How Does Positive Reinforcement Work?

Adaptation has allowed life to exist for billions of years. From single-celled organisms, a vibrant array of life exploded and habituated to the varied ecosystems that make up Earth.

It almost seems too improbable to have happened... yet it did.

Life on Earth is adaptable. It has to be or it would have died out millennia ago. Organisms need to be in tune with their environment, able to process information and learn from their findings.

But, what does this have to do with positive reinforcement?

It's All About Survival

Primitive humans had to learn what foods they could eat, how to avoid predators and the best way to interact cohesively as a group.

Primitive horses need to be in tune to their surrondings

Survival depended on their ability to work it all out and implement their findings for years to come. Over time they learned if a particular area always housed danger and what valley contained the best foraging.

A mix of reinforcers and punishments called operant conditioning changes organisms' behavior over time so they can survive and thrive.

How Does Positive Reinforcement Work?

Positive reinforcement increases behavior with desirable rewards and is one way beings adapt to their environment.

Maybe each time a tribe of primitive humans went to a particular valley they were met with an abundance of tasty berries the positive association between valley and food would keep them going back for more.

R+ allows us to create the same associations in our horses with behaviors we want to increase.

Targeting can be easily taught with positive reinforcement

For instance, if you want your horse to learn to touch a target, each time they hit the target with their nose you would hit a clicker and give them a treat. Over time they will come to associate touching the target with food (something they are hardwired to seek out) and perform the behavior more (to get more food!) Positive reinforcement works for the same reason it's effective ... it ties into survival!

How Does Negative Reinforcement Work?

The opposite of R+ is R- where an annoying stimulus is removed to encourage a behavior. Negative reinforcement is another way organisms learn to adapt.

At one point in history, some long-lost ancestor of the human must have moved under an overhang in the rain, and the power of that discovery is still seen today in the effort we extend to house ourselves.

Horses like to remain in a relaxed state

Nobody likes the feeling of getting wet in the rain and moving under cover removes that aversive stimulus, thus making you more likely to seek shelter in the rain. Negative reinforcement works by tapping into the horse's instinctual desire to stay safe and comfortable.

Training Horses With R+

Even though both positive and negative reinforcement are rooted in basic survival instincts, making them both effective training methods, there are still benefits to training with R+. Negative reinforcement relies on negative associations (discomfort) to train while positive reinforcement uses pleasurable associations.

Horses can be effectively training with R+

Even though the practice of using positive reinforcement with horses is marred in controversy, horses can be trained with R+ and, in reality, respond exceptionally well to the method. With consistent training, R+ can be used to create a willing partner who is excited and joyful to learn.

And it all ties back to primitive survival instincts.