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Shaping 1:00
A 60-second explainer of Shaping, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Shaping demo
What this video covers
Shaping is building a complex or daunting behaviour gradually, by rewarding small steps that get closer and closer to the target rather than demanding the whole thing at once. Instead of asking someone to do the big hard thing immediately, you reinforce successive approximations - each easy win making the next step feel achievable.
Asked to do the whole thing immediately, you hesitated; led through small, rewarded steps, you arrived at the same place almost without noticing. That's shaping: successive approximations, each reinforced, carrying you to a behaviour that felt impossible cold. The question that keeps it honest is simply - shaping toward what? A goal that's yours, or a commitment that's only theirs?
