Antecedent

How it works

Behavior analysis describes events in three parts: what came before, the behavior, and what followed. Most training attention goes to the third part, but the first is often the cheapest to change. If a dog barks at people passing the window, the antecedent is the view, and a film on the glass removes the behavior without teaching anything. That is why arranging antecedents sits near the top of the Humane Hierarchy: it is effective, it is fast, and it asks nothing of the dog.

What it looks like

A dog counter-surfs whenever food is left out. Rather than training an incompatible behavior, the food stops being left out. The antecedent is gone and so is the behavior, on the first day.

Commonly confused with

Trigger

A trigger is an antecedent that produces a strong emotional reaction. Every trigger is an antecedent; most antecedents are ordinary cues and contexts with no emotion attached.

Related terms