Phil wants to train his parrot to kick a ball into a soccer net. Which of the following should he do?
A) He should wait until the parrot kicks the ball into the net on its own and then give it a food treat.
B) He should use negative punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.
C) He should begin by reinforcing when the parrot goes near the ball.
D) He should use positive punishment until the parrot kicks the ball into the net.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best choice would be to begin by reinforcing when the parrot goes near the ball. This is an example of shaping, where the desired behavior is broken down into smaller steps and each step is reinforced until the final behavior is achieved. Waiting for the parrot to kick the ball into the net on its own (A) may take a long time or never happen, and using punishment (B, D) can be stressful for the parrot and may not promote learning.

Phil Wants to Train His Parrot to Kick a Ball