LEARN TO SHARPEN UP YOUR SHAPING SKILLS
THE saying goes: you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Or can you?
It turns out we can teach animals, including humans, “new tricks” through shaping.
Shaping is the process of bringing about a new behaviour by identifying small tendencies in the right direction and using reinforcement to nudge these tendencies closer and closer towards the desired behaviour, until you have achieved your goal.
We all experience shaping and being shaped in our everyday lives.
Teaching children to do what we want them to do is usually a shaping process, as is learning a new skill. shaped, for example, switching a
If you want to learn more lamp on, opening a window or about the principles of shaping I jumping up and down on the spot. recommend reading “Don’t Shoot The subject is then invited back the Dog” by Karen Pryor, which is into the room and instructed to where I came across The actively move around. Training Game; a fun The trainer then exercise you can do to reinforces movements in sharpen your shaping the general direction of skills. the target behaviour by
To play the game you blowing on the whistle. need at least two people No talking or gesturing is (a trainer and a subject) allowed while the game is and a whistle. It works in progress, until the well in small groups and target behaviour has been
Whistles at can make an interesting and the ready... achieved. amusing party game. It can also be helpful to have
To play the game, first send the the subject return to their original subject out of the room. position and start afresh after each
The remaining participants then whistle blow, at least for the first choose a target behaviour to be few reinforcements.
This helps keep the game moving and reduces the likelihood of the subject simply standing still wherever the last reinforcement was received.
It’s surprising just how quickly you can achieve the behaviour you want.
I recently demonstrated this with a colleague during a training exercise by getting her to write her own name on a flipchart within two minutes of entering the room, using only my whistle to communicate what I wanted.
So why not have a go at the training game with your friends and family and see just what you can get them to do using the power of shaping? Dr Ellie Milby is a counselling psychologist