Final answer:
In shaping, the 'adaptive level' behavior refers to the desired stable outcome of a behavior modification process, such as achieving zero cigarettes smoked per day. This method involves rewarding close approximations of the target behavior, progressively leading to the final goal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Within the definition of shaping, the term adaptive level behavior refers to the ultimate goal - where we ultimately want the behavior to stabilize, for example at zero cigarettes smoked per day. Shaping, a principle found in operant conditioning experiments conducted by Skinner, involves rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior. This technique is crucial because it's improbable for an organism to spontaneously exhibit complex behaviors without reinforcement through smaller, more achievable steps.
For instance, when applying shaping to humans, such as in the case of parents wanting their child to clean their room, they would introduce and reinforce incremental steps leading up to the goal. Taking the example of smoking cessation, shaping might involve reducing the number of cigarettes smoked each day gradually until the adaptive level of zero is reached.
Moreover, shaping is applicable to a range of behaviors, from simple acts like a child picking up toys, to complex chains of behavior as demonstrated by Skinner's pigeons performing entertaining tasks. In public health, measures like anti-smoking campaigns or increased taxation can similarly be seen as societal-level shaping methods, designed to reduce the overall smoking rate by providing an external incentive (or disincentive) to change individual behavior towards an adaptive level.