Question

To train her puppy to roll over, Kim began by rewarding it for simply lying down. Later, she only rewarded the puppy if it lay down AND turned to one side. Later still, the puppy only got a reward if it lay down, turned, then rolled over. Kim was using:

a. classical conditioning
b. modelling
c. a fixed interval schedule
d. shaping

Answer 1

d. shaping Kim used shaping, a method of operant conditioning, to train her puppy by rewarding successive approximations of the desired behavior until the puppy learned to roll over.

Step-by-step explanation:

Kim was using shaping to train her puppy to roll over. Shaping is a technique in operant conditioning whereby successive approximations of a desired behavior are reinforced. In this scenario, Kim started by rewarding the puppy for lying down, which is a simple behavior that the puppy already displays.

She then gradually required more specific actions (lying down and turning to one side, followed by the full roll over), rewarding the puppy at each step. This method of training utilizes positive reinforcement to achieve a complex behavior by breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps that build upon each other until the full behavior is learned.

Skinner is often associated with the concept of shaping, as he used it extensively in his experiments with animals. Skinner demonstrated that shaping could be used to train animals to perform complex tasks they wouldn't naturally do, such as pigeons playing ping pong. Similarly, Kim is applying the method of shaping to train her puppy, showing the practical application of Skinner's research.