Sarah's parents learn that she is never able to score more than 70 percent in her weekly chemistry tests. They tell her that she will be allowed to play computer games for a half hour if she scores more than 75 percent and for an hour if she scores more than 80 percent. This way, they encourage Sarah to gradually work toward a target of 90 percent. This is an example of:
Shaping (or successive approximation) is a teaching technique that involves a teacher (in this case, Sarah's parents) rewarding a child as she or he successfully improves the acquisition of a target skill.