Question

Describe a step-by-step process that you would use to teach an elephant to paint flowers. Your response should include the following terms: Law of Effect, Shaping, Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Partial Reinforcement, Discriminative Stimulus, Observational Learning (these terms all relate to operant conditioning).

Answer 1

Elephants are very creative animals and when trained properly, can paint properly. They need some kind of behavioral conditioning and some kind of reinforcement, encouragement to do so.

The first step would be to coax the elephant to come to a flower of a board where there is a flower and give the elephant a brush to paint.

The elephant will be clueless at first. The trainer should first take out the brush himself and show the elephant how to paint by doing it himself first.

If the elephant is stubborn, he will need some negative reinforcement like scolding.

After which, the elephant will try to emulate but will not be able to do so at first properly.

Then the law of effect has to be applied where in the elephant needs some kind of operant conditioning. For every positive trial the elephant should be positively reinforce. For. e.g., given some bananas. For unsuccessful attempts, should be negatively reinforced like scolding, though not very harshly and raising a stick to hit. Some kind of partial reinforcement like complimenting the elephant needs to be done just for trying to paint. Slowly, the elephant will start getting conditioned as to what he should do to get rewarded and avoid punishment.

Need is to apply shaping, where the elephant would be reinforced/reward for successful attempts at just to hold the brush and try to paint and withhold reinforcement/reward for uncessful attempts. This will be a strong behavioral conditioning fo the elephant.

Next we should apply discriminatory stimulus as part of operant conditioning. Positive stimulus, or reinforcement should be given to obedient elephants so that it tries to paint properly and negative reinforcements like scolding or raising a stick has to be give to the elephants prior to painting.

The trainer then should keep showing the elephant on how to paint and through the above methods of reinforcements, the elephants will try observational learning, that is, learning by observing. Here in this case, the elephant will observe the trainer.

Elephants are very intelligent creatures and by applying the above conditioning methods, they will be abe to paint flowers successfully.