Jordan Sackley / Scroll
A baby chicken nick-named "Henry" pecks at a red dot, the students then pushed a tray of food into the box as positive re-enforcement. Students in various psychology classes had the opportunity to train their chicks.

Psychology students teach chicks tricks

Dominique Perkins PER04002@BYUI.EDU scroll staff

The little yellow chick has learned to peck a red dot to get food. “Our chicken’s smart,” said Keith Scott, a freshmen from Bloomington, Ill.

He and Roger Klein, a freshman from Olympia, Wash., are training chickens as part of their Introduction to Psychology class.

This is a hands-on activity so they can see how the principles of operant conditioning work, said Samuel Clay, psychology professor.

Scott and Klein both said the training works exactly the way it should based on what they learned in class.

When the chicken performs the desired action, such as pecking at the red dot, then he is rewarded with positive reinforcement — the food.

But it’s frustrating, especially at first. “You want [the chickens] to get it immediately but they have no idea why they’re in there,” said Jacob Silva, a senior from Guatemala.

Silva is taking Psychology 361. His class spent two weeks doing a variety of training experiments on their chickens. The 361 students were there to share their experience with the beginning students.

“It’s fun to watch the students get so excited about each success, every step of the way,” Silva said.

“You just have to keep doing it again and again,” said Ashley LeCheminant, a senior from Chester, Idaho, and another 361 student. “He’s learning a lot faster than the chicken I first had. It took me hours.”