Final answer:
Shaping is a strategy in operant conditioning that involves rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior, which helps in teaching new behaviors efficiently.
Step-by-step explanation:
The strategy you're referring to is known as shaping. It's a concept derived from operant conditioning experiments conducted by B.F. Skinner. Shaping involves rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior on a trial-by-trial basis. Instead of waiting for the complete target behavior to appear spontaneously, which is highly unlikely for anything but the simplest of behaviors, shaping breaks down the desired behavior into many small, achievable steps. Each step is immediately rewarded when accomplished, gradually bringing about the final desired behavior through reinforcement. This problem-solving strategy is highly effective in teaching both simple and complex behaviors.
Algorithms are another related problem-solving strategy. These are step-by-step instructions, similar to a recipe, that lead to a consistent outcome every time they are executed. In the context of behavior, shaping serves as a real-life algorithm that guides individuals through the steps of learning a new behavior by providing immediate positive reinforcement.