shaping
n. uncountablen. a way of teaching a new behavior by rewarding small steps that get closer and closer to the final goal. You use this to help someone learn a complex task by starting with easy parts.
n. a conditioning procedure in which reinforcement is delivered for successive approximations of a desired target behavior. Used to establish a novel response that the subject does not currently perform.
The trainer used shaping to teach the dog to roll over.
In the classroom, the teacher used shaping by praising the student for writing a single sentence before expecting a full paragraph.
Behavioral psychologists employ shaping to modify complex human actions, systematically reinforcing incremental progress until the subject masters the final, sophisticated sequence of movements.
From Middle English schapynge, equivalent to shape + -ing.
From Middle English shapinge, shapende, schapende, schappande, from Old English sċyppende, sċeppende, from Proto-West Germanic skappjandī, from Proto-Germanic skapjandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *skapjaną (“to form, shape, create”), equivalent to shape + -ing.
Commonly used in psychological and educational contexts; often followed by the preposition 'of' to indicate the behavior being modified.