Ricardo has just successfully completed behavior therapy for his anxiety in learning how to use a computer and for his tendency to belittle his friends.At the outset of therapy it was discovered that Ricardo would do almost anything to avoid watching catastrophic events on the news.It was also learned that he possessed an immense collection of marbles,which he had been collecting since childhood.His therapist discovered that by having Ricardo watch catastrophic events following Ricardo's belittling of his friends,his performance of this behavior was reduced.In treating Ricardo's computer anxiety,he was given a marble each time he made an approximation toward the terminal response (a marble was given to him first for sitting in front of the computer,then for reading a book for 15 minutes about computers,then for turning on the computer,then for typing a letter on the computer,etc.).Once he learned how to use the computer,his behavior was maintained by giving him,on average,a marble for every hour he worked on the computer.
-Which of the following was used to reduce Ricardo's anxiety toward computers?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Shaping is a technique used to teach new behaviors by reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior. In this case, Ricardo was given a marble each time he made an approximation toward the terminal response of using the computer.

Ricardo Has Just Successfully Completed Behavior Therapy for His Anxiety