Originally Posted By: WorkingK9sOk...My Master's thesis is regarding different types of conditioned responses. The clicker represents a secondary condtioner, for short, it signifies a positive reinforcement (i.e. a food reward). My theory is that two sounds can can signify both positive and negative reinforcement. (Before everyone gets upset, negative reinforcement means the ABSENCE of a reward, NOT punishment). Therefore, one sound would indicate the same thing as a click from a clicker. The second sound would be the same as saying "nope" or "uh-uh"
without the emotion that can be conveyed with your voice.
Ideally, one would be able to accurately communicate with the dog which behaviors were "good", and which were "bad."
Just so there are no confusions,
negative reinforcement means that the dog is NOT rewarded. It does not mean that the dog is punished. This has been a big source of confusion in my classes.
Hopes this helps!