Comments on: The Name of the Game

By: Lee Charles Kelley

Lee Charles Kelley — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:18:21 +0000

I agree. I’ve only read the first page or so, but the author seems to be trying to lay a template of physics on top of Skinner’s theories of behavior, while Kevin’s ideas reflect a complete paradigm shift, and work from the inside out rather than from the outside in.

However, the following passage is interesting:

“Just as mechanics may be simplified by considering gravitational forces as issuing from a point at the center of the object, psychology may be simplified by finding a center of gravity for actions.”

LCK

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:53:17 +0000

Do you think that is an attempt to explain operant conditioning (using big words)? From the excerpt it sounds like it would be different from NDT in a few key respects (eg, incentives/reinforcers, forces of incentives, temporal discrimination). But I am not able to make much sense of it, I need some help figuring out what the authors are saying.

By: Lee Charles Kelley

Lee Charles Kelley — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:36:40 +0000

“Mechanics of the Animate,” P R Killeen, Arizona State University, 1992.

“Behavior is treated as basic physics. Dimensions are identified and their transformations from physical specification to axes in behavioral space are suggested. Responses are treated as action patterns arrayed along a continuum of activation energy. Behavior is seen as movement along a trajectory through this behavior space. Incentives or reinforcers are attractors in behavior space, at the centers of basins of lowered potential. Trajectories impinging on such basins may be captured; repeated capture will warp the trajectory toward a geodesic, a process called conditioning. Conditioning is enhanced by contiguity, the proximity between the measured behavior and the incentive at the end of the trajectory, and by contingency, the depth of the trajectory below the average level of the potential energy landscape. Motivation is seen as the potential of an organism for motion under the forces impinging on it. Degree of motivation is characterized by the depth of the potential field, with low motivation corresponding to a flat field and a flat gradient of activation energy. Drives are the forces of incentives propagated through behavior space. Different laws for the attenuation of drive with behavioral distance are discussed, as is the dynamics of action. The basic postulate of behavior mechanics is incentive-tracking in behavior space, the energy for which is provided by decreases in potential. The relation of temporal gradients to response differentiation and temporal discrimination is analyzed. Various two-body problems are sketched to illustrate the application of these ideas to association, choice, scalar timing, self-control, and freedom.”

The full article can be downloaded as a pdf file here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323240/

LCK

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:35:53 +0000

My kids were out riding all sorts of things with wheels this weekend. A month ago I would not have “trusted” Happy, or myself, it is a very difficult situation just helping the kids to keep their e-cogs at their centers, or they will fight and do other destructive things. I also didn’t want to put too much pressure on Happy’s healing emotional circuits. But, it felt right so I took Happy out on a long lead and we did some pushing and tug with his favorite toy and I also gave him an old favorite skunk toy that he hasn’t seen in awhile. It seemed that whenever he’d build up a charge by watching the kids, he’d grab his toy and come to me (sometimes I’d interrupt him if he was focusing on the kids and ask him to find the toy), and we’d play a bit and I’d send him off. After a little while I gave him a marrow bone and he was content to chew and relax on the sidelines. It was a very positive, confidence-building experience for everyone. It is as if things have “clicked” in all sorts of small ways lately, and I feel with certainty that Happy and I are working together. Last night I discovered burrs up inside Happy’s feet that must’ve come from our walk in the morning, and he just laid there and let me work them out one by one. So I think he feels the same way.

By: kbehan

kbehan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:44:05 +0000

The source doesn’t really matter, animals are biostatic charge machines, we as well as our dogs are always absorbing a charge due to the unavoidable experience of resistance to the expression of emotion as well as physical movement. The only thing that matters is can our dog align and then synchronize with us in order to resolve unresolved emotion.

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:12:49 +0000

Thanks Kevin, that helps. I guess I’m still a little fuzzy-headed as to the source of the resistance. Perhaps its because I’ve never had any real one-on-one with Duncan(or Diva for that matter) like I did with Bodie. This winter I’m taking a “step back” and just enjoying the puppers with few expectations (i.e. no training, just being). If I’m more relaxed, they will reflect that (I hope). We take occassional walks on the week-ends in neighboring fields/woods and it’s nice to see them so relaxed and romping around being dogs! This week-end when we were out they didn’t roam very far from me. If they went into the woods and I didn’t follow, they’d come running back to where I was. There were a few snowmobilers out and a few instances when one or all of the puppers would run after them but I’d give a whistle or a holler and take off in the opposite direction and they’d come running after me. So I’m taking this all as positive and heading in the right direction. At the very least it feels good to me (sigh of contentment!).

By: kbehan

kbehan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:02:49 +0000

What you could do is get down on the ground with Duncan, and no other dog around, do this outside. Start to rough house with him and see what his response is. Wear heavy clothes and a hat so you can protect your face and eyes, I put on overalls and a hooded sweat shirt. Then I can see how nervous the dog is about connecting with me when my human-ness is somewhat removed from the formula by virtue of me being on the ground on all fours and engaging the dog as would another dog. My point being that whatever comes up, is related to the over-charging on Bodie. Hope this is clear.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:12:12 +0000

Do you mean play with Bodie outside or play with Duncan outside? And I’m not really sure that I understand what you mean by “softening your relationship with Duncan”. I get the gist of imparting 200 volts of resistance onto Bodie, I see how that plays out. Please provide a bit more detail regarding Duncan and hopefully I’ll be able to process it correctly! Thanks as always Kevin.

By: kbehan

kbehan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:30:06 +0000

The first thing I would focus on is softening your relationship with Duncan. Let’s just say for purposes of discussion, there’s 200 volts of resistance between you and Duncan. This means when you direct your attention onto Bodie, you are imparting 200 volts of resistance onto Bodie, in a sense you are saying “sic ‘em.” So it would be interesting to put on heavy clothes and a protective cap, get on the ground in the yard with Bodie without any of the other dogs present, and see how he responds to you engaging him on his level.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:34:32 +0000

I love this post Kevin, it’s such a beautiful, descriptive essay with so many nuances to learn from!
Regarding Duncan, I see more of the “softness” of puppy-play in him. His jaw is open and relaxed, his body is soft and supple (most of the time). There is, however, unresolved emotion there and I would appreciate your input.
When all 3 are out in the yard playing and I kick the ball, it is usually Bodie that goes for it. At times, Duncan will chase after Bodie and either body-block him or bite at his face or the back of his neck. His body language in this phase is not relaxed but very tense, along with intense vocalizations (a kind of growling-bark, if you will). He looks like a cheetah going after a gazelle. He doesn’t want the ball as he ignores it; his target is Bodie. Bodie will always defer and turn away. There have been a few times when Duncan has defecated after a few of these encounters, yet they still occur.
There are times when Duncan is quite playful and wants to engage Bodie but Bodie hesitates to join in (who can blame him?) and when he does, he zooms out and zooms back in again. Sometimes Diva and Duncan will “mob” Bodie. I’m not sure how to go about resolving these issues; how would I redirect the mobbing or should I even try? And what would be the most effective method to resolve Duncan’s aggression towards Bodie? Poor Bodie hesitates to come out into the yard to play anymore!
I always appreciate your insights, Kevin.