Shaping is a behavioral procedure in which successive approximations of a target behavior are differently reinforced until the person engages in the target behavior. Successive approximations, or shaping steps, are behaviors that are increasingly more like the target behavior. A successful shaping would include the following:
- Define the target behavior
- Determine whether shaping is the most appropriate procedure
- Identify the starting behavior
- Choose the shaping steps (successive approximations)
- Choose the reinforcer to use in the shaping procedure
- Reinforce each successive approximation in different ways
- Move at a proper pace through the shaping steps
For example, shaping is used to develop language, in which the successive approximations/shaping steps include: babbling, words sounds, pat words, whole words, strings of words, and sentences.