Aversive Conditioning Essay -- essays research papers

Aversive conditioning is a manufactured negative response tocertain things, much corresponding the operant conditioning developed bySkinner. The contingent behavior is behavior that, whenperformed, results in the delivery of specific consequences orreinforcers. This article described the measures taken to exculpatecoyotes stop wanting to kill lambs for food. The authorscontention is that it whitethorn be possible to reconcile the desires ofboth ranchers and conservationists. The latter group wishes toenable the coyote and, possibly otherwise predators, to survive in theopen range, as they deliver for millions of years. Species that kill farmanimals include others mountain lions, bears, bobcats, and redwolves as well as coyotes. This paper on aversive conditioningmainly addresses whether behavior of coyotes can be alteredwithout affecting their natural selection in the wild. The question Mssrs.Gustavson and Garcia attempt to address is whether coyotes canbe conditioned to kill animals such as mice, rabbits, gophers, andsquirrels- species of no sparing value in the western UnitedStates- while leaving sheep alone. Clearly, sheep have tremendouseconomic value in terms of meat and wool production, andranchers as well as the general meat-consuming public have avested interest in the survival and success of the ranchingindustry. Just as clearly, environmentalist and conservationistshave an interest in seeing that certain species are enabled tosurvive in their native habitat, and not simply confined in zoosunder whatever terms humans dictate. To see if they could make coyotes stop killing lambs, the authorsfirst took a sample community of coyotes from different regions ofMontana where coyotes were notorious for killing shepherdsflocks. They captured seven coyotes, five from the wild and twofrom captivity. Presumably all of them loved to eat lamb meat. Theyfed them deflower lamb, wrapped in fresh lamb hide. The meat itselfwas not toxic to the long-term health of the coyotes that devouredit. Instead, it was laced with lithium chloride, which causes vomitus. One assumption made was that the lithium did notactually affect the taste of the meat. Therefore, the coyotesactually did consume the meat, and uniformly became sick aftereating the lamb. As a result of associating the meat with vomitingthe coyotes didnt want to eat lamb anymore. On the contrary, theyran awa... ... eat them again. One such coyote killed and ate a rabbitwithin one week, albeit cautiously. Therefore, although it may bedeemed a success to be able to state that a certain coyote is wellon his/her way to hating lamb, it may be that these coyotes indispensability recurrent aversion therapy towards sheep, or towards otherlivestock which other ranchers might raise.Finally, even if aversion therapy turns out to be effective, orwhether it must be repeated to be effective, there is reason to thinkthat this behavior will not be self-perpetuating. There is noevidence produced tha t a coyote will annul sheep simply becauseits mother does. Aversion to lamb meat is obviously a learnedhabit, not a genetic one. If all coyotes need to be captured, andperhaps tagged and periodically recaptured, in order persistentlyavoid or hate lamb meat, the conservationists are defeating theirown purpose. For their plan to work, all coyotes will have to becaptured and "domesticated" in some way. It would appear that, ifthis turns out to be the case, truly wild coyotes will have become athing of the past, and they will not be allowed to roam free in theirferal state in any real sense after all.