Welcome back to our series on the core concepts of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).

So far, we have looked at Differential Reinforcement (watering the flowers, not the weeds) and Motivating Operations (understanding how the environment drives desire). We also know that all behaviour serves a Function. But here is a common challenge we face in schools, centres, and homes across Ireland: We know what skill we want to teach, and the person is motivated, but the leap is just too  big. If we wait for the "perfect" behaviour to happen before we praise it, we might be waiting forever. This is where our third concept comes in: Shaping.

What is Shaping?

In simple terms, Shaping is the process of reinforcing successive approximations towards a target behaviour. Think of it like teaching a child to speak. When a toddler points to a bottle and says "Ba," we don't say, "Actually, it’s pronounced 'Bottle', come back to me when you have the full syntax."No, we celebrate the "Ba!" We give them the bottle. Over time, "Ba" becomes "Baba," which becomes "Bottle."

In a strength-based PBS approach, Shaping is about meeting the person exactly where they are. It is the opposite of "sink or swim." It is building a bridge, plank by plank, so the learner can cross safely without anxiety or failure.

Why is this Strength-Based?

Old-school methods often focused on compliance: "Do the task perfectly, or you don't get the reward." Shaping flips this. It focuses on success. By breaking a skill down into tiny, manageable steps, we ensure the person wins often. This keeps the "density of reinforcement" high. When a learner feels successful, they feel safe, capable, and willing to try the next step.

The Science: What the Research Says

Recent research in the last five years has shifted the focus of shaping from simple "mechanics" to a tool for compassionate care and assent.

Errorless Learning & Confidence: A study by Leaf et al. (2022) emphasises that teaching procedures should minimise errors. When we shape a behaviour correctly, the learner shouldn't be making constant mistakes. If they are failing, the "step" we created is too big. The fault lies with the teaching plan, not the learner.

Tolerating Delays (The Hanley Approach): In the PFA/SBT (Practical Functional Assessment/Skill-Based Treatment) models championed by Greg Hanley and colleagues (research ongoing through 2024), shaping is used to teach tolerance. We don't demand a student works for 20 minutes immediately. We shape it: first, they tolerate 5 seconds of work, then 10, then 30. This respects their threshold and prevents the "fight or flight" response.

Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice: Recent commentary in JABA (2023) suggests that shaping allows for "assent-based" practice. By asking for only a small approximation, we can easily see if the learner is withdrawing assent (stopping). If they stop, we drop the requirement lower. It respects their "No."

How to Implement Shaping Effectively

You don't need a clipboard and a stopwatch to use shaping. You just need a mindset shift.

1. Define the "Target" (The Destination)

What is the end goal?

Example: Putting on a coat independently.

2. Identify the "Initial Behaviour" (The Starting Point)

What can they do right now, on their worst day?

Example: They can put one arm in a sleeve if you hold the coat.

3. Determine the Steps (The Ladder)

Break it down.

• Step 1: Arm in sleeve (You hold coat). Reinforce!
• Step 2: Arm in sleeve + pull up to shoulder. Reinforce!
• Step 3: Arm in sleeve + pull up + find second sleeve. Reinforce!

4. The Golden Rule: Only reinforce the new step

Once Step 1 is mastered, we stop throwing a party for Step 1. We look for Step 2. This gently "nudges" the behaviour forward.

Summary

Shaping is about patience. It acknowledges that progress isn't a straight line and that big skills are just a pile of little skills stacked on top of each other. By validating the effort and the approximation, we build confidence. And as we know in PBS, a confident, regulated learner is a happy learner.

References

Leaf, J. B., et al. (2022). Compassionate Care in Behavior Analytic Treatment: Can Outcomes be Enhanced by Attending to Relationships? Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Rajaraman, A., et al. (2022). Trauma-Informed Applications of Behavior Analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Slaton, J. D., & Hanley, G. P. (2023). Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-Based Treatment. In Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis.