Behavioral skills training in scent detection research: Interactions between trainer and animal behavior

Lewon et al. (2019) taught lab workers to train rats to find scents. They used Behavioral Skills Training: explain, show, practice, feedback.

Each trainer got the steps one at a time. The team watched trainer fidelity and rat accuracy during daily sessions.

Trainer fidelity rose step-by-step and stayed high three weeks later. Rat hits dipped at first while trainers changed their own moves, then bounced back.

The drop was brief. Both trainer and rat performance ended stronger than baseline.

Aherne et al. (2019) ran a direct replication in homes. One staff kept perfect DTT integrity for eight weeks; two lost skill until they used a short self-check. Both studies show BST lifts fidelity, but extra self-monitoring may be needed outside the lab.

Alaimo et al. (2018) extended the idea by adding general-case training for caregivers teaching feeding. Their package improved parent fidelity and child eating, showing BST plus extra tools works for life skills, not just rat labs.

Kleinert et al. (2007) is an earlier lab predecessor. Brief BST pushed paraprofessionals to near-100% accuracy teaching AAC, proving the core method works long before rats entered the picture.

You can use the same step-by-step BST when you train staff, parents, or peers. Expect a small dip in client performance while the new trainer smooths out their own behavior. Plan extra practice or a self-check sheet if the trainee will work in a noisy home or school instead of a controlled lab.