Application of functional analysis methods to assess human-dog interactions

The team ran a functional analysis on pet dogs. They wanted to know if simply getting to see their owner would make the dogs work harder.

They set up short sessions where the dogs had to touch a target. Sometimes the reward was a piece of food. Other times the reward was thirty seconds of owner contact.

Each dog went through both conditions. The researchers counted how many target touches happened in each one.

Owner access worked like a reinforcer. When the dogs got owner time for touching the target, they kept touching it.

The response pattern looked the same as when they earned food. This means social contact can drive behavior just like a treat.

Langthorne et al. (2007) said we should build motivating operations into every FA. The dog study does exactly that: owner presence is an MO that makes owner access valuable.

Richman et al. (2001) used the same single-case FA logic to show breath holding was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Both papers prove the method works even when the reinforcer is not food or praise from a teacher.

Hoffmann et al. (2017) found that long access makes high-tech items stronger reinforcers. Feuerbacher gives the dogs only thirty seconds of owner time, yet the behavior still increases, showing social contact is powerful even in brief doses.

You now have data that social interaction can be a primary reinforcer for dogs. If you train service dogs, shelter pups, or family pets, schedule short owner-play periods instead of always reaching for treats. Track the behavior: if it increases, owner access is doing the work. This cuts food costs and builds the human-animal bond at the same time.