Question

A teacher uses shaping to increase the loudness of a withdrawn child's voice. This would be an example of using shaping to _____.

A) Decrease behavior

B) Maintain behavior

C) Suppress behavior

D) Gradually reinforce and strengthen behavior

Answer 1

Shaping is a technique in operant conditioning that gradually reinforces and strengthens behavior. In this scenario, the teacher is using shaping to increase the loudness of a withdrawn child's voice.

Step-by-step explanation:

Shaping is a technique used in operant conditioning to gradually reinforce and strengthen a behavior by rewarding successive approximations towards a target behavior. In the given scenario, the teacher is using shaping to increase the loudness of a withdrawn child's voice, which means she is rewarding the child for gradually speaking louder. This aligns with option D) Gradually reinforce and strengthen behavior. By providing positive reinforcement when the child's voice becomes louder, the teacher is shaping the behavior to reach the desired level of loudness.