicker have been proven to support increased engagement during class and improved retention. Similarly, students who learn through a flipped classroom model demonstrate increased information retention and a higher confidence in their knowledge and abilities.

Donny Powlowski
2025-06-25 15:44:20
Count answers: 7
Clicker-trained or operantly conditioned animals try to learn new behaviors. They remember behaviors even years later because they were aware of them as they learned them, rather than acquiring them without awareness. Clicker-trained animals develop confidence because they have control over the consequences of their actions. They are enthusiastic because they expect those consequences to be pleasurable. Training through operant conditioning results in purposeful behavior while training through classical conditioning results in reflexive behavior. The difference between an animal that behaves with purpose and an animal that behaves through reflexes is vast.
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