Gary trains his hamster to roll a marble. First, he reinforces the hamster when it walks toward the marble, then he reinforces when it touches the marble with its nose. Finally, the hamster learns to roll the marble and is reinforced for it. This example illustrates ________.
A) chaining
B) counterconditioning
C) shaping
D) classical conditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This example illustrates shaping, which is the process of gradually reinforcing behaviors that approximate and eventually lead to the desired behavior. Chaining refers to linking different behaviors together to form a sequence, counterconditioning involves replacing a negative response to a stimulus with a positive one, and classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a reflexive response to eventually elicit that response with the neutral stimulus alone.

Gary Trains His Hamster to Roll a Marble