Getting a New Behavior to Occur: An Application of Shaping

1. Getting a New Behavior to Occur: An Application of Shaping Chapter 10

2. Definition • Shaping • Development of a new behavior by successive reinforcement of closer approximations and extinguishing of preceding approximations of behavior • Five aspects of behavior that can be shaped • Topography – specific movements involved • Frequency – number of instances that occur in a given period of time • Duration – length of time a response lasts • Latency – time between occurrence of a stimulus and the response evoked by that stimulus • Intensity – force of a response; physical effect the response has on the environment

3. Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Shaping • Specifying the final desired behavior • Terminal behavior – final desired behavior • Specify precise behavior and conditions under which it is to occur • Choosing a starting behavior • Should be a behavior that occurs often enough to reinforce within session time • Should be a behavior that approximates the final desired behavior

4. Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Shaping • Choosing the shaping steps • Helpful to outline the approximations that will be reinforced • Moving along at the correct pace • Reinforce an approximation at least several times before proceeding to the next step • Avoid reinforcing too many times at any shaping step • If behavior is lost because the program was moving too fast, or the steps were too big, return to an earlier approximation

5. Pitfalls of Shaping • Shaping can be accidentally applied with unfortunate results • Harmful behaviors may be accidentally shaped • Undesirable behaviors can be eliminated by combination of extinction of undesirable behavior and reinforcement of desirable behavior • May be difficult because: • Behavior is sometimes too harmful • Inexperienced individuals may unknowingly foil the efforts of those who are conscientiously attempting to apply these principles • Children may not get the necessary shaping to develop basic behaviors • i.e. developing speech

6. Guidelines for the Effective Application of Shaping • Set the terminal behavior • Select an appropriate reinforcer • Develop the initial plan • Implement the plan • Tell learner about plan before starting • Begin reinforcing immediately following each occurrence of the starting behavior • Never move to new approximation until the previous one is mastered • If learner stops working, may have moved up the steps too quickly, steps may not be the right size, or the reinforcer may be ineffective