It Starts with Observation

Following a veterinary procedure, a black bear began displaying intense behaviors when more than one person entered her off-exhibit area. She would pop her jaw, slap the ground, and vocalize. When she did this, people moved away. Over time, these behaviors persisted despite efforts to address them, and eventually only one familiar caregiver could comfortably work in the area at a time.

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Read the Open Access Peer Reviewed Paper on The Constructional Approach

Then Data Collection

Instead of focusing on stopping the aggressive behavior, we looked at what the behavior was accomplishing for the bear. The answer was important: it made people move away. Distance was valuable to her.

That information became the key to the training plan. Learn more about the role of distance as a reinforcer.........

Read the Open Access Peer Reviewed Paper on Distance as a Reinforcer

This Informs Your Intervention

We began at a distance where the bear was already able to remain comfortable and used distance—not food—to reinforce many different calm responses. Small behaviors such as looking toward a person, shifting her weight, changing her ear position, or simply remaining still could cause the person to move away. In other words, she no longer needed to escalate to jaw popping or paw slapping to get the outcome she wanted.

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The Results

The goal wasn't to make aggression ineffective. It was to make other behaviors easier and less costly ways for the bear to get the same outcome. That shift—from asking “How do we stop this?” to “What is this behavior accomplishing, and what else can we teach?”—can completely change how we approach aggression. This approach opened the door to positive reinforcement and essential medical training.

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