Degrees of Freedom

This badge signifies the completion of the course Degrees of Freedom- A New Lens to Examine Animal Welfare By Sean Will, MS and Maasa Nishimuta, MS.

In the animal training community, the concept of choice and control has been talked about often in recent years. This is a great movement toward designing a desirable learning experience for animals and improving animal welfare and quality of life. However, what does it mean to have choice and control? 

This presentation introduces degrees of freedom/coercion (Fernandes & Dittrich, 2018; Goldiamond, 1974/2002) to provide a framework to explore the concepts of choice and control. This analysis incorporates a nonlinear contingency analysis that allows us to better analyze the animals’ experiences and arrange the environment and our training to improve their welfare.

Once you complete the course,  fill out the form to submit your request for admin to review and issue your badge.