Teaching with Shaping
Volume 4, Issue 3 ~ May/June, 2009
Shaping – ABA Style
By: Niki Thurkow, Ph.D., BCBA-D & Emily Cain, M.S.Ed.
Positive Behavioral Connections
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Shaping is the essence of learning new skills. All children and adults use shaping procedures every day. For students on the Autism spectrum this is a particularly useful technique for altering the form of a behavior or skill because it clearly discriminates for the individual what level of a behavior will lead to what they want; thus, resulting in a behavior that is adaptive and appropriate. Shaping is the process of changing an existing response by reinforcing only those responses that more closely resemble the desired behavior.
Shaping is what allows someone to run a marathon. No one is able to run 26.2 miles the first time they lace up and tie their running shoes. To be able to run that distance (all at one time), closer and closer approximations to the runner’s goal must be reinforced. In other words, they must train by running longer and longer distances until their body is able to tolerate the demands necessary to ‘cross the finish line’. The term shaping is derived from the research in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). To fully understand how shaping works first we must discuss to powerful behavior change procedures: reinforcement and extinction. Reinforcement occurs when behavior increases due to what happens in response to behavior. History – Luke is four years old and does not like taking a bath. When his mom tries to put him in the tub he usually whines, cries, and runs away. Mom’s behavior: Added bubbles to the bathtub Luke’s response: Smiles, laughs and gets into the tub easily without resistance What happens when it is time for bath again? Mom will add bubbles to the bathtub because that behavior resulted in something she wanted (Luke getting into the tub easily). Extinction results in the decrease of a behavior because the child no longer receives the reinforcement for that behavior. For example, a child usually is able to go to the pantry and pick out his favorite candy when he experiences the hunger for candy. Mom decides that she doesn’t think this is a healthy food choice for him so she takes the candy out of the pantry. Eventually the child learns that going to the pantry when he wants that candy does not result in candy. Thus, he stops going to the pantry for the candy (extinction). Receiving the candy used to reinforce the behavior of going to the pantry but since he never receives the candy now, that behavior is extinguished. Shaping essentially uses what is called differential reinforcement which means only behaviors that successively resemble the terminal (desired) behavior receive reinforcement. The example below outlines how many parents first teach their child to walk. Stephanie is almost a year old and her parents are anxiously waiting for the day when she takes her first steps by herself. Without knowing it, her mom uses the following shaping procedure to help Stephanie walk independently by reinforcing the behavior that gets closer and closer to her goal of Stephanie: taking some steps by herself. Terminal (desired) Behavior – taking several steps independently Mom says “let’s walk” and holds out hands to Stephanie If Stephanie falls down – Then, Mom says ‘oops’ (extinction – mom does not provide reinforcement for this behavior). If Stephanie takes mom’s hands and stands – Then, Mom says “Yeah, you did it” in a cheery tone of voice (providing reinforcement for standing). Mom says “let’s walk” and holds out hands to Stephanie If Stephanie takes mom’s hands and stands – Then, Mom takes Stephanie hands but does not say anything (extinction – she doesn’t want Stephanie to step with just standing – she provides no reinforcement). If Stephanie takes mom’s hands, stands, and moves leg forward – Then, Mom says “Yeah, you did it” in a cheery tone of voice (providing reinforcement for taking steps) Mom says “let’s walk” and holds out hands to Stephanie If Stephanie takes mom’s hands, stands, and moves leg forward slightly – Then, Mom takes Stephanie hands and holds them while Stephanie takes steps but does not say anything (extinction). If Stephanie takes mom’s hands, stands, takes several steps holding mom’s hands– Then, Mom says “Yeah, you did it” in a cheery tone of voice (reinforcement). Mom says “let’s walk” and holds out hands to Stephanie If Stephanie takes mom’s hands, stands, takes several steps holding mom’s hands– Then, Mom takes Stephanie hands and holds them while Stephanie takes steps but does not say anything (extinction). If Stephanie stands and takes several without mom’s help– Then, Mom says “Yeah, you did it” in a cheery tone of voice (reinforcement). Shaping also helps the adults working with children with autism. By clearly defining what successive approximations will be prompted and reinforced, the adult’s behavior is consistent with the child; thus, a smaller amount of time is needed to reach the desired behavior. The key is to clearly identify what the target level of behavior is desired. Intermediate steps also need to be identified so that each of these closer approximations can be reinforced. In the example above, Stephanie’s mom knew the goal was for Stephanie to take several steps independently. She as able to reinforce intermediates steps as Stephanie was able to stand, move her legs forward, and take steps with her hands. Shaping can be used in a variety of situations:
Sundel and Sundel (2004) sum up the shaping procedure nicely with the following:
Sundel, M., & Sundel, S. S. (2004). Behavior Change in Human Services: Behavioral and Cognitive Principles and Applications. Sage Publications, Inc. |
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