Question

Mike wants to teach his 2-year-old brother to dunk a basketball in a mini basketball net.
A) Describe shaping and explain how Mike would be able to use this to teach his brother to dunk.
B) How are primary and secondary reinforcers similar and different? Give an example of each that Mike could use to reinforce his brother.

Answer 1

A) Describe shaping and explain how Mike would be able to use this to teach his brother to dunk.

Shaping is the process which involves the reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behavior. The method requires that the subject perform behaviors that at first merely resemble the target behavior; through reinforcement, these behaviors are gradually changed, or shaped, to encourage the performance of the target behavior itself.

Mike would use shaping in following way:

(1) He will break down the whole process of dunking the basketball in small steps.

(2)Then he will start to teach each small step one by one to his brother.

(3)Even when his brother will lift the basketball in first step, he will encourage him by providing a candy so that he may continue further with second step.

(4)Then, when his brother will cary the basketball in second step, he will praise him.

(5)In third step, when his brother will reach near net, he will reinforce his brother by providing another candy.

(6)In fourth step when his brother will jump he will motivate him again.

(7)In fifth step, his brother may try to touch and hold the net by jumping towards it, he will gain give him two more candies.

(8)So, his brother will ultimately learn to dunk the basket ball with this approach of shaping.

B) How are primary and secondary reinforcers similar and different?

They are similar in the sense that they encourage or motivate to perform a behavior.

Difference:

Primary reinforcers are biological. Food, drink, and pleasure are the principal examples of primary reinforcers.

But, most human reinforcers are secondary, or conditioned. Examples include money, grades in schools, praises, and tokens.

Give an example of each that Mike could use to reinforce his brother.

Primary reinforcer: As explained above, Mike provides his brother his favorite candies on performance of single steps. Candy is an example of primary reinforcer.

Secondary reinforcer: As explained above, Mike praises his brother when he performance some major steps. Praising is an example of secondary reinforcer.

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