Which of the following describes a situation in which shaping occurs?
A. A dog learns to roll over onto its side for a milk bone.
B. A cockroach salivates every time it smells peppermint paired with sugar water.
C. A rat sickens every time it drinks sugar water.
D. A small boy learns to fear furry white rodents after hearing a loud alarm.
Answer (2)
The situation that describes shaping is: A dog learns to roll over onto its side for a milk bone. Shaping refers to the gradual reinforcement of successive approximations of a behavior. The other options illustrate classical or aversive conditioning, not shaping.
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Shaping is a concept often used in behavioral psychology, particularly in the realm of operant conditioning. It involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the desired behavior is achieved. In shaping, behaviors that are closer to the target behavior are sequentially reinforced until the final behavior is achieved.
Let's consider the options provided:
(A) A dog learns to rolls over onto its side for a milk bone.
This situation describes shaping. Initially, the dog might receive a reward for any attempt at rolling over, such as lying down. Then, as the behavior progresses, only more accurate approximations of the final behavior (rolling over onto its side) are rewarded, until the dog learns to perform the complete action.
(B) A cockroach salivates every time it smells peppermint paired with sugar water.
This is an example of classical conditioning, not shaping. The cockroach is involuntarily salivating in response to a stimulus paired with another stimulus that naturally triggers salivation.
(C) A rat sickens every time it drinks sugar water.
This describes taste aversion learning and is not shaping. Taste aversion is a type of classical conditioning where an animal associates the taste of a certain food with illness.
(D) A small boy learns to fear furry white rodents after hearing a loud alarm.
This describes classical conditioning, where an emotional response (fear) is paired with a stimulus (furry white rodents) after being associated with a loud alarm.
Based on the explanation above, the situation that describes shaping is option (A). Shaping involves reinforcement of behaviors that gradually lead up to the desired behavior, which is shown in the example of the dog learning to roll over for a milk bone.
