At the beginning of the school year, Mr. Webber is concerned that Frances rarely does her independent seatwork. He begins praising Frances for each seatwork assignment she completes, and by January she is completing her assignments regularly. To make sure that the behavior continues in the years to come, what would behaviorists tell Mr. Webber to do now?
A) Praise her more often than before.
B) Praise her for only some of her completed assignments.
C) Punish Frances when she doesn't complete an assignment.
D) Switch from a social reinforcer to an activity reinforcer.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Behaviorists would tell Mr. Webber to gradually reduce the frequency of praise to shape Frances into being intrinsically motivated to complete seatwork independently. By only praising her for some of her completed assignments, Frances will learn that completing the seatwork is important and rewarding, but not every completed assignment is tied to external praise. This will encourage her to continue completing seatwork independently without needing constant praise or external rewards.

At the Beginning of the School Year, Mr