That's So Basic: Using Basic Behavioral Science to Enhance Animal Welfare in the Zoo, Shelter, and Home matters because it changes what a BCBA notices when decisions have to hold up in home routines and caregiver-led implementation. For this course, the practical stakes show up in stronger welfare decisions, better staff uptake, and clearer use of behavior analysis in zoological settings, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Gulf Coast Autism
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →The field of applied animal behavior science is made up of individuals with backgrounds in biology, ethology, comparative cognition, anthropology, and yes, sometimes behavior analysis. Our field has much to offer, but the most value may come from our roots in the experimental analysis of behavior. In this talk I will present various research projects that have all focused on understanding how we might create environments that allow animals to thrive under human care, using principles and lessons from the laboratory. These projects have taken place in, and in collaboration with, zoos, animal shelters, and homes. I hope to highlight how an appreciation for, and knowledge of, our basic science, as well as other sciences, can better prepare behavior analysts for work in the diverse field of applied animal behavior.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
Kathryn Kalafut received her Master’s in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas in 2009 where her research interests focused on applied animal behavior. Some of her research focused on how the ‘click’ functioned in animal training. In her review of the literature, the richness and depth of the basic literature was undeniable, and her research questions became more basic in nature. At this point, she continued her formal education at Brown University where she completed her PhD with Dr. Russell Church in his behavioral timing laboratory. Her experience in the basic research realm, and the skills she learned from Russ and his amazing lab members, continue to inform and shape her current applied animal behavior research. While her recent research subjects have included penguins, elephants, exotic and domestic cats, overarching themes of this research include the use of technology to enhance research methods and behavioral recording to better understand both basic mechanisms of behavior as well as animal welfare.
Side-by-side comparison with a clinical decision framework
Research-backed educational guide for behavior analysts
Research-backed answers to common clinical questions
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.