The Law Effect

Behaviors have reasons. Though a behavior may come “out of nowhere” or have no understood reason for it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

The law effect describes that a behavior is a function of its consequences (a feedback loop). If ____ then ____. Antecedent, behavior, consequences. Consequences can be desirable, which keeps the behaviors strong (reinforcement). Undesirable consequences lead to the decrease of a behavior (punishers). Desirable and undesirable are created by the animal, not us. We may think petting is a desirable consequence, when the bird may not always. Aggression from reactivity we think is undesirable, but for the bird that may be a desirable outcome, keeping those behaviors strong. Usually, that outcome that’s desirable is we move away.

Learning why our birds do something is extremely important to learning how to modify the behavior. What is desirable? Why is it desirable? What replacement behavior can we teach that holds the same value but is more desirable to us? How can we overcome fears so the bird doesn’t need to rehearse the behaviors in general?

Treating the symptoms of behaviors never treats the root. Treating the symptoms means the behaviors will likely come back in the future. Treating the root and staying consistent with the management will keep those behaviors more at bay.