What process involves teaching a response through rewarding successive approximations?

The process that involves teaching a response through rewarding successive approximations is shaping. Shaping is a fundamental technique in operant conditioning where behaviors are gradually reinforced as they get closer to the desired behavior. This means that rather than waiting for the subject to perform the exact desired response on the first try, the trainer rewards any behavior that is a step towards that response. For example, when teaching a dog to roll over, a trainer might first reward the dog for simply lying down, then for rolling onto its side, and eventually for completing the full roll. This method helps facilitate learning by breaking the desired behavior into manageable parts and reinforcing progress along the way.

In contrast, conditioning generally refers to the broader process of learning associations between stimuli and responses, while reinforcement involves providing a consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Modeling is the process of learning by observing and imitating others, which does not specifically involve the gradual reward of approximated behaviors. Thus, shaping is the most precise term for the method described.