Response-independent schedules involve the delivery of an item independent of a response requirement. Often described in the applied behavior analytic literature as “noncontingent reinforcement,” they have also frequently been used to reduce undesired or problematic behaviors. The current study examined the use of an automated response-independent food schedule on the behaviors and sound levels of shelter dogs. Several dogs were included in a 6-week reversal design, where a fixed-time 1 min schedule was compared with a baseline condition. Eleven behaviors were measured, as were two areas of each kennel and the overall and session sound intensity (dB) that occurred during the study. The results demonstrated that the fixed-time schedule increased overall activity while decreasing inactivity and led to a reduction in the overall sound intensity measured. Session and hour-to-hour sound-intensity data were less clear, suggesting a potential contextual conditioning effect as well as a need for adjusted methods to study shelter sound. The above are discussed in terms of their potential welfare benefits for shelter dogs as well as the translational approach that this and similar research could contribute to the application and functional understanding of response-independent schedules.

中文翻译：

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对收容所犬行为福利的自动响应独立时间表的评估

与响应无关的计划涉及独立于响应要求的项目交付。应用行为分析文献中经常将它们描述为“非偶然强化”，它们也经常被用来减少不良或有问题的行为。目前的研究考察了自动响应独立食物计划对收容所犬的行为和声音水平的影响。几只狗被纳入为期 6 周的逆转设计中，其中将固定时间 1 分钟的时间表与基线条件进行比较。测量了十一种行为，每个狗舍的两个区域以及研究期间发生的整体和会话声音强度（dB）。结果表明，固定时间安排增加了总体活动，同时减少了不活动，并导致测量的总体声音强度降低。会话和每小时的声音强度数据不太清晰，这表明潜在的环境调节效应以及需要调整方法来研究避难所声音。以上讨论了它们对收容所狗的潜在福利益处，以及本研究和类似研究可能有助于响应独立时间表的应用和功能理解的转化方法。