User:Tcb604/sandbox

Potential topics
Tail wagging in dogs - not a whole lot written on this topic, very broad and much room for attentional information. Could be a good choice.

Rearing horses - The bare minimum was written on this topic and not a lot of information portrayed throughout.

Instinctive drift - - Very little information, no pictures, very few examples. Very good article to draft and add to.

Chosen article
I will be adding to the existing article on Wikipedia called Instinctive Drift]. This article over all is really not informative on the topic, does not provide sufficient examples for explanation, it really only discusses in brief terms what it is and where it had originated. The nature vs. nurture theory isn't brought up and how instinctive drift has to do with innate behaviours that all members of a species preform. They only discussed the raccoon example, though I believe it should be noted and discussed how different species have different instinctive behaviours and a few more examples should be provided which is one thing I'm going to contribute to the article.

Improving existing article
The article on instinctive drift is a stub page, it's underrepresented. The information provided by this page is accurate but lacking additional information that could be given. The two references used are from reliable sources so this article is neutral. There is only one comment on the talk back, dating back to 2011, stating that at that point there were no references provided. That's all that is on the talk page besides my comment providing various reliable sources to find information on this topic. Pictures could be provided to attract future readers as well. I will improving the article on instinctive drift to include all additional information that should be provided on the topic.

Outline
Lead Paragraph - A lead section was provided in this article, but it could be expanded, which is what I'm going to do.

P1. Origin of the term will be discussed, though mentioned in the lead, further detail will be added. (which I think is necessary)

P2. The nature vs. nurture controversy will be discussed.

P3. Examples of instinctive drift in different species will be discussed, with the purpose of enhancing further understanding on the topic.

P4. Evolution of instinctive drift - The background to the evolution of instinctive drift will be discussed.

Lead
Instinctive drift also known as instinctual drift is the tendency of an animal, of any species, to revert to unconscious and automatic behaviour that interferes with operant conditioning and the learned responses that come with it. B.F Skinner was an American psychologist who coined the term operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning, which is to learn by means of being granted either a reward or punisher for the action. It's through the association of the behaviour and consequence that follows that depicts if an animal will learn to practice the behaviour, or if the behaviour will become extinct. The concept of instinctive drift originated by the two former students of B.F Skinner's, Keller and Marian Breland when they taught racoons to deposit money into a bank slot (actually dip the money in). In nature racoons dip their food into water several times and turn it over with their paws, thus it could be argued that this is an example of instinctive drift and not the result of learned behaviour through means of operant conditioning. Instinctive behaviour is innate, it isn't learned. it's usually automatic and unplanned, a natural reaction. Thus, it's clear that natural behaviours can interfere with learning. This topic is relevant and discussed when it comes to the nature and nurture controversy. Many experimental studies have been conducted on this topic which proves its reliability. Natural behaviours are easier to learn and often easier expressed, even subliminally.

Origin of Instinctive Drift
The term instinctive drift was coined by Keller and Marian Breland, former students of B.F Skinner at the University of Minnesota (Marian in 1938, Keller in 1940). B.F Skinner coined the term operant conditioning. The Breland's followed Skinners principles of control and decided to live off this principle through creation of "Animal Behaviour Enterprises. They began the commercial training of animals instead of finishing their degrees . They began their business on a farm, but as multiple contracts were being created with various companies, the Breland shows ended up spreading nationwide . It was Keller and Marian Breland who discovered the meaning of and coined the term instinctive drift through their research . They were working with racoons and conducted an experiment which involved teaching racoons to deposit money into a bank slot successfully. The Brelands had concluded that this was an instinct that racoons already had . In nature, racoons dip their food in water several times and turn it over with their paws. In other words, They concluded that learned behaviour through operant conditioning drifts toward instinctive behaviour.

Nature vs. Nurture
The nature vs. nurture controversy is a major topic discussed in psychology and pertains to animal training as well. Both sides of the nature vs. nurture debate have valid points and this controversy is one of the most debated in Psychology. A common question asked today by many experts in various fields is if behaviour is due to life experiences or if it's predisposed in DNA. Today, partial credit is given to both sides and in many cases nature and nurture are given equal weight. With animal training it is often questioned if the training and shaping is the cause of a behaviour exhibited by an animal (nurture), or if the behaviour is actually innate to the species (nature). Instinctive drift centers around the nature of behaviour more so than learning being the sole cause of a behaviour. Species are obviously capable of learning behaviours, this is not denied in instinctive drift. Instinctive drift says that animals often revert to innate (nature) behaviours that can interfere with conditioned responses (nurture).

Examples in Nature
Instinctive drift was found to occur via experiments conducted on various species in nature. Experiments have been conducted such as the one by Keller and Marian Breland. As previously mentioned, they worked with racoons and taught them how to deposit money into a bank machine. They concluded that this action was actually instinctive as raccoons dip their food in water and manoeuvre it with their paws. A similar experiment was conducted on pigs. In this experiment, a pig was trained to insert wooden coins into a piggy bank. The pig over time began to throw the wooden coins up and down with their snout and play with them. This is a normal behaviour seen by pigs in nature and is referred to as rooting. It was concluded that digging by the dog was an instinctive behaviour performed when trying to get warm or stay cool, to bury valued items, and to entertain themselves. The following are examples of instinctive drift by various species and all actions by these species could be explained by means of innate, instinctive behaviours.

Evolution and Instinctive Drift
Instinctive drift can and should be discussed in association with evolution. Evolution is commonly classified as change occurring over a period of time. Instinctive drift says that animals will behave in accordance with evolutionary contingencies, as opposed to operant contingencies of their specific training. Evolutionary roots of instinct exist. Evolution of traits and behaviours occur over time and it is by means of evolution and natural selection that adaptive traits and behaviours are passed on to the next generation and maladaptive traits are weaned out. It is the adaptive traits of species over time that is exhibited in instinctive drift and that species revert back to that interferes with operant conditioning. Much knowledge on the topic of evolution and natural selection can be credited to Charles Darwin. Darwin developed and proposed the theory of evolution and it was through this knowledge that other subjects could be better understood, such as instinctive drift.

Review
I think your bibliography is good so far however I think a few more sources would be beneficial to support your paragraphs as even with your contributions, the article is still low in references. I think your lead paragraph needs more sources to support some of the statements that you've made such as the definitions of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning isn't just learning from reward or punishment, it involves positive/negative reinforcement, extinction, positive/negative punishment, chaining, shaping and trial and error. The word reward must be used carefully as it isn't used in many of the mentioned paradigms. There are a few run on sentences and grammatical errors however this is only a draft and you seem to be on the right track otherwise. I also think you need to expand on the last 3 sentences of your origins section. I think it would be beneficial to add how they came to the conclusion that the behaviour they observed was instinctual ie. did they observe it? Otherwise, great start, good layout! Yellow Martin (talk) 01:03, 24 October 2017 (UTC)