Which statement best describes shaping in behavior modification?

Which statement best describes shaping in behavior modification?

• A. Providing verbal praise for any improvement toward the goal.
• B. Punishing errors to cause a change.
• C. Ignoring the behavior entirely.
• D. Offering a fixed reward only after full compliance.

Answer: (A)

Shaping is a process in behavior modification where you reinforce successive approximations toward a target behavior. Providing verbal praise for any improvement toward the goal fits this approach because it rewards progress along the way, encouraging the learner to continue refining their behavior until the full, desired pattern is achieved. Each small step is acknowledged, which helps establish a chain of reinforcing moments that build up to the final behavior. Punishing errors can suppress behavior but does not build toward the target through gradual reinforcement. Ignoring the behavior doesn’t guide improvement or reinforce progressive steps. Offering a fixed reward only after full compliance misses the incremental reinforcement that shapes complex behaviors, since it doesn’t acknowledge or encourage partial progress along the way.

Shaping is a process in behavior modification where you reinforce successive approximations toward a target behavior. Providing verbal praise for any improvement toward the goal fits this approach because it rewards progress along the way, encouraging the learner to continue refining their behavior until the full, desired pattern is achieved. Each small step is acknowledged, which helps establish a chain of reinforcing moments that build up to the final behavior.

Punishing errors can suppress behavior but does not build toward the target through gradual reinforcement. Ignoring the behavior doesn’t guide improvement or reinforce progressive steps. Offering a fixed reward only after full compliance misses the incremental reinforcement that shapes complex behaviors, since it doesn’t acknowledge or encourage partial progress along the way.