What term describes the process of rewarding successive approximations toward a desired behavior?

• A. Shaping
• B. Positive Reinforcement
• C. Punishment
• D. Extinction

Answer: (A)

Shaping is a learning process where rewards are given for closer and closer approximations to a desired behavior. You start by reinforcing a simple, achievable step, then only reinforce responses that get a bit closer to the target, and you repeat this until the exact behavior appears. This approach guides behavior through gradual steps, building the final action piece by piece.

For example, teaching a dog to roll over might begin with rewarding lying down, then rewarding turning the body slightly, and finally rewarding the full roll. Positive reinforcement is rewarding the target behavior when it happens, but shaping explicitly uses a sequence of progressively closer versions to reach the final behavior. Extinction and punishment involve withholding reinforcement or applying aversive consequences to reduce behavior, not the stepwise construction of a complex action.