When you were first learning to make your bed,your parents told you that you did a good job when you got the bedspread pulled up,even though the bed was still a little messy.For the next week they showed you how to be a little neater each time you made the bed.What operant conditioning procedure did your parents use?
A)generalization
B)extinction
C)shaping
D)punishment

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The operant conditioning procedure used by the parents is shaping, which involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired behavior. The parents reinforced the child for making an effort to pull up the bedspread, even though the bed was still messy, and gradually showed them how to be neater each time they made the bed. This is an example of shaping because the parents broke down the desired behavior (making the bed neatly) into smaller, achievable steps and reinforced the child's progress towards that behavior.

When You Were First Learning to Make Your Bed,your Parents