Question

Sean wants to teach his dog to turn the light on. What would be the best way to train his dog, utilizing the idea of shaping? What might he do that using the concept of shaping?

Question 59 options:
a)
reward his dog when she touches the lightswitch, when she looks at it, when she turns it on by command, and when she pushes it.
b)
reward his dog when she turns it on by command, when she touches it, when she looks at it, and when she pushes it.
c)
reward his dog when the dog looks at the light switch, when she touches the lightswitch, when she pushes it, and when she turns it on by command
d)
reward his dog when she touches the lightswitch, when she pushes it, when she looks at it, and when she turns it on by command

Answer 1

The correct approach to training a dog to turn on a light using shaping is by rewarding successive approximations of the desired behavior, beginning with looking at the switch and culminating in turning it on by command.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best way to train Sean's dog to turn the light on using the concept of shaping would be option (c): to reward his dog when the dog looks at the light switch, when she touches the light switch, when she pushes it, and when she turns it on by command. This method implements shaping by reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior, rewarding the dog for actions that increasingly resemble the final desired action. Each step is an achievable approximation towards the complete behavior of turning on the light.