You are here: Home / Theses / An Analysis of Innovate Training with Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) / About

An Analysis of Innovate Training with Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

By Raymond John Van Steyn

View Link (HTM)

Licensed under

Category Theses
Abstract

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland conducted a training program in 2014 to develop a gestural command for their dolphins called “innovate”. This training paradigm was developed to resemble the seminal research by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as more recent efforts of Braslau-Schneck (1993) and Kuczaj and Eskelinen (2014) of training dolphins to offer “creative” behaviors not developed through conventional methods of behavioral modification, such as shaping. The goal of the present study was to observe records taken during the National Aquarium’s training procedure as well as data collected ~3 years after said training in order to analyze and observe training practices and resulting learning of the task among the trainers and dolphins. All subjects developed an understanding of the task “do something different” and exhibited patterns in the learning process similar to those reported by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as strategies used to complete this task similar to those reported by Kuczaj and Eskelinen (2014).

Submitter

Marcy Wilhelm-South

Purdue University

Date 2018
Pages 47
Department Psychology
Degree Master of Arts (MA)
URL https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/360/
Language English
University City University of New York (CUNY)
Cite this work

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Tags
  1. Animal roles
  2. Animal training
  3. Dolphins
  4. open access
  5. Zoo and captive wild animals
Badges
  1. open access