Recently I took part in a research project, and one of the 'tests' we had to do prompted me to think about the feelings, emotions, and reactions surrounding finding out that you are wrong, especially when you were convinced you were right.
The name of the game
To explain a little further, the test was the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, and putting it really really simply (I am no psychologist!), the subject (me!) is given four cards with different colored shapes on them, as 'stimulus' cards and then a stack of cards to sort into which of the four stimulus cards they belong with.
Then the person running the test tells you if you are right or if you are wrong. Do note here, they do just say yes or no. Nothing else, no sweeties for yes, no ruler across the palms for no.
So, away I go, turning over a card at a time and putting it where I think it belongs. At first a couple of nos. That's OK, I am still sussing this out and these, whilst not what I am after, are still helping me to decide what is correct.
Then I get things right, obviously, I have hit upon what links each card to the stimulus card, wahey! I get a kick out of this, despite the reward just being the man saying 'yes'.
A few more goes, I'm on a roll, woohoo! Then, suddenly... No! I am wrong!....
Wait, that can't be... I have figured out how this works, why am I wrong?
Changing rules?
Now it gets interesting. The first few times I think I made an error, I try the same reasoning again. When I am still wrong I become reluctant to try, I don't like being wrong. Even though nothing bad is happening to me, I am just being told 'no', I really don't like it and I don't want to play anymore.
I have to though so I carry on and somehow, I get things right again and it buoys me up and I start to feel happier but a little wary, thinking things through a little more double checking my reasoning for each decision.... and then I am wrong again!
No way. Now I really don't want to play anymore, not only that but being wrong makes me feel sick, my confidence is totally gone, I really am loathe to turn over another card, to make another decision, and risk being wrong again. Also, I am now very suspicious about the rules of this game, I don't trust this man now at all (and I have no other reason not to, he's a nice guy!) either!
Once the test was over I asked about it, and my suspicions were right, my frustration and reluctance to 'play' once I had been wrong were normal. Part of the test is that once the subject gets things right a certain number of times in a row, the rules are changed!
How our dogs must feel
Now I cannot guarantee that dogs reason and think exactly the same way I do, in fact, I am pretty sure they do not. But – I know my dogs react badly to being wrong where they thought a thing would 'work' i.e., they'd be right.
I know that making it easy for them to get things right means they learn faster and they enjoy the learning process, I can witness this for myself.
What I think we tend not to realize, is that being wrong, especially when you were SURE you were right, creates some very very powerful emotions and reactions, even in a subject who can communicate verbally. In human subjects who struggle with communication skills, the reaction to being wrong can be violent and extreme!
It's important to bear this in mind when you are modifying a dog's behavior – it can be tempting to wade in and make drastic changes, changes which do need to be made, in the way the dogs owner reacts to the dog, in what behavior is going to be rewarded and what is now going to be ignored.
But do so thoughtfully and carefully, because if dogs do have similar reactions to people (and I believe they do), suddenly finding that many of their behavior patterns no longer 'work' could prove very disturbing for the dog and could result in that dog 'shutting down'.
This is one reason that I am not a fan of strict and overbearing 'NILIF' (nothing in life is free) style programs for dogs, and it is often reported that these result in a depressed dog and even an increase in aggression. I am not surprised!
I don't mean to suggest that we can never allow our dogs to be wrong, it is a part of life and it is in some circumstances unavoidable. As my experience showed, at the beginning being wrong helped me to clarify what was right, so it's not always a bad thing.
But we should all bear in mind – changing the rules is a VERY powerful tool and not something to be glossed over or taken lightly.