Animal Behavior
Welcome to the Animal Behavior Center

Johnny Depp is suing The Sun for libel. Here's what Amber Heard has to do with it and why it's impossible to look away from the court hearings (spoiler: the level of absurdity is unthinkable). On July 7, a lawsuit began in London between Johnny Depp and News Group Newspapers, which includes the tabloid The Sun. The reason for the lawsuit in 2018 was the text that Depp used physical and psychological violence against his wife, Amber Heard. The actors divorced in 2017. The first allegations flew to Depp a year earlier, along with a divorce petition and a demand for maintenance payments. In August 2016, the couple signed an agreement in which Amber drops the domestic violence charges and Johnny pays her $7 million. It seemed like we could strike a deal and part ways, but no. Amber began actively speaking out against domestic violence and wrote a column for The Washington Post in December 2019 as an ambassador Johnny Depp Amber Heard for the American Civil Liberties Union, in which she admitted to being abused since she was a teenager and felt pressure to break her silence. Johnny, discerning defamatory information in his ex-spouse's text, filed a $50 million libel suit against Heard in March 2019. The actor claimed that if anyone in their couple had dissolved their hands, it wasn't him, and provided photos of himself with bruises as proof.
Resources
There are thousands of articles pertaining to animal behavior. The resource list below includes representative listings in several categories. We suggest that the reader look at the reference lists at the end of the articles below for further reading. Additions will be made to this list on a regular basis.
Articles + Websites
General
Bailey, R. E. (2003). Marian Breland Bailey: A Gentle Woman For All Seasons. The Division 25 Recorder, 36, 1.
Breland, K. and Breland, M. (1961). The misbehavior of organisms.
American Psychologist, 16, 681-684.Peterson, G. (2000). The Discovery of Shaping or B.F. Skinner’s Big Surprise.
The Clicker Journal: The Magazine for Animal Trainers, 43, 6-13.Peterson, G. (2004). A Day of Great Illumination: B.F. Skinner’s Discovery of Shaping. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82, 317–328.
Enrichment
Pryor, K. (1981). The Rhino Likes Violets. Psychology Today, April.
Tresz, H. (1997). Providing Enrichment at No Cost. The Shape of Enrichment, Vol.6, 4.
Tresz, H. (2001). Providing Enrichment at No Cost, Part II. The Shape of Enrichment,
Vol. 10, 4.Tresz, H. (2002). Behavioral Enrichment 101. Animal Keepers’ Forum, Vol. 29, 2, 54-56.
Species: Horses
Ferguson, D. L. & Rosales-Ruiz, J. (2001). Loading the problem loader: The effects of target training and shaping on trailer-loading behavior of horses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 409-424.
Species: Other
Fish
http://www.fish-school.com/ *Guinea Pigs
http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/training-your-guinea-pig/page1.aspx *Hamsters
Bucsis, G. and Somerville, B. (2005). Training Your Pet Hamster. Barrons Educational Series.Iguanas
http://www.greenigsociety.org/taming.htm *
Settings: Oceanaria
Animal Training at SeaWorld.
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/training/index.htm *Busch Gardens/SeaWorld Animal Information Database.
http://www.seaworld.org/ *ShamuTV: Penguins – Person To Penguin Connection
SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is helping endangered African penguins affected by oil spills.
Settings: Zoos
Bloomsmith, M., Alford, P., & Maple, T. (1988). Successful feeding enrichment for captive chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology, 16, 155-164.
Fernandez, E., Dory, N., & Rosales-Ruiz, J. (2004). A Two-Choice Preference Assessment with Five Cotton-Top Tamarins. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 7, 3, 163-169.
Forthman, D., and Ogden, J. (1992). The Role of Applied Behavior Analysis in Zoo Management: Today and Tomorrow. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 647-652.
Kleiman, D. G. (1992). Behavior research in zoos: Past, present, and future. Zoo Biology, 11, 301-312.
Lukas, K., Maple,T., & Marr, J. (1998). Teaching Operant Conditioning at the Zoo.
Teaching of Psychology, Vol. 25, 1998Tresz, H. (2005). Training Two Coyotes (Canis latrans) Through Extensive Desensitization Techniques. ABMA Wellspring, 1, 6.
Tresz, H. and Wright, H. (2006). Let Them Be Elephants! How Phoenix Zoo Integrated Three Problem Animals. International Zoo News, Vol. 53, No. 3, 154-160.
Books
General
Bailey, J. and Burch, M. (2006). How To Think Like a Behavior Analyst: Understanding the Science That Can Change Your Life. Lawrence Erlbaum Publishing, New Jersey.
Pryor, K. (1999). Don’t Shoot the Dog. Bantam Publishing.
Ramirez, K. (1999). Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago. www.shedd.org *
Enrichment
Maple, T. L., and Archibald, E. F. (1993). Zoo man. Atlanta: Longstreet Press.
Markowitz, H. (1982). Behavioral Enrichment in the Zoo. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Markowitz, H., & Woodworth, G. (1978). Experimental analysis and control of group behavior. In H. Markowitz & V. J. Stevens (Eds.), Behavior of captive wild animals. (pp.107-131). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
Mellen, J. D., & Ellis, S. (1996). Animal learning and husbandry training. In D. G. Kleiman, M. E. Allen, K. V. Thompson, & S. Lumpkin (Eds.), Wild mammals in captivity: Principles and techniques. (pp.88-99). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Rapaport, L., & King, N.E. (1987). The behavioral research program at the Washington Park Zoo. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 18, 57-66.
Stevens, V. J. (1978). Basic operant research in the zoo, In H. Markowitz & V. J. Stevens (Eds.), Behavior of captive wild animals (pp.209- 246). Chicago: Nelson-Hall
Settings: Ocenaria
Pryor, K. (2004-revised). Lads Before the Wind: Diary of a Dolphin Trainer. Sunshine Books, MA.
Species: Birds
Luescher, A. (2006). Manual of Parrot Behavior. Blackwell Publishing, Iowa.
Species: Cats
Crawmer, C. (2001). Here Kitty, Kitty: Catherine Crawmer on Training Cats.
Email: cattrainingbook@aol.comLandberg, G., Hunthausen, W., & Ackerman, L. (1997). Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. Elsevier Publishing, London.
Pryor, K. (2003). Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats. Sunshine Books, MA.
Species: Dogs
Burch, M. & Bailey, J. (1999). How Dogs Learn. Howell Book House. New York.
Landberg, G., Hunthausen, W., & Ackerman, L. (1997). Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. Elsevier Publishing, London.
Lindsay, S. (2000). Applied Dog Behavior and Training. (3 large volumes). Iowa State University Press.
Reid, P. (1996). Excel-Erated Learning: Explaining in Plain English How Dogs Learn and How Best to Teach Them. James & Kenneth Publishers.
Species: Horses
Kurland, A. (2001). Clicker Training for Your Horse. Ringpress Books.
McDonnell, S. (2003). The Equid Ethogram: A Practical Field Guide to Horse Behavior. Eclipse Press.
McDonnell, S. (2005). Understanding Your Horse’s Behavior. Eclipse Press.
Journals
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
(applied research related to animals)
http://www.societyandanimalsforum.org/jaaws/index.html *Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
(Not very many animal articles; this journal shows research designs).
seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba *Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jeab/articles_selected/index.html *Marine Mammal Science
Blackwell Publishing.
http://www.marinemammalogy.org/mms.htm *
Videos, Other
Bailey, Marian & Bailey, Bob. (2005-updated). Patient Like the Chipmunks.
Animal Behavior Enterprises, Hot Springs, Arkansas.Pryor, K. Multiple animal training videos (and books).
See Sunshine Books, MA.
www.clickertraining.com *
Further Reading on behavior.org
Award-winning training tips from leading Animal Behaviorist Mary Burch
Training Tips from the 1950’s – A look back at a popular toy.
Live It! Four-Legged Family Members – As originally published in the Behavior Analysis Digest International, graduate student Chelsea Wilhite writes about how one behavior analyst, Hayley Heitzig, retrained her lab from visual to verbal commands due to his fading vision.
Research & Recent Activities
A Behavior Analyst Goes to the Animal Shelter by Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova