Nicolas has autistic disorder and he was mute.A therapist working with Nicolas initially gave him a piece of chocolate any time he made a sound with his lips.This slowly changed until Nicolas only received a piece of chocolate for saying complete words,and eventually only for saying complete sentences.In this example,Nicolas developed speech skills through the use of
A) classical conditioning.
B) modeling.
C) shaping.
D) negative reinforcement.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario demonstrates the use of shaping, where the therapist gradually reinforces more complex behaviors by rewarding small steps towards the desired behavior. In this case, Nicolas was rewarded for any sound, then only for complete words, and eventually only for complete sentences. This allowed him to develop his speech skills gradually and in a structured manner. Classical conditioning involves associating a neutral stimulus with a naturally occurring stimulus to produce a desired response, so it is not applicable in this scenario. Modeling involves learning by observing others, and negative reinforcement involves removing a negative stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior, neither of which are directly applicable here.

Nicolas Has Autistic Disorder and He Was Mute