Differential Reinforcementย is aย behaviorย modification technique in which reinforcement is provided for responses that meet specific criteria, while other responses are not reinforced. This strategy is used to shape desired behaviors by reinforcing responses that vary along dimensions such as frequencyFrequencyย orย Countย is a simple measure of how often a par... More, durationDurationย refers to the total amount of time a specificย beh... More, intensity, orย accuracy, while extinguishing or not reinforcing undesired responses.
Example
A teacher usesย differential reinforcementย to shape a studentโs speakingย behaviorย during class discussions. At first, the teacher reinforces any effort the student makes to speak, regardless of how quiet or brief it is. Over time, the teacher begins to reinforce only louder and more complete sentences, gradually shapingShapingย is defined as a systematic process in which success... More theย behaviorย to meet the desired criteria (speaking loudly and in full sentences).