AbstractsPsychology

Shaping Appropriate Verbal Responses in a Social Situation With a Withdrawn Retarded Adolescent

by James N. Thompson




Institution: North Texas State University
Department:
Year: 1973
Keywords: shaping; verbal conditioning
Record ID: 1493161
Full text PDF: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc131618/


Abstract

"Shaping" or "method of successive approximation" is a procedure which may be applied to increase the frequency of a response which has a low operant level, or it may also be used to bring about responses which have not been previously emitted. In "shaping," the experimenter initially reinforces a response which is within the behavorial repertoire of the subject. Then, the experimenter reinforces only responses which approximate the behavior which is desired. The final behavior is then directly reinforced.