Anastasia wants to run and finish a marathon.Every day her trainer measures the distance she is able to run and even though far short of the 26-mile distance of a marathon,Anastasia is praised for her daily runs.Her trainer feels that if he starts with the basic running skill and rewards her smaller efforts,that Anastasia will eventually run a successful marathon.Her trainer is addressing her running behaviour by using the principles of ___________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The trainer is using the principle of shaping, which involves breaking down a complex behavior (in this case, running a marathon) into smaller, achievable steps and rewarding each step until the desired behavior is reached. This is evident from the trainer's approach of measuring and praising Anastasia's daily runs as small steps towards running a marathon. Approximation is also similar to shaping, but it involves gradually reinforcing behaviors that are closer and closer to the desired behavior, rather than breaking down the behavior into smaller steps. Delay of gratification and extinction are not relevant to the scenario described.

Anastasia Wants to Run and Finish a Marathon