SHAPING

Defining Shaping
 Shaping is defined as the differential reinforcement of
successive approximations of a target behavior until the person
exhibits the target behavior.
 basic principles of reinforcement and extinction
 one particular behavior is reinforced and all other behaviors
are not reinforced in a particular situation.
 Reinforced behavior=increases
 Behaviors not reinforced=decreases
 successive approximations
 identify an existing behavior that is an approximation of the
target behavior=starting behavior first approximation
 reinforce this behavior=person starts exhibiting the
behavior more often
 then stop reinforcing the behavior extinction burst,
novel behaviors start appearing start reinforcing novel
behavior (closer approximation to the target behavior)
 starts to exhibit the new behavior more often and exhibits
the previous behavior less often
 Differential reinforcement continues until target behavior
 So…..
 Shaping may be used to generate a novel behavior
(language in a young child, lever pressing in the
laboratory, tricks from the dolphin)
 To reinstate a previously exhibited behavior (Walking
in patient)
 To change some dimension of an existing behavior
(Time between urination for patient)
Shaping Guidelines
 Define the target behavior.
 Determine whether shaping is the most appropriate
procedure.
 Identify the starting behavior
 Choose the reinforcer to use in the shaping procedure
 Differentially reinforce each successive
approximation.
 Move through the shaping steps at a proper pace
Shaping of Problem Behavior
 When each occurrence of behavior (primarily
negative) is differentially reinforced.
CHAINING
 Each behavioral chain consists of a number of individual
stimulus–response components that occur together in a
sequence. stimulus–response chain.

 behavioror response in the chain a stimulus change

SD for the next response in the chain

 Establishing Operations
 Task Analysis
 The process of analyzing a behavioral chain by breaking it
down into its individual stimulus–response components is
called a task analysis.
How to do task analysis
 Observe a competent person engage in the task
 Ask an expert (a person who performs the task
well).
 Perform the task yourself and record each of the
component responses
 Experience
 Initial;Stage
 Task analysis should be revised
 Depends on task difficulty level and also on ability
of the individual
 May clump easier tasks into 1and break down
tasks if its getting difficult for the client
 chaining procedures
 Strategies for teaching complex tasks (behavioral
chains)
 Systematic application of prompting and fading
strategies to each stimulus–response component in
the chain.
1. backward chaining,
2. forward chaining, &
3. total task presentation
BACKWARD CHAINING
 intensive training procedure typically used with
learners with limited abilities.
 Last behavior is taught first by using prompting and
fading
 The learner completes the chain on every learning trial
 Behavior is learned on presentation of discriminative
stimulus---you can move to next step
 By doing this last behavior + reinforcer come first