We have Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949) to thank for teaching us about The Law of Effect. While studying behaviorism, he observed and described The Law of Effect, which states that behaviors change as a result of the consequences to actions. Boundless.com has a nice succinct explanation of The Law of Effect:
The Law of Effect states that responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation.
Thorndike is the psychologist who first studied the Law of Effect by placing hungry cats inside puzzle boxes and observing their actions. He quickly realized that cats could learn the efficacy of certain behaviors and would repeat those behaviors that allowed them to escape faster.
The Law of Effect is at work in every human behavior as well. From a young age, we learn which actions are beneficial and which are detrimental through a similar trial and error process.
(Source: Boundless. “Thorndike’s Law of Effect.” Boundless Psychology. Boundless 14 Nov. 2014.
A >> B >> C
Antecedent>>> Behavior>>> Consequence
So what is an antecedent? Technically, antecedents are the conditions present prior to the behavior. In a training environment, some examples of antecedents are a food lure, a physical prompt, a verbal cue, or a hand signal that causes the behavior to occur. Then you have the behavior (the sit or spin or twirl), followed by the consequence of that behavior (food reward or life reward or other reinforcer). While the antecedent helped the behavior to happen, it’s the consequence of the behavior that will affect the dog positively or negatively and cause the behavior to increase or decrease.
Behaviors that are reinforced will be repeated, even if they’re unwanted behaviors. Remember to think about training from the dog’s perspective. What’s in it for the dog? Will the consequence be more likely to increase or decrease the behavior? Keeping the consequence in mind is a great way to think of solutions for solving unwanted behaviors. If your dog is counter-surfing, what’s in it for the dog? You left a sandwich on the counter (antecedent), the dog jumped up and placed front paws on the counter (behavior), and the dog ate the sandwich (consequence). Because the dog surely enjoyed the sandwich, the behavior of jumping up on the counter is more likely to increase because it was reinforced.
If you’re attempting to teach your dog new behaviors, you definitely want those behaviors to increase, so the consequence should always been something that’s reinforcing to the dog.
