04/06/2021
Every living organism is programmed to avoid aversive contingencies. Antecedents (cues, people, animals, sounds, objects, environments, contexts, etc.) that predict aversive consequences will engender avoidance behaviors.
Although we come up with countless reasons for why punishment is appropriate—dogs need to know it’s “wrong”, dogs need to be held “accountable”, dogs need to experience “consequences”—these are nothing but human constructs.
In truth, when we punish a dog for barking at another dog or for jumping up on the counter, they’re not learning that these behaviors are “wrong.” They’re learning that icky things happen when other dogs are around or when they’re in the vicinity of counters.
Avoidance can and does expand beyond the intended scope in which punishment was originally used. It can extend to us, training environments, our cues, other people, dogs, places, and spaces. If punishment is consistent and repeated then avoidance becomes a lifestyle.
We should be striving to build sustainable behaviors through motivation and competency. Our goal should be to create learners who know what to do and have the skills to do it. Behavior (or lack thereof) by means of avoidance is not that, no matter how many cookies we follow it up with.
[ID: On a pale pink background large words in dark gray read “Punishment doesn’t teach skills. Punishment teaches avoidance.]
