Chapter 7- Unit 2

Question 1

1. Identify the three basic stages in any shaping procedure as presented at the beginning of this chapter and describe and describe them with an example (franks case or own example).

Answer 1

1. Specify thy final target behaviour
   - franks goal was to jog a quarter Of A mile each day. However, for a chronic non exerciser, this was more then could be expected.
2. Identify a response that could be used as a starting point in working toward the final target behaviour
   - frank decided that he would put on his sneakers + walk around the outside of the house once (30 yards). Although his was a long way from a quarter of a mile, it was a start.
3. Reinforce the Starting behaviour; then reinforce closer and closer approximations until eventually the final target behaviour occurs
   - frank decided to use the opportunity to drink a beer as a reinforcer. He explained his program to his wife and ask r her to remind him that he had to complete his exercise before he could have a beer. After the first approximation of 30 years occurred on s cI rap successive afternoons l, Frank increased the requirement to walking around the house twice (60 yards). A fe days later, the distance was increased to walking around the house tour times( 120 yards), then six times (180 yards), then father and father until the distance is approximetly a quarter of a mile and then finally to jogging that distance.

Question 2

2. Define shaping

Answer 2

The development of a new behaviour by the reinforcement of successive approximations of that behaviour and the extinction of earlier approximations of that behaviour until the new behaviour occurs.

Question 3

What is another name for shaping?

Answer 3

Method of successive approximations

Question 4

9. What is meant by the term final target behaviour in a shaping program? Give an example.

Answer 4

Desired behaviour that is being shaped. The final target behaviour should be stated in such a way that all of the relevant characteristics of the behaviour (topography, duration , frequency, latency, and intensity) are identified. In addition, the condition under which behaviour is or is not to occur should be stated, and any other guidelines that appear to be necessary for consistency should be provided.
-ex. In franks case from the textbook, the final target behaviour was jogging a quarter of a mile each day since he realized to begin a regular exercise program.

Question 5

10. What is meant by the term starting behaviour in a shaping program? Give an example.

Answer 5

Starting behaviour is that behaviour occurs often enough to be reinforced within the session time, and I should approximate the final target behaviour.
- ex. In franks regular exercise program, Frank’s behaviour is walking around the house once is something that he did periodically and his is the closest approximation that he regularly made with respect to the goal of jogging a quarter mile.

Question 6

14. Give an example of the unaware- misapplication pitfall in which shaping might be accidentally applied to develop an undesirable behaviour. Describe some of the shaping steps in your example.

Answer 6

Child behaves well and does not get social attention; accidentally smashes head on table and gets attention from parent; this reinforcement(parent attention) causes child to do it again sec rap times so to receive attention ; finally parent realizes it’s for attention and stops responding; child increases intensity of hitting head since (to get the attention of its parent as) it was trying to be extinct ( they ignored it) so parent rushed over again; if this shaping process continues the child will eventually seriously injure itself.