When training an animal, what is the process of reinforcing small steps until the final desired behavior is achieved?

The process of reinforcing small steps until the final desired behavior is achieved is known as shaping. This technique involves breaking down the desired behavior into smaller, manageable parts and rewarding the animal for each step it successfully completes toward the final goal. By gradually increasing the criteria for reinforcement, the trainer can guide the animal through a series of behaviors that lead to the target behavior. This method emphasizes the importance of incremental progress in learning and helps build complex behaviors in a structured way.

In contrast, modeling refers to learning by observing and imitating others, while conditioning typically refers to the broader process of learning associations between stimuli and responses. Reinforcement, on its own, is the consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated, but it does not specifically describe the stepwise approach that shaping entails.