Which aspect of training illustrates the principle of behavior shaping?

The principle of behavior shaping is illustrated by incremental progress towards a desired behavior. Behavior shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior until the desired action is achieved. This method emphasizes the importance of rewarding small steps in the right direction, rather than expecting a complex behavior to occur all at once.

In practice, this means that a dog trainer may first reward a dog for showing interest in a particular action, such as approaching a training object. As the dog begins to perform closer and closer to the full behavior, the rewards are given for these incremental steps, ultimately leading to the dog successfully completing the desired action. This approach builds a strong foundation and reinforces learning through positive reinforcement, making it a powerful training strategy.