Bobby's parents are frustrated because he never cleans his room. In order to modify their son's behaviour, they start reinforcing Bobby with 25 cents, every time he simply throws his clothes into a particular corner instead of all around the room. After some time passes, they only reinforce him if he puts his clothes in the hamper. As this process continues, Bobby's parents keep gradually changing the terms of reinforcement so that Bobby has to do more and more of the tasks required to keep his room clean. After several months of this, Bobby cleans his entire room for the same 25-cent reward. This example best demonstrates the process of

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This example demonstrates shaping, a process in which behaviors are gradually guided toward a desired behavior by reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior. Bobby's parents start by reinforcing a simple behavior and gradually require more complex behaviors for the same reinforcement, leading to the desired behavior of cleaning his entire room.

Bobby's Parents Are Frustrated Because He Never Cleans His Room