During the Korean War, captured U.S. soldiers were persuaded to cooperate with their captors one small step at a time, with reinforcements for each step. This procedure resembles which principle of operant conditioning?

A) fixed-interval schedules
B) fixed-ratio schedules
C) conditioned reinforcement
D) shaping

Shaping

A method of learning that uses rewards to reinforce behaviors that gradually approximate the desired behavior.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood of it being repeated, influenced by reinforcement or punishment.

Captured Soldiers

Military personnel who have been taken prisoner by an opposing force.