Shaping in Psychology (Definition + Examples . . . - Practical Psychology Shaping conditions subjects to complete a much more complicated desired behavior B F Skinner’s classic example of a target behavior was the subject touching its beak to a spot (The subject, obviously, was a bird ) But Skinner didn’t expect the bird to know that it needed to touch its beak to the spot So Skinner used a series of
What Is Shaping In Psychology? Shaping is a conditioning technique that involves working toward a target behavior by breaking it down into gradual, successive steps and rewarding each step on the path toward the desired outcome Psychologist B F Skinner introduced the concept as part of his operant conditioning theory