Shaping

(psychology) Therapeutic reinforcement of those responses that increasingly approximate sought-after behaviors.

A process in which a long-term goal is broken down into a series of gradual steps or intermediate goals, starting with a simple, easily performed task and gradually progressing to more complex and difficult ones. A person who wishes to become fit enough to take part in cross-country skiing, might spend the first two or three months establishing the habit of regular exercise, followed by a period of conditioning to gain general fitness, and finally a period of training to acquire the specific skill of skiing for long periods over variable terrain.

A procedure used to acquire complex skills. Shaping is used to develop athletic skills by starting with what the athlete is capable of doing and gradually requiring a more skilful level of performance before positive reinforcement is given. The complex skill is acquired gradually in small achievable steps so that the athlete can master them.

Shaping can refer to:

• In electricity generation, maintaining reliable delivery, for example by use of pumped storage hydroelectricity
• Shaping (psychology), the reinforcement of successive approximations to train a type of behavior
• Traffic shaping, internet traffic management
• Shaping (mechanical), a material removal process in which a cutting tool takes mass and shapes a stationary object to produce a sculpted or plane surface.
  • Gear shaper, the shaping process used specifically for gear manufacturing
• Shaping Village in Dali, Yunnan

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