13. Bill begins giving his son a reward every time he cleans his room to encourage him to clean it more often. According to the principles of conditioning, what should Bill do to get his son to continue cleaning his room over time?
Answer: E
Bill should only give his son a reward some of the time to encourage continued cleaning of his room.
This approach is known as partial reinforcement, which helps maintain the behavior over a longer period compared to continuous reinforcement.
A) Tell him he only has to clean his room if he wants to.
This option would likely lead to a decrease in the frequency of cleaning, as it removes the incentive altogether. Without the reward, the motivation for the child to clean his room diminishes, which is counterproductive to Bill's goal.
B) Stop rewarding him.
Ceasing rewards entirely would likely result in a significant reduction in the son's motivation to clean his room. Without any form of reinforcement, the behavior may not be sustained, as reinforcement is crucial for encouraging desired actions.
C) Keep increasing the size of the reward.
While larger rewards may initially seem motivating, this approach can lead to diminishing returns over time. The child may come to expect higher rewards, and if those are not provided, it could result in frustration or disengagement.
D) Increase and decrease the size of the reward at random.
Randomly changing the size of the reward may create confusion and inconsistency in the child’s behavior. This unpredictability can undermine the reinforcement schedule, making it harder for the child to connect the behavior of cleaning with the reward.
E) Only give him a reward some of the time.
This option effectively employs a strategy known as intermittent reinforcement, which is proven to be more effective for maintaining behavior over time. By rewarding the child sporadically, Bill can keep the behavior of cleaning more persistent, as the unpredictability of the reward encourages continued effort.
Conclusion
The best approach for Bill to ensure his son continues to clean his room over time is to implement a system of intermittent rewards. This method leverages the principles of conditioning to sustain motivation, unlike the other options which either remove reinforcement or introduce inconsistency, ultimately failing to maintain the desired behavior.