Mavis has shaped handwriting; the boy could hold his pencil and write the letters of his name faintly; later he learned to press hard enough to be legible. This shaping example is an instance of shaping across a response topography. True or False?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. This is an example of shaping within response topography.
• D. This is a form of fading.

Answer: (A)

Shaping across topographies involves reinforcing successive approximations that change the form of the response toward a final, different topography. In this case, handwriting changes from faint marks to legible writing. Both are attempts to write, but the physical form shifts—from faint writing to clear, legible writing—so the topography has changed while the functional goal (writing legibly) remains the same. The person is reinforced for moving toward that legible outcome, which fits shaping across topographies. That’s why this is true. If the change were simply making the same handwriting more/less refined without changing its form, or if we were talking about reducing prompts (fading), the situation would illustrate something different.