Behaviour works across the species

Image by TeeFarm from Pixabay

The principles of behaviour work across all species. The law of effect which states that behaviour is a function of its consequences holds true regardless if you work with a dog, a human, a butterfly or an earthworm.

I heard a couple of times that when you work with a horse, you need to change what you’re doing as it’s not a dog. I recognise that knowing the species you are working with is crucial. I’m not denying differences between species. I wouldn’t use the same type of food with a dog as I’m using with a horse and vice versa. I wouldn’t try to teach my dog to fly from perch to perch as I can with a pet parrot. Yes, there are differences that we need to be aware of. But the principles of behaviour stays the same regardless if we are working with a cockroach or with a human being.

Consequences of the behaviour determine if the behaviour will be repeated or avoided. To be more specific, its past consequences of similar behaviour. The types of behaviour you will see are changing between species. Yes, there are typical behaviours for species and the consequences that maintain behaviour will vary. Yet, the principles of behaviour hold for all of them.

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When you understand that, you can start to see the patterns all around you. We are surrounded by behaviour on every step of the way. Starting with our own behaviour, through all of the people around us, to all the animals we encounter. Learning to see behaviour in that way can help eliminate some of the explanatory fiction that goes around. For example, my dog barks because he is a rescue. Do only rescues bark? How can being a rescue be an explanation of the behaviour? That's explanatory fiction.

When we understand that there are principles that govern behaviour, we can start to look for explanations in the past consequences. We can start to find the function of behaviour, regardless of what explanatory fictions are known about the species. Even if there is a behaviour that is more likely in, for example, horses it doesn't explain why it happens. Yes, it can be more likely but without knowing the consequences that maintain it, you will have a hard time trying to change it.

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People often give up on trying to change problematic behaviour in their animal or in people around them because they believe in explanatory fiction. "That's just how he is", you hear. Then, practically no one ever tries to find a solution. I admit that it's sometimes very difficult to find suitable consequences as the behaviour doesn't happen in a vacuum and there are many factors that affect it. Thinking about someone who is overeating, it's not just the habit of eating we talk about, it's not that simple to say "he just likes food". Many people like food but not all of them overeat. It's also the physical exercise that could be looked at, how daily routine looks like, if the person is getting enough sleep, is the person under big stress etc. It's not just one size fits all. The analysis is more complicated. Knowing the species helps a lot and can speed up the analysis. Yet, behaviour is behaviour and you can find the consequences that drive it for every species you encounter.

Image by huoadg5888 from Pixabay