Mary's parents want her to put her books in her bookcase. At first, they praise her for putting the books together in one pile. Then they praise her for getting the books on the same side of the room as the bookcase. When she gets the books on top of the bookcase, she gets praise. Finally, her parents praise her when she puts her books in the bookcase. This is an example of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of shaping, which is the process of reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior. Mary's parents reinforced her for each step closer to the final behavior of putting her books in the bookcase, gradually shaping her behavior towards the desired outcome.

Mary's Parents Want Her to Put Her Books in Her