What does shaping involve in behavior analysis?

Shaping in behavior analysis is a technique that focuses on reinforcing successive approximations toward a desired terminal behavior. This means that rather than expecting the individual to perform the final desired behavior immediately, the practitioner reinforces behaviors that gradually resemble the target behavior more closely.

For instance, if the goal is to teach a child to say "hello," the initial steps could involve reinforcing any sound the child makes that is similar to "hello," then moving on to reinforcing sounds that mimic parts of the word, and finally reinforcing the correct pronunciation. Each of these steps is a closer approximation to the final desired behavior, and the reinforcement helps to guide the individual toward achieving that final outcome.

This method is particularly effective for teaching new behaviors that may not be part of the individual’s current repertoire, as it recognizes and rewards incremental progress, making learning more manageable and achievable.