Applied behavior analysis Definitions and concepts Shaping
Shaping is a way to teach new behaviors or improve behaviors that have already been taught. It involves reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior. Successive approximations of the target behavior are reinforced until the end behavior is reached. The end behavior is also called the terminal behavior. The terminal behavior is the end goal. Successive approximations are improvements that bring a person closer to the terminal behavior. Successive approximations are small steps that help the person reach their end goal. The target behavior will improve slowly as new successive approximations are reached. As a person improves an action they are only reinforced for the new successive approximation. Once they improve the behavior they will not be reinforced for the old version of the behavior anymore. This will keep happening until eventually they reach the terminal behavior.